"The Queen of Elfan's Nourice" or "The Queen of Elfland's Nourice" (Roud 3723, Child 40) is an English-language folk song, although fragmentary in form.
Synopsis
A mortal woman laments being taken from her four-day-old son. The Queen of Elfland promises that if she nurses the queen's child, she will be returned. The Queen then points out their path: the road to Elfland, rather than to Heaven or Hell.
Motifs
The path to Elfland appears to be taken from the ballad "Thomas the Rhymer" rather than be a part of this tale.
The plot of the ballad revolves about a common piece of folklore, the taking of human woman to Elfland to nurse fairy babies; women were often regarded as being in particular danger of being taken by the fairies immediately after giving birth.
This ballad was one of 25 traditional works included in Ballads Weird and Wonderful (1912) and illustrated by Vernon Hill.
See also
References
- Francis James Child, English and Scottish Popular Ballads, "The Queen of Elfan's Nourice"
- Francis James Child, The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, v 1, p 358, Dover Publications, New York 1965
- Waltz, Robert B.; Engle, David G. (2012). "The Queen of Elfan's Nourice". Folklore The Traditional Ballad Index: An Annotated Bibliography of the Folk Songs of the English-Speaking World. California State University, Fresno. Retrieved 2017-11-20.
- Francis James Child, The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, v 1, p 358, Dover Publications, New York 1965
- Francis James Child, The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, v 1, p 358-9, Dover Publications, New York 1965
- Carole B. Silver, Strange and Secret Peoples: Fairies and Victorian Consciousness, p 167 ISBN 0-19-512199-6
- Chope, R.P. (1912). "Willy's Lady". Ballads Weird and Wonderful. Ballantyne, Hanson & Co. pp. 5–6. Retrieved 2017-11-19.
External links
 | This folk song–related article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |