The Lord Of Learne
by Frank Sidgwick

The Text is from the Percy Folio MS., with the spelling modernised, except in two or three instances for the sake of the rhyme (13.4) or metre (102.2). Other alterations, as suggested by Child, are noted. Apart from the irregularities of metre, this ballad is remarkable for the large proportion of 'e' rhymes, which are found in 71 stanzas, or two-thirds of the whole. The redundant 'that,' which is a feature of the Percy Folio, also occurs frequently--in eleven places, three of which are in optative sentences (8.2, 14.4, 91.4).
The ballad is more commonly known as The Lord of Lorne, under which title we find it registered in the Stationers' Company on October 6, 1580. Guilpin refers to it in his Skialethia (1598), Satire 1, ll. 107-108:--
'... the old ballad of the Lord of Lorne
Whose last line in King Harry's day was born.'
Probably this implies little more than that the ballad was known in Henry VIII.'s day. Three broadsides are known, two in the Roxburghe and one in the Pepys collection. Both the Roxburghe ballads are later than the Folio version.
The Story is derived from that of Roswall and Lillian. Roswall, the king's son, of Naples, overhearing three lords bewailing their long imprisonment, promised to set them free, and did so by stealing the keys from under the king's pillow at night. The king, on hearing of their escape, vowed to slay at sight the man who had set them free. The queen, however, interceding for her son, Roswall was banished under charge of a steward. From this point our ballad follows the romance fairly closely. Roswall and the steward, after changing places, entered the kingdom of Bealm. At length Roswall, under the name Dissawar (see 29.2, etc.), became chamberlain to the Princess Lillian, and she fell in love with him. The King of Bealm meanwhile sent to the King of Naples, proposing to wed his daughter to the young prince of Naples, and the Neapolitan king assented. A joust was proclaimed, and Lillian told Dissawar to joust for her; but he preferred to go a-hunting. However, in the wood he found the three knights he had helped to escape, and they equipped him for the three days' tourney, in which he defeated the steward. He did not, however, proclaim himself, and Lillian was forced to ask the king herself for Dissawar; but her father married her to the steward. During the wedding feast the three Neapolitan lords appeared, but would not acknowledge the steward as their prince, and went in search of Roswall, who told the king of the steward's treachery, and announced himself to be the victor of the jousts. The steward was hanged and Roswall married to Lillian.
Other romances and stories exist, with similar foundations, especially amongst the Slavic nations. But the best known is the Goose-girl (Die G'nse-magd) of the Grimms, where the sexes are reversed. A connection may be traced between the horse Falada's head and the gelding of the ballad; and the trick of a person, who is sworn to secrecy, divulging the secret to some object (as the gelding, here; but more often a stove or oven) in the presence of witnesses has obtained a wide vogue.
THE LORD OF LEARNE
1.
It was the worthy lord of Learne,
He was a lord of a high degree;
He had no more children but one son,
He set him to school to learn courtesy.
2.
Learning did so proceed with that child--
I tell you all in verity--
He learned more upon one day
Than other children did on three.
3.
And then bespake the school-master,
Unto the lord of Learne said he,
'I think thou be some stranger born,
For the Holy Ghost remains with thee.'
4.
He said, 'I am no stranger born,
Forsooth, master, I tell it to thee,
It is a gift of Almighty God
Which He hath given unto me.'
5.
The school-master turn'd him round about,
His angry mind he thought to assuage,
For the child could answer him so quickly,
And was of so tender year of age.
6.
The child, he caused a steed to be brought,
A golden bridle done him upon;
He took his leave of his schoolfellows,
And home the child that he is gone.
7.
And when he came before his father,
He fell low down upon his knee,
'My blessing, father, I would ask,
If Christ would grant you would give it me.'
8.
'Now God thee bless, my son and my heir,
His servant in heaven that thou may be!
What tidings hast thou brought me, child,
Thou art comen home so soon to me?'
9.
'Good tidings, father, I have you brought,
Good tidings I hope it is to me;
The book is not in all Scotland,
But I can read it before your eye.'
10.
A joyed man his father was,
Even the worthy lord of Learne;
'Thou shalt go into France, my child,
The speeches of all strange lands to learn.'
11.
But then bespake the child his mother--
The lady of Learne and then was she--
Says, 'Who must be his well good guide,
When he goes into that strange country?'
12.
And then bespake that bonny child
Untill his father tenderly,
Says, 'Father, I'll have the hend steward,
For he hath been true to you and me.'
13.
The lady to counsel the steward did take,
And counted down a hundred pounds there,
Says, 'Steward, be true to my son and my heir,
And I will give thee mickle mere.'
14.
'If I be not true to my master,' he said,
'Christ himself be not true to me!
If I be not true to my lord and master,
An ill death that I may die!'
15.
The lord of Learne did apparel his child
With brooch, and ring, and many a thing;
The apparel he had his body upon,
They say was worth a squire's living.
16.
The parting of the young lord of Learne
With his father, his mother, his fellows dear,
Would have made a man's heart for to change,
If a Jew born that he were.
17.
The wind did serve, and they did sail
Over the sea into France land:
He used the child so hardly,
He would let him have never a penny to spend.
18.
And meat he would let the child have none,
Nor money to buy none truly;
The boy was hungry and thirsty both;
Alas! it was the more pity.
19.
He laid him down to drink the water
That was so low beneath the brim;
He was wont to have drunk both ale and wine,
Then was fain of the water so thin.
20.
And as he was drinking of the water
That ran so low beneath the brim,
So ready was the false steward
To drown the bonny boy therein.
21.
'Have mercy on me, worthy steward!
My life,' he said, 'lend it to me!
And all that I am heir upon,'
Says, 'I will give unto thee.'
22.
Mercy to him the steward did take,
And pull'd the child out of the brim;
Ever alack! the more pity,
He took his clothes even from him.
23.
Says, 'Do thou me off that velvet gown,
The crimson hose beneath thy knee,
And do me off thy cordivant shoon
Are buckled with the gold so free.
24.
'Do thou me off thy satin doublet,
Thy shirtband wrought with glistering gold,
And do me off thy golden chain
About thy neck so many a fold.
25.
'Do thou me off thy velvet hat
With feather in that is so fine,
All unto thy silken shirt
That's wrought with many a golden seam.'
26.
The child before him naked stood,
With skin as white as lily flower;
For his worthy lord's beauty
He might have been a lady's paramour.
27.
He put upon him a leather coat,
And breeches of the same beneath the knee,
And sent that bonny child him fro,
Service for to crave, truly.
28.
He pull'd then forth a naked sword
That hange[d] full low then by his side,
'Turn thy name, thou villain,' he said,
'Or else this sword shall be thy guide.'
29.
'What must be my name, worthy steward?
I pray thee now tell it me.'
'Thy name shall be poor Disaware,
To tend sheep on a lonely lea.'
30.
The bonny child, he went him fro,
And looked to himself truly,
Saw his apparel so simple upon;
O Lord! he weeped tenderly.
31.
Unto a shepherd's house that child did go,
And said, 'Sir, God you save and see!
Do you not want a servant boy
To tend your sheep on a lonely lea?'
32.
'Where was thou born?' the shepherd said,
'Where, my boy, or in what country?'
'Sir,' he said, 'I was born in fair Scotland
That is so far beyond the sea.'
33.
'I have no child,' the shepherd said,
'My boy, thou'st tarry and dwell with me;
My living,' he said, 'and all my goods,
I'll make thee heir [of] after me.'
34.
And then bespake the shepherd's wife,
To the lord of Learne thus did she say,
'Go thy way to our sheep,' she said,
'And tend them well both night and day.'
35.
It was a sore office, O Lord, for him
That was a lord born of a great degree!
As he was tending his sheep alone,
Neither sport nor play could he.
36.
Let us leave talking of the lord of Learne,
And let all such talking go;
Let us talk more of the false steward
That caused the child all this woe.
37.
He sold this lord of Learne his clothes
For five hundred pounds to his pay [there],
And bought himself a suit of apparel,
Might well beseem a lord to wear.
38.
When he that gorgeous apparel bought
That did so finely his body upon,
He laughed the bonny child to scorn
That was the bonny lord of Learne.
39.
He laughed that bonny boy to scorne;
Lord! pity it was to hear!
I have heard them say, and so have you too,
That a man may buy gold too dear.
40.
When that he had all that gorgeous apparel
That did so finely his body upon,
He went a wooing to the duke's daughter of France,
And called himself the lord of Learne.
41.
The duke of France heard tell of this;
To his place that worthy lord was come truly;
He entertain'd him with a quart of red Rhenish wine.
Says, 'Lord of Learne, thou art welcome to me!'
42.
Then to supper that they were set,
Lords and ladies in their degree;
The steward was set next the duke of France;
An unseemly sight it was to see.
43.
Then bespake the duke of France,
Unto the lord of Learne said he there,
Says, 'Lord of Learne, if thou'll marry my daughter,
I'll mend thy living five hundred pounds a year.'
44.
Then bespake that lady fair,
Answered her father so alone,
That she would be his married wife
If he would make her Lady of Learne.
45.
Then hand in hand the steward her he took,
And plight that lady his troth alone,
That she should be his married wife,
And he would make her the lady of Learne.
