Ranter Parson, The

DESCRIPTION: "It is of a sly ranter parson, For preaching he lived in great fame,.. but I must not mention his name." The parson desires a farmer's wife. The wife offers to sleep with him but slips a swarm of bees into the bed; he is left lovelorn and much bestung
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1904 (Vaughan Williams)
KEYWORDS: infidelity sex clergy husband wife trick bug injury humorous
FOUND IN: Britain(England(Lond))
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Palmer-FolkSongsCollectedBy-Ralph-VaughanWilliams, #89, "The Ranter Parson" (1 text, 1 tune)
Roud #2530
NOTES [56 words]: The similarity to Chaucer's "Merchant's Tale" will presumably be obvious, although this sort of trick is so common in folklore that there is no need to presume dependence. I suspect a recent broadside source, given the length of the piece and the fact that the informant said he often learned songs from (presumably printed) "ballets." - RBW
Last updated in version 4.2
File: VWP089

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