Cuckold by Consent, A

DESCRIPTION: A miller intends to sleep with a customer and has his wife put her in the parlour bed for the night. The maid and wife trade places. In the morning the miller tells Jack to sleep with the woman in the parlour bed cuckolding himself "with my own consent"
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1675 (broadside, Bodleian 4o Rawl. 566(172))
LONG DESCRIPTION: A maid takes her father's corn to the mill. The miller asks his wife to put her in the parlour bed for the night, intending to sleep with her. The maid tells the wife of the miller's intent and they change places. In the morning the miller tells Jack to sleep with the woman in the parlour bed. At the mill the maid reveals the trick and the miller accepts being cuckolded by his own consent.
KEYWORDS: adultery trick wife miller sex
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Greig/Duncan7 1458, "The Jolly Miller" (4 texts, 2 tunes)
Roud #7283
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, 4o Rawl. 566(172), "A Cuckhold by Consent" or "The Frollick Miller that Inticed a Maid" ("Friends will it please you to hear me tell"), F. Coles (London), 1663-1674
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Bed's Making" (tune, per broadside Bodleian 4o Rawl. 566(172))
NOTES [23 words]: A certain similarity to Chaucer's "Reeve's Tale" will probably be evident, although the characters and motivations are all different. - RBW
Last updated in version 5.3
File: GrD71458

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