Laurel · Arthur Quiller-Couch · The Oxford Book of Ballads

Fause Foodrage

Arthur Quiller-Couch (1863–1944) · before 1800

common measure · 140 lines · from The Oxford Book of Ballads

King Easter has courted her for her lands,King Wester for her fee,King Honour for her comely face,And for her fair bodie.

They had not been four months married,As I have heard them tell,Until the nobles of the landAgainst them did rebel.

And they cast kevils them amang,And kevils them between;And they cast kevils them amang,Wha suld gae kill the king.

O, some said yea, and some said nay,Their words did not agree;Till up and got him, Fause Foodrage,And swore it suld be he.

When bells were rung, and mass was sung,And a’ men bound to bed,King Honour and his gay ladyeIn a high chamber were laid.

Then up and raise him, Fause Foodrage,When a’ were fast asleep,And slew the porter in his lodge,That watch and ward did keep.

O four-and-twenty silver keysHang hie upon a pin;And aye, as ae door he did unlock,He has fasten’d it him behin’.

Then up and raise him, King Honour,Says--‘What means a’ this din?Or what’s the matter, Fause Foodrage,Or wha has loot you in?’--

‘O ye my errand weel sall learn,Before that I depart.’--Then drew a knife, baith lang and sharp,And pierced him to the heart.

Then up and got the Queen hersell,And fell low down on her knee,‘O spare my life, now, Fause Foodrage!For I never injured thee.

‘O spare my life, now, Fause Foodrage!Until I lighter be!And see gin it be lad or lass,King Honour has left me wi’.’--

‘O gin it be a lass,’ he says,‘Weel nursèd it sall be;But gin it be a lad bairn,He sall be hangèd hie.

‘I winna spare for his tender age,Nor yet for his hie hie kin;But soon as e’er he born is,He sall mount the gallows pin.’--

O four-and-twenty valiant knightsWere set the Queen to guard;And four stood aye at her bour door,To keep both watch and ward.

But when the time drew near an end,That she suld lighter be,She cast about to find a wile,To set her body free.

O she has birled these merry young menWith the ale but and the wine,Until they were a’ deadly drunkAs any wild-wood swine.

‘O narrow, narrow is this window,And big, big am I grown!’--Yet through the might of Our Ladye,Out at it she is gone.

She wander’d up, she wander’d down,She wander’d out and in,And, at last, into the very swine’s stytheThe Queen brought forth a son.

Then they cast kevils them amang,Which suld gae seek the Queen;And the kevil fell upon Wise William,And he sent his wife for him.

O when she saw Wise William’s wife,The Queen fell on her knee:‘Win up, win up, madam!’ she says:‘What needs this courtesie?’--

‘O out o’ this I winna rise,Till a boon ye grant to me;To change your lass for this lad bairn,King Honour left me wi’.

‘And ye maun learn my gay goss-hawkRight weel to breast a steed;And I sall learn your turtle dowAs weel to write and read.

‘And ye maun learn my gay goss-hawkTo wield both bow and brand;And I sall learn your turtle dowTo lay gowd wi’ her hand.

‘At kirk and market when we meet,We’ll dare make nae avowe,But--“Dame, how does my gay goss-hawk?”“Madame, how does my dow?”’

When days were gane, and years came on,Wise William he thought lang;And he has ta’en King Honour’s sonA-hunting for to gang.

It sae fell out, at this huntìng,Upon a simmer’s day,That they came by a fair castell,Stood on a sunny brae.

‘O dinna ye see that bonny castell,Wi’ halls and towers sae fair?Gin ilka man had back his ain,Of it you suld be heir.’--

‘How I suld be heir of that castell,In sooth, I canna see;For it belangs to Fause Foodrage,And he is na kin to me.’--

‘O gin ye suld kill him, Fause Foodrage,You would do but what was right;For I wot he kill’d your father dear,Or ever ye saw the light.

‘And gin ye suld kill him, Fause Foodrage,There is no man durst you blame;For he keeps your mother a prisoner,And she darna take ye hame.’--

The boy stared wild like a gray goss-hawk;Says--‘What may a’ this mean?’--‘My boy, ye are King Honour’s son,And your mother’s our lawful Queen.’--

‘O gin I be King Honour’s son,By Our Ladye I swear,This night I will that traitor slay,And relieve my mother dear!’--

He has set his bent bow to his breastAnd leaped the castell wa’;And soon he has seized on Fause Foodrage,Wha loud for help ’gan ca’.

‘O haud your tongue, now, Fause Foodrage,Frae me ye shanna flee!’--Syne pierced him through the fause, fause heart,And set his mother free.

And he has rewarded Wise WilliamWi’ the best half of his land;And sae has he the turtle dow,Wi’ the truth o’ his right hand.

