Johnnie Armstrong
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Johnnie Armstrong or Johnie Armstrong is Child ballad number 169.
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[edit] Synopsis
John Armstrong was a border outlaw and infamous sheep stealer. He raided into England when Scotland was in power and raided into Scotland when England was in power. He also had a hundred and sixty men despite no income from rents. The ballad relates that the king sends him a letter, requesting his presence in court and promising him safety. Armstrong is taken by the honor and orders his men to dress richly, as befits the court. At their arrival, the king tries to arrest them, and Armstrong orders them to fight. They are all killed, although Johnnie is brought down only by a treacherous attack from behind.
His son, still a child "on his nurse's knee", vows revenge.
The variants sometimes open with a lament that it is not safe to appear before the king, or end with a lament that as a border reiver, Johnnie Armstrong had kept the English out of Scotland.
When he died, he is quoted as saying to the king, "Well, if I knew you were going to do this I never would have come."
[edit] History
The events occurred in fact, but the Armstrongs were captured and hanged at Caerlanrigg chapel, rather than killed in battle. A memorial to Armstrong and his men stands in the chapel graveyard to this day. Among his many descendants was the Revolutionary War Major General John Armstrong.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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