Sir Patrick Spens
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"Sir Patrick Spens" is one of the most popular of the
Child Ballads The Child Ballads are 305 traditional ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, anthologized by Francis James Child during the second half of the 19th century. Their lyrics and Child's studies of them were published as ''T ...
(No. 58) (
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 ...
41), and is of Scottish origin. It is a maritime
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 ...
about a disaster at sea.


Background

''Sir Patrick Spens'' remains one of the most anthologized of British popular ballads, partly because it exemplifies the traditional ballad form. The strength of this ballad, its emotional force, lies in its unadorned narrative which progresses rapidly to a tragic end that has been foreshadowed almost from the beginning. It was first published in eleven stanzas in 1765 in Bishop Thomas Percy's ''Reliques of Ancient English Poetry'', based on "two MS. copies transmitted from Scotland". The protagonist is referred to as "young Patrick Spens" in some versions of the ballad.


Plot

The story as told in the ballad has multiple versions, but they all follow the same basic plot. The
King of Scotland The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiw ...
has called for the greatest sailor in the land to command a ship for a royal errand. The name "Sir Patrick Spens" is mentioned by a courtier, and the king despatches a letter. Sir Patrick is dismayed at being commanded to put to sea in the dead of winter, clearly realising this voyage could well be his last. Versions differ somewhat at this point. Some indicate that a storm sank the ship in the initial crossing, thus ending the ballad at this point, while many have Sir Patrick safely reaching
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
. In Norway tension arises between the Norwegian lords and the Scots, who are accused of being a financial burden on the king. Sir Patrick, taking offence, leaves the following day. Nearly all versions, whether they have the wreck on the outward voyage or the return, relate the bad omen of seeing "the new mune late yestreen, with the auld mune in her airms", and
modern science The history of science covers the development of science from ancient history, ancient times to the present. It encompasses all three major branches of science: natural science, natural, social science, social, and formal science, formal. Sc ...
agrees the tides would be at maximum force at that time. The winter storms have the best of the great sailor, sending him and the Scottish lords to the bottom of the sea.


Version

Francis James Child Francis James Child (February 1, 1825 – September 11, 1896) was an American scholar, educator, and folklorist, best known today for his collection of English and Scottish ballads now known as the Child Ballads. Child was Boylston professor of r ...
collected some eighteen versions of ''Sir Patrick Spens''. There is no one definitive version of more validity than any other, because the song continues in oral tradition and it may be interpreted in both the singing and the transcription. This is one version:
"Sir Patrick Spens" The king sits in Dunfermline toune drinking the blude reid wine, "O whar can I get skeely skipper, To sail this ship o' mine?" Up and spak an eldern knicht, Sat at the kings richt kne: "Sir Patrick Spens is the best sailor That sails upon the se." The king has written a braid letter, And signed it wi his hand, And sent it to Sir Patrick Spens, Was walking on the strand. To Noroway! to Noroway! to Noroway oer the faem! The king's daughter to Noroway 'Tis thou maun bring her hame. The first line that Sir Patrick red, A loud lauch lauched he; The next line that Sir Patrick red, A teir blinded his ee. "O wha is this has don this deid, This ill deid don to me, To send me out this time o' yeir, To sail upon the se! "Mak haste, mak haste, my mirry men, Our guid ship sails the morne": "O say na sae, my master deir, I feir a deadlie storme. "Yestreen I saw the new moone, Wi the auld moone in her arme, And I feir, I feir, my master deir, That we will cum to harme." O loth, o loth, The Scots lords were To weet their cork-heild schoone; Bot lang owre a' the play wer playd, Thair hats they swam aboone. O lang, lang may the ladies sit, Wi' their fans into their hand Or ere they see Sir Patrick Spens Come sailing to the strand. O lang, lang may the ladies stand, Wi thair gold kems in their hair, Waiting for thair ain deir lords, For they'll se thame na mair. Haf owre, haf owre to Aberdour, Tis fiftie fathom deip, And thair lies guid Sir Patrick Spens, The Scots lords at his feit.


