The Famous Flower of Serving-Men
Encyclopedia
The Famous Flower of Serving-Men or The Lady turned Serving-Man is Child ballad number 106Francis James Child
, English and Scottish Popular Ballads, "The Famous Flower of Serving Men" and a murder ballad
. Child considered it as closely related to the ballad The Lament Of The Border Widow or The Border Widow's Lament.
.
The song variants split, sharply, at this point. The common variant has the king going to hunt and being led into the forest by a white hind
. The king reaches a clearing and the hind vanishes. A bird, the personification of the woman's dead husband, then appears and laments what has happened to his love. The king asks, and the bird tells the story. The king returns and kisses his chamberlain, still dressed as a man, to the shock of the assembled court. In many versions the woman's mother/stepmother is then executed, possibly by burning, and usually the king marries the woman.
In some versions the king goes hunting, and the woman laments her fate, but is overheard; when the king is told it, he marries her.
In The Border Widow's Lament, the woman laments, in very similar verses, the murder of her husband by the king; she buries him and declares she will never love another.
, Martin Carthy
took the fragments and reworked the ballad, drawing on lines from other ballads. He set it to a tune used by Hedy West
for the Maid of Colchester. In 2005, he won the award for Best Traditional Track for 'Famous Flower of Serving Men' in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards
.
Ellen Kushner
's novel Thomas the Rhymer includes elements not only of that ballad but also The Famous Flower of Serving-Men.
Francis James Child
Francis James Child was an American scholar, educator, and folklorist, best known today for his collection of folk songs known as the Child Ballads. Child was Boylston professor of rhetoric and oratory at Harvard University, where he produced influential editions of English poetry...
, English and Scottish Popular Ballads, "The Famous Flower of Serving Men" and a murder ballad
Murder ballad
Murder ballads are a sub-genre of the traditional ballad form, the lyrics of which form a narrative describing the events of a murder, often including the lead-up and/or aftermath...
. Child considered it as closely related to the ballad The Lament Of The Border Widow or The Border Widow's Lament.
Synopsis
A woman's husband and child are killed by agents of her mother (or, sometimes, stepmother). The woman buries them, cuts her hair, changes her name from "Fair Elise" or "Fair Elinor" to "Sweet William", and goes to the king's court to become his servant. She serves him well enough to become his chamberlainChamberlain (office)
A chamberlain is an officer in charge of managing a household. In many countries there are ceremonial posts associated with the household of the sovereign....
.
The song variants split, sharply, at this point. The common variant has the king going to hunt and being led into the forest by a white hind
Hind
The word Hind may refer to:* A female red deer* al-Hind , also Hind - The people of India or Indian subcontinent...
. The king reaches a clearing and the hind vanishes. A bird, the personification of the woman's dead husband, then appears and laments what has happened to his love. The king asks, and the bird tells the story. The king returns and kisses his chamberlain, still dressed as a man, to the shock of the assembled court. In many versions the woman's mother/stepmother is then executed, possibly by burning, and usually the king marries the woman.
In some versions the king goes hunting, and the woman laments her fate, but is overheard; when the king is told it, he marries her.
In The Border Widow's Lament, the woman laments, in very similar verses, the murder of her husband by the king; she buries him and declares she will never love another.
Versions
For his 1972 album ShearwaterShearwater (Martin Carthy album)
Shearwater is an album by Martin Carthy, released in 1972. The album was re-issued on CD in 1995.-Track listing:All songs Traditional.# "I Was a Young Man" – 2:46# "Banks of Green Willow" – 4:31# "Handsome Polly-O" – 2:31# "Outlandish Knight" – 5:25...
, Martin Carthy
Martin Carthy
Martin Carthy MBE 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 Richard Thompson since he emerged as a young musician in the early days...
took the fragments and reworked the ballad, drawing on lines from other ballads. He set it to a tune used by Hedy West
Hedy West
Hedy West was an American folksinger and songwriter.West was of the same generation as Joan Baez, Judy Collins, and others of the American folk music revival. Her most famous song "500 Miles" is one of America's best loved and best known folk songs...
for the Maid of Colchester. In 2005, he won the award for Best Traditional Track for 'Famous Flower of Serving Men' in the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards
BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards
The BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards celebrate outstanding achievement during the previous year within the field of folk music. The awards have been given annually since 2000 by British radio station BBC Radio 2....
.
Ellen Kushner
Ellen Kushner
Ellen Kushner is an American writer of fantasy novels, who for many years was the host of the radio program Sound & Spirit, produced by WGBH in Boston and distributed by Public Radio International.- Background and personal life :...
's novel Thomas the Rhymer includes elements not only of that ballad but also The Famous Flower of Serving-Men.