105  The New Courtier [Bodleian Wood E25 (89)]

To the tune of ‘Cloris, since thou art fled away’ (standard name)

The purpose of this section is to provide brief notes on the melody followed by detailed evidence relating to  its career, paying particular attention to the ‘echoes’ (inter-song associations and connections) that may have been set up if it was nominated for the singing of more than one ballad. In the list presented in the ‘Songs and Summaries’ section below, we have endeavoured to include as many of the black-letter ballads that used the tune as possible, under any of its variant names. Titles from our chart of best-sellers are presented in bold type (these are also in colour when there is a link to the relevant ballad page on the website). It should be noted that it is extremely difficult to date many ballads precisely and the chronological order in which the songs are listed is therefore very approximate (we have drawn on previous attempts to date the ballads, making adjustments when additional evidence can be brought into play).  In most cases, we list the earliest surviving edition of a ballad, though in many instances there may have been earlier versions, now lost

Versions and variations

This tune, originally composed by Henry Lawes in 1658 as the setting for a romantic poem, was unusually irregular in comparison to most ballad melodies, requiring a seven-line verse. Most surviving versions of the melody are very similar, with only minor variations. Examples can be found in the following sources: Henry Lawes, Ayres and Dialogues… The Third Book (1658); John Playford, Musick’s Delight on the Cithren (1666); John Gamble’s commonplace book (1659), no. 194; and Wit and Mirth (1705). Our recording uses Lawes’ original tune. Simpson also describes a version with distorted note values in the musical manuscript kept by Edward Lowe.

The tune’s first name, from the opening line of the original poem, was ‘Cloris, since thou art fled away’ but the hit song under discussion here also generated the new titles ‘Upon the change’ (from the first line) and ‘Have at all’ (from the short refrain line).

Echoes (an overview)

The irregularity of the tune probably accounts for the fact that it was nominated only rarely on broadsides. Just three songs are listed below, and only The New Courtier achieved conspicuous and lasting success. Its satirical mood was adopted and adapted by the author of The Popes Great Year of Jubilee, but the last ballad on the list was a more conventional ‘last dying speech’, delivered by a convicted highwayman. There are some minor textual affinities between the three songs but these are rather less extensive than those found in association with other melodies.

[See 'Postscript', below, for additional notes on this melody].

Songs and Summaries

The New Courtier. The Tune is, Cloris, since thou art fled away (F. Coles, T. Vere, and J. Wright, 1665-74). Wood E25 (89). Politics – domestic, court, satire; Gender – masculinity, sex, adultery/cuckoldry; Bodies – clothes, adornment; Recreation – fashions; Places – English; Humour – satire; Employment – crafts/trades, sailors/soldiers; Violence – interpersonal; Religion – atheism. A deliberately cryptic song in which a man, claiming to come from ‘the Utopian Court’, describes his principals and lascivious lifestyle in terms that are not intended to endear him to us.

The Popes Great Year of Jubilee, OR, The Catholicks Encouragement for the Entertainment of Popery... Tune is, Have at all (F. Coles, T. Vere, and J. Wright, c. 1678)). Wood 416(128). Religion – Catholic/Protestant, church, clergy, conjuration, saints, sin/repentance, relics, indulgences, Bible; Emotions – excitement, joy; Recreation – public festivity; Gender – sex; Humour – mockery; Economy – money, prices/wages; Crime – robbery/theft, murder; Bodies – clothing; Places – European. A satirical song in which the narrator praises the Church of Rome and announces a grand fair at which all manner of pardons, indulgences and relics can be purchased.

DEVOL’s last Farewell... To the Tune of, Upon the Chnnage [sic] (C. Bates, 1690-1716). Euing 77; EBBA 31760. Crime – robbery/theft, punishment; Death – execution; Economy – money; Emotions – sorrow; Employment – apprenticeship/service; Gender – masculinity; Violence – interpersonal, punitive; Morality – social/economic, general; Environment – roads, travel/transport; Recreation – music, dance; Bodies – adornment. The leader of a criminal gang describes his crimes (principally highway robbery) and regrets the fact that he must now face execution.

Postscript

The tune was also named by Thomas Jordan for one of the songs he wrote for festivities in honour of the Lord Mayor of London (London Triumphant, 1672). The song deals with the instability of life, and the line ‘Leave Friends and Wives/The Devil drives’ recalls ‘My Fancy drives, at Maids & Wives’ in The New Courtier.

Christopher Marsh

References

John Gamble, Commonplace book (1659), New York Public Library, Drexel 4257, no. 194.

Thomas Jordan, London Triumphant (1672), pp. 17-19.

Henry Lawes, Ayres and Dialogues… The Third Book (1658), p. 10.

Edward Lowe, music manuscript, Edinburgh University Library, MS Dc.1.69, fo. 194.

John Playford, Musick’s Delight on the Cithren (1666), p. 93.

Claude Simpson, The British broadside ballad and its music (New Brunswick, 1966), pp. 107-08.

Wit and Mirth (1705), p. 172.

Standard woodcut name: Dark-clothed couple

The purpose of this section is to provide evidence relating to  the career of the image under discussion, paying particular attention to the ‘reflections’ (inter-song associations and connections) that may have been set up if it was chosen to illustrate more than one ballad. The list given below includes all ballads from the Pepys and Roxburghe collections that feature this woodcut or a close variant (these are the two largest collections, including approximately 3300 sheets, in total). References to ballads from other collections occur only when the featured edition of the song under consideration here (or the featured edition of another song from our list) comes from such a source. Ballads from our chart of best-sellers are presented in bold type, and they also appear in colour where there is a link to another song in the database. Please note, however, that the editions of hit songs listed below are not necessarily those for which digital images are presented on this website. Cross-references to other examples of our featured woodcuts are also presented in bold. It is extremely difficult to date many ballads precisely and the chronological order in which the songs are listed is therefore very approximate (we have drawn on previous attempts to date the ballads, making adjustments when additional evidence can be brought into play).

Reflections (an overview)

This image, not surprisingly, was strongly associated with courtship and was used regularly on ballads in the second half of the seventeenth century. Some other editions of The New Courtier also use the picture, but there are also surviving copies that do not. There were several woodblocks in existence, suggesting the popularity of the picture, and subtle differences between the resultant images can be detected.

Many different publishers put their names to ballads that carried the woodcut, and most of these presented courtship narratives that encouraged audience sympathy and/or admiration (see, for example, Fancy’s Freedom. OR The true Lovers bliss).

More rarely, the woodcut illustrated ballads in which love went wrong, often as a result of inconstancy or immorality on one side or the other. The New Courtier is one of the songs that bucks the feel-good trend, presenting the somewhat coy-looking couple who are not quite holding hands over verses in which the disreputable singer tells us that he cuckolds his friends and loves wenches of all nationalities. One of the text’s themes is that individuals who look good on the surface may be rotten inside, and the predominantly positive associations of the selected woodcut may have helped the ballad-maker to reinforce this point.

Songs and summaries

The Ladyes Vindication: BEING The Womens Answer, TO Your humble Servant Madame (William Gilbertson, 1647-65).  Roxburghe 3.250-51; EBBA 30964. Emotions – anger; Gender – masculinity, femininity, sex; Morality – romantic/sexual, social/economic; Bodies – adornment; Politics – court; Violence – interpersonal; Religion –angels/devils. An unusual ballad in which a Lady mounts a scathing attack upon the sexual morals and general deceitfulness of a specific, but unnamed, man (picture placement: they appear on the right side of the sheet, next to a woman who holds a fan).

A Merry Dialogue between Thomas and John.  In the praise, and dispraise of Women, and Wine (J. Williamson, 1660-78).  Roxburghe 3.88-89; EBBA 30419.  Gender – marriage, femininity, masculinity, adultery/cuckoldry; Recreation – alcohol.  Thomas considers women to be as dangerous as wine but John, working with the same comparison, emphasises the positive attributes associated with femininity (picture placement: they stand over the third and fourth columns of text).

Cumberland Nelly. Or, The North Countrey Lovers (J. Coniers, 1661-92).  Pepys 4.25; EBBA 21692.  Gender – sex, courtship; Humour – mockery; Family – children/parents, kin, siblings; Emotions – longing, love; Places – English.  A young couple have joyful sex without any explicit reference to marriage (they appear on the right side of the sheet, in between a man and a woman).

The Dying Lovers last Farvvel: Or, the Tragical downfal of Martellus and Arminda (J. Conyers, 1661-92).  Pepys 3.8; EBBA 21001.  Gender – courtship; Death – heartbreak, grief, tragedy; Emotions – sorrow, love; Employment – agrarian.  Martellus, a shepherd, dies of a broken heart before Arminda arrives to reassure him of her love, and she, in dismay, follows him to the grave (picture placement: they appear on the right of the sheet, alongside an image of the sun).

The New Courtier (F. Coles, T. Vere, and J. Wright, 1665-74). Wood E25 (89). Politics – domestic, court, satire; Gender – masculinity, sex, adultery/cuckoldry; Bodies – clothes, adornment; Recreation – fashions; Places – English; Humour – satire; Employment – crafts/trades, sailors/soldiers; Violence – interpersonal; Religion – atheism. A deliberately cryptic song in which a man, claiming to come from ‘the Utopian Court’, describes his principals and lascivious lifestyle in terms that are not intended to endear him to us (picture placement: they stand on the right, close to verses in which the courtier describes his sexual activities).

The Bashful Virgin: Or, The Secret Lover (W. Thackeray, T. Passenger, and W. Whitwood, 1666-79).  Pepys 4.30; EBBA 21696. Gender – courtship, femininity, Cupid; Emotions – love, anxiety, fear, hope. A shy, young woman, suffering the pains of a love that she fears may be unrequited, summons up the courage to tell her sweetheart how she feels about him (picture placement: they appear over the third and fourth columns of text).

The Cloath-worker caught in a Trap: Or, A Fool and his Mony soon parted (W. Thackeray, T. Passenger, and W. Whitwood, 1666-79). Pepys 4.142; EBBA 21806.  Gender – courtship, femininity, masculinity; Crime – robbery; Emotions – anger, sorrow; Humour – deceit/disguise, mockery; Employment – crafts/trades Bodies – clothing; Society – neighbours.  An innocent man, keen to marry, is tricked out of his money by a maiden and an old woman, apparently working in cahoots (picture placement: they appear over the third and fourth columns of text).

The Love-sick Maid: Or, Cordelia's Lamentation for the Absence of her Gerheard (W. Thackeray, T. Passenger, and W. Whitwood, 1666-79).  Roxburghe 3.901; EBBA 31261.  Gender – courtship, femininity, Cupid; Death – suicide, heartbreak; Emotions – love, despair; Bodies – health/sickness, physique/looks; Employment – professions; Religion – clergy.  A woman dies of love-sickness because her sweetheart is absent, and he – turning up too late – expresses his wish to follow her to ‘The fair Elizium’ (picture placement: they appear beneath the title).

The Second Part of the new Scotch-Jigg: OR, JENNY'S Reply, To JOHNNY'S Cravat (W. Thackeray, T. Passenger, and W. [Whitwood?], 1666-79).  Pepys 4.37; EBBA 21703.  Gender – courtship; Bodies – clothing; Places – nationalities; Emotions – love, anxiety, joy.  Johny and Jenny, after a courtship marked by minor misunderstandings, finally get it together (picture placement: they appear over the third and fourth columns of text).

A Serious Discourse between two Lovers (W. Thackeray, T. Passenger, and W. Whitwood, 1666-79).  Pepys 3.98; EBBA 21101.  Gender – courtship, femininity, masculinity, Cupid; Economy – money; Morality – romantic/sexual; Emotions – longing, love; Employment – apprenticeship/service; Environment – animals, buildings. A young man persuades a maiden to marry him by declaring his love and promising her material comforts (picture placement: they appear beneath the title).

The Dub'd Knight Of the Forked Order (W. Whitwood, 1666-84).  Roxburghe 2.114-15; EBBA 30600.  Gender – adultery/cuckoldry, marriage, femininity, masculinity, sex; Society – old/young; Humour – bawdry, domestic/familial, mockery; Emotions – longing; Employment – apprenticeship/service; Bodies – looks/physique; Morality – romantic/sexual.  An old and privileged wife has sex with her serving-man, rewarding him with money before persuading her dim-witted husband that he should feel honoured to have joined ‘the Forked Order’ of cuckolds (picture placement: they appear beneath the title).

Fancy’s Freedom. OR The true Lovers bliss (W. Whitwood, 1666-84).  Roxburghe 3.114-15; EBBA 30432.  Gender – courtship; Emotions – love, anxiety, joy; Society – rich/poor, old/young; Family – children/parents, inheritance; Employment – apprenticeship/service; Bodies – looks/physique; Economy – money; Places – English.  The daughter of a wealthy man falls in love with her father’s servant, so they marry in secret and are happy when the old man overcomes his objections and accepts the match (picture placement: they stand over the third and fourth columns of text, close to the line, ‘Then Lady her[e]’s my heart and hand’).

The Venturing Lover, Or, John and Betties Wooing (F. Cole, T. Vere, J. Wright and J. Clark, c. 1675). Pepys 3.15; EBBA 21008.  Gender – courtship, masculinity, femininity, sex; Moraltiy – romantic/sexual; Emotions – longing.  John seeks to persuade Betty to have sex with him but she says he has to marry her first, so he does (picture placement: they appear over the third and fourth columns of text).

The Couragious Plow-man, or, The Citizens Misfortune (F. Coles, T. Vere, J. Wright, and J. Clark, 1675-80).  Roxburghe 2.83; EBBA 30557.  Gender – courtship, masculinity; Violence – interpersonal; Humour – extreme situations/surprises, mockery; Employment – agrarian; Emotions – anger, fear; Family – children/parents; Places – English, travel/transport; Recreation – games/sports.  A Londoner travels to Nottingham in search of a wife, but the woman whom he chooses is already engaged to a ploughman, and the ploughman beats him in a fight (picture placement: they appear beneath the title, to the left of a single man with a sword at his side).

Fancies Favourite: OR, The Mirror of the Times (F. Coles, T. Vere, J. Wright, and J. Clarke, 1675-80).  Pepys 3.29; EBBA 21024.  Gender – courtship, masculinity; Emotions – love; Morality -  general; Nature - birds.  A woman explains that she has revoked her previous decision to live singly after discovering the perfect man (picture placement: they stand over the third and fourth columns of text, and their togetherness contrasts with the separation of a Respectful man in archway and a woman, also framed by an archway, on the left side of the sheet).

The Lovers Joy and Grief, Or, A Young-mans Relation, in a pittiful fashion. Being from his Love hindred, by Locks, Bolts, and Kindred (F. Cole, T. Vere, J. Wright, and J. Clarke, 1675-80).  Pepys 3.345; EBBA 21360.  Gender – courtship, masculinity; Family – children/parents, kin; Emotions – anger, sorrow, hope; Morality – familial; History – ancient/mythological, romance.  A man laments the fact that his sweetheart is kept under lock and key by relatives who do not consider him a worthy match for her (picture placement: they appear beneath the title).

A way to wooe a witty wench. Or, A dialogue between two Lovers (F. Coles, T. Vere, J. Wright, and J. Clark, 1675-80).  Roxburghe 2.560-61; EBBA 31157.  Gender – courtship, masculinity, femininity, singles; Emotions – longing, love; Bodies – clothing; Employment – apprenticeship/ service. A lustful man attempts to persuade a cautious woman that his intentions are honourable, and eventually she receives his advances willingly (picture placement: they appear beneath the title, and there are no other woodcuts).

The Maids Unhappinesse OR The Youngmens Unconstancy (J. Wright, J. Clark, W. Thackery, and T. Passenger, 1682-84).  Roxburghe 4.59; EBBA 31358.  Gender – masculinity, femininity, courtship; Morality – romantic/sexual; Emotions – anger; Family – inheritance; Economy – money; Bodies – looks/physique. The first part presents a woman’s complaints about the manipulative and mercenary ways of men, and the second part advises women that a healthy measure of romantic resistance has the effect of rendering men timid and obedient (picture placement: they appear over the final column of text, to the right of a gallant and a bare-breasted woman with a winged child).

The tender Citizens, Or London Young mens Kindnesses (J. Wright, J. Clark, W. Thackery, and T. Passinger, 1682-84).  Pepys 3.251; EBBA 21265.  Gender – courtship, masculinity, femininity; Emotions – anxiety. The young men of London, upset by complaints about their romantic conduct, reassure all women that they are honest, true and devoted in love, but also intimidated by female cruelty, beauty and power (picture placement: they appear beneath the title, along with three other small images of men and women).

Robin Hood and Allin of Dale (Alex. Milbourn, 1682-1708).  Pepys 2.110; EBBA 20732.  Gender – courtship, marriage, masculinity; History – medieval; Emotions – sorrow, love, anger, joy; Humour – estreme situations, mockery; Moarlity – romantic/sexual; Crime – outlaws; Recreation – music, weddings, good fellowship; Religion – church, clergy.  Robin comes across a young man whose sweetheart is about to marry an old knight under duress, so Robin and his men gatecrash the wedding and force the bishop to perform the ceremony for the two young lovers instead (picture placement: they appear beneath the title, to the right of a man with bow and arrow).

The true Lovers Happiness Or, Nothing venture, nothing have (W. Thackeray and T. Passinger, 1687-88).  Pepys 4.57; EBBA 21723.  Gender – courtship, masculinity, femininity; Family – children/parents; Employment – apprenticeship/service; Emotions – longing, love; Bodies – physique; Society – rich/poor.  An apprentice courts and marries his master’s daughter in secret but, fortunately, the bride’s parents are very understanding and generous when they find out (picture placement: they appear on the right side of the sheet, next to a couple in bed).

A pleasant new Song between a Seaman, and his Love (no imprint, later seventeenth century).  Roxburghe 1.481; EBBA 30322.  Gender – courtship; Emotions – love, despair, joy; Employment – sailors/soldiers; Bodies – clothing; Death – warfare; History – ancient/mythological, medieval, romance; Environment – sea, weather; Recreation – music; Religion – ancient gods.  A woman fears that her sailor-husband has been killed at sea, but the stranger who turns up to confirm this sad fact turns out to be her sweetheart in disguise, and all is well (picture placement: they appear beneath the title, and there are no other woodcuts).

THE lovesick Maid of Waping Her Complaint for want of Apple-Pye (no imprint, later seventeenth century).  Roxburghe 2.295; EBBA 30749.   Gender – courtship, femininity, masculinity, sex; Humour – bawdry, verbal; Emotions – longing; Employment – crafts/trades, sailors/soldiers; Bodies – looks/physique, nourishment.  A seventeen-year old girl, desperate for a husband, regrets having turned numerous suitors away and settles finally for a sailor (picture placement: they stand on the right side of the sheet, next to an image of the sun).

The North Country lovers: Or: The plain Downright wooeing between John and Joan (imprint missing, later seventeenth century).  Pepys 4.24; EBBA  21691.  Gender – courtship, sex; Humour – mockery; Employment – agrarian, female/male; Nature – animals.  A dialogue ballad in which two northern lovers discuss material goods and sex as they move towards marriage (picture placement: they appear over the third and final column of text, forming a contrast with the separate images of a man and a woman on the left side of the sheet).

A most Excellent Song of the Love of Young Palmus and fair Sheldra (Alex. Milbourn, 1695-1708).  Roxburghe 1.472-73; EBBA 30316. Gender – courtship, masculinity, femininity; Emotions – love, disdain, despair; Environment – animals, sea, weather; Employment –sailors/soldiers, crafts/trades; Death – suicide, tragedy; Bodies – looks/physique; History – ancient/mythological; Religion – ancient Gods; Recreation – dance; Places – English, travel/transport. This presents the tragic tale of a ferryman and his sweetheart, who love one another sincerely but never at the same time (picture placement: they appear over the opening lines, and there are no other woodcuts).

Christopher Marsh