England's Triumph, Or, The Kingdom's Joy for the proclaiming of King William and His Royal Consort, Queen Mary, in the Throne of England, on the 13th. of this instant February. 1688, or simply England's Triumph, is an English broadside ballad composed in 1689. [1] As the title suggests, the ballad takes as its primary focus the coronation of William III of England and his consort Mary II of England, which took place in February 1689 (even though the ballad claims it took place in 1688. This is most likely a typographical error on the part of the composer or the printer). William III and Mary II's coregency marked the end of the Glorious Revolution and the reign of James II of England. The coregency also brought about a shift in the religious paradigm of 17th-century England, which was Roman Catholic when James II sat upon the throne. Indeed, the ballad comments on the "vile pop'ry" that ruled the throne prior to the rule of William III, which saw the restoration of Protestant liberty. [2] Extant copies of the ballad are available at Magdalene College, Cambridge in the Pepys Library. Alternatively, online facsimiles of the ballad are available online for public consumption. [3]
Set to the tune of "Hark the Thundering Cannons Roar," [4] the ballad opens with an encomium directed toward King William III: "Now the Royal deed is done, / King William’s seated on the Throne, / and we his Subjects justly own, / He was our preservation." The ballad goes on to explicate what it means for England's religious state now that William III is "seated on the throne": "The Glories of our Court are clear, / Now Rome’s dark Clouds all disappear / And shall no more o’re-cast us here, / nor send their priests to fool us. ... [O]ur brave Prince William came, / Who smote the Babylonian Dame, / And brough her Tod-pole Tools to shame, / redeem’d us all from Slav’ry" As the ballad makes clear, the ascension of William and Mary meant that Catholicism, the "Babylonian Dame" mentioned in these lines, was once again no longer the official religion of England. The ballad concludes as most encomium ballads do, which is to say with general praise of the subject: "May they all delights obtain, / Prove happy in a prosp’rous Reign, / And e’ery thing they wish for gain, / and prove to them a blessing."
The ballad is broken up into eight octets with varying rhyme schemes. For instance, the first stanza has an AA BB CCC B rhyme scheme while the second stanza has an AAA B CCC B rhyme scheme.
A prince consort is the husband of a monarch who is not a monarch in his own right. In recognition of his status, a prince consort may be given a formal title, such as prince. Most monarchies do not allow the husband of a queen regnant to be titled as a king because it is perceived as a higher title than queen, however, some monarchies use the title of king consort for the role.
A coregency is the situation where a monarchical position, normally held by only a single person, is held by two or more. It is to be distinguished from diarchies or duumvirates such as ancient Sparta and Rome along with a regency where the monarch in most cases infant or incapacitated particularly has a senior above him and exercises no power whatsoever apart from legally holding the position of head of state.
"Geordie" is an English language folk song concerning the trial of the eponymous hero whose lover pleads for his life. It is listed as Child ballad 209 and Number 90 in the Roud Folk Song Index. The ballad was traditionally sung across the English speaking world, particularly in England, Scotland and North America, and was performed with many different melodies and lyrics. In recent times, popular versions have been performed and recorded by numerous artists and groups in different languages, mostly inspired by Joan Baez's 1962 recording based on a traditional version from Somerset, England.
Mary II has been depicted in novels, film and television.
The English Convention was an assembly of the Parliament of England which met between 22 January and 12 February 1689 and transferred the crowns of England and Ireland from James II to William III and Mary II.
"A Ballad upon the Popish Plot" is an early modern English broadside ballad about a fabricated conspiracy known as "The Popish Plot" that occurred between 1678 and 1681 in the kingdoms of England and Scotland, during a period of widespread social and cultural prejudice against Catholicism. The song records an indictment of the Plot—a crucial consequence of national religious conflict that arguably began with the English Reformation—in the form of the ballad, one of the most time-honored and influential styles of popular music.
"A free admonition without any fees / To warne the Papistes to beware of three trees" is an English broadside ballad published by William Birch in 1571 and is not currently set to any tune An original copy of the ballad is located in the Huntington Library, however online facsimiles are available for public consumption.
"Royal Courage" or "King William's Happy Success in Ireland" is an English broadside ballad published by Thomas Betterton between 1682 and 1692, and is set to the tune of "Let the Soldiers Rejoice". The original copy of the ballad is available for view at the Pepys Library of Magdalene College, Cambridge. Online facsimiles of the ballad, as well as audio recordings sung to the original tune, have been made available online for public consumption.
The Wandering Jew's Chronicle is an English broadside ballad dating back to the 17th century, with The Wandering Jew as its narrator. From the point of view of the titular character, this ballad tells the history of the English monarchs, beginning with William the Conqueror, and continuing through King Charles II in early versions, and King George II in later versions. The ballad, according to Giles Bergel, dates back to an initial publication of 1634. Copies of the ballad can be found at the British Library and Magdalene College. Online facsimiles of the text are also available for public consumption.