Words in this poem 28

honour n.: Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
rebel a.: Pertaining to rebels or rebellion; acting in revolt; rebellious; as, rebel troops. [F. rebelle, fr. L. rebellis. See Rebel, v. t.]
rung n.: A floor timber in a ship. [OE. ronge, AS. hrung, a staff, rod, pole; akin to G. runge a short, thick piece of iron or wood, OD. ronghe a prop, support, Icel. röng a rib in a ship, Goth. H]
unlock v. t.: To unfasten, as what is locked; as, to unlock a door or a chest. [Cf. AS. unl. See 1st Un-, and Lock, v. t.]
loot n.: The act of plundering. [Hind. l, Skr. l, l, booty, lup to break, spoil; prob. akin to E. rob.]
weel: A kind of trap or snare for fish, made of twigs. Carew. [Prov. E. weel, weal, a wicker basket to catch eels; prob. akin to willow, and so called as made of willow twigs.]
sall n.: An East Indian timber tree (Shorea robusta), much used for building purposes. It is of a light brown color, close-grained, and durable. [Hind. s\'bel, Skr. ç\'bela.]
depart v. i.: To part; to divide; to separate. [OE. departen to divide, part, depart, F. départir to divide, distribute, se départir to separate one's self, depart; pref. dé- (L. de) + partir to part, depart,]
lass n.: A youth woman; a girl; a sweetheart. [OE. lasse; prob. of Celtic origin; cf. W. llodes girl, fem. of llawd lad. (Lad a youth.]
valiant a.: Vigorous in body; strong; powerful; as, a valiant fencer. [OE. valiant, F. vaillant, OF. vaillant, valant, originally p. pr. of OF. & F. valoir to be worth, L. valere to be strong. See Wield, and cf. Avail, Convalesce, ]
bour n.: A chamber or a cottage. [See Bower a chamber.]
wile n.: A trick or stratagem practiced for insnaring or deception; a sly, insidious; artifice; a beguilement; an allurement. [OE. wile, AS. wil; cf. Icel. v, væl. Cf. Guile.]
needs adv.: Of necessity; necessarily; indispensably; -- often with must, and equivalent to of need. [Orig. gen. of need, used as an adverb. Cf. - wards.]
boon n.: A prayer or petition. [OE. bone, boin, a petition, fr. Icel. b; akin to Sw. & Dan. b, AS. b, and perh. to E. ban; but influenced by F. bon good, fr. L. bonus. Ban, Bounty.]
steed n.: A horse, especially a spirited horse for state of war; -- used chiefly in poetry or stately prose. [OE. stede, AS. steda a stud-horse, war horse, fr. stod a stud of breeding steeds; akin to G. stute a mare, Icel. stedda, sto, a stud. *163. See Stud of horses.]
wield v. t.: To govern; to rule; to keep, or have in charge; also, to possess. [OE. welden to govern, to have power over, to possess, AS. geweldan, gewyldan, from wealdan; akin to OS. waldan, OFries. walda, G. walten, OHG. waltan, Icel. val]
kirk n.: A church or the church, in the various senses of the word; esp., the Church of Scotland as distinguished from other reformed churches, or from the Roman Catholic Church. Jamieson. [Scot.; cf. Icel. kirkja, of Greek origin. See Church.]
dame n.: A mistress of a family, who is a lady; a womam in authority; especially, a lady. [F. dame, LL. domna, fr. L. domina mistress, lady, fem. of dominus master, ruler, lord; akin to domare to tame, subdue. See Tame, and cf. Dam mother, Dan, Danger]
madame n.: My lady; -- a French title formerly given to ladies of quality; now, in France, given to all married women. [F., fr. ma my (L. mea) + dame dame. See Dame, and cf. Madonna.]
gane v. i.: To yawn; to gape. [See Yawn.]
simmer v. i.: To boil gently, or with a gentle hissing; to begin to boil. [Prov. E. also simper; -- an onomatopoetic word.]
sunny a.: Of or pertaining to the sun; proceeding from, or resembling the sun; hence, shining; bright; brilliant; radiant.
brae n.: A hillside; a slope; a bank; a hill. Burns. [See Bray a hill.]
bonny a.: Handsome; beautiful; pretty; attractively lively and graceful. [OE. boni, prob. fr. F. bon, fem. bonne, good, fr. L. bonus good. See Bounty, and cf. Bonus, Boon.]
sooth a.: True; faithful; trustworthy. [OE. soth, AS. s, for san; akin to OS. s, OHG. sand, Icel. sannr, Sw. sann, Dan. sand, Skr. sat, sant, real, genuine, present, being; properly p. pr. from a root]
canna n.: A measure of length in Italy, varying from six to seven feet. [It.]
relieve v. t.: To lift up; to raise again, as one who has fallen; to cause to rise. Piers Plowman. [OE. releven, F. relever to raise again, discharge, relieve, fr. L. relevare to lift up, raise, make light, relieve; pref. re- re- + levare to raise, fr. levis l]
syne adv.: Afterwards; since; ago. R. of Brunne. [See Since.]

Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.

About this text

Fause Foodrage is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Oxford Book of Ballads, Project Gutenberg ebook #44593; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.

Cite as: Arthur Quiller-Couch, Fause Foodrage, in The Oxford Book of Ballads (before 1800), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #44593, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/oxford-ballads/fause-foodrage.html, id L08419.

Form and metre

Fause Foodrage is 140 lines in 35 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.3 syllables. 11 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 10% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.

See other poems in common measure.

Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.

Rhyme words, stanza by stanza

The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.

2 -A-A married · tell^A · land · rebel^A
3 A-AA amang^A · between · amang^A · king^A
4 -A-A nay · agree^A · foodrage · he^A
6 -A-A foodrage · asleep^A · lodge · keep^A
7 -A-A keys · pin^A · unlock · behin^A
8 -A-A honour · din^A · foodrage · in^A
9 -A-A learn · depart^A · sharp · heart^A
10 -A-A hersell · knee^A · foodrage · thee^A
13 -A-A age · kin^A · is · pin^A
15 -A-A end · be^A · wile · free^A
16 -A-A men · wine^A · drunk · swine^A
18 AA-A down^A · in^A · stythe · son^A
19 --AA amang · queen · william^A · him^A
22 -A-A hawk · steed^A · dow · read^A
23 -A-A hawk · brand^A · dow · hand^A
25 -A-A on · lang^A · son · gang^A
26 -A-A huntìng · day^A · castell · brae^A
27 -A-A castell · fair^A · ain · heir^A
28 -A-A castell · see^A · foodrage · me^A
29 -A-A foodrage · right^A · dear · light^A
30 -A-A foodrage · blame^A · prisoner · hame^A
31 -A-A hawk · mean^A · son · queen^A
32 -A-A son · swear^A · slay · dear^A
33 -A-A breast · wa^A · foodrage · ca^A
34 -A-A foodrage · flee^A · heart · free^A
35 -A-A william · land^A · dow · hand^A

Scansion, line by line

Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against common measure. How this is done.

