Lang Johnny More [Child 251]

DESCRIPTION: John More, on a visit to London, falls in love with the King's daughter. The King declares he will kill John, and takes him prisoner by drugging him. John sends a message begging help. Two giants come to rescue him, browbeating the King into surrender
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1827 (described in a letter from Peter Buchan to Motherwell; see Emily Lyle, _Fairies and Folk: Approaches to the Scottish Ballad Tradition_, Wissenschaflicher Verlag Trier, 2007, p, 172)
KEYWORDS: royalty love courting prison execution rescue
FOUND IN: Britain(Scotland(Aber))
REFERENCES (7 citations):
Child 251, "Lang Johnny More" (1 text)
Bronson 251, "Lang Johnny More" (15 versions)
Bronson-SingingTraditionOfChildsPopularBallads 251, "Lang Johnny More" (2 versons: #8, "#36" -- the latter, however, is version #36 of "The Gaberlunzie Man" and was evidently pasted here by mistake)
Greig-FolkSongInBuchan-FolkSongOfTheNorthEast #27, pp. 1-2, "Lang Johnnie More" (1 text)
Greig/Duncan2 246, "Lang Johnnie More" (10 texts, 8 tunes) {A=Bronson's #5, B=#3,C=#2, D=#1, E=#13, F=#11, G=#9, H=#12}
Buchan-ABookOfScottishBallads 59, "Lang Johnny More" (1 text)
DT 251, LONGJOHN
Roud #3100
RECORDINGS:
John Strachan, "Lang Johnny More" (on FSB5, FSBBAL2) {Bronson's #8}
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Johnie Scot" [Child 99]
ALTERNATE TITLES:
Long John, Old John, and Jackie North
Lang Johnnie Moir
NOTES [51 words]: Child views this as "perhaps an imitation, and in fact almost a parody, of 'Johnie Scot.'" Certainly the plots are very much alike -- but the supernatural feats of the rescuers are commonplaces (cf., e.g., "Hughie Grame" [Child 191]).
The surname "More/Moore" appears a distortion of Gaelic "Mor," "big." - RBW
Last updated in version 4.1
File: C251

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