Towards Restoring The Hunting of the Cheviot
Towards Restoring The Hunting of the Cheviot
by Douglas Hamer
The Review of English Studies, New Series, Vol. 20, No. 77 (Feb., 1969), pp. 1-21
TOWARDS RESTORING THE HUNTING OF THE CHEVIOT
By DOUGLAS HAMER
THE traditional ballad must not be regarded as exempt from the forces which make for textual degradation in early poems freely transmitted -the mis-spellings of semi-literate scribes, and their omissions of words and phrases; the disappearance of lines, half-stanzas, and even whole stanzas; the results of part-replacement, sometimes cleverly done, sometimes clumsily, of missing stanzas, lines, or words; the effects of mistranslation or adaptation from dialect into the London English of the day. Where only one text survives there is no possibility of discovering the missing portions, or of detecting where successful replacements have been effected, but it is critically unwise to acknowledge the existence of forces which achieve textual degradation, and then to speak of the results of that degradation as if they were the sacrosanct acts of literary creation-'the noble ruggedness' of the ballads.
As they were originally written to be sung, ballads required repeating patterns in verse metre: otherwise the 'ballad metre' would not have been invented. The rewriting of ballads in Elizabethan times was an attempt to re-establish texts that would fit new musical-patterns, to make them singable again. The following stanzas from The Hunting of the Cheviot [Bodl. MS. Ashmole 48], though from the same poem, cannot be sung to the same 'tune', because they are metrically disbalanced, even though they have a common metrical base:
Leave of the brytlyng of the dear, he sayd,
And to your boys lock ye tayk good hede;
For neuer sithe ye wear on your mothars borne
Had ye neuer so mickle nede. 51-4
Then sayd the doughte Doglas Unto the lord Perse;
To kyll alle thes giltles men,
Alas it wear great pitte. 73-6
On the other hand, any two stanzas of the rewritten form of this ballad, the famous Chevy Chase, may be sung to the same 'tune' without difficulty. Because of its musical regularity it replaced the older version in the country of its origin, and the old form (which was not used as the text for Chevy Chase) left to survive as a literary curiosity in a library. It died of textual degradation.
The purpose of this article is to study more closely the common bases of rhythm and metre which survive in the two stanzas quoted above, to see if a good deal of the original text can be recovered.
The scribe of Bodl. Ashmole 48, which contains the unique text of The Hunting of the Cheviot (a title given by, I think, Professor Child), was one Richard Sheale, who describes himself as a minstrel of Tamworth (formerly in both Warwickshire and Staffordshire, but since 1890o only in the latter) in 1559. The name Sheale is a variant of Sheil, a Scottish name. Why a Scottish minstrel was working in Tamworth in 1559 is beyond conjecture. The important thing is that his text of this ballad is, linguistically, a degraded form of late Middle Scots, but though we may accredit the text and spell- ings to him, as of his writing, we may not attribute to him all the literary and metrical forms of degradation it contains: some belong to his predecessors.
In presenting an attempt below at restoring the text of The Hunting of the Cheviot from Ashmole 48, I denote passages for excision and admission, according to the following principles:
(a) Words to be omitted by the reader are set within square brackets:
6 And all that [euer] with him be.
(b) Words to be admitted by the reader, no matter for what reason (some are words omitted by Sheale; some are suggested restorations) are set in italic:
23 The wyld deer thorowe the woodes went.
(c) A word or two admitted, following a word or two to be omitted, is or are in italic, following the word or words to be deleted, set in square brackets:
41 He was war ath doughetie Doglas [commynge] commande.
(d) When too many words are to be omitted the incorrect line is first printed in full, within square brackets, and the proposed reading is printed below it, in italic: in the margin both lines are given the same number:
81 [Nowe Cristes cors on his crowne, sayd the lord Persi]
81 Cristes cors on his crowne, lord Persi sayd.
(e) The final letters in -e or -y, which in certain words ought to have a syllabic value obscured by Sheale's spellings, are given dots above, as -,e, -y. The same device is used where -i, - s are syllabic.
(f) The long lines of Sheale's transcript are divided into four-line stanzas. All line-initial letters are in capitals; proper nouns now spelt with an initial capital are so spelt; words written in the manuscript with initial capitals not now required are printed with small initials; all numerals are printed in words; all manuscript contractions are printed in roman type.
The text contains eight primary types of degradation. In the following lists only selections of each type are given. They should really be studied within their own contexts.
(i) Words omitted by the writer of the manuscript: new words are printed in italic.
