Folk Songs about the Faery Queen
By Morgraine
Here are two folk songs about the
Faery Quene from ancient sources, enjoy!
Undrentide
Befell
so in the comessing of May
When
mirry and hot is the day
(And)
oway beth winter shours
And
every feld is full of flours
And
blosme breme on evry bough
Overall
wexeth mirry anough
This
ich quene Dame Heurodis
Took
two maidens of pris
And
went in an undrentide
To
play by an orchard side
To
see the floures sprede and spring
(And)
to here the fowles sing
They
set hem down all three
Under
a faire impe tree
And
wel sone this faire quene
Fell
on slepe opon the grene
The
maidens durst hir nought awake
Bot
lete hir ligge and rest take
(So)
she slepe til after none
That
undrentide was all ydone
That
undrentide was all ydone
As
as sone (as) she gan awake
She
cried and lothly here gan make
She
froted hir honden and hir feet
And
cracched her visage, it blede weet
Hir
riche robe hie all to rett
And
was reveyed out of hir wit
The two maidens hir beside
No
durst with hir no leng abide
Bot
urn to the palais full right
And
tolde both squire and knight
That her quene awede wold
And
bold hem go and hir athold
Knightes
urn and levedis also
Damisels
sexty and mo
In
they orchard to the quene hie come
And
hir up in her armes nome
And
brought hir to bed atte last
And
held hir there fine fast
As
ever she held in o cry
And
wolde up and owy
Medieval English, from the
poem Orpheo. Falling asleep under
an enchanted tree, Queen Heurodis comes under the spell of the fairies.
As she sleeps, she is shown the wonders of the Land of Magic.
When she awakes, she is returned to reality, with the promise of
‘Wherever you are, you will be fetched away one day’ by the Fairy Queen.
(NB – Undrentide simply means noon)
Modern Translation
Tam
Lin and the Queen of the Fey
Tam Lin was a young man,
and one day whilst walking in the forest of Erceldonne, he met the Queen of the
Fey, whom some call Maeve, Etain, or Morgan.
She fell in love with him and begged him to come with her to the Land of
Magic.
He refused at first, and
then she took him on a magical ride to see the world.
Still he was reluctant to come with her, but then he decided
he wasn’t afraid to enter within
The Faery Queen told Tam
Lin all her secrets, and gave him the keys to his kingdom, and seven long years
he dwelt with her.
But after that,
the spell was broken by Merlin himself, and in grief and lamentation they
parted.
The Faery Queen gave Tam
Lin the gift of the Sight, but on his return to the mortal world, he had become
old.
For the seven years he spent
in the Faery Realm, was seven hundred years in reality.
Thus he became a hermit,
living in the forest and having all sorts of people coming to consult him for
his wisdom. But he remembered not
the Faery Queen, for he had forgotten her on his return.
So what happened to her?
Slowly, she passed along:
Lovely,
disconsolate
Sad
Faery Queen
Reft
of her lover
He
was comely and young
And
her beauty enthralled him
But
their last song is sung
And
the thraldon is over
Seven
years unfound
Hidden
from mortal ken
Neath
yon green mound
By
Barrow River
But
the fateful hour came
And
he left her lamenting
Though
she calls his name
He
returns to her never
Slowly, she passed along
Lovely,
disconsolate
Sad
Faery Queen
Reft
of her lover