46.
Thus that night it was gone,
The other day was come truly.
The lady would see the roe-buck run
Up hills and dales and forest free.
47.
Then she was ware of the young lord of Learne
Tending sheep under a briar, truly;
And thus she called unto her maids,
And held her hands up thus on high,
Says, 'Fetch me yond shepherd's boy,
I'll know why he doth mourn, truly.'
48.
When he came before that lady fair
He fell down upon his knee;
He had been so well brought up
He needed not to learn courtesy.
49.
'Where wast thou born, thou bonny boy,
Where or in what country?'
'Madam, I was born in fair Scotland,
That is so far beyond the sea.'
50.
'What is thy name, thou bonny boy?
I pray thee tell it unto me.'
'My name,' he says, 'is poor Disaware,
That tends sheep on a lonely lea.'
51.
'One thing thou must tell me, bonny boy,
Which I must needs ask of thee:
Dost not thou know the young lord of Learne?
He is come a wooing into France to me.'
52.
'Yes, that I do, madam,' he said;
And then he wept most tenderly;
'The lord of Learne is a worthy lord,
If he were at home in his own country.'
53.
'What ails thee to weep, my bonny boy?
Tell me or ere I part thee fro.'
'Nothing but for a friend, madam,
That's dead from me many a year ago.'
54.
A loud laughter the lady laughed;
O Lord, she smiled wondrous high;
'I have dwelled in France since I was born;
Such a shepherd's boy I did never see.
55.
'Wilt thou not leave thy sheep, my child,
And come unto service unto me?
And I will give thee meat and fee,
And my chamberlain thou shalt be.'
56.
'Then I will leave my sheep, madam,' he said,
'And come into service unto thee;
If you will give me meat and fee,
Your chamberlain that I may be.'
57.
When the lady came before her father,
She fell low down upon her knee;
'Grant me, father,' the lady said,
'This boy my chamberlain to be.'
58.
'But O nay, nay,' the duke did say,
'So, my daughter, it may not be;
The lord that is come a wooing to you
Will be offended with you and me.'
59.
Then came down the false steward
Which called himself the lord of Learne, truly:
When he looked that bonny boy upon,
An angry man i-wis was he.
60.
'Where was thou born, thou vagabond?
'Where?' he said, 'and in what country?'
Says, 'I was born in fair Scotland
That is so far beyond the sea.'
61.
'What is thy name, thou vagabond?
Have done quickly, and tell it to me.'
'My name,' he says, 'is poor Disaware;
I tend sheep on the lonely lea.'
'Thou art a thief,' the steward said,
'And so in the end I will prove thee.'
62.
Then bespake the lady fair,
'Peace, lord of Learne! I do pray thee;
For if no love you show this child,
No favour can you have of me.'
63.
'Will you believe me, lady fair,
When the truth I do tell ye?
At Aberdonie beyond the sea
His father he robbed a hundred [and] three.'
64.
But then bespake the duke of France
Unto the boy so tenderly,
Says, 'Boy, if thou love horses well,
My stable groom I will make thee.'
65.
And thus that that did pass upon
Till the twelve months did draw to an end;
The boy applied his office so well,
Every man became his friend.
66.
He went forth early one morning
To water a gelding at the water so free;
The gelding up, and with his head
He hit the child above his eye.
67.
'Woe be to thee, thou gelding!' he said,
'And to the mare that foaled thee!
Thou has stricken the lord of Learne
A little tiny above the eye.
68.
'First night after I was born, a lord I was;
An earl after my father doth die;
My father is the worthy lord of Learne;
His child he hath no more but me;
He sent me over the sea with the false steward,
And thus that he hath beguiled me.'
69.
The lady [wa]s in her garden green,
Walking with her maids, truly,
And heard the boy this mourning make,
And went to weeping truly.
70.
'Sing on thy song, thou stable groom,
I pray thee do not let for me,
And as I am a true lady
I will be true unto thee.'
71.
'But nay, now nay, madam!' he said,
'So that it may not be,
I am ta'en sworn upon a book,
And forsworn I will not be.'
72.
'Sing on thy song to thy gelding
And thou dost not sing to me;
And as I am a true lady
I will ever be true unto thee.'
73.
He said, 'Woe be to thee, gelding,
And to the mare that foaled thee!
For thou hast stricken the lord of Learne
A little above mine eye.
74.
'First night I was born, a lord I was;
An earl after my father doth die;
My father is the good lord of Learne,
And child he hath no other but me.
My father sent me over with the false steward,
And thus that he hath beguiled me.
75.
'Woe be to the steward, lady,' he said,
'Woe be to him verily!
He hath been above this twelve months' day
For to deceive both thee and me.
