Edom o Gordon or Captain Car (

Child A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person young ...

#178,

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 ...

#80) is a traditional Scottish

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 ...

that exists in several versions. The ballad recounts the gruesome events of Gordon's (or, in some versions, Car's) burning down of his enemy's castle that killed the lady of the house, her children and most of the servants.

Synopsis

Edom o Gordon (or Captain Car) and his men need shelter from the cold weather of

Martinmas Saint Martin's Day or Martinmas, sometimes historically called Old Halloween or Old Hallowmas Eve, is the feast day of Saint Martin of Tours and is celebrated in the liturgical year on 11 November. In the Middle Ages and early modern period, ...

and decide to seek it at the house of the Rodes. When the lady of the castle sees the troops arriving, she is disappointed that they are not those of her returning husband, but his enemy's. She climbs to the top of the tower and tries to negotiate with Gordon (or Car), but he demands that she open up the castle and, worse still, sleep with him. After she refuses, he vows to burn down the building with her three children still inside. To achieve this, he offers one of the servants, Jock, a fee for his help. He agrees and the fire is started. Attempting to save the youngest daughter, the lady throws some sheets down so that the besiegers might catch the baby but, instead, when she is thrown from the blaze, Gordon (or Car) impales her on the end of his spear. While these grisly events are unfolding, the lord of the manor arrives and rushes over to the castle to save his wife and children but he is too late – they are all dead. He sets his own troops to battle those of his enemy and, from the ensuing battle, only five of Gordon's (or Car's) original fifty men return home.

Commentary

The first printing of "Edom o Gordon" was in 1755 by

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

and Andrew Foulis. The story is thought to document a real historical event of 1571 as told in ''The Diurnall of Occurents'' (1755), although some of the details are speculative. Edom o Gordon is usually identified as Adam Gordon of

Auchindoun Auchindoun Castle is a 15th-century L-Plan tower castle located in Auchindoun near Dufftown in Banffshire, Scotland. History While there is evidence of prehistoric or Pictish earthworks in the grounds of the castle, the remains most visible t ...

, supporter of

Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legitimate child of James V of S ...

, Captain Car as Captain Kerr, one of his lieutenants, and the lady of the castle as Margaret Forbes (née Campbell) of the

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

clan (supporters of

James VI James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

and the Gordon clan's arch-enemies). The castle is thought not to be Rhodes Castle but the House of Towie (Toway) at

Corgarff Corgarff ( gd, Corr Garaidh) is a hamlet in Aberdeenshire, Scotland in the Grampian Mountains. The nearby Corgarff Castle was used as a military barracks in the 18th century. The hamlet's primary school A primary school (in Ireland, th ...

.Corryhoul
/ref>

Recordings

Malinky Malinky is a Scottish folk band specialising in Scots song, formed in autumn 1998. Career Early years The original members were Karine Polwart from Banknock, Stirlingshire (vocals, guitar, bouzouki), Steve Byrne from Arbroath (vocals, guita ...

recorded ''Edom o Gordon'' on their 2005 album, ''The Unseen Hours''.

References

{{Francis James Child Traditional ballads Child Ballads Scottish folk songs

Synopsis

Commentary

See also

Recordings

References