23. Then the wyld deer thorowe the woodes went
24. On every syde so shear
37. But I wyste he wolde fayle, full verament
42. And with him a myghtte meany
73. Then sayd the dought6 Doglas agayn
76. Alas it wear a great pitt6
87. But, and if fortune be my chance
109. And that was sene full verament
197. This battell begane in Chyviat Chays
209. But all wear slayne the Cheviat within
210. They hade no strengthe to stand on he.
(ii) Words badly mis-spelt by Sheale: some are the 'phonetic' spellings of the semi-literate: most have not been corrected.
archardes [archers, 13]; wos [18]; aros [arrows, 22]; thear [the, confused with dear following,
26]; oware [hour, 29]; suar [sure, 113, 175]; boys [bowys, bows, I19]; myne-ye-ple [manople, 123]; myllan [myllayne, Milan, 130]; the [they, frequently so spelt; all corrected]; tear [? there, 272]; thus [this, 285], etc. (iii) Unnecessary additions of words and phrases: some of these are discussed later: 8. He sayd he wold [kyll and] cary [them] away 13. With fifteen hondrith archar[d]es bold [off blood and bone] 51. Leave of the brytlyng of the dear, [he sayd] 52. And to your bowys [lock ye] tayk [good] hede 61. Who gaue youe leave to hunte in this [Chyviat] chays 63. The first [mane] that euer him [an] answear mayd 78. I am a yerle [callyd with]in my contra 95. I wylle neuer se my captayne fyght [on a fylde] ioi. And youe wyll here any mor [athe hountynge athe Chyviat] 130. With swordes [that wear] of fyn myllayne I55. [That was,] Fyghte [ye] on, my myrry men, whyllys ye may.
Obliteration of characteristic Scottish rhymes and phrases: 39/41. Northomberlonde-commande written as Northomberlonde-commynge 47/49. guid-Twyde an imperfect Scottish rhyme worsened to good-Twyde 96. on lookande a Scottish participle, written as loocke on 137. yerls wagis should be yerelie fee 160, 246. The Scottish wais me written as English wo ys me, thus also turning two syllables into three. (v) Word-duplications characteristic of the bad scribe: 26. For to kyll thear dear 63. The first mane that euer him an answear mayd 112. Lyk a cheffe cheften off pryde 175. With a suar spear of a myghtt? tre. In Sheale's text of is frequently represented phonetically by a. Here and elsewhere of a is a phonetic degradation of of of, converted to a new gram- matical purpose. In i68, where the second a also = of, the line He spendyd a spear a trusti tre was incorrectly printed by Child, 'He spendyd a spear, a trusti tre.' The meaning is 'He spended [raised for action] a spear of trusty wood.' 213. Thear was slayne, withe the lord Perse. The word withe is really the northern wi'the [with the]. Hence the the of withe and the following the are duplicates. 238. Northombarlond [may] mayk great mon[e]. (vi) Degradation caused by normal changes in language. 68. In the spyt of thyne and of thee. Originally perhaps 'In despite of thyne and thee'. (vii) Degradation caused by the desire to be more explicit. This is caused by want of faith by later minstrels in the original wording. The result is verbiage. 7-8. The fattiste hartes in [all] Cheviat Chays He sayd he wold [kyll and] cary [them] away. In 7, all is unnecessary territorial amplification: cary away was sufficient in 8. Degradation creeps in when the minstrel particularizes that the deer are to be killed before being carried away. The word them is then inserted in the belief that grammar required it (but see later note). 14. They wear chosen owt of shyars thre.
The original was either 'They were owt of shyars thre' or 'They were chosen of [= from] shyars thre'. Chosen owt of is a vulgarism like face up to. 34. To se the bryttlynge of the deare. Poetic degradation alone makes Lord Percy go to see the brittling of the deer, even in the sense of supervise. That a lord would only watch is socially correct, but it was unnecessary to be poetically explicit. So also 78. I am a yerle [callyd with] in my contre 88. I dar met him, one [man] for one 130. With swordes [that wear] of fyn myllayne I54-5. He spayke no wordes but ane; [That was,] Fyghte [ye] on, my myrry men, whyllys ye may. 165-6. Off all that se a Skottishe knyght, [Was callyd] Sir Hewe the Monggombyrry. 179. Towe [bettar] suche captayns wear nat in Cristinti. There are several other examples of this interesting form of textual degradation all based on later want of faith in the adequacy of the original poetic expression to convey all the ideas necessary for complete compre- hension of the theme. (vii) Unmetrical readings. Most of the different kinds of degradation noted above result in unmetrical lines, but some in the modern printed texts are the work of our immediate predecessors. They are the result of incorrect line-division when Sheale's long lines were divided by editors into the characteristic short measures of the ballad form, 4343. The following examples are from Professor Child. 