Cromwell's Panegyrick is a printed English broadside ballad composed in 1647. Copies of it are in collections including the British Library, Society of Antiquaries, The National Archives, Huntington Library, and the National Library of Scotland. Online facsimiles of the ballad are available online for public consumption. Though the ballad's title claims to be a panegyric, it quickly becomes a mock-panegyric, taking the theme of praise and turning it on its head. In this way, the ballad becomes more of a satire as opposed to a true panegyric. For instance, though it describes in part Cromwell's role in the Second English Civil War, which broke out officially in 1648, it also mentions how large and bulbous Cromwell's nose was: "Well may his Nose, that is dominicall, / Take pepper int." The ballad undercuts all of Cromwell's accomplishments in the military, and goes so far as to claim – as many did of Cromwell in the 1640s and 50s – that he was an individual motivated purely by a desire for power and kingship, thus painting him in a Machiavellian light.
A new loyal song, upon King William's Progress into Ireland is an English broadside ballad believed to have been composed roughly around the 1690s. Online facsimiles of the ballad, as well as recordings of the ballad sung in its original tune, are available for public consumption. The ballad praises the future exploits William III of England will make in Ireland, specifically at the Battle of Boyne. Though the ballad is believed to have been composed around 1690, just one year after William deposed James II of England, the title of the ballad makes clear the fact that the composer was a supporter of William and his Glorious Revolution.
The Wandering Jew is an English broadside ballad dating back to the late 17th century. The ballad, subtitled "The Shoemaker of JERUSALEM. Who lived Jesus Christ was Crucified, and by him appointed to Wander till his Coming Again," tells the story of the legendary figure of the Wandering Jew, his interaction with Jesus Christ, and his subsequent eternal wanderings. Variations in the text reveal a stronger sense of antisemitism in the ballad.
Robin Hood and Little John is Child ballad 125. It is a story in the Robin Hood canon which has survived as, among other forms, a late seventeenth-century English broadside ballad, and is one of several ballads about the medieval folk hero that form part of the Child ballad collection, which is one of the most comprehensive collections of traditional English ballads.
"Packington's Pound" is an English broadside ballad that dates back, roughly, to the last quarter of the 16th century. It is most recognized by its tune, and, in fact, more tunes were set to "Packington's Pound" than ballads named "Packington's Pound." Claude Simpson in "The British Broadside Ballad and its Music" writes: "This [Packington's Pound] is the most popular single tune associated with ballads before 1700." Extant copies of the ballad can be found at the Huntington Library, the Pepys Library, and the National Library of Scotland.
"A True Narrative of the Horrid Hellish Popish Plot" is a late seventeenth-century English broadside ballad telling the story of the contemporary anti-Catholic scare in England known as the Popish Plot.
The Ballad of the Cloak, Or the Cloak's Knavery is an English broadside ballad that dates back, roughly, to the last quarter of the 17th century. It is most often set to the popular tune, "From Hunger and Cold, or Packington's Pound." The ballad is most recognized by its opening lines, "Come buy my new Ballet/ I hav't in my Wallet." Extant copies of the ballad can be found at the Huntington Library, the Pepys Library, the British Library and the National Library of Scotland.
England's Happiness in the Crowning of William and Mary is an English broadside ballad composed in 1689 and takes as its primary focus the coronation of William III and Mary II. William and Mary's joint reign began in February 1689 when the Convention Parliament, summoned by William after his invasion of England in 1689, offered him the crown. Though this ballad never comments explicitly on William and Mary's 1689 penning of the English Bill of Rights, it nevertheless focuses heavily on one specific component of the act, namely the reestablishment of Protestant liberty, as William III and Mary II were both Protestants: "For a Protestant King and a Protestant Queen, / The like in old England long time hath not been."
"St. George and the Dragon," or "An Excellent Ballad of St. George and the Dragon" is a 17th-century ballad that considers the account of England's patron saint, St. George, and his famous defeat of a dragon. Printed on a broadside, "St. George and the Dragon" is a ballad with less of a narrative about the St. George and the Dragon episode in the Romance genre, and more of a continued assertion that St. George's defeat of the dragon is the most heroic episode in known myth or history. The collections of various libraries house surviving copies of the ballad printed on broadsides, including the British Library, the National Library of Scotland, and the Huntington Library. Online copies of the ballad facsimiles are also available.
Holland's Leaguer was the name of a Dutch English brothel in London between 1603 and January 1632. It has been referred to as the most famed brothel in 17th-century England. "Legeur" means military encampment.