Lady Jean (I)

DESCRIPTION: Jean's parents arrange her wedding to Lord Dacre. Jean sends for Umphreville, her lover, to rescue her. Dacre is greeted by Jean's parents. The priest prepares for the ceremony. Dacre finds Jean has eloped with Umphreville. Her parents rage and mourn.
AUTHOR: Robert White (source: Whitelaw and Greig-FolkSongInBuchan-FolkSongOfTheNorthEast)
EARLIEST DATE: 1842 (_The Local Historian's Table Book for Northumberland and Durham_, according to Greig-FolkSongInBuchan-FolkSongOfTheNorthEast and Whitelaw)
KEYWORDS: elopement love wedding rescue father mother sister
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Greig-FolkSongInBuchan-FolkSongOfTheNorthEast #156, p. 1, "Otterburn" (1 text)
Greig/Duncan5 1027, "Otterburn" (1 text)
Whitelaw-BookOfScottishBallads, pp. 67-68, "Lady Jean" (1 text)
ADDITIONAL: Thomas Percy, Reliques of Ancient English Poetry ... with [an anonymous] Supplement (Porter & Coates, Philadelphia, 1876), pp. 520-522, "Lady Jean"
Roud #6305
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "John of Hazelgreen" [Child 293] (plot)
cf. "Nancy Dawson" (plot)
NOTES [218 words]: We learn the story by a dialog between Lady Jean and her confidant and sister, Ellen.
The Reliques of Ancient English Poetry ... adds an Addenda, edited anonymously (obviously not Percy (1729-1811) since it includes references to Richardson's 1842-1846 The Local Historian's Table Book of Remarkable Occurences ...)
Greig: "Our version of this ballad has been communicated by Miss B.I. Fowlie, Methlick, who learned it from her mother. I find that it was written by Robert White, and appeared originally in 'The Local Historian's Table Book for Northumberland and Durham' (1842) [Moses Aaron Richardson, The Local Historian's Table Book of Remarkable Occurences ... connected with the counties of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland and Durham, (Newcastle-upon-Tyne,1842-1846)].... Miss Fowlie's copy of the ballad represents the version that has begun to be traditional. Comparing it with the original, we find that while some verses have dropped out, changes in the text are few and unimportant - a fact that indicates an accuracy of memory much above the average."
The Reliques of Ancient English Poetry ...: "Who the author of this Ballad is, I know not: it appeared in Richardson's Table Book, with the initials R.W. appended to it."
Whitelaw has the author as Robert White, confirming Greig. - BS
Last updated in version 3.2
File: GrD1027

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