THE BAFFLED KNIGHT

1.² ‘lay’ = lea, meadow-land.

Yonder comes a courteous knight,

Lustely raking over the lay;

He was well ware of a bonny lasse,

As she came wand’ring over the way.

Then she sang downe a downe, hey downe derry (bis)

‘Jove you speed, fayre ladye,’ he said,

‘Among the leaves that be so greene;

If I were a king, and wore a crowne,

Full soone, fair lady, shouldst thou be a queen.

‘Also Jove save you, faire lady,

Among the roses that be so red;

If I have not my will of you,

Full soone, faire lady, shall I be dead.’

4.⁴ ‘divel’s mouth.’ Skeat has suggested that this metaphor is derived from the devil’s mouth always being wide open in painted windows.

Then he lookt east, then hee lookt west,

Hee lookt north, so did he south;

He could not finde a privy place,

For all lay in the divel’s mouth.

‘If you will carry me, gentle sir,

A mayde unto my father’s hall,

Then you shall have your will of me,

Under purple and under paule.’

He set her up upon a steed,

And him selfe upon another,

And all the day he rode her by,

As though they had been sister and brother.

7.³ ‘yode,’ went.

7.⁴ ‘foure-ear’d.’ Child suggests, ‘as denoting a double ass?’

When she came to her father’s hall,

It was well walled round about;

She yode in at the wicket-gate,

And shut the foure-ear’d foole without.

‘You had me,’ quoth she, ‘abroad in the field,

Among the corne, amidst the hay,

Where you might had your will of mee,

For, in good faith, sir, I never said nay.

‘Ye had me also amid the field,

Among the rushes that were so browne,

Where you might had your will of me,

But you had not the face to lay me downe.’

10.

10.^1,2 See First Series, Introduction, p. xlix.

He pulled out his nut-browne sword,

And wipt the rust off with his sleeve,

And said, ‘Jove’s curse come to his heart,

That any woman would beleeve!’

11.

When you have your own true-love

A mile or twaine out of the towne,

Spare not for her gay clothing,

But lay her body flat on the ground.