The King's Dochter Lady Jean
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"The King's Dochter Lady Jean" (
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. Roud's Index is a combination of the Broadsid ...
39,
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 ...
52), also called "The King's Daughter," "Fair Rosie Ann," or "Queen Jane", is an English-language folk song.


Synopsis

The King's youngest Daughter, Jane, is sitting in her bower one day when she is overcome with the urge to gather nuts from the King's forest. She goes to the forest to do so when a forester appears, and commands her not to pick nuts in the forest without his permission. Jane asserts that she does not need his permission, at which point the forester rapes her. Jane says that he will pay dearly for raping the king's daughter, at which point the forester reveals that he is the king's son. He had been at sea for many years and so did not recognize Jane as his sister. Jane wished that they had never met and she ends the tale by hoping that she dies after giving birth to the baby they have conceived. In some variants, he kills her; in most, she goes home, and is tasked by her family for why she ails, and she and her brother both die when they meet there.


Variants

Other ballads on this theme include "
Sheath and Knife Sheath, pronounced , may refer to: * Scabbard, a sheath for holding a sword, dagger, knife, or similar edged weapons, as well as long guns, such as rifles and shotguns. * The outer covering of an electrical cable Electricity is the set ...
", " The Bonny Hind", and " Lizie Wan". The opening section parallels that of "
Hind Etin "Hind Etin" ( Roudbr>33 Child 41) is a folk ballad existing in several variants. Synopsis Lady Margaret goes to the woods, and her breaking a branch is questioned by Hind Etin, who takes her with him into the forest. She bears him seven sons, bu ...
" and "
Tam Lin Tam Lin, also known as Tamas-Lin, Tamlane, Tamlene, Tamlin, Tambling, Tomlin, Tam-Lien, Tam-a-Line, Tam-Lyn or Tam-Lane, is a character in the legendary ballad originating from the Scottish Borders. History The story of Tam Lin revolves around ...
".Francis James Child, ''The English and Scottish Popular Ballads'', v 1, p 450, Dover Publications, New York 1965


See also

*
The Bonnie Banks o Fordie "Babylon", also called "The Bonnie Banks o' Fordie" or "The Banks o' Airdrie" (Child 14, Roud 27) is an English-language folk song. Synopsis An outlaw comes upon three sisters in the woods. He threatens each one in turn to make her marry him. ...
*
List of the Child Ballads is the colloquial name given to a collection of 305 ballads collected in the 19th century by Francis James Child and originally published in ten volumes between 1882 and 1898 under the title ''The English and Scottish Popular Ballads.'' The ba ...


References

Child Ballads Fiction about incest Fiction about rape Fiction about sororicide Year of song unknown {{Folk-song-stub