Ancient Scottish ballads, recovered from tradition, and never before ...

87
fictitious. He appears not to have beerTthe only one
who bore the name of Winesberrie ; for the reader will
find on p. 89, a ballad under the title of " Lord Tho-
mas of Winesberrie." From the similarity' of the two
titles one would be apt to imagine Winesberrie to be
the same with Queensberry.
" I have an Italian in my court."—p. 83, v. 25.
In Johnie Scot the champion is called the " Tail-
liant :" a word which, the editor of that ballad says, is
an evident derivative from the French verb Taillader.
The learned editor having never met with the word
Tailliant before, (and it would have been singular if
he bad), and knowing that the champion's trade was
fighting, naturally seized upon the French verb tailla-
der, "to cut or slash," as it's etymon. But tailliant is
in fact, nothing else but a corruption of Italian, in the
recitation of the old people from whom he procured his
versions.
It is an historical fact, that anciently, prize-fighters
were attendants on every court in Europe ; and Italy
produced the greatest number of these bravoes, whose
swords were always at the command of wealth, either
for open combat, or secret murder. The Italian prize-
fighters, tho' eminent for their skill and dexterity in
the use of their weapons, often met with their match
and Johnie Buneftan was not the only Scot, whose
" gude braid swerd
Made the Italian for to yield."
;