94  An Excellent Ditty, called the Shepherds wooing Dulcina [Roxburghe 2.402-03]

To the Tune of ‘Dulcina’ (standard name)

The purpose of this section is to provide brief notes on the melody followed by detailed evidence relating to  its ballad 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

Notation for this melody was not often written down but examples can be found in two manuscript sources. It appears as a ‘Daunce’ in the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book (late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries) and it can be found with an early version of A pleasant new Song, betwixt The Saylor and his Love, another of our hits, in the songbook of Giles Earle (c. 1615). The two versions are very similar, and our recording draws on both of them.

In ballads and printed songbooks, the melody had various titles: ‘Robin Goodfellow’; ‘I fancy none but thee alone’; ‘Kiss and bid me welcome home; ‘Forgo me now come to me soon’; ‘As at noon Dulcina rested’ or, more simply, ‘Dulcina’ (the dominant name). The last three of these all derived from the hit song under discussion here.

Echoes (an overview)

‘Dulcina’ is a bright and interesting tune that became a steady favourite, though its popularity seems to have waned in the second half of seventeenth century. Its distinctive and variable metre meant that verses had to be very carefully constructed, and this may have prevented it from achieving an even higher level of success.

It was associated strongly with optimistic romance, and it is striking that many of the ballads listed below tell stories that involve a transition from emotional discomfort towards joy (good examples include An excellent new dyttye, wherein fayre Dulcina complayneth for the absence of her dearest Coridon and A delicate new Ditty composed upon the Posie of a Ring). An Excellent Ditty, called the Shepherds wooing Dulcina also fits into this category, being one of the most successful of several songs in which love is in doubt at the start but triumphant by the end.

The uplifting nature of the tune injects additional brightness into many of the songs, and some are clearly intended to generate laughter (see, for example, A Proverbe old, yet nere forgot, Tis good to strike while the Irons hott, which advises young men to take advantage of the demographic climate and marry the many available widows). A Penny-worth of good Counsell inverts the usual narrative, probably with humorous intent, in presenting the sad tale of a woman whose husband, though initially promising, has turned out to be utterly useless in all imaginable ways (see also THE Downfall of Dancing, at the end of the series).

Interestingly, three of the romantic songs that play around with or even subvert the tune’s buoyant associations in this manner - A Proverbe old, A Penny-worth of good Counsell and The desperate Damsells Tragedy – were all by the leading ballad-writer, Martin Parker, a fact that probably tells us something about his particular brand of creativity.

Only one song applies the melody to romantic tragedy, and the curious effect achieved – whether by accident or design – is rather poignant, like a reminder of lost happiness (The desperate Damsells Tragedy). Beyond this, the most interesting outlier is An excellent Ballad of the Birth and Passion of our Saviour Christ, which attempts to appropriate the positive associations of the tune and turn them towards religious, rather than romantic, devotion (‘Turn your eyes, that are affixed/ on this world’s deceaving things...’).

The ballads listed below are connected not only by their melody but also by a number of textual affinities. Listening to the songs in sequence generates a sensation of familiarity within variety, and the repetitive refrains that round off numerous verses in different ballads seem to be in conversation with one another: ‘I fancie none but thee alone’ (A delicate new Ditty ); ‘first kisse and bid me welcome home’ (A pleasant new Song); ‘Forego me now, come to me soon’ (An excellent new dyttye, wherein fayre Dulcina complayneth and An Excellent Ditty, called the Shepherds wooing Dulcina: both of these songs also link characters called Dulcina and Corydon).

Pairs of rhyming words often appear at the same points in the melody. The True-Lovers Good-Morrow, for example, opens with the lines, ‘In the month of February,/ the green leaves begin to spring;/ Pretty Lambs trip like a Fairy,/ Birds do couple, bill, and sing’. The first verse of A Penny-worth of good Counsell is similar: ‘Of late it was my chance to walke/ for recreation in the Spring,/ Where as the fethered Quiristers,/ melodiously aloud did sing’. The word ‘love’ often appears in either line 2 or line 4, rhymed variously with ‘prove’, ‘dove’, ‘Jove’ and ‘remove’ (compare, for example, A pleasant new Song, betwixt The Saylor and his Love and A Proverbe old, yet nere forgot). Presumably, these affinities served to reinforce the predominantly romantic associations of the melody and encourage comparison, whether conscious or unconscious.

