Recordings & Info 268. The Twa Knights
[There are no known US or Canadian traditional versions of this ballad. Mistakenly, the Roud Index lists three versions of a somewhat related ballad, Northern Lord and Cruel Jew under Roud 303 Twa Knights. The three US versions of Northern Lord listed are Knight in Green (Night in Green) in Flanders (Ballads Migrant) and in A Pioneer Songster (Night in Green; Hog's Heart) from the mid-1800s. For now they will be found in the US & Canadian versions.
There are no recordings listed in the Child Collection Index.]
CONTENTS:
1) Alternative Titles
2) Traditional Ballad Index [two listings]
3) Summary from: Two English Ballads and Their Greek Counterparts
ATTACHED PAGES: (see left hand column)
1) Roud No. 303: The Twa Knights (7 Listings)
2) Two English Ballads and Their Greek Counterparts
Alternate Titles
The Hog's Heart
Night in Green (sic)
Knight in Green
Traditional Ballad Index: Twa Knights, The [Child 268]
DESCRIPTION: A squire bets a knight that, if the knight leaves home for a time, he can seduce the knight's wife. He traps the wife into offering to come to his bed, but she sends her neice instead. When the truth is revealed, the niece weds the squire
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1828 (Buchan)
LONG_DESCRIPTION: A squire bets a knight that, if the knight leaves home for a time, he can seduce the knight's wife. He traps the wife into offering to come to his bed, but she sends her neice instead. He cuts off the ring and finger to prove his victory. The knight's wife demonstrates that she still has her finger. The niece is offered the right to either kill the squire or marry him for his abuse. After much hesitation, the niece weds the squire
KEYWORDS: gambling trick abuse injury infidelity family marriage wager
FOUND_IN:
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Child 268, "The Twa Knights" (1 text)
Roud #303
CROSS_REFERENCES:
cf. "The Boy and the Mantle" [Child 29] (theme)
cf. "The Fiddler's Bitch" (plot)
cf. "Redesdale and Wise William" [Child 246] (plot)
NOTES: The notion of wagering over a woman's fidelity is common in folklore; in the Child canon, cf. e.g. "The Boy and the Mantle" [Child 29]. - RBW
Traditional Ballad Index: Knight in Green, The
DESCRIPTION: A knight pledges a fortune to win a beautiful girl. To raise this money he must borrow from a Jew, offering his own flesh as collateral. When the bill comes, he cannot pay, and flees. And on it goes, till they all live happily ever after
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST_DATE: 1825 (Buchan)
KEYWORDS: bargaining courting exile poverty reprieve Jew
FOUND_IN: US(NE)
REFERENCES: (1 citation)
Flanders/Olney, pp. 184-191, "Night in Green" (sic) (1 text)
ST FO184 (Partial)
Roud #303
NOTES: The theme here was, of course, used in Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice." The text here shows no direct knowledge of that play, but the two probably derive from a common ancestor.
The notes in Flanders/Olney state that there is a broadside version in the Folger Shakespeate Library. Unfortunately, they give no other details.
It's worth noting that this very long item comes from manuscript, not singing. And, yes, the title listed by Flanders is "Night," not "Knight." - RBW
Summary from: Two English Ballads and Their Greek Counterparts
by Paul G. Brewster and Georgia Tarsouli
The story as told in "The Twa Knights" runs as follows:
Two knights, one rich and the other comparatively poor (and younger), are sworn brothers. As they are discussing women one day, the latter says that there are only nine good ones in the town, to which the former replies that his own wife is one of these. The younger knight says that if the other will go to sea for six months he will win her favor. The husband accepts the challenge. He then goes home and bids his wife farewell without telling her of the wager but bidding her be constant in her love. She weeps at what she thinks is his suspicion. Soon after, the younger knight tries, but unsuccessfully, to seduce her. He then obtains the aid of his foster mother by offering her fifty-three guineas.[12] The foster mother's persuasion is of no avail. She then comments on the lady's haggard appearance and promises to make her sleep soundly by means of "fine enchanting melodie." Locking the sleeping lady in the castle, she takes the keys to the young knight, who then enters the lady's chamber. However, she escapes his advances by promising to come to his bed that night.
Instead she sends her niece Maisry, to whom she promises a dowry of 500 pounds. The knight lies with her and then cuts off her ring finger to keep as proof. Upon the return of the older knight, the "brother" shows him the ring and the ring finger. The former is deceived and asks permission, which is granted, to dine for the last time in his castle. When he asks his father-in-law what punishment should be meted out to an unfaithful wife, the latter replies that she should be burned or hanged. The husband then informs him that the guilty lady is his own daughter, and invites him to dine.
At the dinner the lady shows her ring finger uncut, and reveals the trick she has played. They call in the young knight and also Maisry, to whom they pay the 500 pounds. Following this, they place before the latter a sword and a ring, leaving it to her to kill him with the one or wed him with the other. Three times she moves to pick up the sword, but finally chooses the ring, a decision which is approved by all the ladies present.
Footnotes: 12. Here we learn for the first time that the wager is the younger knight's life against the elder's lands.