Analysis

The story itself is simple and yet universal in its theme: the courageous knight dutifully obeys the command of his king despite the knowledge that he will almost certainly be going to his death. In the two-stanza exchange between Spens and the old sailor, Mark Strand and Eavan Boland have noted "the immediacy, music, and fatalism of the ballad..." William Bowman Piper identifies a pattern of contrasts between authority, represented by the anonymous king, and nobility, as displayed by Patrick Spens. The references to the women awaiting the arrival of their men describe an experience common to any dangerous enterprise in peacetime or in war, and as old as the Bible.


Historicity

William H. Matchett considers the ballad probably to be fiction. The events of the ballad are similar to, and may chronicle, an actual event: *In 1290 the bringing home of the Scottish heir to the throne, the seven-year-old
Margaret, Maid of Norway Margaret (, ; March or April 1283 – September 1290), known as the Maid of Norway, was the queen-designate of Scotland from 1286 until her death. As she was never inaugurated, her status as monarch is uncertain and has been debated by historian ...
was being conveyed across the
North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
to Scotland, when she took sick and died. Her mother,
Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...
was married to Eric II of Norway in the summer of 1281. She was conducted to the wedding in Bergen by a number of knights and nobles, who were drowned on the return voyage. *The name "Patrick Spens" has no historical record, and, like many of the heroes of such ballads, is probably an invention, although some historians believe that he was actually Sir Patrick Vans of Barnbarroch. Vans was the original ambassador sent to negotiate the marriage between James VI and Anne of Denmark, and accompanied James VI when he set out during tempestuous weather in October 1589 to bring home his bride, who had been driven back to the coast of Norway by storms. It was
Thomas Finlayson Henderson __NOTOC__ Thomas Finlayson Henderson (25 May 1844 – 25 December 1923), often credited as T. F. Henderson, was a Scottish historian, author and editor. Henderson was a prolific author and contributed entries on Scottish figures for the '' Dict ...
’s theory that the ballad was most likely based on this voyage. The opening lines refer to a king who is located in
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 ...
where historically there was a royal residence, Malcolm's Tower. Earl's Knowle on
Papa Stronsay Papa Stronsay ( sco, Papa Stronsee; non, Papey Minni) is a small island in Orkney, Scotland, lying north east of Stronsay. It is in size, and above sea level at its highest point. After being largely abandoned, the island was bought at the end ...
is traditionally thought to be the final resting place of Sir Patrick Spens. The history relating to the burial of Sir Patrick Spens on Earl’s Knowle on Papa Stronsay is related by William Edmonstoune Aytoun (b. Edinburgh 21 June 1813, d. 4 August 1865), Sheriff and Lord Admiral of Orkney and Shetland. It was after his retirement from this position that he edited a collection of Scottish poetry in which the first poem is Sir Patrick Spens. In his foreword to the poem Aytoun, he writes: :“It is true that the name of Sir Patrick Spens is not mentioned in history; but I am able to state that tradition has preserved it. In the little island of Papa Stronsay, one of the Orcadian group, lying over against Norway, there is a large grave or tumulus, which has been known to the inhabitants, from time immemorial, as ‘The grave of Sir Patrick Spens’. The Scottish ballads were not early current in Orkney, a Scandinavian country; so it is very unlikely that the poem could have originated the name. The people know nothing beyond the traditional appellation of the spot, and they have no legend to tell. Spens is a Scottish, not a Scandinavian name. Is it, then, a forced conjecture, that the shipwreck took place off the iron bound coast of the northern islands, which did not then belong to the Crown of Scotland? ‘Half ower to Aberdour’ signifies nothing more than that the vessel went down half-way between Norway and the port of embarkation.”


