An Odd Ballad: "My Bird is a Round-head"

Here's a strange item I found while trolling through EEBO today for something else, and so in keeping with our EEBOnics project that Truewit founded, and following up on my earlier post about the Book of Sports, I present it here. Printed in the fateful year of 1642, the ballad, by Humphrey Crouch, is a mockery of puritans, but a truly odd one, featuring a madcap Northamptonshire man who loves "sports and pastimes" and sets up a maypole, which annoys a local puritan. When the puritan scolds him, the man's reaction is bizarre: he goes inside and gets his pet owl, whose name just happens to be Roundhead. What follows implies some sort of humor at the puritan's expense, but this segment of the tale is not exactly made crystal clear; maybe it was one of those you-had-to-be-there sectarian-bird jokes. You know the kind I mean, I'm sure. It's an interesting ballad, bird-humor aside, because of its take on those who "with mere toys do trouble [their] pates," an attempt to ridicule religious extremists for making such a fuss over trifles--and to convince others, in one of the period's most popular oral and print forms, to shun such extremes. All of which gains an added poignancy, I think, from being published in the first year of the civil war. The ballad features a nice, custom-made woodcut on the left-hand side of the broadsheet: That's the maypole in the foreground, for those of you who have never danced around one. To save money, the publisher simply used stock woodcuts of a town and a man for the right-hand side (which, following customary practice, is called the "second part" even though there is no break in the narrative): You can see that these cuts are not in as good shape as the Maypole/bird cut, no doubt having deteriorated over years of use. Here's the ballad in its entirety, and we'll see if we can use our collective critical-historical skills to decipher the comedy. I mean, why an owl? And why exactly does the puritan bring the other man before a justice of the peace? Bird-related slander? My Bird is a Round-head Being a very pleasant and true Relation of a man in Northamptonshire, that kept a tame Owle in his house, whome he called Round-head; and how one of his neighbours had him before a Justice, for calling his Owle Round-head. To the tune of, let us to the wars againe. As I to London tooke my way, A pretty passage caus'd me to stay, Which you shall know if you attend, No honest man I will offend; You that are wise in your conceits, That with meere toyes doe trouble your pates, [chorus:] To whit to who, come say what you will, My Bird she is a Round-head still. In Northamtonshire a man did dwell, That sports and pastimes loved well, A May-pole he set up on hye, To recreate all Commers by; But one that was more nice then wise, Was much offended and tearm'd it a vice: [chorus] Neithbour (quoth he) you are prophane, I wonder you will be so vaine, A May-pole here for to erect, Methinkes such toyes you should reiect; Young folke about it dance and play, It leads their minds too much astray: [chorus] Ile have it downe beleeve me friend, Although that halfe my estate I spend, Tis but a kind of an Idoll vaine, Against it honest men complaine; And thus this understanding Clowne, Did still protest to have it downe: [chorus] Kind neighbour quoth the other man, How long have you beene a Puritan? Zounds the May-pole here shall stand, It shall not downe at your command; Youd have it downe, I pray Sir, why? Come show me your authority: [chorus] This man he had an Owle in his house, That killed many a Rat and Mouse, And cause he would doe what he list, He brought her out upon his fist; And to his neighbour shew'd her straight, That still stood bawling at his gate: [chorus] The second part, to the same tune. Neighbour, what Bird is this (quoth he) That here upon my first you see? Tis a Mag-howlet tother reply'd, That on your fist doth now abide; No, tis a Round-head on my fist, I hope I may call my Bird what I list: [chorus] The man began to fret and chafe, Whilst he with his Owle did heartily laugh, His laughing made him almost made, The one was merry the other sad: My pretty Round-head hurteth none, Among other Round-heads my Bird is one: [chorus] She meddles not with State affaires, Or sets her neighbours by the eares, No Crosse nor May-pole makes her start, Nor can she preach in Cup or Cart; She seekes to pull no Organs downe, Nor on an Image casts a frowne: [chorus] To be reveng'd the other sought, He cal'd him knave and all to nought, Before a Justice he did him bring, And told the Justice every thing; Before the Justice they came I wis, But all they could get of him was this, [chorus] Sirrah quoth the Justice hold your tongue, Good men methinkes you should not wrong, Sir quoth the man, nor have I yet, Though he thinks so for want of wit; I have a Bird he sayes she's an Owle, But I may call her Round-head or foole: [chorus] The Justice knew not what to say, But friendly bid him goe his way, Then home he went being dismist With his Round-head upon his fist; I wonder men so simple be, They can be so displea'd with me: [chorus] There's none my Round-head will despise, But such as are knowne to be unwise, Giggy-headed fooles and dolts, Sisters and unbridled Colts; My Round-head is a gallant Bird, Good words to her I pray afford: To whit to who, come say what you will, My bird it is a Round-head still. (Wing C7285B) A few notes and queries: subtitle: Northamptonshire] What were the religious politics in Northamptonshire at the outbreak of the civil war? I believe the county favored the parliamentary cause fairly heavily, but I'm not sure. Would the setting have immediately told contemporaries something that we need to work to recover? stanza 1, line 5: wise in your own conceits] see Romans 12:16, Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. 6.1-2: Owle, Rat, Mouse] is there some significance to these animals? is there anything about the owl in particular that makes the balladeer choose it? or to the rat and mouse, in the context of mid-century politics and religion? 6.3: cause he would do what he list] a rather poor line filler, I think. 9.1-6] I like this stanza the most of the whole ballad; I actually find the combination of this list of typical puritan grievances and an owl pretty funny. The owl can't set up a cart and preach on it, nor will she get really upset about church-organs and try to destroy them. Even though she is, in the most technical of senses, a Round-head. 10.3-4: Before a Justice he did him bring, / And told the Justice every thing] Ok, here's where it gets even weirder: it seems to be taken for granted that one could get a hearing before a JP on the basis of mockery involving a bird ... 11.1-2] ... and the JP takes it quite seriously; I can see someone in 1642 claiming that being called a roundhead is slander, and early modern England thought a lot about slander, but the whole bird aspect? 11.5-6: I have a Bird he sayes she's an Owle, / But I may call her Round-head or foole] The Maypole-loving man's winning argument: Judge, I have a pet owl, and as we all know, it's every true-born Englishman's right according to the ancient constitution to name his bird whatever he pleases, even to go so far as to name the bird Round-head or Fool. Isn't that in Magna Charta? No wonder the "Justice knew not what to say." 13.3: Giggy-headed] I don't find this word or giggy alone in OED; probably a misprint for Giddy-headed. See Simplicius's comment for an explanation of this word. 13.4] Sisters] Why does the owl hate sisters? I don't think I've misread the text here, though the EEBO reproduction is, as always, a bit hard to read. Fools, dolts, unbridled colts I can understand, but sisters? It's possible that it actually reads Sifters but what would that mean? People who "sift" matters of controversy too nicely and precisely?