At Penhill Crags He Tore His Rage (Owd Bartle Poem, Burning Bartle)

DESCRIPTION: "On Penhill Crags he tore his rags, AtHunters Thorn he blew his horn, At Cappelbank Stee he brak' his knee, At Grassgill Beck he brak' his neck, At Wadhams End he couldn't fend, AtGrassgill End we'll mak' his end. Shout, lads, shout!"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1994 (Kellett), but certainly much older
KEYWORDS: ritual nonballad travel death
FOUND IN: Britain(England(North))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
ADDITIONAL: Arnold Kellett, _The Yorkshire Dictionary of Dialect, Tradition, and Folklore_, revised edition, Smith Settle, 2002, pp. 129-130," (no title, but filed under Owd Bartle)" (1 short text)
NOTES [82 words]: A ritual poem/song. Every year on the Saturday closest to Saint Bartholomew's Day at West Witton in Wensleydale, Yorkshire, an effigy of "Owd Bartle" is carried through the town and eventually burned; this rhyme is associated with the event. The origin of the custom is lost, although apparently several sources think it dates back to the fifteenth century. It is popular enough that Witton uses it as a tourist lure. On the basis that it's clearly old and traditional, I've indexed it. - RBW
Last updated in version 4.1
File: BurnBart

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