Influence

*The ballad fragment ''Hardyknute'' (1719), attributed to Elizabeth Halket, Lady Wardlaw, appears to draw phrases from a version of ''Sir Patrick Spens''. *
Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poe ...
opens " Dejection: An Ode" quoting the old sailor's apprehension of the weather having seen "... the new Moon, With the old Moon in her arms". *In ''The Old Seaport''
David Macbeth Moir David Macbeth Moir (5 January 17986 July 1851) was a Scottish physician and writer. Biography Moir was born at Musselburgh on 5 January 1798, the son of Elizabeth Macbeth (1767–1842) and Robert Moir (''d''. 1842). He was educated at Muss ...
cites Spens as an heroic seaman, mirrored in the men of Culross. *In the 1903 '' Edinburgh: Picturesque Notes'',
Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...
quotes the verse "O lang, lang may the ladies sit, Wi' their fans into their hand..." comparing them to the sailors' wives of Leith and the fisherwomen of Cockenzie "...crowding to the tail of the harbor with a shawl about their ears..." looking for the return of the boats.Stevenson, Robert Louis. ''Edinburgh'', Seeley & Company, Limited, 1903
/ref> *
Herbert Howells Herbert Norman Howells (17 October 1892 – 23 February 1983) was an English composer, organist, and teacher, most famous for his large output of Anglican church music. Life Background and early education Howells was born in Lydney, Gloucest ...
: "Sir Patrick Spens", Op. 23 (1917) *
Louis MacNeice Frederick Louis MacNeice (12 September 1907 – 3 September 1963) was an Irish poet and playwright, and a member of the Auden Group, which also included W. H. Auden, Stephen Spender and Cecil Day-Lewis. MacNeice's body of work was widely a ...
’s poem ‘’The North Sea’’ (1948) recounts a voyage to Norway and includes many references to Sir Patrick Spens. * In ''Euphoria'' by author Lily King the lead characters Nell and Bankston, fictionalized versions of
Margaret Mead Margaret Mead (December 16, 1901 – November 15, 1978) was an American cultural anthropologist who featured frequently as an author and speaker in the mass media during the 1960s and the 1970s. She earned her bachelor's degree at Barnard Co ...
and
Gregory Bateson Gregory Bateson (9 May 1904 – 4 July 1980) was an English anthropologist, social scientist, linguist, visual anthropologist, semiotician, and cyberneticist whose work intersected that of many other fields. His writings include '' Steps to an ...
recite part of the poem, alternating the opening lines, during a tense night encamped with a primitive tribe in
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...
.


