Up then rose the kemperye men,265
And loud they gan to crye:
"Ah! traytors, yee have slayne our kyng,
And therefore yee shall dye."
Kyng Estmere threwe the harpe asyde,
And swith he drew his brand;270
And Estmere he, and Adler yonge,
Right stiffe in stour can stand.
And aye their swordes soe sore can byte,
Through helpe of gramarye,
That soone they have slayne the kempery men,275
Or forst them forth to flee.
Kyng Estmere tooke that fayre ladye,
And marryed her to his wiffe,
And brought her home to merrye England,
With her to leade his life.280
[27]. MS. Many a man ... is.
[136]. MS. ryde, but see v. [140].
v. [187].
Then they pulled out a ryng of gold,
Layd itt on the porters arme.
The rings so often used in ballads to conciliate the porter would seem to be not personal ornaments, but coins. For an account of Ring Money, see the paper of Sir William Betham, in the seventeenth volume of the Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy.