Brown Robyn goes to sea. On board ship, they are unable to see any lights in the sky. They "cast kevels" (drew lots) which indicated that the problem was because of Brown Robyn. He confesses to incestous relations with his mother (who bore him two children) and his sister (who bore five), or, in other variants, to killing his father. He tells them to tie him to a piece of wood and let him sink or swim.
He swims. Our Blessed Lady, with her "dear young son", appears to him and asks him if he would return to his men or come to heaven with her and her child. He asks to go to heaven. She tells him that it is not for any good he has done but for confessing his sin that he may come.
MotifsEdit
This is the only instance in the ballad collection of a very common folk legend, of the Virgin Mary.[2] This is also found in Norway, Denmark, and Sweden, but the ballad usually ends tragically for the hero; only one instance saves him, also by a supernatural intervention.[2]
The motif of the lots and throwing a person from the ship may be derived from the tale of Jonah. Another ballad featuring these motifs is Bonnie Annie, Child ballad 24.[3] It also appears in the Russian fairy taleSadko, where Sadko must jump overboard to appease the King of the Sea.[4]
brown, robyn, confession, child, ballad, contents, synopsis, motifs, also, references, external, linkssynopsis, editbrown, robyn, goes, board, ship, they, unable, lights, they, cast, kevels, drew, lots, which, indicated, that, problem, because, brown, robyn, c. Brown Robyn s Confession is Child ballad 57 1 Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Motifs 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksSynopsis EditBrown Robyn goes to sea On board ship they are unable to see any lights in the sky They cast kevels drew lots which indicated that the problem was because of Brown Robyn He confesses to incestous relations with his mother who bore him two children and his sister who bore five or in other variants to killing his father He tells them to tie him to a piece of wood and let him sink or swim He swims Our Blessed Lady with her dear young son appears to him and asks him if he would return to his men or come to heaven with her and her child He asks to go to heaven She tells him that it is not for any good he has done but for confessing his sin that he may come Motifs EditThis is the only instance in the ballad collection of a very common folk legend of the Virgin Mary 2 This is also found in Norway Denmark and Sweden but the ballad usually ends tragically for the hero only one instance saves him also by a supernatural intervention 2 The motif of the lots and throwing a person from the ship may be derived from the tale of Jonah Another ballad featuring these motifs is Bonnie Annie Child ballad 24 3 It also appears in the Russian fairy tale Sadko where Sadko must jump overboard to appease the King of the Sea 4 See also EditList of the Child BalladsReferences Edit Francis James Child English and Scottish Popular Ballads Brown Robyn s Confession a b Francis James Child The English and Scottish Popular Ballads v 2 p 13 Dover Publications New York 1965 Francis James Child The English and Scottish Popular Ballads v 1 p 245 Dover Publications New York 1965 Francis James Child The English and Scottish Popular Ballads v 2 p 15 Dover Publications New York 1965External links EditBrown Robyn s Confession Scottish National Dictionary Definition of Kevel nbsp This folk song related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Brown Robyn 27s Confession amp oldid 961083881, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
