Crow and Pie
Crow and Pie is
Synopsis
A man encounters a woman in the woods and tries to seduce her, first offering her his love, then a ring and a velvet purse. In each case she repulses him, saying "the crow shall byte yow" (bite you). He rapes her. She requests first that he marry her, then that he give her "some of your good" (representing either a token of the lover's identity, or the "nurse's fee" for raising a bastard child), and finally that he tell her his name. In each case he refuses her, saying "For now the pye hathe peckyd yow" (clearly a sexual metaphor). Finally, she curses him, saying that she will not despair and will "recouer my harte agayne" (recover my heart again). The ballad contains a warning to young women to be suspicious, and avoid being raped.
Motifs
This ballad contrast with Child Ballad 5, Gil Brenton, where the woman is able to prove the identity of her child's father by the tokens he gave her.[2]
Analysis
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This ballad shows the thin line that existed in early
The request by the lady in Crow and Pie for some of her rapist's goods may seem mercenary by modern standards, but is quite understandable from a Medieval perspective. Money or a valuable token would indicate to the lady's parents (and her peers) that the man was not a
Finally, Crow and Pie is unusual in that the lady, although angry and ashamed, is not despondent or suicidal and appears ready to resume her normal life.
References
- ^ Francis James Child, English and Scottish Ballads, "Crow and Pie"
- ^ Francis James Child, The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, v 1, p 64-5, Dover Publications, New York 1965