Recently I came across a Scottish ballad called Binnorie. It's a sad tale about 2 sisters and how the eldest sister gets jealous of her younger sibling when a knight falls in love with her. (Aside - there's a deeper tale of the male not being true to either of the sisters.)
THERE were twa sisters sat in a bour;
__Binnorie, O Binnorie!
There cam a knight to be their wooer,
__By the bonnie milldams o’ Binnorie.
You can read the whole poem here. And if anyone is interested, Custer LaRue has recorded a magnificent version of this with the Baltimore Consort on the Dorian Label.
My question - what the heck does "Binnorie" mean? And what's a "mildam"? Does anyone here speak Scottish well enough to translate for us peons?
THERE were twa sisters sat in a bour;
__Binnorie, O Binnorie!
There cam a knight to be their wooer,
__By the bonnie milldams o’ Binnorie.
You can read the whole poem here. And if anyone is interested, Custer LaRue has recorded a magnificent version of this with the Baltimore Consort on the Dorian Label.
My question - what the heck does "Binnorie" mean? And what's a "mildam"? Does anyone here speak Scottish well enough to translate for us peons?
