The Laird o Logie


The Laird O Logie or The Laird Of Logie is Child ballad number 182.

Synopsis

Young Logie is imprisoned, to hang. May Margaret comes to court to plead for his life. She is unable to win a pardon but steals some token or a forged pardon, sometimes with the queen's aid. With these, she frees Young Logie—the man she loves, or the father of her baby, depending on the variant.

Commentary

This is based on historical events. The king is James VI of Scotland and Young Logie is John Wemyss, the Laird of Logie in North Fife. The offense for which he was imprisoned—unlike the stolen kiss claimed in some variants—was involvement with the Earl of Bothwell in an attempt to kidnap the king. Margaret Winstar was one of the queen's servants and succeeded in rescuing him from a prison in Dalkeith Palace, and they later married.