#mixed may

He blows it East, he blows it West

Fine flowers in the valley

He blows it where he liketh best

As the rose is blown

Lady Isabel sits a-sewing

Fine flowers in the valley

When she heard the elf-knight's horn a-blowing

As the rose is blown

'Would I had that horn a-blowing'

Fine flowers in the valley

'And yon elf-knight for to sleep in my bosom'

As the rose is blown

Scarcely had she these words spoken

Fine flowers in the valley

When in at the window the elf-knight's broken

As the rose is blown

'It's a very strange matter, fair maid' said he

Fine flowers in the valley

'I cannot blow my horn, but you call on me'

As the rose is blown

'Oh, but will you go to the greenwood side?"

Fine flowers in the valley

'If you will not go, I'll cause you to ride'

As the rose is blown

He leapt on his horse and she on another

Fine flowers in the valley

And they rode on to the greenwood together

As the rose is blown

'Light down, light down, Isabel' said he

Fine flowers in the valley

'For we're come to the place where you are to die'

As the rose is blown

'It's seven kings daughters, here have I slain'

Fine flowers in the valley

'And you shall be the eighth of them'

As the rose is blown

'Sit down a-while, lay your head on my knee'

Fine flowers in the valley

'That we may rest before I die'

As the rose is blown

She stroked him so fast the nearer he did creep

Fine flowers in the valley

And with a small charm, she's lulled him to sleep

As the rose is blown

With his own sword-belt, so fast she's bound him

Fine flowers in the valley

With his own dagger so sore she's stabbed him

As the rose is blown

'If seven kings daughters here have you slain'

Fine flowers in the valley

'Then lie you here, a husband to them all'

As the rose is blown

Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight is an English representant of European group of ballads. There are few common English variants of this ballad, the version which I chose to depict is the oldest of them called The Gawans Sae Gae. Only two of them, including this one, have a clear supernatural element.

Usually the ballad's antagonist is a human motivated by greed, who lures heroine away with a false promise of marriage. He asks her to steal the money and horses from parents, so they could elope together and then tries to drown her. Such is the case with the most popular variant of the song titled The Outlandish Knight. However in this version titular knight is an Elf, who wields a magical horn and the murder appears to be his sole motive. That aligns with a traditional portrayal of faeries/elves in the folklore, who were often said to be malicious tricksters. In every version Isabel manages to outsmart her would be killer and that's really admirable, because many folk songs don't have a happy ending.

I first came in contact with the ballad in April last year and in July I heard the interpretation by band Steeleye Span, from which came the quoted lyrics. The original text of a ballad can be read here:

https://sacred-texts.com/neu/eng/child/ch004.htm

I couldn't find any good references for my picture (That's why there are some issues with it), clothes were inspired a bit by the costumes from Cadfael TV series, the action of series takes place in 12th century England (High Middle Ages), which I thought would fit the ballad feel. (Though scholars have raised concerns about how old the ballad in question is. The first versions of it were recorded in 18th century.)

Made with alcohol markers, acrylics, colored pencils and ballpoint pen on paper.