Lord Maxwell’s Last Goodnight (
Roud 4015,
Child
A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...
195) is an English-language folk ballad. It is based on the actions of
John Maxwell, 9th Lord Maxwell, who killed Sir James Johnstone in 1608 as the culmination of a family feud. He fled to France and was sentenced to death in his absence, returning in secret five years later. He was apprehended and beheaded at
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
on 21 May 1613.
Synopsis
Lady Maxwell asks her husband to come with her into her father's garden. He tells her that he killed the laird Johnstone, who killed his father, and must flee. He bids a tender farewell to her, the rest of his family, and
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, and is escorted off to his ship by a great company.
References
Further reading
*Kinsley, James, ed. (1969) ''The Oxford Book of Ballads''. Oxford: Clarendon Press; pp. 607–10. With an air from the Blaikie MS., p. 19, no. 55 (entitled "The King of Faeries"); text is Child 195A, from George Paton's MS., 1778.
External links
''Lord Maxwell’s Last Goodnight''Historical information
* ''Lord Maxwell's Last Goodnight''. In
The English and Scottish Popular Ballads.
Edited by Francis James Child. Part VII. Houghton, Mifflin and Company, Boston 1890, p. 34 Archive.org
Child Ballads
Scottish folklore
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