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

Songs and Summaries

A delicate new Ditty composed upon the Posie of a Ring: being, I fancie none but thee alone... To the tune of Dulcina (H. Gosson, 1601-40).  Roxburghe 1.80-81; EBBA 30055.  Emotions – love; Gender – courtship, masculinity, femininity.  Gender – courtship, masculinity, femininity; Emotions – anxiety, love; Bodies – looks/physique; Religion – ancient gods. A man appears to fear that the woman he loves has turned away from him, so she reassures him in fulsome terms.

The desperate Damsells Tragedy. OR The faithlesse young man. To the tune of Dulcina (H. G., 1601-40). Roxburghe 1.86-87; EBBA 30060. Gender – courtship, masculinity, femininity, sex; Death – suicide, tragedy, heartbreak; Emotions – love, despair; Violence – self-inflicted; Morality – romantic/sexual; History – ancient/mythological, romance; Bodies – injury; Environment – flowers/trees, birds; Recreation – walking; Religion – ancient gods. A maiden commits suicide, having been driven to despair by a man who declared his love, took her maidenhead (‘My dearest Jewell’) and then abandoned her.

The mad-merry prankes of Robbin Good-fellow. To the tune of Dulcina (H. G., 1601-40). Roxburghe 1.230-31; EBBA 30163. Humour – extreme situations/surprises, deceit/disguise, domestic/familial, scatalogical; Environment – fairies, landscape, flowers/trees, animals; Gender – courtship; Recreation  - food, alcohol, dance, music; Employment – female. Robin Goodfellow, sent from Fairy Land, describes his nightly travels through the world of humans and the multifarious mischief that he visits upon them.

An excellent new dyttye, wherein fayre Dulcina complayneth for the absence of her dearest Coridon... To the tune of Dulcina (copied out by hand, 1603-16). Shirburn Ballads XIII. Gender – courtship; Society – rural life; Employment – agrarian; Bodies – clothing; Emotions – sorrow, longing, love, joy; Environment – landscape; Recreation – music, dance, weddings; Religion – ancient gods. Dulcina pines for her beloved and there is great joy when at last he turns up to marry her.

An excellent Ballad of the Birth and Passion of our Saviour Christ. The tune is Dulcina (copied out by hand, 1603-16). Shirburn Ballads XI and XII. Religion – Christ/God, Bible; heroism; Family – pregnancy/childbirth; Emotions – joy, sorrow; Death – execution, godly end; Violence – punitive; Places – extra-European.  A religious ballad that connects the beginning and the end of Christ’s life on earth and urges listeners/readers to think about both (picture placement: it appears on the right, alongside an image of the Madonna and child).

An Excellent Ditty, called the Shepherds wooing Dulcina. Tune is, Dulcina (probably registered 1615; F. Coles, T. Vere, J. Wright, and J. Clarke, 1675-80). Roxburghe 2.402-03; EBBA 30834. Gender – courtship, femininity, masculinity, sex; Employment – sailors/soldiers; Emotions – longing, love; Religion – ancient gods.  A shepherd courts a maiden whose initial reluctance is eventually replaced by enthusiasm.

A Proverbe old, yet nere forgot, Tis good to strike while the Irons hott... To the Tune of, Dulcina (Francis Grove, 1623-62).  Pepys 1.386-87; EBBA 20179. Gender – courtship, femininity, sex, Cupid; Humour – domestic/familial, bawdry, satire; Society – old/young.  Young men are advised that many widows are currently available for marriage, presenting opportunities that should not be missed.

A pleasant new Song, betwixt The Saylor and his Love. to the tune of Dulcina (John Grismond, 1624-38). Pepys 1.422-433; EBBA 20198. Gender – marriage, masculinity, femininity; Employment -  sailors/soldiers; Environment – animals, crops, birds, sea; Religion – ancient gods; History – ancient/mythological; Recreation – music; Places – travel/transport.  A sailor returns home after a long time away and persuades his wife not to be resentful.

The true hearted L[over]... To the Tune of, I fancy none but thee alone (John [?Wright, 1634-58]). Houghton Library, Gen (*60-911). Gender – courtship, masculinity, femininity, Cupid; Emotions – love, anxiety; Religion – prayer. In the first part, an anxious man declares his love for a woman, and in the second she reassures him that his feelings are reciprocated.

