Jock o' the Side
Encyclopedia
Jock o the Side or Jock O' the Side is Child ballad 187, a border ballad
, existing in several variants. The rescue it depicts is recorded solely in popular tradition, although Jock o the Side himself appears to have existed.
-- in some variants his illegitimate half-brother, and in some an outlawed Englishman -- set out with few men to rescue him. They sneak into the castle, over the hall or by murdering the porter, and find and rescue him. They must carry him off in his chains, but they get him away. In some variant, once they have escaped by crossing a river, the former captor asks for the chains back, but the prisoner says he will use them to shoe horses.
Border ballad
The English/Scottish border has a long and bloody history of conquest and reconquest, raid and counter-raid . It also has a stellar tradition of balladry, such that a whole group of songs exists that are often called "border ballads", because they were collected in that region.Border ballads, like...
, existing in several variants. The rescue it depicts is recorded solely in popular tradition, although Jock o the Side himself appears to have existed.
Synopsis
A failed raid results in the capture of Jock of the Side. Hobie NobleHobie Noble
-Synopsis:Hobie Noble, an Englishman, was outlawed and fled to Scotland. A traitor tried persuade him to come to England. The traitor failed, but learned where Hobie was going, and sent word. Hobie dreamed that he was attacked and woke. He and his men tried to escape, but his attackers found...
-- in some variants his illegitimate half-brother, and in some an outlawed Englishman -- set out with few men to rescue him. They sneak into the castle, over the hall or by murdering the porter, and find and rescue him. They must carry him off in his chains, but they get him away. In some variant, once they have escaped by crossing a river, the former captor asks for the chains back, but the prisoner says he will use them to shoe horses.
External links
- Jock o the Side
- Jock O' The Side
- commentary by Sir Walter ScottWalter ScottSir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....