76.
'If you do not my counsel keep
That I have told you with good intent,
And if you do it not well keep,
Farewell! my life is at an end.'
77.
'I will be true to thee, lord of Learne,
Or else Christ be not so unto me;
And as I am a true lady,
I'll never marry none but thee!'
78.
She sent in for her father, the duke,
In all the speed that e'er might be;
'Put off my wedding, father,' she said,
'For the love of God, these months three.
79.
'Sick I am,' the lady said,
'O sick, and very like to die!
Put off my wedding, father duke,
For the love of God, these months three.'
80.
The duke of France put off this wedding
Of the steward and the lady, months three;
For the lady sick she was,
Sick, sick, and like to die.
81.
She wrote a letter with her own hand,
In all the speed that ever might be;
She sent over into Scotland
That is so far beyond the sea.
82.
When the messenger came before the old lord of Learne,
He kneeled low down on his knee,
And he delivered the letter unto him
In all the speed that ever might be.
83.
First look he looked the letter upon,
Lo! he wept full bitterly;
The second look he looked it upon,
Said, 'False steward! woe be to thee!'
84.
When the lady of Learne these tidings heard,
O Lord! she wept so bitterly:
'I told you of this, now good my lord,
When I sent my child into that wild country.'
85.
'Peace, lady of Learne,' the lord did say,
'For Christ his love I do pray thee;
And as I am a Christian man,
Wroken upon him that I will be.'
86.
He wrote a letter with his own hand
In all the speed that e'er might be;
He sent it into the lords in Scotland
That were born of a great degree.
87.
He sent for lords, he sent for knights,
The best that were in the country,
To go with him into the land of France,
To seek his son in that strange country.
88.
The wind was good, and they did sail,
Five hundred men into France land,
There to seek that bonny boy
That was the worthy lord of Learne.
89.
They sought the country through and through,
So far to the duke's place of France land:
There they were ware of that bonny boy
Standing with a porter's staff in his hand.
90.
Then the worshipful they did bow,
The serving-men fell on their knee,
They cast their hats up into the air
For joy that boy that they did see.
91.
The lord of Learne, then he light down,
And kissed his child both cheek and chin,
And said, 'God bless thee, my son and my heir,
The bliss of heaven that thou may win!'
92.
The false steward and the duke of France
Were in a castle top truly:
'What fools are yond,' says the false steward,
'To the porter makes so low courtesy?'
93.
Then bespake the duke of France,
Calling my lord of Learne truly,
He said, 'I doubt the day be come
That either you or I must die.'
94.
They set the castle round about,
A swallow could not have flown away;
And there they took the false steward
That the lord of Learne did betray.
95.
And when they had taken the false steward,
He fell low down upon his knee,
And craved mercy of the lord of Learne
For the villainous deed he had done, truly.
96.
'Thou shalt have mercy,' said the lord of Learne,
'Thou vile traitor! I tell to thee,
As the laws of the realm they will thee bear,
Whether it be for thee to live or die.'
97.
A quest of lords that there was chosen
To go upon his death, truly:
There they judged the false steward,
Whether he was guilty, and for to die.
98.
The foreman of the jury, he came in;
He spake his words full loud and high:
Said, 'Make thee ready, thou false steward,
For now thy death it draws full nigh!'
99.
Said he, 'If my death it doth draw nigh,
God forgive me all I have done amiss!
Where is that lady I have loved so long,
Before my death to give me a kiss?'
100.
'Away, thou traitor!' the lady said,
'Avoid out of my company!
For thy vile treason thou hast wrought,
Thou had need to cry to God for mercy.'
101.
First they took him and hang'd him half,
And let him down before he was dead,
And quartered him in quarters many,
And sod him in a boiling lead.
102.
And then they took him out again,
And cutten all his joints in sunder,
And burnt him eke upon a hill;
I-wis they did him curstly cumber.
103.
A loud laughter the lady laughed;
O Lord! she smiled merrily;
She said, 'I may praise my heavenly King,
That ever I seen this vile traitor die.'
104.
Then bespake the duke of France,
Unto the right lord of Learne said he there,
Says, 'Lord of Learne, if thou wilt marry my daughter,
I'll mend thy living five hundred [pounds] a year.'
105.
But then bespake that bonny boy,
And answered the duke quickly,
'I had rather marry your daughter with a ring of gold,
Than all the gold that e'er I blinked on with mine eye.'
106.
But then bespake the old lord of Learne,
To the duke of France thus he did say,
'Seeing our children do so well agree,
They shall be married ere we go away.'
107.
The lady of Learne, she was for sent
Throughout Scotland so speedily,
To see these two children set up
In their seats of gold full royally.