"The Death of Queen Jane" is an English ballad that describes the events surrounding the death of a Queen Jane. It is catalogued by Francis James Child as Child #170. Some of the versions given are Scottish, in which the queen's name is Jeanie or Jeany. Due to the close correspondence of names and events, it is often thought that the queen in question is Jane Seymour, the third wife of Henry VIII of England, but this cannot be confirmed. Historically, Jane Seymour gave birth to a son who became Edward VI of England on October 12, 1537. The birth was difficult but natural. She died twelve days later of infection resulting from the birth.
Synopsis
There are 20 versions of the song given by Child, but they are consistent in the basic tale. Queen Jane is in difficult labour – the time given ranges from three days to an astonishing six weeks – and asks a succession of people to cut open her sides and save her baby. Each refuses her in turn, understanding that this would cause her death. She asks for others to be sent to her – variously her mother, a surgeon or doctor, and King Henry – and of each she makes the same request. Finally someone – King Henry in most versions – succumbs to her pleas and the surgery is done, whereupon she dies. The song ends with descriptions of the mourning, and most versions contrast the joy at the birth of a male heir with the grief over the death of the queen.
Versions
The relationship between Queen Jane and King Henry is described as a loving one in the ballad. In the versions in which he is sent for to hear her plea he is shown as first refusing: Only when she falls into a swoon – presumably interpreted that she was going to die anyway - are her instructions followed. Version 170D makes this explicit: Many versions describe King Henry weeping, his grief for his wife overcoming his joy for his son. One version mentions Princess Elizabeth, who became Elizabeth I as the one who "goes weeping away."
Text of version 170B
The text is given with the original spelling as Child gives it. This version is one of the more complete ones, and contains most of the story elements found in any of the versions. There are a few words which may be unfamiliar to modern English speakers. ;traveld :laboured, travailed ;meikle: great ;ha : hall
Text
In song
Bascom Lamar Lunsford recorded a short Appalachian variant of this ballad in 1935. This recording is available on the Smithsonian Folkways album Bascom Lamar Lunsford: Ballads, Banjo Tunes and Sacred Songs of Western North Carolina.