A Penny-worth of good Counsell. To Widdowes, and to Maides... To the tune of Dulcina (no imprint, c. 1638).  Roxburghe 1.312-13; EBBA 30215.  Gender – courtship, marriage, masculinity; Emotions – frustration; Bodies – clothing, nourishment, physique/looks; Recreation – walking, music, games/sports, dance, food, alcohol, theatre;  Environment – birds, seasons.  A woman complains that the handsome, vibrant man she thought she was marrying has turned into a thoroughly unpleasant and useless husband who ‘hath no fore-cast in him’.

The True-Lovers Good-Morrow... The Tune is, As at Noon Dulcina rested (F. Coles, T. Vere, and Wright [sic], 1665-74). Rawl. 566(125). Gender – courtship; Recreation – fairs/festivals; Emotions – love; Morality – romantic/sexual; Environment – animals, birds, flowers/trees. On Valentine’s Day, a man meets a woman and persuades her to marry him.

THE Downfall of Dancing; OR, The overthrow of three Fidlers, and three Bagg-Pipe-Players... To the Tune of, Robin Goodfellow (J. Deacon, 1671-99).  Pepys 3.188; EBBA 21201.  Recreation – music; Gender – adultery/cuckoldry, marriage, masculinity, sex; Violence – interpersonal; Humour – bawdry, deceit/disguise, mockery; Employment – crafts/trades, female/male; Emotions – anger; Morality – romantic/sexual. A piper and a fiddler belong to the same band but a true rock ‘n’ roll fight breaks out – complete with the smashing of instruments – when the piper plays ‘Uptails all’ with the fiddler’s wife.

Postscript

The melody was also called for in several songs that appeared in chapbooks of the period. In Richard Crimsal’s CUPID’S Soliciter of LOVE (1680), for example, ‘The Maids Song in praise of her Love’ is to the tune of ‘I fancy none but thee’.

This is a thoroughly romantic piece, but it is interesting to note that the melody was also used for several Christmas carols. It seems that festive piety managed to establish itself as a secondary resonance of the melody, despite the infrequency with which the broadside ballads considered religion (see, for example, ‘A Carroll for Innocents day’ in Good and True, Fresh and New, Christmas Carols, 1642, and ‘A Carrol for Christmas-day in the morning’ in NEW Christmas CARROLS, c. 1662).

The tune’s potential for pious devotion is also reflected in William Slatyer’s decision to nominate it for the singing of psalm 16 in his metrical version, though it should be noted that his general strategy of setting sacred songs to ballad tunes attracted criticism from his ecclesiastical superiors (see Slatyer and Marsh, below).  He considered it a ‘common, but solemne tune’ but the authorities were not impressed!

Occasionally, the melody was also nominated on white-letter ballads with political subject matter (see THE Bare-faced Tories and A NEW SONG, both issued in the early 1680s). It is noticeable that the lyrics do not fit the melodies as comfortably as those of the ballads listed above, perhaps suggesting a view that, in these more expensive and politically sophisticated pieces, the music was not quite such a central consideration.

Christopher Marsh

References

Richard Crimsal, CUPID’S Soliciter of LOVE (1680), A6v.

Giles Earle, Songbook, British Library, MS Add. 24665, fo. 35v (transcription in Simpson).

The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book, ed. J. A. Fuller Maitland and W. Barclay Squire, 2 vols (Leipzig, 1894-99), vol. 2, p. 268.

Good and True, Fresh and New, Christmas Carols (1642), A7vr-v.

Christopher Marsh, Music and society in early modern England (Cambridge, 2010), pp. 196, 420-1.

NEW Christmas CARROLS (c. 1662). A2r-3v.

Claude Simpson, The British broadside ballad and its music (New Brunswick, 1966), pp. 201-205.

William Slatyer, Psalmes, or songs of Sion turned into the language, and set to the tunes of a strange land (1631), table at back.

Standard woodcut name: Welcoming woman

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 was an extremely familiar image, particularly in the second half of the seventeenth century. There were at least seven distinct woodblocks, each producing subtly different but closely related pictures. This implies that the image was so commonly required that several ballad-printers needed their own version, if they were to attract work from the leading publishers.

Many different publishers issued ballads that carried the woodcut, and there are signs that some individuals tended to have an association with one or more of the various versions. A majority of the ballads that bear John Deacon’s name carried a picture produced by one particular woodblock, while the image on most of the sheets published by the powerful William Thackeray used one of the alternatives. This situation probably reflects strong working relationships between specific publishers and individual printers, though the general anonymity of the latter prevents firm conclusions.

The role of the Welcoming woman on the ballads listed below suggests some interesting tendencies and complexities. More often than not, she was a positive presence, situated in a manner designed to elicit audience sympathy and/or admiration. In particular, she frequently represents a wholesome and receptive sweetheart, as on An Excellent Ditty, called the Shepherds wooing Dulcina. Here, the shepherd’s efforts to win Dulcina’s love are nicely documented in the row of four woodcuts, culminating with the Welcoming woman who holds her hands out towards him, after having shown a healthy measure of resistance in the first part of the story. An earlier printing of the song had used different pictures, but the scheme adopted here appears to have been successful and numerous copies of our featured edition can be found in the various ballad collections.

Beyond this, however, she also played a variety of roles, not all of which were entirely admirable. She appears, for example, on several ballads about concubines, con-women, scolds and adulterers (see THE Downfall of Dancing). In conjunction with the texts, the Welcoming woman seems to call up good and bad associations, hereby playing with the relationship between them and also with our expectations. Her body language is ambiguous and shifts with context. Is she welcoming an honourable lover or ensnaring a victim? Both possibilities are suggested, and in some cases the text itself enhances the ambiguity (see, for example, A Good Wife, or None).

On occasion, she also brings her associations to ballads that, on the surface, are not about gender relations. In The merry Hoastess, for example, a woman advertises the irresistibility of her ale, but the picture helps us to understand that she may be talking about something else entirely (this ballad, incidentally, feels like a precursor of the modern hit song by Kelis in which the female singer boasts, ‘My milkshake brings all the boys to the yard’).

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

Songs and summaries

The Discontented Lover (F. Coles, 1624-80). Pepys 3.38; EBBA 21034.  Gender – courtship, masculinity; Recreation – alcohol, good fellowship; Death – general; Politics – Royalist; Emotions – love, sorrow, patriotism. A man appears to be on the brink of suicide over a woman whom he loves but a trip to the tavern revives him (picture placement: she is approached by a How-de-do-man).

The Slighted Maid, OR, The Pining Lover (F. Coles, 1624-80).  Pepys, 2.33r; EBBA 20656. Gender – courtship, femininity; Emotions – longing. A woman pleads with a man to return her love and, eventually, he does so (picture placement: she faces a How-de-do-man).

Flora's farewell: Or, The Shepherds Love-passion Song, Wherein he greatly doth complain, Because his love was spent in vain (F. G., 1629-56). Euing 121; EBBA 31829. Gender – courtship, masculinity, femininity; Morality – romantic/sexual; Employment – agrarian; Emotions – anger. A shepherd expresses his anger at the behaviour of his former sweetheart, and she responds by reminding him that she did no more than exert her right to refuse sex before marriage (picture placement: she appears on the right, next to a Chapman with box).

Loves fierce desire, and hopes of Recovery (‘Printed for T. V. and are to be sold by F. Coles’, 1645-80).  Roxburghe 3.130-1; EBBA 30440. Gender – courtship; Emotions – love, longing, sorrow. Two sweethearts, forcibly separated, declare their mutual love and longing (picture placement: she is approached by a How-de-do-man).

The merry Hoastess (John Andrews, 1654-63). Roxburghe 1.536-7; EBBA 30356. Recreation – alcohol, good fellowship; Gender – sex; Humour – bawdry; Employment – trades and crafts; Society – general; Places - nationalities. A city hostess boasts suggestively about the universal popularity of her ale (picture placement: she is appraoched by a How-de-do-man).

A Womans Work is never done (John Andrews, 1654-63).  Roxburghe 1.534-35; EBBA 30355. Employment – female/male; Family – children/parents; Gender – marriage, femininity, masculinity, sex; Economy – household, livings; Bodies – nourishment; Emotions – sorrow. A wife describes her life of continual toil in support of her husband and children, and she concludes that the lot of an unmarried maiden is ‘merrier’ by far (picture placement: she appears beneath the title, to the right of a well-dressed man who turns towards her).

