ABSTRACT
The illustrations that accompany “The Low-Country Soldier” show that it probably originated before the nineteenth century and hint at something considerably earlier, but it is difficult to date with precision. There are two other versions of this song in the Bodleian’s extensive collection and the texts of each bear no significant differences. Only one can be confidently dated and it is said to have been in circulation some time between 1790 and 1840, showing the song’s probable longevity. The term ‘burgomaster’ was generally taken as the Flemish equivalent to a mayor, so the song likely would have fed soldiers’ dreams of rising from rags to riches. Its description of the poor state of the Flemish veteran’s clothing and weaponry would have resonated with English audiences who witnessed their own soldiers returning home in rags after campaigns abroad. The low-country soldier’s clever ruses that dupe the squire and officer are not dissimilar to Christian Davies’ accounts of the cunning with which she and others hid booty or got revenge on unpopular officers through indirect means. This song also reveals the value of a strategic marriage in facilitating men’s material and social advancement in this period.
