%ISOlat1; %ISOlat2; %ISOnum; %ISOpub; ]> Constance of Cleveland. Or, / A very excellent Sonnet of the most fair Lady Constance of Cleveland, and her disloyal Knight. University of California - Santa Barbara The Early Modern Center English Broadside Ballad Archive (EBBA) Director Patricia Fumerton Associate Director Carl G Stahmer 1674-1674 Early Modern Center, University of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA 10/09/2018 35949

The University of California makes a claim of copyright only to original contributions made by Early Modern Center participants and other members of the university community. The University of California makes no claim of copyright to the original text. Permission is granted to download, transmit or otherwise reproduce, distribute or display the contributions to this work claimed by The University of California for non-profit educational purposes, provided that this header is included in its entirety. For inquiries about commercial uses, please contact:

Patricia Fumerton Early Modern Center - English Department University of California Santa Barbara, CA 93105 United States of America EMail: pfumer@english.ucsb.edu

R234189 1 Crimson Velvet Crimson Velvet Crimson Velvet IT was a youthful Knight, / lov'd a gallant Lady, Her words my love believe not, / Come to me and grieve not, / wantons will thee overthrow. [with variation] Information in this section of the Source Description refers to the original ballad manuscript. : Constance of Cleveland. Or, / A very excellent Sonnet of the most fair Lady Constance of Cleveland, and her disloyal Knight. Constance of Cleveland. Or, A very excellent Sonnet of the most fair Lady Constance of Cleveland, and her disloyal Knight. Constance of Cleveland. Or, A very excellent Sonnet of the most fair Lady Constance of Cleveland, and her disloyal Knight. 1674-1674 F. Coles, T. Vere, J. Wright, and J. Clarke

This document follows the guidelines specified for TEI.

XML Generated Automatically at 10/9/2018 1:07:24 PM Using EMC

XBallad Parsing Engine developed by Carl G Stahmer.

TEI Template developed by Gerald Egan and Modified by Carl Stahmer

All apostrophes are encoded as '.

Any dashs occurring in line breaks have been removed;

All dashs are encoded as ‐ and all em dashes as —.