Recordings

Artists who have recorded musical versions of the ballad include: *
Buffy Sainte Marie Buffy Sainte-Marie, (born Beverly Sainte-Marie, February 20, 1941) is an Indigenous Canadian-American (Piapot Cree Nation) singer-songwriter, musician, composer, visual artist, educator, pacifist, and social activist. While working in these a ...
on her album ''Little wheel spin and spin'', released in 1966; *
Peter Bellamy Peter Franklyn Bellamy (8 September 1944 – 24 September 1991) was an English folk singer. He was a founding member of The Young Tradition and also had a long solo career, recording numerous albums and touring folk clubs and concert halls. He ...
on his 1982 album "The Maritime England Suite"; *
Ewan MacColl James Henry Miller (25 January 1915 – 22 October 1989), better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was a folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist and actor. Born in England to Scottish parents, he is known as one of the ...
on several occasions; *
Fairport Convention Fairport Convention are an English folk rock band, formed in 1967 by guitarists Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol, bassist Ashley Hutchings and drummer Shaun Frater (with Frater replaced by Martin Lamble after their first gig.) They started o ...
on their 1970 album ''
Full House ''Full House'' is an American television sitcom created by Jeff Franklin for ABC. The show is about widowed father Danny Tanner who enlists his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis and childhood best friend Joey Gladstone to help raise his three dau ...
'', and with
Sandy Denny Alexandra Elene MacLean Denny (6 January 1947 – 21 April 1978) was an English singer who was lead singer of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. She has been described as "the pre-eminent British folk rock singer". After briefly w ...
in the reissue of ''
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''; *
Nic Jones Nic Jones (born Nicolas Paul Jones; 9 January 1947) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. Regarded as a prominent figure of the British folk revival, he has recorded five solo albums and collaborated with various musicians. Biography ...
on his 1970 album, ''Ballads and Songs''; *
Jackie Leven Jackie Leven (18 June 1950 – 14 November 2011) was a Scottish songwriter and folk musician. After starting his career as a folk musician in the late 1960s, he first found success with new wave band Doll by Doll. He later recorded as a solo ...
on his 1997 album ''Fairytales For Hard Men''; *
Martin Carthy Martin Carthy MBE (born 21 May 1941) is an English folk singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in British traditional music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, and later artists such as ...
on his 1998 album ''Signs of Life''; *
John Roberts John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served as the 17th chief justice of the United States since 2005. Roberts has authored the majority opinion in several landmark cases, including ''Nati ...
on his 2003 album ''Sea Fever'', as well as a song derived from another Child Ballad, ''
The Sweet Trinity "The Sweet Trinity", also known as "The Golden Vanity" or "The Golden Willow Tree", is an English folk song or sea shanty, listed as Child Ballad 286. The first surviving version, about 1635, was "Sir Walter Raleigh Sailing In The Lowlands ...
''; *
June Tabor June Tabor (born 31 December 1947 in Warwick, England) is an English folk singer known for her solo work and her earlier collaborations with Maddy Prior and with Oysterband. Early life June Tabor was born and grew up in Warwick, England. As ...
in her 2003 album ''
An Echo of Hooves ''An Echo of Hooves'' is a 2003 album by folk singer June Tabor. There were many albums consisting entirely of Child ballads in the 60s and 70s. By the 90s, such albums became rare. This is an outstanding example from the 21st century. The "Allm ...
''; * Jim Malcolm Live at Glenfarg 2004, Home 2002, *
James Yorkston James Yorkston (born James Patrick Yorkston Wright; 21 December 1971) is a Scottish folk musician, singer-songwriter and author from the village of Kingsbarns, Fife. He has been releasing music since 2001. As well as recording as a solo artist ...
on his 2005 mini-album ''Hoopoe''; *
Robin Williamson Robin Duncan Harry Williamson (born 24 November 1943) is a Scottish multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and storyteller who was a founding member of The Incredible String Band. Career Williamson lived in the Fairmilehead area of Edinbur ...
on his 2006 album '' The Iron Stone''; *
Kris Drever Kris Drever (born 31 October 1978) is a Scottish contemporary folk musician and songwriter who came to prominence in 2006 with the release of his debut solo album, ''Black Water''. Drever is the vocalist and guitarist of the folk trio Lau with ...
on his 2006 mini-album ''Black Water'', titled "Patrick Spence"; *
Martin Simpson Martin Stewart Simpson (born 5 May 1953) is an English folk singer, guitarist and songwriter. His music reflects a wide variety of influences and styles, rooted in Britain, Ireland, America and beyond. He builds a purposeful, often upbeat voi ...
on his 2009 album '' True Stories''; *
Anaïs Mitchell Anaïs Mitchell (; born March 26, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and playwright. Mitchell has released eight studio albums, including ''Hadestown'' (2010), '' Young Man in America'' (2012),
and Jefferson Hamer on the album ''
Child Ballads The Child Ballads are 305 traditional ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, anthologized by Francis James Child during the second half of the 19th century. Their lyrics and Child's studies of them were published as ''T ...
''; and *
John Langstaff John Meredith "Jack" Langstaff (December 24, 1920 – December 13, 2005), a concert baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from th ...
on his 1964 album ''Nottamun Town''.


See also

*
List of the Child Ballads The Child Ballads is the colloquial name given to a collection of 305 ballads collected in the 19th century by Francis James Child Francis James Child (February 1, 1825 – September 11, 1896) was an American scholar, educator, and folklorist, ...


References


External links


Rumens, Carol. "Sir Patrick Spens", ''The Guardian'', 15 March, 2010
{{Authority control Child Ballads Fairport Convention songs Fictional knights