261-2 For the deth of the lord Pers? He dyde the battell of Hombylldown. This should be For the deth of the noble lord Perse he dyde The battell of Hombylldown. See also his division of 273-4- I also think it was unnecessary for editors to expand Sheale's contraction for Sir into Ser, even though he used the same contraction for -ir and -er elsewhere. The literary desire to antiquate antiquity did not end with Chatterton. I now offer an attempt to restore the greater part of the text of The Hunting of the Cheviot, to show that behind the textual jumble of Sheale's transcript lies a text in fairly regular ballad metre singable to a simple repeating 'tune'. I have drawn support, wherever this was available, from the important A-text of The Battle of Otterburn, which has a number of identical and similar readings. I have not drawn on Chevy Chase, the late sixteenth-century version, although I am convinced that it is not so much a rewriting as a part-translation, part-modification of a degraded written text parallel with Sheale's, but not identical with it. As explained above, the text now offered is that of Sheale, with words to be excluded in the final reading set within square brackets, and those to be admitted set in italic. I suggest a new title for this partially restored version. The Hunting in Cheviot Chase. [I] The Pers? [owt] off Northombarlonde An[d] avowe to God mayd he, 3 [That he wold hunte in the mowntayns] 3 That he in Cheviat hyls abone 4 [Off Chyviat within days thre,] 4 Would hunte for dayes three, 5 In the magger of dought6 Dogles ?brand, And all that [euer] with him be. The fattiste hartes in [all] Cheviat Chays He sayd he wold [kyll and] cary [them] away: Be my feth, sayd the dougheti Doglas agayn, 1o I wyll let that hontyng yf [that] I may. Then the Pers6 owt of Banborowe cam, With him a myghtW meany, With fifteen hondrith archar[d]es bold [off blood and bone]; They wear chosen [owt] of shyars thre. 15 This hunte begane on a Monnynday [at] morn In Cheviat [the] hillys so he; The chylde may rue that ys vn-born, It wos the mor pitte. The dryvars thorowe the woodes went, 20 For to reas the dear; The bo[w]men byckarte vppone the bent, With ther browd aros cleare. [Then] the wyld deer thorowe the woodes went, On euery syde so shear; 25 The greahondes thorowe the grevis glent, For to kyll the[ar] dear. 2 An[d] avowe. MS. and A vowe. MS. throrowe. 12 myght6. MS. myghtee. 19 thorowe.
HAMER: THE HUNTING OF THE CHEVIOT 7 [This hunte begane in Chyviat the hyls abone] 27 This hunte in Cheviat hyls abone 27 [Yerly on a Monnyn-day;] 28 Began yerly on Monnyn-day; 28 Be that it drewe to the oware off none, A hondrith [fat] hartes [ded] ther lay. 30 They blewe a mort vppone the bent, They semblyde on sydis shear; To the quyrry then the Persi went To [se] the bryttlynge off the deare. He sayd, [It was] twas the Duglas promys . .. ent 35 This day to mete me hear; But I wyste he wolde faylle, full verament: An [great] oth the Perse swear. At [the] laste a squyar off Northomberlonde Lokyde at his hand full ny; 40 He was war ath doughetie Doglas [commynge] commande, And with him a myghtt6 meany. [Both] with spear and bylle and burneist brande, Yt was a [myghtti] sight to se; Hardyar men [both] off hart nor hande 45 Wear not in Cristint6. There wear twenti hondrith spear-men good, Withouten any feale: They wear borne a-long [be] the watter a Twyde, Yth bowndes of Tividale. 50 Leave off the brytlyng of the dear, [he sayd,] And to your bowys [lock ye] tayk [good] hede; For [neuer] sithe [ye wear] on your mothars borne ye wear, Had ye neuer so mickle nede. The dougheti Dogglas on a stede 55 [He] Rode alle his men beforne: His armor glytteryde as dyd a glede; A boldar [barne] was never born. 27 This hunte begane. MS. Ther begane. The quarry, game: not stone-quarry. 31 mort. MS. mot. 33 quyrry. (in the). ballads. beforne. 41 ath (elsewhere athe), of the. 43 bylle. MS. brylly. 46 The spelling CristentJ appears in other Cf. 50 yth 51-4 See later discussion of this stanza. 56 or He rode [alle] his men
Tell me [whos] what men ye ar, he says, 6o Or whos men that ye be: Who gaue youe leave to hunte in the [Chyviat] chays, In the spyt of myn and [of] me. The first [mane] that euer him [an] answear mayd, Yt was the [good] lord Pers?; 65 We wyll not tell thee [whoys] what men [we ar], he [says] sayd, Nor whose men that we be: But we wyll hounte hear in this chays, In the spyt of thyne and [of] thee. The fattiste hartes in [all] Chyviat Chays 70 We [haue kyld and] cast to carry [them] a-way: Be my troth, sayd the doughetE Dogglas agayn, [Therfor] The ton [of vs] shall de this day. Then sayd the doughte Doglas agayn Vnto the lord Perse: 75 To kyll now alle thes[e] giltles men, [Alas] It wear a great pitt&. But, PersE, thowe are a lord of lande, I am a yerle [callyd with]in my contre: Let all our men [vpp]on[e] [a]parti stande, 80o And do [the] battell of[f] thee and [of] me. 8i [Nowe Cristes cors on his crowne, sayd the lord PersE] 81 Cristes cors on his crowne, lord Persd" sayd, Who-so-euer ther-to says nay: Be my troth, the doughttE Doglas [he says] sayd. Thow shalt neuer se that day, 85 [Nethar] in Ynglonde, Skottlonde, nar in France [Nor for] No man of [a] woman born, But, an[d] if fortune be my chance, I dar met him, [one] man for [one] man. Then [be]spayke a squyar off Northombarlonde, go Richard Wytharyngton was his name; It shall neuer be told in Sothe Ynglonde, [he says,] To Kyng Herry the Fourth for shame. 8I crowne = head.
