The Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh, also known as The Laidly Worm of Bamborough, is a Northumbrianballad about a princess who is changed into a dragon (the "laidly worm" of the title).
Childe Wynd thrice kisses the laidly worm, John D. Batten, 1890
In the Kingdom of Northumbria, a kind king in Bamburgh Castle takes a beautiful but cruel witch as his queen after his wife's death. The King's son, Childe Wynd, has gone across the sea and the witch, jealous of the beauty of the king’s daughter, Princess Margaret, and quick to take advantage of Wynd’s absence, turns her into a dragon. The enchantment used is usually:
I weird ye to be a Laidly Worm,
And borrowed shall ye never be,
Until Childe Wynd, the King's own son
Come to the Heugh and thrice kiss thee;
Until the world comes to an end,
Borrowed shall ye never be.
Later in the story, the prince returns and, instead of fighting the dragon, kisses it, restoring the princess to her natural form. He then turns the witch-queen into a toad and becomes king.
Variants
The ballad was first published in 1778 in a compilation of folk songs. The ballad was said to have been transcribed by the Reverend Robert Lambe, the Vicar of Norham, from a manuscript "made by the old mountain-bard, Duncan Frasier, living on Cheviot, A.D. 1270", although it is probable that Lambe wrote it himself, drawing on local stories.[1] In Joseph Jacob's version, the dragon Princess Margaret is appeased by putting aside seven cows for her per day. The prince, her brother, hears of it and comes for her despite his stepmother's attempt to keep him away.
The first studio recording of the ballad was sung by Owen Brannigan. The version sung was arranged by Vilém Tauský as an abridged narrative, having 10 verses as opposed to the original's 38 verses.[2]
Location
The Spindlestone or Bridle Rock on Spindlestone Heughs.
An example of the remarkably similar geological feature known in Czech as Sněžné věžičky (= "Snow turret"), Jizera Mountains, border between Czech Republic and Poland
Spindlestone Heugh (or Heughs) is a dolerite crag on the Great Whin Sill escarpment in the parish of Easington, Northumberland. The Spindlestone itself is a natural stone column standing out from the crag, which is also known as "Bridle Rock". According to a local legend, Child Wynd threw his horse's bridle over the rock before tackling the worm.[3] The ballad describes a cave and a stone trough used by the worm; a feature below the crag is marked "Laidley Worm's Trough" by the Ordnance Survey, but the nearby "Laidley Worm's Cave" was destroyed by quarrying in the 19th century.[1]
The Laidly Worm never made it into the "Reliques" but was reprinted in various other books after its discovery. Lambe sent the fragments to his friend Thomas Percy, Bishop of Dromore, another antiquarian. Percy had embarked on a British Empire-spanning project to collect all the oral and written lore and ballads, which he assembled into a volume called Reliques of Ancient English Poetry.
See also
Kemp Owyne – a Child Ballad version of the tale, in which Childe Wynd is replaced by Kemp Owyne
^ abWestwood, Jennifer. "BBC Radio 4 Land Lines - Bamburgh". www.englandinparticular. BBC. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
^Brannigan, Owen (2002). 'Berwick Fair' - Songs of North Northumberland (CD). Northumbria Anthology. Vol. 1. Arranged by Vilém Tauský. Occurs in track 13's commentary. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
^Lebour, G A (1879), The Named Stones of Northumberland; being a list of huge stones, singly and in groups, in situ and detached, to which local names have been given in the County, published in History of the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club (p. 531)
^Francis James Child, The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, v 1, p 306, Dover Publications, New York 1965
laidly, worm, spindleston, heugh, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, . This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources The Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh also known as The Laidly Worm of Bamborough is a Northumbrian ballad about a princess who is changed into a dragon the laidly worm of the title Childe Wynd thrice kisses the laidly worm John D Batten 1890 Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Variants 3 Location 4 Origins 5 See also 6 References 7 SourcesSynopsis EditIn the Kingdom of Northumbria a kind king in Bamburgh Castle takes a beautiful but cruel witch as his queen after his wife s death The King s son Childe Wynd has gone across the sea and the witch jealous of the beauty of the king s daughter Princess Margaret and quick to take advantage of Wynd s absence turns her into a dragon The enchantment used is usually I weird ye to be a Laidly Worm And borrowed shall ye never be Until Childe Wynd the King s own son Come to the Heugh and thrice kiss thee Until the world comes to an end Borrowed shall ye never be dd dd dd Later in the story the prince returns and instead of fighting the dragon kisses it restoring the princess to her natural form He then turns the witch queen into a toad and becomes king Variants EditThe ballad was first published in 1778 in a compilation of folk songs The ballad was said to have been transcribed by the Reverend Robert Lambe the Vicar of Norham from a manuscript made by the old mountain bard Duncan Frasier living on Cheviot A D 1270 although it is probable that Lambe wrote it himself drawing on local stories 1 In Joseph Jacob s version the dragon Princess Margaret is appeased by putting aside seven cows for her per day The prince her brother hears of it and comes for her despite his stepmother s attempt to keep him away The first studio recording of the ballad was sung by Owen Brannigan The version sung was arranged by Vilem Tausky as an abridged narrative having 10 verses as opposed to the original s 38 verses 2 Location Edit The Spindlestone or Bridle Rock on Spindlestone Heughs An example of the remarkably similar geological feature known in Czech as Snezne vezicky Snow turret Jizera Mountains border between Czech Republic and Poland Spindlestone Heugh or Heughs is a dolerite crag on the Great Whin Sill escarpment in the parish of Easington Northumberland The Spindlestone itself is a natural stone column standing out from the crag which is also known as Bridle Rock According to a local legend Child Wynd threw his horse s bridle over the rock before tackling the worm 3 The ballad describes a cave and a stone trough used by the worm a feature below the crag is marked Laidley Worm s Trough by the Ordnance Survey but the nearby Laidley Worm s Cave was destroyed by quarrying in the 19th century 1 Origins EditThe story has a lot in common with the Icelandic Hjalmthes saga ok Olvis 4 5 The Laidly Worm never made it into the Reliques but was reprinted in various other books after its discovery Lambe sent the fragments to his friend Thomas Percy Bishop of Dromore another antiquarian Percy had embarked on a British Empire spanning project to collect all the oral and written lore and ballads which he assembled into a volume called Reliques of Ancient English Poetry See also EditKemp Owyne a Child Ballad version of the tale in which Childe Wynd is replaced by Kemp Owyne Lambton Worm Loathly lady The Laily Worm and the Machrel of the SeaReferences Edit a b Westwood Jennifer BBC Radio 4 Land Lines Bamburgh www englandinparticular BBC Retrieved 15 February 2016 Brannigan Owen 2002 Berwick Fair Songs of North Northumberland CD Northumbria Anthology Vol 1 Arranged by Vilem Tausky Occurs in track 13 s commentary Retrieved 18 December 2022 Lebour G A 1879 The Named Stones of Northumberland being a list of huge stones singly and in groups in situ and detached to which local names have been given in the County published in History of the Berwickshire Naturalists Club p 531 Francis James Child The English and Scottish Popular Ballads v 1 p 306 Dover Publications New York 1965 Hjalmthes saga ok OlvisSources Edit Wikisource has original text related to this article The Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh Atkinson Philip Folk Tales of North East England http viewbook at FolkTalesEngland Henderson Joan The Laidly Worm of Bamborough 1991 http www ferrum edu thanlon dragons collect htm Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heugh amp oldid 1128056525, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
