The Death of Queen Jane
Encyclopedia
"The Death of Queen Jane" is an English ballad
that describes the events surrounding the death of a Queen Jane. Many now believe that the Queen is Jane Seymour
, the third wife of Henry VIII
of England
. However there is no evidence to support this assumption. Historically, Jane Seymour gave birth to a son who became Edward VI of England
on October 12, 1537. The birth was difficult but natural. She died twelve days later from infection resulting from the birth. It is cataloged by Francis James Child
as Child
#170. Some of the versions given are Scottish
, in which the queen's name is Jeanie or Jeany.
There are several versions of the song given by Child, but they are consistent in the basic tale. Queen Jane is in difficult labour - the time given ranges from 3 days to an astonishing 6 weeks - and asks a succession of people to cut open her sides and save her baby. Each refuses her in turn, understanding that this would cause her death. She asks for others to be sent to her - variously her mother, a surgeon or doctor, and King Henry - and of each she makes the same request. Finally someone - King Henry in most versions - succumbs to her pleas and the surgery is done, whereupon she dies. The song ends with descriptions of the mourning, and most versions contrast the joy of the birth of a male heir with the grief over the death of the queen.
The relationship between Queen Jane and King Henry is described as a loving one in the ballad. In the versions in which he is sent for to hear her plea he is shown as first refusing:
Only when she falls into a swoon - presumably interpreted that she was going to die anyway - are her instructions followed.
Version 170D makes this explicit:
Many versions describe King Henry weeping, his grief for his wife overcoming his joy for his son. One version mentions Princess Elizabeth, who became Elizabeth I
as the one who "goes weeping away."
There are a few words which may be unfamiliar to modern English speakers.
traveld :laboured, travailed
meikle : great
ha : hall
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
that describes the events surrounding the death of a Queen Jane. Many now believe that the Queen is Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII. She succeeded Anne Boleyn as queen consort following the latter's execution for trumped up charges of high treason, incest and adultery in May 1536. She died of postnatal complications less than two weeks after the birth of...
, the third wife of Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. However there is no evidence to support this assumption. Historically, Jane Seymour gave birth to a son who became Edward VI of England
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
on October 12, 1537. The birth was difficult but natural. She died twelve days later from infection resulting from the birth. It is cataloged by Francis James Child
Francis James Child
Francis James Child was an American scholar, educator, and folklorist, best known today for his collection of folk songs known as the Child Ballads. Child was Boylston professor of rhetoric and oratory at Harvard University, where he produced influential editions of English poetry...
as Child
Child Ballads
The Child Ballads are a collection of 305 ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, collected by Francis James Child in the late nineteenth century...
#170. Some of the versions given are Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, in which the queen's name is Jeanie or Jeany.
There are several versions of the song given by Child, but they are consistent in the basic tale. Queen Jane is in difficult labour - the time given ranges from 3 days to an astonishing 6 weeks - and asks a succession of people to cut open her sides and save her baby. Each refuses her in turn, understanding that this would cause her death. She asks for others to be sent to her - variously her mother, a surgeon or doctor, and King Henry - and of each she makes the same request. Finally someone - King Henry in most versions - succumbs to her pleas and the surgery is done, whereupon she dies. The song ends with descriptions of the mourning, and most versions contrast the joy of the birth of a male heir with the grief over the death of the queen.
The relationship between Queen Jane and King Henry is described as a loving one in the ballad. In the versions in which he is sent for to hear her plea he is shown as first refusing:
- King Henry was sent for, and sat by her bedside:
- 'Why weep you, Queen Jeany? your eyes are so red.'
- 'O Henry, O Henry, do this one thing for me,
- Let my side straight be opend, and save my babie!'
- 'O Jeany, O Jeany, this never will do,
- It will leese thy sweet life, and thy young babie too.'
-
-
-
-
-
- --Version 170C
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-
-
-
-
Only when she falls into a swoon - presumably interpreted that she was going to die anyway - are her instructions followed.
- She wept and she wailed, till she fell in a swoon:
- Her side it was opened, the babie was found.
-
-
-
-
-
- --Version 170C
-
-
-
-
-
Version 170D makes this explicit:
- The surgeon was sent for, he came with all speed,
- In a gown of black velvet from heel to the head;
- He gave her rich caudle, but the death-sleep slept she,
- Then her right side was opened, and the babe was set free.
Many versions describe King Henry weeping, his grief for his wife overcoming his joy for his son. One version mentions Princess Elizabeth, who became Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
as the one who "goes weeping away."