 Early Modern Center Ballad Project Keyword Taxonomy advice affliction / health alcohol Americas animals / nature Bible / biblical figures buildings / architecture catastrophe children class clothing / appearance country / nation crime death economics / commerce entertainments family Featured folklore gender holidays / seasons infidelity labor / craft law London love maritime marriage military / war monstrosity mythology / Classical news nobility / court politics / government procreation punishment race / ethnicity religious concepts religious figures religious groups royalty rural life servitude sex / sexuality supernatural / magic travel trickery / deceit urban life vice violence virtue vulgar humor youth / age Library of Congress Subject Heading Taxonomy 10/9/2018 Santa Barbara, California, United States of America crime infidelity love marriage punishment Ballads, English 17th century Broadsides, England 17th century 10/9/2018 1:07:24 PM XBallad Raychawdhuri, Anita Created XML Version of Ballad 10/9/2018 1:07:24 PM Transcription Supervisor McCants, Kristen Transcription of ballad manuscript 10/9/2018 1:07:24 PM Double-Key Comparison and Merging Adkison, Katie Transcription of ballad manuscript 10/9/2018 1:07:24 PM Transcriptionist Two Ward, Jayne Transcription of ballad manuscript 10/9/2018 1:07:24 PM Transcriptionist One Floyd, Elizabeth Transcription of ballad manuscript 9/20/2018 Checker Jessica Zisa Edited Ballad Catalogue Record 8/7/2018 Checker Minh Hua Edited Ballad Catalogue Record 11/7/2016 Bibliographer Rachel LevinsonEmley Initial Ballad Catalogue Record Created
<seg n="1" rend="left"><hi rend="italic">Constance of Cleveland. Or,</hi></seg> <seg n="2" rend="left"><hi rend="italic">A very excellent Sonnet of the most fair Lady Constance of Cleveland, and her disloyal Knight.</hi></seg> <lb/> <seg n="3" rend="left"><hi rend="italic">To the Tune of, Crimson Velvet.</hi></seg>
IT was a youthful Knight, lov'd a gallant Lady, Fair she was and bright, and of vertues rare, Herself she did behave so courteously as may be, Wedded they were brave, joy without compare; Here began the grief, Pain without relief, her husband soon her love forsook, To women lewd of mind, Being bad inclin'd, he onely lent a pleasant look: The Lady she sat weeping, While that he was keeping company with others moe, Her words my love believe not, Come to me and grieve not, wantons will thee overthrow. His fair Ladies Words nothing he regarded Wantonness affords such delightful sport. While they dance and sing, with great mirth prepared, She her hands did wring in most grievous sort. O what hap had I, Thus to wail and cry! unrespected every day, Living in disdain, While that others gain all the right I should enjoy.
I am left forsaken, Others they are taken, ah my love why dost thou so? Her flatteries believe not, Come to me and grieve not, wantons will thee overthrow. The Knight with his fair peice, at length the Lady spied, Who did him daily fleece of his wealth and store. Secretly she stood while she her fashions tried, With a patient mind while deep the strumpet swore. O sir Knight, quoth she, So dearly I love thee, my life doth rest at thy dispose. By day and eke by night For thy sweet delight. thou shalt me in thy arms inclose. I am thine forever, Still I will persever true to thee where ere I go. Her flatteries believe not, Come to me and grieve not, wantons will thee overthrow. The vertuous Lady mild, enters then among them, Being big with child, as ever she might be, With distilling tears she looked then upon them, Filled full of fears
thus replyed she; Ah my Love and dear, Wherefore stay you here, refusing me your loving Wife, For an Harlots sake, Which each one will take, whose vile deeds provoke much strife. Many can accuse her, O my love refuse her, with thy Lady homeward go, Her flatteries believe not, Come to me and grieve not, wantons will thee overthrow. All in a fury then the angry Knight upstarted, Very furious when he heard his Ladies speech, With many bitter terms his Wife he ever thwarted, Using hard extreams, while she did him beseech, From her neck so white, He took away in spight, her curious chain of purest gold, Her jewels and her rings, And all such costly things, as he about her did behold. The Harlot in her presence, He did gentle reverence, and to her he gave them all. He sent away his Lady, Full of woe as may be, who in a swound with grief did fall.
AT the Ladies wrong, the Harlot fleer'd and laughed, Enticements are so strong, they overcome the wise; The Knight nothing regarded, to see the Lady scoffed, Thus was she regarded for her enterprize. The Harlot all this space, Did him oft imbrace, she flatters him and thus doth say, For thee i'le dye and live, For thee my faith i'le give, no wo shall work my loves decay; Thou shalt be my treasure, Thou shalt be my pleasure, thou shalt be my hearts delight, I will be thy darling, I will be thy Worldling, in dispight of fortunes spight. Thus he did remain, in wastful great expences, Till it bred his pain, and consum'd him quite: When his Lands were spent, troubled in his sences, Then did he repent of his late lewd Life, For relief he hies, For relief he flies, to them on whom whom he spent his Gold, They do him deny, They do him defie, they will not once his face behold. Being thus distressed, Being thus oppressed, in the fields that night he lay, Which the Harlot knowing, Through her malice growing, sought to take his life away.
A young and proper Lad, they had slain in secret, For the Gold he had, whom they did convey, By a Ruffion lude to that place directly Where the youthful Knight fast asleeping lay. The bloody Dagger than Where with they kild the Man, hard by the Knight he likewise laid Sprinkling him with blood, As he thought it good, and then no longer there he staid, The Knight being so abused, Was forthwith accused for this murder which was done, And he was condemned, That had not offended, shameful death he might not shun, When the Lady bright, understood the matter, That her weded Knight, was condemn'd to dye: To the King she went, with all the speed that might be, Where she did lament, her hard destiny: Noble King (quoth she) Pitty take on me, and pardon my poor husbands life, Else I am undone, With my little Son, let mercy mittigate this grief: Lady fair content thee, Soon thou wouldst repent thee, if he should be saved so; Sore he hath abus'd thee, Sore he hath misus'd thee, therefore Lady let him go.
O my Liege, quoth she, grant your gracious Dear he is to me, though he did me wrong, The King reply'd again, with a stern behaviour, A Subject he hath slain, dye he shall e're long, Except thou canst find, Any one so kind, that will dye and set him free, Noble King she said, Glad am I apaid, that same person will I be. I will suffer duly, I will suffer truly, for my love and husbands sake, The King thereat amazed, Though he her beauty praised, he bad from thence they should her take It was the Kings command on the morrow after, She should out of hand to the Scaffold go: Her Husband was to bear the Sword before her, He must eke alass give the deadly blow; He refus'd the deed, She bid him proceed, with a thosand kisses sweet, In this woful case, They did both imbrace, which mov'd the Ruffions in that place Straight for to discover, This concealed murder, whereby the Lady saved was, The Harlot then was hanged, As she well deserved this did vertue bring to pass.
Printed for F. Coles, T. Vere, J. Wright, and J. Clarke.