This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. Find sources: "Queen Elanor's Confession" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR(May 2015)
The song exists in various versions, but the essential elements are as follows:
Queen Eleanor lies dying. She wishes to confess her sins to save her soul on her deathbed, but she fears that if she confesses to an English priest, he will divulge her wrongdoings to her husband, King Henry of England. Thus, she sends to France for a priest with no loyalty to the English crown (in some versions her fear of being found out is stated directly; in others, it is implied). When King Henry hears that she has sent overseas for a priest, he suspects that his wife the queen has betrayed him in some way (again, this is stated more directly in some versions than in others). To gain information about this suspected betrayal, he hatches a plan. He suggests to his friend and associate, Earl Marshall, that they both disguise themselves as French priests and go to hear the queen's confession. Earl Marshall instantly refuses (in some versions of the ballad), saying that to "beguile" the queen in this way is a punishable crime for which he'll surely be hanged. (The implication is that Earl Marshall knows very well what the content of the queen's confession will be and does not want to be there with King Henry when she delivers it.) Desperate to learn what the queen has been doing behind his back, King Henry swears a royal oath (in most versions of the ballad) to Earl Marshall that regardless of what the queen might say, no official record will be made of it and no one will ever know that Earl Marshall helped deceive the queen. Earl Marshall relents, and the two men, dressed as French priests, go to hear the queen's deathbed confession. Queen Eleanor reveals several shocking sins. These vary depending on the version of the ballad, but in most versions she admits: a) she lost her virginity to Earl Marshall and not to the king; b) she has tried to poison King Henry (in some versions, she says she successfully poisoned Rosamund Clifford, the king's mistress); and c) she adores her son fathered by Earl Marshall and reviles the son she has borne to King Henry. The king by now is livid and, throwing off his disguise, he reveals himself to the horrified queen. The ballad ends as King Henry says that were it not for his royal oath, he would kill Earl Marshall.
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Queen Elanor's Confession
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queen, elanor, confession, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, relies, largely, entirely, single, source, relevant, discussion, found, talk, . This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article relies largely or entirely on a single source Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources Find sources Queen Elanor s Confession news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2015 This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations May 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Queen Elanor s Confession or Queen Eleanor s Confession is Child Ballad 156 Although the figures are intended as Eleanor of Aquitaine Henry II of England and William Marshal the story is an entire invention Synopsis editThe song exists in various versions but the essential elements are as follows Queen Eleanor lies dying She wishes to confess her sins to save her soul on her deathbed but she fears that if she confesses to an English priest he will divulge her wrongdoings to her husband King Henry of England Thus she sends to France for a priest with no loyalty to the English crown in some versions her fear of being found out is stated directly in others it is implied When King Henry hears that she has sent overseas for a priest he suspects that his wife the queen has betrayed him in some way again this is stated more directly in some versions than in others To gain information about this suspected betrayal he hatches a plan He suggests to his friend and associate Earl Marshall that they both disguise themselves as French priests and go to hear the queen s confession Earl Marshall instantly refuses in some versions of the ballad saying that to beguile the queen in this way is a punishable crime for which he ll surely be hanged The implication is that Earl Marshall knows very well what the content of the queen s confession will be and does not want to be there with King Henry when she delivers it Desperate to learn what the queen has been doing behind his back King Henry swears a royal oath in most versions of the ballad to Earl Marshall that regardless of what the queen might say no official record will be made of it and no one will ever know that Earl Marshall helped deceive the queen Earl Marshall relents and the two men dressed as French priests go to hear the queen s deathbed confession Queen Eleanor reveals several shocking sins These vary depending on the version of the ballad but in most versions she admits a she lost her virginity to Earl Marshall and not to the king b she has tried to poison King Henry in some versions she says she successfully poisoned Rosamund Clifford the king s mistress and c she adores her son fathered by Earl Marshall and reviles the son she has borne to King Henry The king by now is livid and throwing off his disguise he reveals himself to the horrified queen The ballad ends as King Henry says that were it not for his royal oath he would kill Earl Marshall External links editQueen Elanor s Confession 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 Queen Elanor 27s Confession amp oldid 1175056672, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