Text of version 170B
The text is given with the original spelling as Child gives it. This version is one of the more complete ones, and contains most of the story elements found in any of the versions.There are a few words which may be unfamiliar to modern English speakers.
traveld :laboured, travailed
meikle : great
ha : hall
- Queen Jeanie, Queen Jeanie, traveld six weeks and more,
- Till women and midwives had quite gien her oer:
- O if ye were women as women should be,
- Ye would send for a doctor, a doctor to me.'
- The doctor was called for and set by her bedside:
- 'What aileth thee, my ladie, thine eyes seem so red?'
- 'O doctor, O doctor, will ye do this for me,
- To rip up my two sides and save my babie?'
- 'Queen Jeanie, Queen Jeanie, that's the thing I'll neer do,
- To rip up your two sides to save your babie:'
- Queen Jeanie, Queen Jeanie, traveld six weeks and more,
- Till women and midwives had quite gien her oer.
- 'O if you were doctors as doctors should be,
- Ye would send for King Henry, King Henry to me:'
- King Henry was called for and sat by her bedside,
- 'What aileth thee, Jeanie? what aileth my bride?'
- 'King Henry, King Henry, will you do this for me,
- To rip up my two sides, and save my babie?'
- 'Queen Jeanie, Queen Jeanie, that's what I'll never do,
- To rip up your two sides to save your babie.'
- But with sighing and sobbing she's fallen in a swoon,
- Her side it was ript up, and her babie was found;
- At this bonnie babie's christning there was meikle joy and mirth,
- But bonnie Queen Jeanie lies cold in the earth.
- Six and six coaches, and six and six more,
- And royal King Henry went mourning before;
- O two and two gentlemen carried her away,
- But royal King Henry went weeping away.
- O black were their stockings, and black were their bands,
- And black were the weapons they held in their hands;
- O black were their mufflers, and black were their shoes,
- And black were the chevrons they drew on their luves.
- They mourned in the kitchen, and the mourned in the ha,
- But royal King Henry mourned langest of a':
- Farewell to fair England, farewell for evermore!
- For the fair flower of England will never shine more.
In song
- An original melody was composed for this song by Irish guitarist and singer Dáithí SprouleDáithí SprouleDáithí Sproule is a guitarist and singer of traditional Irish music from Derry, Northern Ireland. His niece is the singer songwriter Claire Sproule.-Biography:...
, and first recorded by The Bothy BandThe Bothy BandThe Bothy Band was an Irish traditional band active during the late 1970s. It quickly gained a reputation as one of the most influential bands playing Irish traditional music...
on After Hours (1979). Sproule later recorded it on Trian 2 (1995), with Liz CarrollLiz CarrollLiz Carroll is an Irish-American musician. She was born in Chicago of Irish parents. In 1974 she won the All-Ireland under 18 fiddle championship. The next year she won the All-Ireland Senior Fiddle Championship....
and Billy McComiskey. This version has since been recorded by various artists, including Loreena McKennittLoreena McKennittLoreena Isabel Irene McKennitt, CM, OM, is a Canadian singer, composer, harpist, accordionist and pianist who writes, records and performs world music with Celtic and Middle Eastern themes. McKennitt is known for her refined, clear soprano vocals...
, Maria Doyle KennedyMaria Doyle KennedyMaria Doyle Kennedy is an award-winning Irish actress and singer. She is possibly best known for her roles as Natalie, in cult film The Commitments, Queen Katherine of Aragon in the award winning The Tudors and as the title character's wife Frances in The General.-Early life:She is an honours...
, Jon BodenJon BodenJon Boden is an multi-instrumental musician and English folk singer.-Career:Boden plays fiddle as part of the duo Spiers and Boden, the band Bellowhead and up until 2007, Eliza Carthy's band The Ratcatchers. In 2009 he toured with his new backing band The Remnant Kings. He has also written a...
and Méav Ní MhaolchathaMéav Ní MhaolchathaMéav Ní Mhaolchatha is an Irish singer and recording artist specializing in the traditional music of her homeland. She was one of the original soloists in the musical ensemble Celtic Woman. She sings in multiple languages: English, Gaelic, French and Latin....
.
- The ballad is included in Loreena McKennittLoreena McKennittLoreena Isabel Irene McKennitt, CM, OM, is a Canadian singer, composer, harpist, accordionist and pianist who writes, records and performs world music with Celtic and Middle Eastern themes. McKennitt is known for her refined, clear soprano vocals...
's The Wind That Shakes the BarleyThe Wind That Shakes the Barley (album)-Track listing:# "As I Roved Out" # "On a Bright May Morning" # "Brian Boru’s March" # "Down by the Sally Gardens" # "The Star of the County Down" # "The Wind that Shakes the Barley" # "The Death of Queen Jane"...
album.