The Minister's Dochtor o' Newarke
[The first copy of The Minister's Dochtor o' Newarke (The Minister's Daughter of Newark) with detailed notes from the Percy Society in 1846 is the same text as "The Minister's Daughter of New York" found in Child I b. which is found in Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, II, p. 217 published in 1828. The difference is only the first line:
The minister's dochter o' Newarke,
Hey wi' the rose and the lindie, O;
Has fa'en i' luve wi' her father's clerk,
Alane by the green burn sidie, O.
At the bottom of the page is a second version with added verses is from The ballad Minstrelsy of Scotland: Romantic and historical. P. 300 published in 1871.
R. Matteson 2012]
Here's the The Minister's Dochtor o' Newarke from Early English poetry, ballads, and popular literature: Volume 17 - Page 96 by the Percy Society- 1846.
VII.
The minister's dochter o' Newarke,
Hey wi' the rose and the lindie, O;
Has fa'en i' luve wi' her father's clerk,
Alane by the green burn sidie, O.
She courted him sax years and a day,
Hey wi' the rose and the lindie, O;
At length her fause-luve did her betray,
Alane by the green burn sidie, O.
She did her doun to the green woods gang,
Hey wi' the rose and the lindie, O;
To spend awa' a while o' her time,
Alane by the green burn sidie, O.
She lent her back unto a thorn,
Hey wi' the rose and the lindie, O;
And she's got her twa bonnie boys born,
Alane by the green burn sidie, O.
She's ta'en the ribbons frae her hair,
Hey wi' the rose and the lindie, O;
Boun' their bodies fast and sair,
Alane by the green burn sidie, O.
She's put them aneath a marble stane.
Hey wi' the rose and the lindie, O;
Thinkin' a may to gae her home,
Alane by the green burn sidie, O.
Leukin' o'er her castle wa',
Hey wi' the rose and the lindie, O;
She spied twa bonny boys at the ba' ,
Alane by the green burn sidie, O;
O bonny babies if ye were mine,
Hey wi' the rose and the lindie, O;
I wou'd feed ye wi' the white bread and wine,
Alane by the green burn sidie, O;
I wou'd feed ye with the ferra cow's milk.
Hey wi' the rose and the lindie, O;
An' dress ye i' the finest silk,
Alane by the green burn sidie, O.
O, cruel mother! when we were thine,
Hey wi' the rose and the lindie, O;
We saw nane o' your bread and wine,
Alane by the green burn sidie, O.
We saw nane o' your ferra cow's milk,
Hey wi' the rose and the lindie, O;
Nor wore we o' your finest silk,
Alane by the green burn sidie, O.
O, bonny babies can ye tell me,
Hey wi' the rose and the lindie, O;
What sort o' death for ye I maun dee,
Alane by the green burn sidie, O.
Yes, cruel mother, we'll tell to thee,
Hey wi' the rose and the lindie, O;
What sort o' death for us ye maun dee,
Alane by the green burn sidie, O.
Seven years a fool i' the woods,
Hey wi' the rose and the lindie, O;
Seven years a fish i' the floods,
Alane by the green burn sidie, O.
Seven years to be a church bell,
Hey wi' the rose and the lindie, O;
Seven years a porter i' hell,
Alane by the green burn sidie, 0.
Welcome, welcome, fool i' the wood,
Hey wi' the rose and the lindie, O;
Welcome, welcome, fish i' the flood,
Alane by the green burn sidie, O.
Welcome, welcome, to be a church bell,
Hey wi' the rose and the lindie, O;
But heavens keep me out o' hell,
Alane by the green burn sidie, O.
This ballad is on the same subject as the preceding one, and appears to be more ancient. It is well known in Scotland under the title of "The Minister's Daughter of New York" an evident and ludicrous corruption of Newark, the village of Newark on Yarrow being the locality. By "minister" is meant a minstrel, as in Chaucer:—
"A gret host of ministers
With instruments and sounes diverse."
Chaucer's Dreamt, 1. 2132.
By "clerk," the editor is inclined to think, is not meant a person in holy orders, but a student. The term, when so applied by Chaucer, Gower, Douglas, &c. signifies a student at an university, as, "the clerk of Oxenforde"; but our student appears to be only a young man learning "al maner of mynstralcie."
The burden of this ballad is very ancient, and when coupled with the purgatorial nature of the punishment of the heroine, affords a strong presumption of the antiquity of the whole composition. The "lindie" is the lime or lindentree, a tree which figures in the burdens of the old Scalds. The word is derived from an Icelandic verb signifying to bind, bonds or ropes having been formerly made of the bark of that tree. The linden, under the term " lynde" or " linde" often occurs in the old English authors, as in
Chaucer:— "Be ay of chere, as light as lcfe on linde."
Clerke's Tale, 1. 0087.
In the old ballad of " Adam Bell, Clym of the Clouch, and William of Cloudesly," in Percy's Reliques, the "lynde" occurs twice:—
"Thus be these good yemen gon to the wood
And lygbtly as lefe on lynde.''
"Cloudesle walked a lytle beside,
He looked under the grene wood lynde."
The ancient ballad-writers seem to have rung the changes between the expressions " under the lynde," and " under the green-wood tree," both being frequently to be met with in the works of writers of the same age. The reason why, more than any other tree, the linden was so great a favourite with the Scalds, whose compositions our old ballad authors copied, may perhaps be found in the fact of bow-strings having been made from the bark.
The instances in very old ballads of burdens containing the names of trees, shrubs, and flowers, are very numerous, and many examples might be adduced; the oak, the lime or linden, the willow, the mulberry, the rose, the juniper, the rosemary, the birk, the broom, the lily, cfcc.; all of these may be found in different old burdens.
P. 50, v. 3.—In this verse, (the only one where it is so), the rhyme is deficient. The reciter has no doubt made a mistake in the first line, which is not such an one as an old minstrel would have written. There can be little question that the true reading is—
"She did her doun to the green wood linde."
This reading, the word linde, being, after the Scottish manner, pronounced lin would no doubt be thought by the writer, a good rhyme with "time."
P. 51, v. 4,—Ferra cow.] A ferra cow is a cow that is not with calf, and therefore, continues to give milk through the winter. Dr. Jamieson supposes the phrase to be derived, (on the Incus a non lucendo principle), from the Belgic vare koe, i.e. a milkless cow; "the original idea being that a cow that did not carry, would, by degrees, lose her milk entirely."
P. 52, v. 3.—A fool.] A fowl. The spelling being in accordance with the pronunciation.
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The Minister's Dochtor o' Newarke from The ballad Minstrelsy of Scotland: Romantic and historical. P. 300 published in 1871.
This feature is peculiar to version VI. [refers to the Percy Society version above], which is the one chiefly followed in the text here printed.
1. The minister's dochter of Newarke,
All alone, and alonie,
Has fallen in love with her father's clerk,
Down by the greenwood sae bonnie.
2. She courted him sax years and a day;
At length her false love did her betray.
3. She has ta'en her mantle her about,
And sat her down on an auld tree root.
4 She leant her back unto an aik:
First it bow'd, and syne it brake.
5 She leant her back unto a thorn,
And there she has her twa babes born.
6. "Oh, smile na sae, my babes sae sweet,
Smile na sae, for it gars me greet."
7 She's ta'en the ribbons frae her hair,
And bound their bodies fast and sair.
8 Then she's ta'en ont a little penknife,
And twined each sweet babe of its life.
9 She's honkit a grave baith deep and wide,
And put them in baith side by side.
10 She's cover'd them o'er with a big whin stane,
Thinking to gang like maiden hame.
11 She's gane back to her father's castle hall,
And she seem'd the lealest maid of them all.
12 As she look'd o'er her father's castle wall,
She saw twa pretty babes playing at the ball.
13 "Oh, bonnie babes, if ye were mine,
I wou'd feed and dead ye fair and fine.
14 "I would feed you with the ferra cow's* milk,
And clead you in the finest silk!"
15 "It's oh, cruel mother! when we were thine,
Ye did neither feed nor clead us fine;
16 "But oh, cruel mother! when we were thine,
Ye tied us with ribbons and hempen twine;
17 "And then ta'en out your wee penknife,
And twined us each of our sweet life."
18 "Oh, bonnie babes I can ye tell me
What sort of penance for this I maun dree?"
19 "Yes, cruel mother! we will tell thee
The penance ye for this maun dree:
20 "Seven years a fool in the woods,
Seven years a fish in the floods;
21 "Seven years to be a church bell,
Pealing joy to us, but woe to yoursel';
22 "Seven years a porter to hell,
And then evermair in its torments to dwell.
23 "But we shall dwell in the heavens hie,
While you your penance and torments dree."
24 "Welcome! welcome! fool in the woods,
Welcome! welcome! fish in the floods;
25 "Welcome! welcome! to be a church bell,
But Gude preserve me out of hell!"
* "Fern cow:" a cow not with calf, but which continues to yield milk.