Allan o Maut (II) (How Mault Deals With Every Man)

DESCRIPTION: No one can match Master Mault. He is challenged by the miller, hostess maid, smith, carpenter, shoe-maker, weaver, tinker, tailor, sailor, chapman, mason, bricklayer and labourer, butcher and porter(?). He defeats them all.
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1601-1640? (Pepys 1.427)
KEYWORDS: violence drink farming
FOUND IN:
REFERENCES (3 citations):
ADDITIONAL: Robert Jamieson, Popular Ballads and Songs (Edinburgh: Archibald Constable and Co, 1806 ("Digitized by Google"))")), Vol.II, pp. 244-250, "Master Mault" (1 text)
William Chappell, The Roxburghe Ballads (Hertford: The Ballad Society, 1874 ("Digitized by Microsoft")), Vol.II, pp. 379-382, "A new Ballad for you to looke on, How Mault Doth Deal With Every One" (1 text)
Thomas Evans and R.H. Evans, Old Ballads Historical and Narrative (London: R.H. Evans, 1810 ("Digitized by Microsoft")), Vol. IV, #35 pp. 220-226, "A new Ballad for you to looke on, How Mault Doth Deal With Every One" (1 text)
Roud #V39177
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Douce Ballads 3(83a), "A pleasant old ballad to look upon, How Master Malt Deals With Every Man" ("Master Malt is a gentlemanhe is a Gentleman, And hath beene since the world began"), unknown, no date, accessed 13 Nov 2013.
EngBdsdBA 31631, Pepys 1.427, "A New Ballad for You to Look On, How Mault doth Deale With Euery One" ("MAs Mault he is a Gentleman, And hath beene since the world began "), H.G[osson] (London), 1601-1640?, accessed 16 Nov 2013.
EngBdsdBA 31632, Pepys 1.471, "A Pleasant New Ballad to Look upon, How Mault Deals With Every Man" ("Mr. Mault is a Gentleman, And hath been since the world began"), J. Clarke, W. Thackeray, and T. Passinger (London), 1684-1686, accessed 17 Nov 2013.
EngBdsdBA 30232, Roxburghe 1.342, "A new Ballad for you to looke on, How Mault Doth Deal With Every One" ("MAs Mault is a Gentleman And hath bin since the world began"), John Wright, 1602-1646?, accessed 21 Nov 2013.
EngBdsdBA 31891, UGlasgowLib Euing 277, "A pleasant new Ballad to look upon, How Mault deals with every man" ("MAs Mault is a Gentleman And hath bin since the world began"), F. Coles, T. Vere, J. Wright and T. Clarke (London), 1674-1679, accessed 14 Nov 2013.
EngBdsdBA 31892, UGlasgowLib Euing 278, "A pleasant new Ballad to look upon, How Mault deals with every man" ("MAs Mault is a Gentleman And hath bin since the world began"), F. Coles, T. Vere, J. Wright and W. Gilbertson (London), 1658-1664, accessed 14 Nov 2013.
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "John Barleycorn (I)" (theme: the tale of brewing) and references there
cf. "Greensleeves" (tune)
NOTES [541 words]: Chappell is a duplicate of Roxburghe 1.342.
There are two sets of texts.
Pepys 1.427 (1601-1640?), Roxburghe 1.342 (1602-1646) and Evans appears to be the older set.
The newer set is Euing 278 (1658-1664), Euing 277 (1674-1679), Douce Ballads 3(83a) and Pepys 1.471 (1684-1686). Jamieson, who is analyzing Alan o' Maut and John Barleycorn songs notes where his source text -- Pepys 1.471 -- varies significantly from Pepys 1.427; Jamieson seems imperfectly transcribed (for example, he is missing lines 85-88 in which the tinker tries Mault until his legs won't hold him).
Each member of the older set is 136 lines; each member of the newer set is missing lines 121-124 in which Mault makes a fool of the butcher.
In some cases the lines are almost identical (except for spelling differences); here the sets describe Mault's encounter with the mason and bricklayer's labourer:
---
Older set ll.113-120, illustrated by Pepys 1.427:
Then came the Labourer out with his hood,
And saw his two masters how they stood.
He took master malt by the whood
and swore he would him strike sir.
Mault he ran and for feare did weep,
The Labourer he did skip and leape,
But Mault cast him into the morter heape,
and there he fell a sleepe sir.
---
Newer set ll.113-120, illustrated by Douce Ballads 3(83a) [the only text I have that spells the protagonist's name as "Malt," and -- besides -- it modernizes some spelling, though it retains the long-s typography]:
Then came the Labourer in his Hood,
And saw his two Masters how they stood.
He took his Master Malt by the Hood,
And swore he would him strike, Sir.
Malt he ran, and for fear did weep,
The Labourer he did skip and leap,
But Malt made him into the Morter to leap,
And there he fell a sleep, Sir.
---
In most cases there are significant differences between the older and newer texts; here the sets describe Mault's first battle with the tinker.
---
Older set ll.61-70, illustrated by Pepys 1.427:
The Tinker he tooke the Weavers part
Because he is touching unto his Art,
He tooke the pot and dranke a quart,
the world was very quicke sir.
Mault had of him his owne desire,
He made him tumble into the fire,
There he lost his burling ire,
He hath not found it yet sir.
---
Newer set ll.61-70, illustrated by Douce Ballads 3(83a):
The Tinker took the Weaver's Part,
Such furious rage possest his Heart,
He took the Pot and drank a Quart,
His Wits were very Ripe, Sir.
For Malt the Upper-hand so got,
He knew not how to pay the shot,
But Part without the Reckoning Pot,
And found his stomach sick, Sir
---
"Allan o Maut (II)" is one of six Allan o' Maut / John Barleycorn songs analyzed first by Jamieson, later by Dixon, and most recently by Wood. Their analyses are discussed at "John Barleycorn (I)." Each of the six songs has been given its own Index entry for clarity's sake. In the case of "Allan o Maut (II)" there is no carry over of lines to or from any of the other five songs, and it has not been "collected." However, of the broadsides -- Pepys 1.427, Pepys 1.471, Euing 277, Euing 278, and Douce Ballads 3(83a) -- all but Euing 278 were on the same sheet as, and a second part to, the ballad indexed as "John Barleycorn (III)" which has a great deal of carry-over to collected songs. - BS
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