Line	Syl.	Stress
King Easter has courted her for her lands,	10	·/˘·/˘····
King Wester for her fee,	6	·/˘···
King Honour for her comely face,	8	·/˘··/˘·
And for her fair bodie.	6	····/˘
They had not been four months married,	8	······/˘
As I have heard them tell,	6	······
Until the nobles of the land	8	···/˘···
Against them did rebel.	6	····/˘
And they cast kevils them amang,	8	········
And kevils them between;	6	······
And they cast kevils them amang,	8	········
Wha suld gae kill the king.	6	······
O, some said yea, and some said nay,	8	········
Their words did not agree;	6	····˘/
Till up and got him, Fause Foodrage,	8	········
And swore it suld be he.	6	······
When bells were rung, and mass was sung,	8	········
And a’ men bound to bed,	6	······
King Honour and his gay ladye	8	·/˘·····
In a high chamber were laid.	7	···/˘··
Then up and raise him, Fause Foodrage,	8	········
When a’ were fast asleep,	6	····˘/
And slew the porter in his lodge,	8	···/˘···
That watch and ward did keep.	6	······
O four-and-twenty silver keys	8	···/˘/˘·
Hang hie upon a pin;	6	······
And aye, as ae door he did unlock,	9	·······˘/
He has fasten’d it him behin’.	8	··/˘····
Then up and raise him, King Honour,	8	······/˘
Says--‘What means a’ this din?	6	······
Or what’s the matter, Fause Foodrage,	8	···/˘···
Or wha has loot you in?’--	6	······
‘O ye my errand weel sall learn,	8	···/˘···
Before that I depart.’--	6	····˘/
Then drew a knife, baith lang and sharp,	8	········
And pierced him to the heart.	6	······
Then up and got the Queen hersell,	8	········
And fell low down on her knee,	7	·······
‘O spare my life, now, Fause Foodrage!	8	········
For I never injured thee.	7	··/˘/˘·
‘O spare my life, now, Fause Foodrage!	8	········
Until I lighter be!	6	···/˘·
And see gin it be lad or lass,	8	········
King Honour has left me wi’.’--	7	·/˘····
‘O gin it be a lass,’ he says,	8	········
‘Weel nursèd it sall be;	5	·····
But gin it be a lad bairn,	7	·······
He sall be hangèd hie.	5	·····
‘I winna spare for his tender age,	9	······/˘·
Nor yet for his hie hie kin;	7	·······
But soon as e’er he born is,	7	·······
He sall mount the gallows pin.’--	7	····/˘·
O four-and-twenty valiant knights	8	···/˘/˘·
Were set the Queen to guard;	6	······
And four stood aye at her bour door,	8	········
To keep both watch and ward.	6	······
But when the time drew near an end,	8	········
That she suld lighter be,	6	···/˘·
She cast about to find a wile,	8	········
To set her body free.	6	···/˘·
O she has birled these merry young men	9	·····/˘··
With the ale but and the wine,	7	·······
Until they were a’ deadly drunk	8	·····/˘·
As any wild-wood swine.	6	·/˘···
‘O narrow, narrow is this window,	9	·/˘/˘··/˘
And big, big am I grown!’--	6	······
Yet through the might of Our Ladye,	8	·····/··
Out at it she is gone.	6	······
She wander’d up, she wander’d down,	8	·/˘··/˘·
She wander’d out and in,	6	·/˘···
And, at last, into the very swine’s stythe	10	······/˘··
The Queen brought forth a son.	6	······
Then they cast kevils them amang,	8	········
Which suld gae seek the Queen;	6	······
And the kevil fell upon Wise William,	10	········/˘
And he sent his wife for him.	7	·······
O when she saw Wise William’s wife,	8	·····/˘·
The Queen fell on her knee:	6	······
‘Win up, win up, madam!’ she says:	8	····/˘··
‘What needs this courtesie?’--	6	······
‘O out o’ this I winna rise,	8	········
Till a boon ye grant to me;	7	·······
To change your lass for this lad bairn,	8	········
King Honour left me wi’.	6	·/˘···
‘And ye maun learn my gay goss-hawk	8	········
Right weel to breast a steed;	6	······
And I sall learn your turtle dow	8	·····/˘·
As weel to write and read.	6	······
‘And ye maun learn my gay goss-hawk	8	········
To wield both bow and brand;	6	······
And I sall learn your turtle dow	8	·····/˘·
To lay gowd wi’ her hand.	6	······
‘At kirk and market when we meet,	8	···/˘···
We’ll dare make nae avowe,	6	······
But--“Dame, how does my gay goss-hawk?”	8	········
“Madame, how does my dow?”’	6	/˘····
When days were gane, and years came on,	8	········
Wise William he thought lang;	6	·/˘···
And he has ta’en King Honour’s son	8	·····/˘·
A-hunting for to gang.	6	·/˘···
It sae fell out, at this huntìng,	8	········
Upon a simmer’s day,	6	···/˘·
That they came by a fair castell,	8	······/˘
Stood on a sunny brae.	6	···/˘·
‘O dinna ye see that bonny castell,	10	······/˘/˘
Wi’ halls and towers sae fair?	7	···/˘··
Gin ilka man had back his ain,	8	·/˘·····
Of it you suld be heir.’--	6	······
‘How I suld be heir of that castell,	9	·······/˘
In sooth, I canna see;	6	···/˘·
For it belangs to Fause Foodrage,	8	········
And he is na kin to me.’--	7	·······
‘O gin ye suld kill him, Fause Foodrage,	9	·········
You would do but what was right;	7	·······
For I wot he kill’d your father dear,	9	······/˘·
Or ever ye saw the light.	7	·/˘····
‘And gin ye suld kill him, Fause Foodrage,	9	·········
There is no man durst you blame;	7	·······
For he keeps your mother a prisoner,	9	····/˘·/˘
And she darna take ye hame.’--	7	·······
The boy stared wild like a gray goss-hawk;	9	·········
Says--‘What may a’ this mean?’--	6	······
‘My boy, ye are King Honour’s son,	8	·····/˘·
And your mother’s our lawful Queen.’--	8	··/˘//˘·
‘O gin I be King Honour’s son,	8	·····/˘·
By Our Ladye I swear,	7	·/˘····
This night I will that traitor slay,	8	·····/˘·
And relieve my mother dear!’--	7	·˘/·/˘·
He has set his bent bow to his breast	9	·········
And leaped the castell wa’;	6	···/˘·
And soon he has seized on Fause Foodrage,	9	·········
Wha loud for help ’gan ca’.	6	······
‘O haud your tongue, now, Fause Foodrage,	8	········
Frae me ye shanna flee!’--	6	······
Syne pierced him through the fause, fause heart,	8	········
And set his mother free.	6	···/˘·
And he has rewarded Wise William	9	···˘/˘·/˘
Wi’ the best half of his land;	7	·······
And sae has he the turtle dow,	8	·····/˘·
Wi’ the truth o’ his right hand.	7	·······

Notes from the edition 3

Arthur Quiller-Couch's notes to The Oxford Book of Ballads (1910; Project Gutenberg #44593).

Stanza 3, line 1 kevils = lots.
Stanza 22, line 3 dow = dove.
Stanza 23, line 4 lay gowd = embroider in gold.

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