She b(le)w …horne on hir palfray,
And lef…thomas at eldyrn….
Til helms dale she toke [th]e w(ay),
A(n)d thus departed [th]at lady and he. (Nixon 2: 83, ll. 681-4)
Although Thomas the Rhymer and the Queen of Fairies go their separate ways at the end of this medieval romance version of the popular legend, Thomas presciently asks his otherworldly captor “If we shall p(art for) euer and ay?” (Nixon 83: l. 676, Cambridge MS). Some kind of end to their fateful union may be implied in the surviving romance and ballad traditions, but the Rhymer’s story in terms of literary and cultural retellings has resolutely resisted closure. The narrative of Thomas the Rhymer …
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2672 words
Citation: Dunnigan, Sarah. "Thomas of Ercildoune". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 June 2011 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=12759, accessed 22 November 2024.]