A most Excellent Ballad of an Old man and his Wife (F. Coles, T. Vere, and W. Gilbertson, 1661-63).  Euing 221; EBBA 31701. Family – children and parents; Crime – murder; Death – unlawful killing, result of immorality; Disability – physical; Bodies – health/sickness; Emotions – anger, sorrow; Morality – familial; Violence – interpersonal. An aged couple are rejected by their rich son when they turn to him for aid, but grim justice is done in the end (picture placement: she is approached by a How-de-do-man on the right of the ballad).

The Repulsive MAID (F. Coles, T. Vere, and W. Gilbertson, 1661-63).  Roxburghe 3.214-15; EBBA 30864. Gender – courtship; Family – children and parents; Morality – sexual. A dialogue ballad in which a young woman refuses to open the door to an amorous man because she is in love with another and he is a philanderer (picture placement: she is approached by a How-de-do-man).

The Patient Hushand, and the Scoulding Wife (W. Thackeray, 1664-92). Roxburghe 3.100-01; EBBA 30425. Gender – marriage, femininity, masculinity, adultery/cuckoldry; Humour – domestic/familial, mockery; Emotions – despair, longing; Recreation – alcohol, good fellowship, dance, weddings; Violence – interpersonal. Bodies – bodily functions, injury. A man laments his marriage to a woman who turned out to be a domineering and violent scold, and he wishes that we were single again (picture placement: she appears beneath the title, and is being approached by a man who holds a glove in his hand).

An Excellent Sonnet of the Unfortunate LOVES, of Hero and Leander (F. Coles, T. Vere, and J. Wright, 1665-74).  Euing 89; EBBA 31772.  Death – tragedy, suicide; History – ancient/ mythological, romance; Emotions – love, sorrow; Family – children and parents; Gender – courtship; Places – European. A dialogue ballad in which the two lovers try to see a way past parental disapproval, with a tragic outcome (picture placement: she is approached by a How-de-do-man, on the right of the sheet).

The Two Constant Lovers: Or, A Pattern of true love exprest in this Dialogue between Samuel and Sarah (F. Coles, T. Vere, and J. Wright, 1665-74).  Roxburghe 3.126-27; EBBA 30438. Gender – courtship, masculinity; Family -  siblings; Violence – interpersonal; Emotions – love, anger, joy. A courting couple face the disapproval of the woman’s ‘friends’, and the man does battle with her brother in order to win her hand (picture placement: she appears beneath the title, to the right of Akimbo man with raised hand).

The Country-mans delight: Or, the Happy Wooing (P. Brooksby, 1670-98).  Pepys 3.134; EBBA  21145. Gender – courtship, femininity; Emotions – longing. A young woman is unimpressed by a man’s declarations until she realises he is wealthier than she had thought (picture placement: she stands alongside a Respectful man with tufts of grass).

Come to it at last Or the succesful Adventurer (no imprint, 1670-1700?). Roxburghe 2.61; EBBA 30550. Emotions – longing, love, frustration, anxiety; Gender – courtship, masculinity, femininity, sexual violence; Morality – romantic/sexual; Violence – sexual; Bodies – looks/physique. An ardent man pays no heed to the protestations of the woman with whom he wishes to have sex, and she, left with no option, eventually surrenders (picture placement: she appears on the right, reaching her hands out towards a man with spurs and a sword).

A New Ballad of King Edward and Jane Shore (no publishers’ names, 1671).  Roxburghe 3.258; EBBA 30969. Gender – femininity, sex; History – general, romance; Humour – satire, bawdry; Morality – sexual. A survey of history’s most famous sexually-driven women, concluding that Jane Shore tops the list with her ‘all-conquering Thighs’ (picture placement: she appears with two different versions of the How-de-do-man, one of whom walks towards her while the other walks away).

THE Downfall of Dancing; OR, The overthrow of three Fidlers, and three Bagg-Pipe-Players (J. Deacon, 1671-99). Pepys 3.188; EBBA 21201.  Recreation – music; Gender – adultery/cuckoldry, marriage, masculinity, sex; Violence – interpersonal; Humour – bawdry, deceit/disguise, mockery; Employment – crafts/trades, female/male; Emotions – anger; Morality – romantic/sexual. A piper and a fiddler belong to the same band but a true rock ‘n’ roll fight breaks out – complete with the smashing of instruments – when the piper plays ‘Uptails all’ with the fiddler’s wife (picture placement: she stands beneath the title, reaching out towards a piper and turning her back on a fiddler).

Love put to it's Shifts: Or, The Merry Meeting of JEMMY and JENNY (J. Deacon, 1671-99). Pepys 4.34; EBBA 21700.  Gender – courtship, masculinity, femininity, sex, sexual violence; Emotions – longing, frustration, anxiety; Morality – romantic/sexual; Violence – interpersonal. Jemmy courts a reluctant Jenny and pressurises her into having sex with him so that she will agree to marry (picture placement: she appears beneath the title, facing an eager-looking man with hat in hand).

THE Taunton=Dean Damosel: OR, THE Pleasant discourse between Nelly and her Mother (J. Deacon, 1671-99). Roxburghe 3.260-61; EBBA 30971. Family – children/parents; Gender – femininity, masculinity, sex; Humour – bawdry, misunderstanding; Emotions – confusion, anger; Environment – crops, landscape; Places – English; Society – rural life. An implausibly innocent young woman has been deflowered by a man but does not realise it, so her mother explains what has happened and rebukes her (picture placement: in a slightly different version, she stands beneath the title, next to a woman with a mirror and a peacock).

Constance of Cleveland (F. Coles, T. Vere, J. Wright, and J. Clarke, 1675-80).  Pepys 1.476-7; EBBA 20223. Gender – marriage, adultery; Morality – sexual; Crime – murder; Emotions – love, anger; Death – execution, unlawful killing, result of immorality; Violence – interpersonal. An incredibly loyal and long-suffering wife endures her husband’s affair with a harlot and offers to die in his place when he is convicted of murder (picture placement: she is approached by a How-de-do-man).

An Excellent Ditty, called the Shepherds wooing Dulcina (F. Coles, T. Vere, J. Wright, and J. Clarke, 1675-80). Roxburghe 2.402-03; EBBA 30834.  Gender – courtship, femininity, masculinity, sex; Employment – sailors/soldiers; Emotions – longing, love; Religion – ancient gods. A shepherd courts a maiden whose initial reluctance is eventually replaced by enthusiasm (picture placement: she appears on the right and is being approached by a How-de-do-man).

A Good Wife, or None (F. Coles, T. Vere, J. Wright, and J. Clarke, 1675-80).  Pepys 4.49; EBBA 21715. Gender – courtship, femininity, masculinity, Cupid; Emotions – anger; Morality – sexual; Environment – animals, birds, flowers/trees. A man, let down by an inconstant sweetheart, resolves to make do without women in the future unless he can find a more reliable one (picture placements: she is approached by a How-de-do-man on the right side of the sheet).

A Lamentable Ballad of the Ladies Fall (F. Coles, T. Vere, J. Wright, and J. Clarke, 1675-80).  Roxburghe 3.148-9; EBBA 30454. Gender – courtship; Morality – sexual; Death – tragedy; Emotions – love, anger, sorrow; Family – pregnancy and childbirth; Employment – apprenticeship/service. A young lady becomes pregnant before marriage and runs away to meet her lover, with terrible results (picture placement: she extends her hands toward a How-de-do-man in the pairing set immediately below the title).

A wonderful Example of God’s Justice, shewed upon one Jasper Conningham (F. Coles, T. Vere, J. Wright, and I. Clarke, 1675-80). Euing 399; EBBA 32026. Religion – blasphemy, divine intervention, Christ/God, body/soul, heaven/hell; Family – siblings; Gender – sex, masculinity, femininity; Death – result of immorality; Emotions – fear, wonder; Environment – wonders, garden; Violence – divine; Bodies looks/physique, injury; Places – Scottish. An atheist attempts to seduce his godly sister and pays the ultimate price (picture placement: she appears beneath the title and is being approached by a How-de-do-man).

THE Vanity of Vain Glory (F. Cole, T. Vere, J. Wright, J. Clark, W. Thackery, and T. Passenger, 1680-81). Roxburghe 4.75; EBBA 31470. Religion – heaven/hell, sin/repentanceDeath – general, godly end; Emotions – anxiety, hope. A warning to all people to focus their attentions on the joys of heaven rather than the empty pleasures of life on earth (picture placement: she stands beneath the title, facing a gallant with a sword and spurs).

The BIRDS Harmony (M. Coles, T. Vere, J. Wright, J. Clark, W. Thackeray, and T. Passenger, 1681-82).  Pepys 4.268; EBBA 21929. Nature – birds; Gender – courtship; Emotions – sorrow; Morality – romantic/sexual. The narrator overhears a variety of birds singing sadly about the pain they have suffered in love, and consumers are urged to behave with constancy in romantic matters (picture placement: she appears beneath the title, reaching out towards a gallant with a sword by his side).

The Ruined Lovers.  Being a Narrative of a Young Man that dyed for his cruel Mistris (J. Clarke, W. Thackeray, and T. Passinger, 1684-86).  Pepys, Loose Ballads; EBBA 20773. Gender – courtship; Morality – sexual; Emotions – love, sorrow; Death – tragedy, grief, general; Bodies – health/sickness. A woman rejects the advances of a man, leading them both to die in anguish (picture placement: she reaches out towards a funeral procession).

The Crafty Miss: Or, An Excise man well fitted (J. Deacon, 1684-99).  Pepys 3.274; EBBA 21288.  Crime – robbery; Gender – sex, femininity, masculinity; Humour – disguise/deceit; News – convicts/crimes; Places – English; Morality – social/economic, sexual; Employment – professions. A tax collector, travelling in Kent, is tricked out of his money and his horse by a deceitful young woman (picture placement: she appears beneath the title as is being approached by a How-de-do-man).

An Antidote of Rare Physick (J. Deacon, c. 1685). Roxburghe 4.1; EBBA 30587. Emotions – contentment; Religion – Christ/God, divine intervention; moral rules; Society – criticism, rich/poor; Morality – general. People are advised to seek spiritual contentment through acceptance of misfortune as the will of God (picture placement: she appears beneath the title, facing a Turning man with staff in hand and a How-de-do-man).

An Antidote of Rare Physick. No rarer thing that you can find, To Cure a Discontented mind (J. Deacon, 1685). Pepys 2.46; EBBA 20670.  Emotions – contentment; Religion – Christ/God, divinie intervention; moral rules; Society – criticism, rich/poor; Morality – general. People are advised to seek spiritual contentment through acceptance of misfortune as the will of God (picture placement: she appears beneath the title and interacts with a version of the Respectful man in archway).

The Maidens Counsellor OR, A fair Warning before Marriage (no imprint, 1685-88). Roxburghe 2.332; EBBA 30780. Gender – courtship, femininity, masculinity; Recreation – alcohol, good fellowship; Economy – money. A maiden of 21 years instructs others to put off marriage as long as they possibly can on the grounds that there are lots of bad men out there and ‘A single life is free from care’ (picture placement: she appears beneath the title, extending her hands towards a maiden who holds a flower).

The Country MAIDENS Lamentation For the Loss of her TAYLOR (R. Kell, 1685-88). Pepys 3.343; EBBA 21358.  Gender – courtship, femininity, masculinity, sex; Family – pregnancy/ childbirth; Bodies – clothing; Society – urban life; Crime – robbery; Employment – crafts/trades; Humour – bawdry; Morality – romantic/sexual; Places – English. An innocent country maiden moves to London where she is seduced by a deceiving tailor who impregnates her, steals her clothes and then runs away (picture placement: she appears in between Akimbo man with raised hand and Country couple with houses on hills).

The Good Wives Fore-cast, OR, THE Kind and Loving Mothers Counsel to her Daughter after Marriage (no imprint, 1685-88). Roxburghe 2.194; EBBA 30664. Family – children/parents, inheritance; Gender – marriage; Economy – household, money; Employment – female, crafts/trades; Morality – familial; Society – friendship. A mother delivers sober advice to her just-married daughter, prioritising the importance of pleasing her husband and saving money but also instructing that all new wives should abandon any trades that they have previously practised in favour of ‘good housewifry’ (picture placement: she stands beneath the title, reaching out towards a woman in a garden).

Modesty Amazed; Or, The Dorset-shire Damosel importunate with her Mother to know Rogers meaning in Wooing (J. Deacon, 1685-88).  Pepys 4.23; EBBA 21690. Family – children/parents; Gender – courtship, sex, femininity, masculinity; Emotions – confusion, longing; Humour – misunderstanding; Morality – romantic/sexual. An innocent maiden asks her mother to explain the nature of Roger’s insistent physical attentions, and in response she is wisely warned to prevent him from proceeding any further until they are married (picture placement: she appears beneath the title, separated from a How-de-do-man by a seated woman).

The Scotch Lad's Moan. OR, Pretty Moggies Unkindness (P. Brooksby, 1685-88).  Pepys 3.360; EBBA 21376. Gender – courtship, masculinity, femininity; Emotions – longing, love, sorrow; Bodies – physique, looks; Places – nationalities, Scottish. A Scottish lad is madly in love with a girl of sixteen, and he doubts his ability to survive the anguish of an adoration that is, as yet, unrequited (she stands beneath the title, to the right of a man with his hands on his hips).

The Unfeigned LOVER, OR, The Loyal Seamans kind Farewell to his Beloved NANCY (J. Deacon, 1685-88). Pepys 4.169; EBBA 21831. Gender – courtship, famininity, masculinity; Employment – sailors/soldiers; Emotions – love, sorrow, anxiety, hope; Places – travel; Nature – sea; Economy – livings.  A sailor bids farewell to his distraught sweetheart before embarking on a long trip (picture placement: she appears to the right of a Battle at sea, and she may on this occasion express parting sorrow rather than welcoming warmth).

The Yeomans Delight; OR, His True and Intire Love to Pritty KATY, the Farmers Daughter (J. Back, 1685-88).  Pepys 3.169; EBBA 21181. Gender – courtship, masculinity; Emotions – love, joy; Family – children/parents; Bodies – physique/looks; Employment – agrarian; Recreation – music, weddings. An exuberant yeoman plans his wedding to Katy, a paragon among women, though it isn’t clear that she has agreed to the match (picture placement: she appears beneath the title, in between two men, both of whom look towards her).

A Lamentable Ballad of the Ladies Fall (W. Thackeray and T. Passinger, 1687-88). Pepys 1.510-11; EBBA 20242.  Gender – courtship; Morality – sexual; Death – tragedy; Emotions – love, anger, sorrow; Family – pregnancy and childbirth; Employment – apprenticeship/service. A young lady becomes pregnant before marriage and runs away to meet her lover, with terrible results (picture placement: she appears beneath the title and is approached by a How-de-do-man).

The COUNTRY Lawyers Maid JOAN, Containing her Languishing Lamentation for want of a Man, which at length she met with, being her Masters Man Mark (P. Brooksby, J. Deacon, J. Blare, and J. Back, 1688-96).  Pepys 3.268; EBBA 21282. Gender – courtship, femininity, sex; Emotions – longing; Bodies – physique/looks, adornment; Employment – crafts/trades; Recreation – fairs/festivals; Society – rural life. A young woman expresses her desperation ‘for want of a Man’ but finds happiness in the final verse when lusty Mark tickles her in the dark (picture placement: she stands beneath the title, gesturing towards a respectful young man who has his back towards a seated woman).

THE MERRY BAG-PIPES: The Pleasant Pastime betwixt a Jolly Shepherd and a Country Damsel, on a Mid-Summers-Day in the Morning (C. Bates, 1690-1716). Roxburghe 2.363; EBBA 30802. Gender – sex; Humour – bawdry, verbal; Recreation – dance, music; Environment - Bodies – looks/physique; Employment – agrarian, female; Environment – flowers/trees; Society – rural life. A shepherd plays his pipe while a maiden dances, and it isn’t entirely clear whether they are making music or love (picture placement: she appears beneath the title, to the right of a mixed dancing scene).

The Royal Frolick: OR, King WILLIAM and his Nobles Entertainment at the Farmers House, in his Return from the Irish Wars (J. Millet, 1692).  Pepys 2.313; EBBA 20930. Politics – court, celebration, foreign affairs, Royalist; Humour – mistunderstanding; Royalty – praise, incognito; Recreation – hospitality, food, alcohol; Employment – female/male, agrarian; Family – children/parents; Gender – femininity; History – medieval; Religion – Catholic/Protestant; Places – English, Irish, travel. King William and his retinue turn up at the home of a country farmer, and the daughter of the house serves them bacon, eggs and beer, innocently unaware that she is waiting on royalty (picture placement: she stands beneath the title and to the right of a royal feast).

Postscript

This woodcut also appears in a chapbook entitled The mothers blessing (London, 1685), B2r, at the conclusion of the ballad text, ‘An hundred godly lessons’.  Here, the Welcoming woman is also associated with an instructive speech in prose. This is an interesting deployment of the image, out of line with most of those detailed above.

Christopher Marsh