Tam Lin Balladry

Tam Lin and Allison Gross

source: Digital traditions data base
source cited: Child # 35

Summary | Tale | Similarities | Analysis |

Summary: The witch Allison Gross tries to seduce a man with offers of valuable goods. When he refuses her, she turns him into a worm and leaves him to wander around a tree. On Halloween night the fairy court rides by, and the queen of the Fairies stops to help the man. She strokes him three times, and he is transformed again to him human shape.

Allison Gross

1. Oh, Allison Gross, that lives in yon tower
   The ugliest witch in the north country
   Has trysted me one day up in her bower
   And many fair speech she made to me
   
   
2. She stroked my head and she combed my hair
   And she set me down softly on her knee
   Says, "Gin ye will be my leman so true
   Sae many braw things as I would ye gi'"
   
   
3. She showed me a mantle of red scarlet
   With golden flowers and fringes fine
   Says, "Gin ye will be my leman so true
   This goodly gift it shall be thine"
   
   
4. "Away, away, you ugly witch
   Hold far away and let me be
   I never will be your leman so true
   And I wish I were out of your company"
   
   
5. She next brought me a sark of the softest silk
   Well wrought with pearls about the band
   Says, "Gin ye will be my ain true love
   This goodly gift you shall command"
   
   
6. She showed me a cup of the good red gold
   Well set with jewels so fair to see
   Says, "Gin ye will be my leman sae true
   This goodly gift I will ye gi'"
   
   
7. "Away, away, you ugly witch
   Hold far away and let me be
   For I wouldna aince kiss your ugly mouth
   For all the gifts that you could gi'"
   
   
8. She's turned her right and round about
   And thrice she blew on a grass-green horn
   And she swore by the moon and the stars abeen
   That she would gar me rue the day I was born
   
   
9. Then out she has taken a silver wand
   And she's turned her three times round and round
   She's muttered such words till my strength it failed
   And I fell down senseless upon the ground
   
   
10. She's turned me into an ugly worm
    And gard me toddle around the tree
    And aye, on ilka Saturday night
    My sister Maisry came to me
    
    
11. With silver basin and silver comb
    To comb my head upon her knee
    Before I had kissed her ugly mouth
    I'd rather have toddled about the tree
    
    
12. But as it fell out on last Halloween
    When the seely court was riding by
    The queen lighted down on a rowan bank
    Not far frae the tree where I wont to lie
    
    
13. She took me up in her milk white hand
    And she's stroked me three times on her knee
    She changed me again to my ain proper shape
    And I nae more maun toddle about the tree
    

Similarities

1. Both tales are concerned with a man who is transformed
2. Both tales follow a pattern from human to creature to human again
3. Both have the rescue occuring on Halloween
4. The Fairy Queen has the power to transform
5. The Fairy court goes riding on Halloween

Analysis : This tale illustrates the capricious relationship between the humans and the fairies. In Tam Lin, the Fairy queen is the villian, and she is the one who instigates the transformations. In this tale, it is a human figure, a witch, that is the source of evil, and the Fairy Queen who is the rescuer. In this tale, the human male has no lover to save him, his relationship even with his sister is very strange. It is unclear what motivates the Fairy Queen to save the human, but my theory on the matter is that the Fairies, in their own way, do not like others using magic and thus will spoil the tricks of humans when they can.

Tam Lin Balladry

© 1997-2003 Abigail Acland for all original works unless otherwise noted.

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