"The Fair Flower of Northumberland" (

Roud The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of around 250,000 references to nearly 25,000 songs collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world. It is compiled by Steve Roud (born 1949), a former librarian in the London ...

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Child 9) is a folk

ballad 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 ...

Synopsis

A Scottish knight is imprisoned by the Earl of Northumberland (or another high official). The knight persuades the Earl's daughter, the titular fair flower, to free him, promising to marry her in Scotland. As soon as they reach his home, he tells her to return to Northumberland as he already has a wife and children. She pleads with him to take her as a servant or to kill her, both of which he refuses. She returns to her home, either alone or with an escort hired by the Scottish knight. In some variants, her father or stepmother complains of how easily her love was won, but in all, her mother or father blames the seduction on Scottish treachery and says that she will have gold and lands to get her a husband.

Commentary

There are no variants of this ballad in other languages than English and Scots, though many of the elements have parallels. Parts of it parallel "

The Nut-Brown Maid "The Nut-Brown Maid" is a ballad that made its first printed appearance in ''The Customs of London'', also known as ''Arnold's Chronicle'', published in 1502 by the chronicler Richard Arnold. The editor of the 1811 edition of the chronicle sugges ...

", where the hero tells the heroine that he has nothing to give her, and is plighted to another women, but in that ballad, that is only a test, and he reveals himself as her true and wealthy lover. Many of the same motifs are found in Child Ballad 48, "

Young Andrew "Young Andrew" is a folk song catalogued as Child ballad 48. Synopsis Andrew seduces Helen and tells her he will fulfill his promise to marry her only if she brings him her father's gold. She does. He robs her not only of it but all her clothi ...

". As an example of the same elements in other traditions, several

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also

* * * Old Serbian (disambiguat ...

and

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

ballads about epic hero

Prince Marko Marko Mrnjavčević ( sr-cyr, Марко Мрњавчевић, ; – 17 May 1395) was the ''de jure'' Serbian king from 1371 to 1395, while he was the ''de facto'' ruler of territory in western Macedonia centered on the town of Prilep. He ...

have a fairly similar plot: Marko is imprisoned in an Arab country, but is secretly aided and set free by the daughter of the Arab king in exchange for his promise to take her with him and marry her - a promise that he soon regrets and breaks. In some versions, she then asks him to take her at least as his slave, or else kill her. However, unlike the British ballads, the Balkan versions have Marko actually kill the Arab maiden; his motive is that as an Arab she is dark-skinned, which is considered unattractive, and/or that he is afraid of being mocked by his friends at home for having an Arab wife. He then builds numerous monasteries, churches, fountains, roads and other public facilities in her memory, striving to atone for his sin towards her and God.МАРКО КРАЛЕВИЧИ И АРАПКА ДЕВОЙКА
/ref>

References

External links

''The Fair Flower of Northumberland''
with history {{DEFAULTSORT:Fair Flower Of Northumberland Northumbrian folklore Child Ballads Year of song unknown