"The Bonny Hind" is Child ballad number 50 (Roud 205).[1]

Synopsis edit

A squire persuades a maiden to lie with him. Afterward, she asks his name, and he reveals that he is a lord's son. She calls him a liar: she is that lord's daughter. The horror-struck son reveals that he was long at sea. She stabs herself to death, and he buries her. He goes home and grieves for a "bonny hind" whatever his father can do to distract him.

Variants edit

Other ballads on this theme include "Sheath and Knife", "The King's Dochter Lady Jean", and "Lizie Wan".[2]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Francis James Child, English and Scottish Popular Ballads, "The Bonny Hind"
  2. ^ Francis James Child, The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, v 1, p 185, Dover Publications, New York 1965