[Two lines missing: see later discussion] I wat you byn great lord&s twaw; I am a [poor] squyar of lande; I wylle neuer se my captayne fyght [on a fylde] 95 And stande my selffe [and loocke on] lookande But whylle I may my weppone welde [I wylle] I'll not fayle [both] hart and hande. That day, that day, that dredfull day, The first fit here I fynde: I00 [And youe wyll here any mor athe hountynge athe Chyviat] IoI Ane youe wyll here any mor a this lay Io0 Yet ys ther mor be-hynde. [II] The Yngglyshe men hade ther bowys ye-bent; Ther hartes wer good ye-noughe: The first off the aros that they [shote off] sent, 105 Seven skore [spear-]men they sloughe. Yet byddys [the] yerle Doglas vppon the bent, A captayne good ye-noughe: And that was sene full verament, For he wrought [horn] both woo and wouche. IIo The Dogglas partyd his ost in thre, Lyk a [cheffe] cheften great off pryde; With suar spears off myghti tre, They cum in on euery syde. Thrughe them our Yngglyshe archery 115 Gave many a wounde fulle wyde; Many a dougheti they garde to dy, Which ganyde them no pryde. The Ynglyshe-men let thear bowys be, And pulde owt brandes that wer brighte; 120 It was a hevy syght to se Bryght swordes on basnites lyghte. Thorowe ryche male and myne-ye-plk Many a sterne they strocke [done] doun streght: Many a freyke that was fulle fre 125 Ther undar foot dyd lyght. I23 thorowe. MS. throrowe. myne-ye-ple. Skeat quotes Roquefort, Glossaire: 'Manoples, Gaintelets, armes preservatrices des mains et de l'avant bras; de manualis, manipulus.' of three. 124 Attractive as this line is, it cannot be correct. It has four feet instead
10 HAMER: THE HUNTING OF THE CHEVIOT At last the Duglas and [the] Pers? met, Lyk to captayns of myght and [of] mayne: They swapte togethar tylle they both swat, 130 With swordes [that wear] of fyn myllayne. Thes worth[e]y freckys for to fyght, Ther-to they wear fulle fayne, Tylle the bloode sprente owte off thear basnetes bryght, As euer dyd heal or rayn. 135 Yelde [the], sayde the Doglas, lord Perse, And i-feth I shalle thee brynge, Wher thowe shalte haue a [yerls wagis] yerelie fee Of Jamy our Skottish kynge. And thoue shalte haue thy ransom fre, 140 I hight thee hear this thinge: For the manfullyste man yet art thowe he That euer I conqueryd in [filde] fighttynge. Nay, Doglas, nay, sayd the lord Persa, I tolde it thee beforne, 145 That I wolde neuer yeldyde be To no man of [a] woman born. With that ther cam an arrowe [hastely] in haste 148 [Forthe off a myghtti wane:] 148 ......... of myght and mane: Hit hathe strekene the doughti" [yerle] Duglas, and paste 150 In at [the] his brest bane. 127-30 Cf. Otterburne, A-text 50/1-4: The Perssy and the Dowglas mette That ether of other was fayne; They swapped together whyll that they swette, Wyth swordes of fyne collayne. The 'Collen [Cologne] brand' and the 'Millaine [Milan] knife' are mentioned in the ballad of King Arthur and King Cornwall [Child, no. 30, stzs. 42, 45]. A-text, 51/1-2: Tyll the blode from ther bassonnettes ranne, As the roke doth in the rayne. 133-4 Cf. Otterburne, 135 MS. Yelde the, Persi, sayde the Doglas. Cf. Otterburne, A-text 51/3: Yeld the to me, sayd the Dowglas thanne. 147 an arrowe. MS. a narrowe. 148 By not taking of a as another example of the duplication of of, Skeat and others tried to make wane mean 'a flight of arrows'. There is no other use of this word in the sense they suggest. See later discussion.
