nt: from the Percy Folio_)

1.
... ... ...
... ... ...
Sayes, 'Christ thee saue, good child of Ell,
Christ saue thee & thy steede!

2.
'My father sayes he will noe meate,
Nor his drinke shall doe him noe good,
Till he haue slaine the child of Ell,
& haue seene his hart's blood.'

3.
'I wold I were in my sadle sett,
& a mile out of the towne,
I did not care for your father
& all his merrymen.

4.
'I wold I were in my sadle sett
& a litle space him froe,
I did not care for your father
& all that long him to!'

5.
He leaned ore his saddle bow,
To kisse this lady good;
The teares that went them 2 betweene
Were blend water & blood.

6.
He sett himselfe on one good steed,
This lady on one palfray,
& sett his litle horne to his mouth,
& roundlie he rode away.

7.
He had not ridden past a mile,
A mile out of the towne,
Her father was readye with her 7 brether,
He said, 'Sett thou my daughter downe!
For it ill beseemes thee, thou false churles sonne,
To carry her forth of this towne!'

8.
'But lowd thou lyest, Sir Iohn the Knight,
Thou now doest lye of me;
A knight me gott, & a lady me bore;
Soe neuer did none by thee.

9.
'But light now downe, my lady gay,
Light downe & hold my horsse,
Whilest I & your father & your brether
Doe play vs at this crosse.

10.
'But light now downe, my owne trew loue,
& meeklye hold my steede,
Whilest your father [and your brether] bold
... ... ...

[Annotations:
1.3: The maiden is speaking.
5.4: 'blend,' blended, mixed.
6.2: 'on': the MS. gives 'of.'
10.3: The rest (about nine stt.) is missing.]

LORD THOMAS AND FAIR ANNET

+The Text+ is from Percy's _Reliques_ (vol. ii., 1765: vol. iii., 1767).
In the latter edition he also gives the English version of the ballad
earlier in the same volume.

+The Story.+--This ballad, as it is one of the most beautiful, is also
one of the most popular. It should be compared with _Fair Margaret and
Sweet William_, in which the forlorn maid dies of grief, not by the hand
of her rival.

A series of Norse ballads tell much the same tale, but in none is the
'friends' will' a crucial point. Chansons from Burgundy, Bretagne,
Provence, and northern Italy, faintly echo the story.

Lord Thomas his mither says that Fair Annet has no 'gowd and gear';
ye