Elfin music: an anthology of English fairy poetry

And speak with their lord the king;
And I answered with bold words,
I dared not, nor did I wish to:
They hurried back as fast as they could drive,
There came their king also quickly,
With a hundred knights and more,
And maidens a hundred also;
All on snow-white steeds,
As white as milk were their garments,
I have not seen yet before
Such fair creatures chosen!
The king had a crown on his head,
It was not of silver, nor of red gold,
But it was made of a precious stone;
As bright as the sun it shone:
And as soon as he came to me,
Whether I wanted to or not, he took me,
And made me ride with him,
Upon a palfrey a docile horse used for riding by his side,
And brought me to his palace,
Well decorated in every way;
And showed me castles and towers,
Rivers, forests, woods with flowers;
And every one of his rich steeds,
And afterwards brought me back home,
Into our own orchard,
And said to me afterward:
"Look, lady! Tomorrow you must be
Right here under this ympe-tree a grafted tree; in folklore, sleeping under one often led to being kidnapped by fairies;
And then you shall go with us,
And live with us forevermore,
And if you try to hinder us,
Wherever you are, you will be seized,

And your limbs will be torn apart,
So that nothing shall help you,
And even though you are thus torn,
Yet you will be carried away with us."

The power of the Fairy King over the royal lady of earth appears to have been given to him because she slumbered beneath an elvish tree. This tree, though growing in her husband's orchard, made the surrounding grass plot the property of the elvish world. Orfeo went the next day to the "ympe-tree," accompanied by a thousand knights, all resolved to die, if necessary, before the queen should be taken from home. But upon reaching the fairy-bound place, Heurodis, in the midst of the entire company, was suddenly spirited away. In his misery, the king vowed never again to look upon the face of a woman and retired into the wilderness with his harp. His magical melody subdued the fierce beasts that lived on every side. This wilderness eventually proves to be a summer resort of the Fairy King, where Orfeo sees distant visions of elfin hunters, elfin knights, and ladies dancing. Then, on a certain day of great destiny, he encounters a joyful group of elfin maidens, among whom he recognizes his own Heurodis. Their mutual emotion betrays them, and she is carried swiftly away by her companions. Orfeo