HAMER: THE HUNTING OF THE CHEVIOT 11 Thorowe lyvar and thorowe longes bathe The sharpe arrowe ys gane, That neuer after in all his [lyffe] days He spayke mo wordes but ane: [That was,] Fyghte [ye] on, my myrry men, whyllys ye may, 155 For my lyff-days ben gane. The Persc leanyde on his brande, And saw the Duglas de: He tooke the dede mane by the hande, And sayd, [Wo ys] Wais me for thee. 16o [To haue savyde thy lyffe, I wolde haue partyde with] 161 To haue savyde thy lyffe, I wolde my lande 161 [My landes for yeards thre,] 162 Have parted for yearis thre, 162 For a better man, of hart nare of hande, Was nat in [all] the north contra. Off all that se a Skottishe knyght, 165 [Was callyd] Sir Hewe the Monggombyrry: He sawe the Duglas to [the] deth was dyght, He spendyd a spear a trusti tre. He rode vppone a corsiare.... Throughe a hondrith archery: 170 He neuer stynttyde, nar neuer blane, Tylle he cam to the [good] lord Perse. He set vppone the lorde Pers? A dynte that was full [soare] sare: With a suar spear of [a] myghtt? tre 175 [Clean] Thorowe the body he [the Pers? ber] him bare, [Athe] At tothar syde [that] a man myght se A [large] cloth-yard lang and mare: Towe [bettar] captayns wear nat in Cristinti Then that day slane wear ther. i80 An archar off Northomberlonde [Say] Saw slean was the lord Pers?: He bar a [bende] bent bowe in his hand, Was made off trusti tre. I51 Thorowe. MS. throrowe. of'. 161 parted. Probably 'surrendered all the profits I8i An archar. MS. A narchar.
12 HAMER: THE HUNTING OF THE CHEVIOT 185 [An arow that a cloth yarde was lang,] 185 An arow a cloth yarde lang and mare, To the harde stele hede halyde he; A dynt that was both sad and [soar] sare He [sat] set on [Sir Hewe the] Monggombyrry. The dynt yt was both sad and sare, Igo That he [of] on Monggombyrry set: The [swane] fethars that his arrowe bare With his hart blood they wear wet[e]. [?III] Ther was neuer a freake [w]one foot wolde fle, But still in stour dyd stand, 195 [Heawyng on yche othar, whylle they myghte dre] 195 Yche heawyng on othar, whylle they myghte dre With many a balefull bra nde. This battell [begane] in Chyviat Chays begane An owar befor the none: And when the even-songe bell was rang, 200 The battell was nat half done. They [tocke] focht eache other on ethar hande, Be the lyght of the sylver mone: 203 [Many hade no strenght for to stande] 203 Many men hade no strength to stande In Chyviat the hillys abone. 205 Of fifteen hondrith archars of Ynglonde Went a-way but seuenti and three: Of twenti hondrith spear-men of Skotlonde But euen five and fifti. 186 To the. MS. tothe. halyde. MS. haylde. 188 set. MS. sat. But probably correct, if 192 was originally wat as representing the northern pron. of wet. 193-6 Cf. Otterburne, A-text 58/1-4. Ther was no freke that ther wolde flye, And styffely in stowre can stonde: Ychone hewyng on other whyll they myght drye Wyth many a bayllefull bronde. 198 An owar. MS. A nowar. 2zo Skeat: 'They tocke [the fight] on ethar hande . .. To take the fight is an expression found in Middle English.' But rarely, especially with 'on ethar hande'. 205-6 Cf. Otterburne, A-text 65/3-4: Of nyne thowsand Ynglyssh-men Fyve hondert cam awaye. 207-8 Cf. Otterburne, A-text 62/3-4: Of fowre and forty thowande Scottes Went but eyghtene awaye.
HAMER: THE HUNTING OF THE CHEVIOT 13 But all wear slayne the Cheviat within: They hade no strengthe to stand on he: 210 The chylde may rue that ys vn-borne, It was the mor pitt6. Thear too was slayne, withe the lord Perse, Sir Johan of Agerstone, Sir Rogar, the hinde Hartely, 215 Sir Wyllyam, the bolde Hearone. Sir Jorg, the worth? Loumele, A knyghte of great renowen: Sir Raff, the rych? Rugebe, With dyntes wear beaten dowene. 220 For Wetharryngton my harte was wo, That euer he slayne shulde be: For when [both] his leggis wear hewyne in two, [Yet] He knyled and fought on his kne. Ther was slayne, with the dougheti Duglas 225 Sir Hewe the Monggombyrry, Sir Dauy Lwdale, that worth? was, His sistars son was he. Sir Charles a Murr6 in that place [That] Neuer a foot wolde fle: 230 Sir Hewe Maxwelle, a lorde he was, With the Doglas dyd he de. So on the morrowe they made them byears Off birch and hasell [so] gray And many wedous, with wepyng tears, 235 Cam to fache ther makys a-way. 21o he. MS. hy. 215 hinde. Skeat: 'put for hende, gentle, courteous'. Or fair. 224 kne. MS. kny. 229-32 Cf. Otterburne, A-text 61/1-4: Sir Charllis Morrey in that place That never a fote wold flee: Sir Hewe Maxwell, a lorde he was, Wyth the Dowglas dyd he dye. 232 de. MS. dey. Cf. II. 210, 224. 233-6 Cf. Otterburne, A-text 67/1-4: Then on the morne they mayde them beerys Of byrch and hasell so graye: Many a wydowe, with wepyng teyres, Ther makes they fette awaye. In both stanzas part of the clumsiness is the result of changing from hir, hire = her, as in Chaucer, to their, an erroneous change in this instance, the result of confusion with hire = their. This points to a date of composition in the late fourteenth or early fifteenth century. The passages parallel with those in Otterburne may have been borrowed later.
14 HAMER: THE HUNTING OF THE CHEVIOT Tivydale may carpe off care: Northombarlond [may] mayk great mone, For towe such captayns as slayne wear thear 240 On the March [parti] shall neuer be none. Word ys commen to Edden-burrowe, To Jamy the Skottishe kynge, 243 [That dougheti Duglas, lyff-tenant of the Marches] 243 That Duglas, lyff-tenant of the March, [He] Lay slean the Chyviot within. 245 His handdes dyd he weal and wryng: 246 [He sayd, Alas, and woe ys me;] 246 Alas, he sayd, Wais me: Such an-other captayn Skotland within, [He sayd,] Ye-feth shuld neuer be. Worde ys commyn to lovly Londone, 250 [Till the fourth Harry our kynge,] 250 Till Harry the fourth our kynge, 251 [That lord Pers6, cheyff-tenante of the Marches,] 251 That Perse, lyff-tenant of the March, [He] Lay slayne the Chyviat within. God haue merci on his solle, [sayde Kyng Harry,] Good lord, yf thy will it be: 255 I haue a hondrith captayns in Ynglonde, [he sayd,] As good as euer was he: But Perse, and euer I brook my lyffe, Thy deth well quyte shall be. As our noble kynge mayde his a-vowe, 260 Lyk a noble prince of renowen, For the deth of the noble lord Perse he dyde The battell of Hombylldown: Wher syx and thritte skottishe knyghtes On a day wear beaten down: 265 Glendale glytteryde on ther armour bryght, Over castille, towar, and town. 245 weal: apparently a phonetic spelling of wayle = wail. Cf. 1. 48, feale = fayle. 247 an-other. MS. a-nothar. 251 lyff-tenant. MS. cheyff-tenante, a reading which may be correct, as Earl Percy would be the king's tenant-in-chief in this area. So, too, would Earl Douglas of his king in Scotland. In 1. 1'3, the word cheften may be a relic of an earlier chieffe-tenante. I think, however, that lieutenant is the correct reading, as this was an official office on the Marches of both Scotland and Wales. divided these lines incorrectly. 261-3, 269-70 Child
HAMER: THE HUNTING OF THE CHEVIOT 15 This was the hontynge [off the] in Cheviat Chays That thear begane this spurn: Old men that knowen the grownde [well ye-noughe] call it The battell of Otterburn. 270 At Otterburn begane this spurne Vppone a Monnynday: Ther was the dought Doglas slean. The Pers [neuer] went neuer a-way. Ther was neuer a tym on the Marche partes, 275 Sen the Doglas and [the] Pers? met, But [yt ys] mervele yt ys the rede blude ronne not As the reane doys in the stret. Ihesue Crist our balys bete, And to the blys vs brynge: 280 [Thus] This was the hountynge [of the] in Chivyat Chays. God send vs alle good ending. Explicit, quoth Rychard Sheale. III The poem belongs to the great age of northern English and Scottish rhymed alliterative verse. None of it can have been composed further south than the northern boundary of Yorkshire: the diction is northern English, and from Northumberland and Durham or SE. Scotland. The allitera- tions are typically from this area: 268 Skeat: 'That tear [he gave the MS. reading], &c. This is said to be a proverb, meaning, "that tear or pull brought about this kick".' This explanation is indeed curious. Helen Sargent and Kittredge were kind enough only to style it 'improbable'. But, as if this stanza were the only one such in the poem, they remark of it, 'Doubtless corrupt', and say, of tear, 'Perhaps a lamentation: "That ear (ever) begane this spurn!" ' This is equally fantastic. All take spurn to mean kick, but fail to explain why a kick should be implied here. The word is familiar enough in Middle Scots. Derived from spur it means a riding, as a foray, a military operation on horseback, but not necessarily involving a battle [cf. Chaucer's chyvachie (Prol. 85)]: it might involve a riding away from a battle, or a riding away to avoid battle. Cf. Stewart, Croniclis, 1. 47364: King Edward rides away: Toward Ingland, as he had tane a spurne, In that purpois that he wald nocht returne. 271-4 Cf. Otterburne, A-text 68/1-4: Thys fraye bygan at Otterborne, Bytwene the nyght and the day: Ther the Dowglas lost hys lyffe, And the Perssy was lede awaye. 279 balys. MS. ballys. Our balys bete = bete our balys = remedy our misfortunes. Explicit. MS. Expliceth. The -th was probably intended to be pronounced -t.
