"Earl Brand" (

Child A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...

Roud The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of around 250,000 references to nearly 25,000 songs collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world. It is compiled by Steve Roud. Roud's Index is a combination of the Broadsid ...

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is a pseudo-historical English

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

Synopsis

The hero, who may be Earl Brand, Lord Douglas, or Lord William, flees with the heroine, who may be Lady Margaret. A Carl Hood may betray them to her father, but they are always pursued. The hero kills the pursuers and is mortally wounded. He gets the heroine to his mother's house, but when he dies, she dies of sorrow.

Commentary

This ballad has many similarities with Child ballad 8, ''

Erlinton "Erlinton" (Roud 24, Child 8) is an English-language folk ballad. One variant features Robin Hood, but this variant forces the folk hero into a ballad structure where he does not fit naturally. Synopsis Erlinton imprisons his daughter in her bow ...

'', where the lovers succeed in their escape, and the fight scenes often have details in common across variants.

Francis James Child Francis James Child (February 1, 1825 – September 11, 1896) was an American scholar, educator, and folklorist, best known today for his collection of English and Scottish ballads now known as the Child Ballads. Child was Boylston professor ...

only reluctantly separated them, but concluded that because the lovers' assailants are her kin in ''Earl Brand'' and strangers in ''Erlinton'', they were separate types. Scandavian variants often have a detail that Child believed was originally contained but lost from the English ballad: the hero warns the heroine not to speak his

name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A person ...

, and when he is about to kill her last brother, she begs him by name to let the brother live to bear the news, and this causes his death. These variants include the Danish ''Ribold and Guldborg'' and ''Hildebrand and Hilde'' and the German

Waltharius ''Waltharius'' is a Latin epic poem founded on German popular tradition relating the exploits of the Visigothic hero Walter of Aquitaine. While its subject matter is taken from early medieval Germanic legend, the epic stands firmly in the Lati ...

and Þiðrekssaga. Auld Carl Hood is also an old man in the Scandavian variants; he appears to be a malicious figure of

Odin Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Em ...

Woden Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Emp ...

. Many variants of this ballad end with flowers growing from the lovers' grave. This is a common motif for all manner of ballads having no other connection, such as '' Fair Margaret and Sweet William'', ''

Lord Thomas and Fair Annet "Lord Thomas and Fair Annet" (), also known as "Lord Thomas and Fair Eleanor", is an English folk ballad. Synopsis Lord Thomas (or Sweet Willie) is in love with Fair Annet, or Annie, or Elinor, but she has little property. He asks for advice. ...

'', '' Fair Janet'', and '' Lord Lovel'', and in tales and ballads found throughout Europe and parts of Asia. This is found in the legend of

Tristan and Iseult Tristan and Iseult, also known as Tristan and Isolde and other names, is a medieval chivalric romance told in numerous variations since the 12th century. Of disputed source, usually assumed to be primarily Celtic nations, Celtic, the tale is a ...

, which is sometimes supposed to be the source, but there is no evidence for its being older in the

romance Romance may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings ** Romantic orientation, the classification of the sex or gender with which a pers ...

s than in the ballad.

Cultural uses

Frederick William Burton Sir Frederic William Burton (8 April 1816 in Wicklow – 16 March 1900 in London) was an Irish Victorian painter and curator who was the third director of the National Gallery, London for 20 years from 1874. Burton's best-known watercolou ...

drew upon a Danish ballad of this type for his "Meeting on the Turret Stairs", depicting the parting of the lovers before the fight.Clare People: Sir Frederic William Burton, R.H.A.: The Meeting on the Turret Stairs
/ref>

References

External links

*"Scottish Ballads Online
Child Ballad #7: 'Earl Brand'
Nine variants from Francis J Child's collection and a further two from the appendix and a link to versions from the living tradition. {{authority control Child Ballads

Brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

English folklore Northumbrian folklore Scottish folklore Year of song unknown

Synopsis

Commentary

Cultural uses

See also

References

External links