[The fact that this glorious ballad was never heard of before Percy printed it in 1765, caused some to throw doubts upon its authenticity, and their scepticism was strengthened by the note at p. 102, which refers to the author of Hardyknute. It was thought that the likeness in expression and sentiment there mentioned might easily be explained if the two poems were both by Lady Wardlaw. This view, advocated by Robert Chambers in his general attack on the authenticity of all The Romantic Scottish Ballads (1859), has not met with much favour, and Professor Child thinks that the arguments against the genuineness of Sir Patrick Spence are so trivial as hardly to admit of statement. He writes, "If not ancient it has been always accepted as such by the most skilful judges, and is a solitary instance of a successful imitation in manner and spirit of the best specimens of authentic minstrelsy."[469] Coleridge, no mean judge of a ballad, wrote—
"The bard be sure was weather-wise who framed
The grand old ballad of Sir Patrick Spens."
Antiquaries have objected that Spence is not an early Scottish name, but in this they are wrong, for Professor Aytoun found it in a charter of Robert III. and also in Wyntoun's Chronicle.
There has been considerable discussion as to the historical event referred to in the ballad, and the present version does not contain any mention of one of the points that may help towards a settlement of the question. The version in Scott's Minstrelsy contains the following stanza:—
"To Noroway, to Noroway
To Noroway o'er the faem
The king's daughter of Noroway
'Tis thou maun bring her hame."
Professor Aytoun would change the third line to
"The king's daughter to Noroway,"
as he agrees with Motherwell in the view that the ballad refers to the fate of the Scottish nobles who in 1281 conveyed Margaret, daughter of Alexander III., to Norway, on the occasion of her nuptials with King Eric.