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Elizabeth, Lady Wardlaw (1677–1727) was a Scottish poet and the reputed author of the ballad ''Hardyknute''.
Elizabeth, Lady Wardlaw (1677–1727) was a Scottish poet and the reputed author of the ballad ''Hardyknute''.
Biography
Elizabeth was born on 15 April 1677, the second daughter of Sir Charles Halket, baronet, of Pitfirran, Fife, and his wife Janet, daughter of Sir Patrick Murray. In 1696 she married Sir Henry Wardlaw, 4th Baronet, of Pitreavie and together they had three daughters and a son. Theballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
of ''Hardyknute'', published in 1719 as an old poem, was supposed to have been discovered by her in a vault at Dunfermline
Dunfermline (; sco, Dunfaurlin, gd, Dùn Phàrlain) is a city, parish and former Royal Burgh, in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. The city currently has an estimated population of 58,508. Accord ...
, but no manuscript was ever produced. In 1724 Allan Ramsay Allan Ramsay may refer to:
*Allan Ramsay (poet) or Allan Ramsay the Elder (1686–1758), Scottish poet
*Allan Ramsay (artist) or Allan Ramsay the Younger (1713–1784), Scottish portrait painter
*Allan Ramsay (diplomat) (1937–2022), British diplom ...
included the poem in ''The Ever Green'', his anthology of Scottish poetry. In the 1767 edition of Percy
The English surname Percy is of Norman origin, coming from Normandy to England, United Kingdom. It was from the House of Percy, Norman lords of Northumberland, derives from the village of Percy-en-Auge in Normandy. From there, it came into use ...
's '' Reliques'' the poem was ascribed to Lady Wardlaw. The ballad of ''Sir Patrick Spens
"Sir Patrick Spens" is one of the most popular of the Child Ballads (No. 58) (Roud 41), and is of Scottish origin. It is a maritime ballad about a disaster at sea.
Background
''Sir Patrick Spens'' remains one of the most anthologized of Briti ...
'' ( F. J. Child, ''English and Scottish Popular Ballads'', ii. 17) has also been asserted to be her work, one of the supporters of the theory being Robert Chambers (''Remarks on Scottish Ballads'', 1859). Dr. Emily Lyle suggests that Lady Wardlaw was familiar with a pre-existing version of ''Sir Patrick Spens'' and drew upon it in composing ''Hardyknute''.Lyle, Emily, ''The Ballad'', in Willcocks, Clive (Ed.) (2014), 'Sir Patric Spens: The Background of the Ballad and the Vision of the Artist - Robert Burns, Limner'', Dunfermline Heritage Community Projects, pp. 46 & 47
References
Further reading
* *External links
* Scottish women poets 1677 births 1727 deaths 18th-century Scottish poets Wives of baronets {{Scotland-poet-stub