The Elfin Knight
Encyclopedia
"The Elfin Knight" is a traditional Scottish
folk
ballad
of which there are many versions, all dealing with supernatural
occurrences, and the commission to perform impossible tasks.
threatens to abduct a young woman to be his lover unless she can perform an impossible task; she responds with a list of tasks which he must first perform, thus evading rape. The plot is closely related to "Riddles Wisely Expounded
" (Child Ballad #1), in which the Devil
proposes to carry off a woman unless she can answer a number of riddles.
Later versions invert the direction of desire, with the elf proposing tasks which the lady must perform in order to be accepted as his lover. The first verse usually opens with the introduction of the title character:
(Note that this verse appears to be taken directly from "Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight", Child Ballad #4; in this ballad, the horn is magic and arouses desire in the hearer.)
Meanwhile a maid lies in bed, wishing she could marry the knight. Upon her speaking these words, the knight appears, telling her he will marry her if she will perform numerous tasks, all impossible.
She promptly responds with her own list of impossible tasks, and thereby gains her supernatural husband.
making use of this motif is The Wise Little Girl
.
.
The song "Scarborough Fair
" is a variant recorded later, most famously sung by Simon & Garfunkel, and considerably more well known today than the original. A similar variant is "Whittingham
Fair", a song that was popular in the north and west of Northumberland
. There are also several American
variants, which differ greatly, among them "My Father Had an Acre of Land", "The Parsley Vine", and "The Shirt of Lace".
The song also forms the basis for both the melody and lyrics for Bob Dylan
's "Girl from the North Country
" first recorded on The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
in 1963.
A novel by Nancy Werlin
, Impossible (Penguin/Dial, 2008), was inspired by the song.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
of which there are many versions, all dealing with supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
occurrences, and the commission to perform impossible tasks.
Synopsis
In the oldest extant version of this ballad (circa 1600-1650), an elfElf
An elf is a being of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally thought of as a race of divine beings endowed with magical powers, which they use both for the benefit and the injury of mankind...
threatens to abduct a young woman to be his lover unless she can perform an impossible task; she responds with a list of tasks which he must first perform, thus evading rape. The plot is closely related to "Riddles Wisely Expounded
Riddles Wisely Expounded
"Riddles Wisely Expounded" is a traditional English song, dating at least to 1450. It is Child Ballad 1 and Roud 161, and exists in several variants...
" (Child Ballad #1), in which the Devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
proposes to carry off a woman unless she can answer a number of riddles.
Later versions invert the direction of desire, with the elf proposing tasks which the lady must perform in order to be accepted as his lover. The first verse usually opens with the introduction of the title character:
- The elphin knight sits on yon hill,
- Blaw, blaw, blaw, wind blaw.
- He blaws his horn both lewd and shril.
- The wind hath blown my plaid awa.
(Note that this verse appears to be taken directly from "Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight", Child Ballad #4; in this ballad, the horn is magic and arouses desire in the hearer.)
Meanwhile a maid lies in bed, wishing she could marry the knight. Upon her speaking these words, the knight appears, telling her he will marry her if she will perform numerous tasks, all impossible.
- "For thou must shape a sarkShirtA shirt is a cloth garment for the upper body. Originally an undergarment worn exclusively by men, it has become, in American English, a catch-all term for almost any garment other than outerwear such as sweaters, coats, jackets, or undergarments such as bras, vests or base layers...
to me, - Without any cut or heme," quoth he.
She promptly responds with her own list of impossible tasks, and thereby gains her supernatural husband.
Commentary
The countering of impossible tasks with other impossible tasks is a common motif in the folktale Aarne-Thompson type 875, the Clever Girl; a fairy taleFairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
making use of this motif is The Wise Little Girl
The Wise Little Girl
The Wise Little Girl is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in Narodnye russkie skazki.This type of tale is the most common European tales to deal with witty exchanges.-Synopsis:...
.
Variants
This ballad was one of 25 traditional works included in Ballads Weird and Wonderful (1912) and illustrated by Vernon HillVernon Hill (sculptor)
Vernon Hill was a sculptor, lithographer and Illustrator.-Biography:Vernon Hill was born in Halifax and undertook formal training in print-making from an early age, being apprenticed as a lithographer in his early teen....
.
The song "Scarborough Fair
Scarborough Fair
"Scarborough Fair" is a traditional ballad of the United Kingdom.The song tells the tale of a young man, who tells the listener to ask his former lover to perform for him a series of impossible tasks, such as making him a shirt without a seam and then washing it in a dry well, adding that if she...
" is a variant recorded later, most famously sung by Simon & Garfunkel, and considerably more well known today than the original. A similar variant is "Whittingham
Whittingham, Northumberland
Whittingham is a village in the English County of Northumberland.In the village is Whittingham Tower, a pele tower dating from the thirteenth or fourteenth century, converted into almshouses in 1845, and now in private ownership.- Governance :...
Fair", a song that was popular in the north and west of Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
. There are also several American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
variants, which differ greatly, among them "My Father Had an Acre of Land", "The Parsley Vine", and "The Shirt of Lace".
The song also forms the basis for both the melody and lyrics for Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's "Girl from the North Country
Girl from the North Country
"Girl from the North Country" is a song written by Bob Dylan. It was first released in 1963 as the second track on Dylan's second studio album, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. Dylan re-recorded the song as a duet with Johnny Cash in 1969. That recording became the first track on Nashville Skyline,...
" first recorded on The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released in May 1963 by Columbia Records. Whereas his debut album Bob Dylan had contained only two original songs, Freewheelin initiated the process of writing contemporary words to traditional melodies....
in 1963.
A novel by Nancy Werlin
Nancy Werlin
Nancy Werlin is an American author of young adult novels. She received a B.A. in English from Yale College and was a National Book Award nominee for The Rules of Survival, a winner of the Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Novel for The Killer's Cousin in 1999, and an Edgar award finalist for Locked...
, Impossible (Penguin/Dial, 2008), was inspired by the song.
Recordings
- Kate RusbyKate RusbyKate Anna Rusby is an English folk singer and songwriter from Penistone, South Yorkshire. Sometimes known as The Barnsley Nightingale, she has headlined various British national folk festivals, and is regarded as one of the most famous English folk singers of contemporary times...
performed this song on her 2005 album, The Girl Who Couldn't Fly - Joel Frederiksen includes this song as "Whittingham Faire (The Elfin Knight)" on his 2007 album, The Elfin Knight - Ballads and Dances
See also
- Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight
- The Fause Knight Upon the RoadThe Fause Knight Upon the RoadThe False Knight Upon the Road is a British ballad, collected and published as Child ballad 3, Roud 20. It features a riddling exchange between a schoolboy and a "false knight," the devil in disguise.-Synopsis:...
- Scarborough FairScarborough Fair"Scarborough Fair" is a traditional ballad of the United Kingdom.The song tells the tale of a young man, who tells the listener to ask his former lover to perform for him a series of impossible tasks, such as making him a shirt without a seam and then washing it in a dry well, adding that if she...
External links
- "Scottish Ballads Online" Child Ballad #2: 'The Elfin Knight With 13 variants from Francis J Child's collection and a further 8 from the appendix and a link to versions from the living tradition.