16 HAMER: THE HUNTING OF THE CHEVIOT 21. The bomen byckarte vppone the bent 25. The greahondes thorowe the grevis glent I10. For he wrought [hom] both woo and wouche, etc. Other alliterations are general to Middle English. The first of the typically Scottish ones quoted above may have-indeed has-come down with its own history. The poet William Stewart(1481 ?-1550 ?), who translated into Scottish verse the Scotorum Historia of Hector Boece (1465 ?-1536), used an expression which seems to me to have come from a Scottish version of the ballad we are discussing: The bowmen baid rycht baldlie at array And with their bowis bikkerit on the bent.' The expressions on the bent, upon the bent, over the bent are typical of Scottish poetry, and A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue vouches for the Scottish character of such expressions as 'and I brook my lyffe' (257) [Sc. bruik, to have the enjoyment of anything]; bryttlynge (34, 51), to hew or cut in pieces (only found in poetry); and avowe (2), the Scottish form of vow-these are only a few of the many Scottish characteristics in this ballad. The political formulas are, however, English. 'Our king' (250) is Henry IV, who avenges the death of Lord Percy by defeating the Scots at Hombledown Hill in 1402. But the fact is unchronological. No Percy was killed, and so there may be here a rewriting of a Scottish ballad to suit an English audience. If so, then the Scottish version is lost, but it looks, by the death of Percy, as if that were the chief event in it. The basic metre is that of the typical ballad, 4343 rhyming abab or abcb, with a restrained amount of trisyllabic substitution: 47 There wear tweniti honldrith spear-lmen good, Withoutlen anjy feale: They wear borne I along I [be] the watjter a Twyde Yth bowndljis of Tivjidale. Originally there was probably less trisyllabic variation than now appears: an excess of it is a certain sign of textual degradation. So, too, is the appearance of the five-foot line: Who gaue I youe leaue I to hunte I in this Chyvliat chays? Three-foot lines where four-foot lines are required is also proof of degrada- tion: 73 Then sayd the dought? Doglas [syllable missing Unto the lord Pers? [correct To kyll alle thes giltles men [syllable missing Alas it wear great pitte. [syllable too many. I The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland, ed. Turnbull (Rolls Series, 1858), 11. 8002-3.
HAMER: THE HUNTING OF THE CHEVIOT 17 In the last line emendation is effected by deleting alas and inserting a before great. The weight of rhyme-evidence in this ballad, however, intimates that the stanzas were originally written in groups of eight lines, abab:abab 4343:4343. Twenty-one of these double-four stanzas may be identified: I1-14I 15-18 I47-I50+151-156* 19-22+23-26 157-160+161-164 31-34+35-38 165-168+169-172 39-42+43-46 173-176+177-18o 51-54-55-58 181-184+185-188 59-62+63-68* 197-200oo+20-204 *70-76+77-8o 205-208+209-212 111-114115-118 213-216+217-220 II9-122+123-126 221-224+225-228 127-130+131-134 259-262+263-266 135-138+139-142 In this list groups marked with an asterisk contain six lines each. This type of stanza does occasionally appear in 4343 ballad verse, and is usually considered to be a pleasing variation in structure, but no one has yet solved the problem whether the six-line stanza is a four-line stanza with two additional lines, or a double-four which has lost two lines: nor has it been decided how the six-line stanza could have been sung to a four-line air. In the present ballad it seems almost certain that the five six-line stanzas are decadent double-fours. One or two will be discussed later. Perfect restoration may be possible in the case of 11. 185-6. These are the first two lines in a group of eight of which the rhyme-scheme has been disarranged: An arow that a cloth yarde was lang 185 To the harde stele hede halyde he: A dynt that was both sad and [soar] sare He [sat] set on [Ser Hewe the] Monggombyrry. The lines of the second four lines are sar-set-bar-wet[e]. This suggests that 1. 185 originally rhymed in harmony. I suggest that 1. 185 originally read An arrow a cloth yarde lang and mare. Justification may be seen in 11. 177-8: Athe tothar syde that a man myght se I77 A [large] cloth-yard lang and mare. 2
18 HAMER: THE HUNTING OF THE CHEVIOT Another clumsy stanza, 11. 51-4, may be somewhat improved: Leave off the brytlyng of the dear, [he sayd,] And to your bowys [lock ye] tayk [good] hede; For [neuer] sithe [ye wear] on your mothars borne ye wear Had ye neuer so mickle mede. Another possible emendation is [modernized]: Leave brytlyng of the deer this morne, And to your bows take heed; For sith ye were on your mothers borne Had ye never so mickle need. Greater success is to be had with 11. 93-8: I wat you byn great lordes twaw; I am a poor squyar of land; I wylle neuer se my captayne fyght on a fylde, And stande my selffe and loocke on: But whyll I may my weppone welde I wyll not ... both hart and hand. The omission in the last line indicates that that line is defective. The rhymes are also defective: twaw-fylde-welde and land-loocke on-hand. The third line is too long: the phrase on afylde is extrametrical. If we contract the line to I'll not see my captayne fyght on a fylde we preserve the rhyme, but have not rhymed fylde-welde with twaw. There was only one possible rhyme for a northern ballad-maker who was describing the power of two great lords-they would be 'twa lordes of mycht'. Mycht rhymes with fyght in the third line, but not with fylde. Mycht-ryght and fylde-welde [which are perfect rhymes as field-wield] appear to be the original rhymes, because there is no doubt whatever about 'twa lordes of mycht'. The phrase on afylde must belong to a lost line. But before I rewrite this stanza I should point out what happened to a good northern rhyme when it travelled down to the uncomprehending south, and what was beginning to happen to it in Scotland itself during the six- teenth century--the replacement of the Scottish present participle termina- tion in -and by the corresponding English termination in -ing. The line And stande my selffe and loocke on, because of the associated rhymes land and hand, can only have been written And stande my selffe lookande [or on lookande].
HAMER: THE HUNTING OF THE CHEVIOT 19 There is another of these lost northern rhymes in 1. 43, where, to rhyme with Northomberlonde, the line He was war ath doughetie Doglas commynge cannot have been other than He was war ath doughetie Doglas commande. It seems reasonably certain, therefore, that this six-line stanza originally read something like this, but in eight lines: I wat you byn twa lordes of mycht I am a [poor] squyar of lande: I wyll neuer se my captayne fyght And stande my selffe lookande: ...............fyght on a fylde Whiles I have strength to stande: But whyll I may my weppone welde I'llfayle not hart nor hand. The epithet poor was really unnecessary in the description of a squyar of lande, since by comparison with lordes of mycht he would be poor. The expression also indicates that he held his land in return for warrior service to his lord: he here expresses his undying loyalty to that lord. The reading I propose for the eighth line, though obvious enough to invent for oneself, is supported by the reading in Chevy Chase: While I haue power to weelde my sword, I'll fight with hart and hand. The principles may also be applied to the other six-line stanzas, 11. 1-6, 63-8, 151-6, and 253-8. A number of lines surpass even my ingenuity. Some are incomprehen- sible because a wrong word has crept in: 24. On euery syde shear 32. They semblyde on sydis shear 112. Lyk a cheffe cheften off pryde 118. Which ganyde them no pryde 148. Forthe off a myghtt6 wane 168. He spendyd a spear a [-=of] trusti tre 245. His handdes dyd he weal and wryng 268. That thear begane this spurn 272. At Otterburne begane this spurne. Spurn has already been discussed, but is included in this list because the meanings suggested for all these words by Child, Skeat, and Cook seem to me to be forced: it is possible that they are corrupt readings. On wane,
20 HAMER: THE HUNTING OF THE CHEVIOT 1. 148, Skeat says, 'Wane, the northern form of O. Eng. wone, a quantity, a multitude; it means a single arrow out of a vast quantity'. I do not find wane to signify a quantity of arrows, and, besides that, the poem states that the English had by then laid aside their bows (1. I19). This, therefore, was a single arrow. I suggest that myghtti" wane is a corruption of myght and mane [main], and that off a is another example of the corrupt duplication of of with its phonetic form a. In that case Forthe is itself a mis-reading, and the line should be printed ... of myght and mane. In 1. 137 yerls wagis probably means yerelie wagis, but yerelie fee would be more in keeping with Scottish usage. If the stanza is amended to read as follows the rhyme-scheme abab: abab is perfected: The Doglas sayde, Yelde thee to me And i-feth I shalle thee brynge Wher thowe shalte have a yerelie fee Of Jamy our Scottish kynge. Skeat, who thought the ballad too corrupt to restore, suggested one emendation which I am glad to have. He suggested that 11. 8-9 [his long line 4] should 'almost certainly be' [I divide the lines] The fattest hartes in all cheviat [I add chays] He said that he wold sle. His suggestion is not quite perfect, because he is thinking of the southern pronunciation of sle as slay, as the rhyme to may His suggestion may be sound if his lines are accepted as an insertion between 11. 4 and 5: The fattiste harts in [all] Cheviat Chays He said that he wold sle, In the magger of dought? Doglas ... And all that [euer] with him be. The original 11. 8-9 may then stand as a ballad-repetition with a new terminal rhyme. But even these attempts do not make the poem perfect. The following lines have proved intractable, and I must leave them, even though I may have suggested restorations in the text above: 5. In the magger of dought6 Doglas ... 35. He sayd, It was the Duglas promys ... 38. ?An [great] oth the Perse swear 72. Therfor the ton of us shall de this day 124. Many a sterne strocke they [done] streght
HAMER: THE HUNTING OF THE CHEVIOT 21 189. (see 187) The dynt yt may have originally been, as in 1. 187, A dynt yt [=that]. In that case 11. 189-90 are a careless repetition of 11. 187-8. 21o. They hade no strengthe to stand on he 225. Thear was slayne, with the dougheti Duglas 227. name Lwdale incorrect 241. Word ys commen to Edden-burrowe 243, 251. see discussion above. 249. Worde ys commyn to lovly Londone 253, 255, 257. lines without rhyme, and defective in other ways. 269. Old men that knowen the grownde well ye-nought call it. There is nothing wrong in attempting, as logically or as scientifically as possible, to work back to an original through the maze of textual corrup- tions. We do it for the text of Shakespeare, because it deserves all our attention. What is wrong is to see in the grossly degraded texts of ballads, the genuine poetry of the uncultured people, and to build a whole body of criticism upon that error.