“The Baffled Knight”

Description

A (knight/shepherd) sees a lady (bathing), and wishes to lie with her. She convinces him not to touch her until they reach her father's gate. She jumps in, locks him out, and scolds him for his base thoughts and/or his lack of assertiveness.

Notes

Child relegates the Percy text, and a similar one in the Roxburghe collection, to an appendix to this piece. I really don't see why. The result is long and complex, and may well have been retouched, but it's certainly a variant of this song.

It is noteworthy that Bronson classifies most versions of this song into a large tune group -- but that none of the early printed texts (e.g. Ravenscroft's and D'Urfey's) fit this form.

The song "Jock Sheep" is clearly a rewrite of this, with an anti-feminist ending, and as such was lumped with Child 112 in earlier versions of this index. But it is distinct enough, and survives widely enough on its own, that we now split the two. As does Roud. (Thanks to Ben Schwartz for doing the research to split them.) - RBW

Cross references

• cf. "Katie Morey" [Laws N24] (plot)
• cf. "The New-Mown Hay" (plot)
• cf. "The Lovely Banks of Mourne" (plot)
• cf. "Jock Sheep" (plot)

Broadsides

• Bodleian, Johnson Ballads 739 [mostly illegible], "Blow the Wind, I, O", J. Pitts (London), 1802-1819; also Harding B 13(224), Harding B 11(337), Harding B 15(21b), Firth b.27(27), "Blow the Winds I[.] O"; Harding B 5(5), Douce Ballads 3(52b), "The Baffled Knight" or "The Lady's Policy"

Recordings

• Emily Bishop, "The Baffled Knight (Clear Away the Morning Dew" (on FSB5, FSBBAL2)
• Sam Larner, "Blow Away the Morning Dew" (on SLarner02)

References

1. Child 112, "The Baffled Knight" (6 texts)
2. Bronson 112, "The Baffled Knight" (40 versions+3 in addenda) -- but #26-33 (his Appendix A) are "The New-Mown Hay," which may be separate, and #34-#39 (his Appendix B) are "Katie Morey" [Laws N24] which is certainly separate
3. Percy/Wheatley II, pp. 336-342, "The Baffled Knight, or Lady's Policy" (1 text; tune in Chappell)
4. Stokoe/Reay, pp. 112-113, "Blow the Winds I-Ho!" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #6}
5. BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 454-456, "The Baffled Knight" (notes plus a modified version from Ravenscroft=Child A, also a claimed link to "Katey Morey")
6. Flanders-Ancient3, pp. 89-99, "The Baffled Knight" (5 texts, but the "A" text is from "The Charms of Melody" rather than tradition and "B-I" through "B-IV" are "Katie Morey" [Laws N24] rather than "The Baffled Knight")
7. Creighton/Senior, pp. 63-65, "The Baffled Knight" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #25}
8. Peacock, pp. 272-275, "The Foolish Shepherd" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
9. Karpeles-Newfoundland 16, "The Baffled Knight" (1 text fragment, 1 tune)
10. Leach, pp. 320-321, "The Baffled Knight" (1 text)
11. Friedman, p. 154, "The Baffled Knight" (1 text)
12. PBB 35, "Blow the Winds, I-Ho" (1 text)
13. Sharp-100E 19, "Blow Away the Morning Dew" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #16}
14. Chappell/Wooldridge I, p. 136, "Yonder Comes a Courteous Knight" (1 tune, partial text) {Bronson's #1}; Chappell/Wooldridge II, pp. 69-70, "The Baffled Knight" (1 tune, partial text; full text is in Percy/Wheatley) {Bronson's #2}
15. Silber-FSWB, p. 190, "Blow Away The Morning Dew" (1 text)
16. BBI, ZN2505, "There was a Knight was drunk with Wine"; cf. ZN2506, "There was a knight was wine-drunke"
17. DT 112, MORNDEW* MORNDEW2
18. Roud #11
19. BI, C112