Rookhope Ryde [Child 179]

DESCRIPTION: The singer curses those who raid Rookhope. Northern thieves descend upon Rookhope when most of the high officials were away. But the raiders are seen, pursued, and taken in battle. The singer praises those who repelled the raid
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1792 (Ritson, collected from George Collingwood, who reportedly died 1785)
KEYWORDS: poaching robbery punishment
FOUND IN: Britain
REFERENCES (3 citations):
Child 179, "Rookhope Ryde" (1 text)
Whitelaw-BookOfScottishBallads, pp. 384-387, "Rookhope Ryde" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: [Cuthbert Sharp], _The Bishopric Garland, A Collection of Legends, Songs, Ballads, &c Belonging to the County of Durham_, 1834 (references are to the 1969 reprint), p. 14, "Rookhope Ryde" (1 text)
Roud #4008
NOTES [68 words]: Child dates this "ryde" (raid) to the time of the Rising in the North (for background, see "The Rising in the North" [Child 175]), and this seems likely enough. However, neither the song itself nor outside sources give enough details to make this verifiable. The only other evidence is implicit: The Rising distracted or removed so many lords, sheriffs, and bailiffs that it made such a vast raid possible. - RBW
Last updated in version 3.2
File: C179

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