?
My priests with shaven crowns?'
'By my faith, they are the sorest fighting men
That ever I met on the ground.

59.
'There was never a yeoman in merry England
But he was worth a Scottish knight.'
'Ay, by my troth,' said King Edward, and laugh,
'For you fought all against the right.'

60.
But now the prince of merry England
Worthily under his shield
Hath taken the King of France,
At Poictiers in the field.

61.
The prince did present his father with that food,
The lovely King of France,
And forward of his journey he is gone.
God send us all good chance!

62.
'You are welcome, brother!' said the King of Scots to the King of
France,
'For I am come hither too soon;
Christ leve that I had taken my way
Unto the court of Rome!'

63.
'And so would I,' said the King of France,
'When I came over the stream,
That I had taken my journey
Unto Jerusalem!'

64.
Thus ends the battle of fair Durham,
In one morning of May,
The battle of Crecy, and the battle of Poictiers,
All within one monthes day.

65.
Then was wealth and welfare in merry England,
Solaces, game, and glee,
And every man loved other well,
And the king loved good yeomanry.

66.
But God that made the grass to grow,
And leaves on greenwood tree,
Now save and keep our noble King,
And maintain good yeomanry!

[Annotations:
1.2: '[spell]' suggested by Child.
6.3: 'leeve,' pleasant, dear; formerly a regular epithet of London.
10.1: 'Hard hansel,' bad omen.
12.2: 'stead,' place.
14.1: 'famous' may be a scribe's error for 'James.'
14.3: 'vanward,' vanguard.
15.2: The manuscript gives 'Tuxburye, Killingworth.'
19.2: 'breme,' fierce.
26.2: 'they busk them boun,' they make themselves ready.
31.4: 'gate,' way.
33.4: 'tho,' then.
40.2: 'ancients,' ensigns.
44.1: 'orders,' prepares.
45.4: 'may,' = maid; the Virgin.
46.4: 'scantly,' scarcely.
48.4: 'cheer,' face, appearance.
49.4: 'dree,' hold out.
53.2: 'And,' if.
61.1: 'food,' man.
62.1: The last five words are perhaps inserted by the scribe.
62.3: 'leve,' grant.]

THE BATTLE OF HARLAW

+The Text+ of this ballad was sent to Professor Child by Mr. C. E.
Dalrymple of Kinaldie, Aberdeenshire, from whose version the printed
variants (_Notes and Queries_, Third Series, vii. 393, and Aytoun's
_Ballads of Scotland_, i. 75)