A Free Summary of Sir Patrick Spens

Dunfermline town must be the capital
Why was the king drinking the blude-red wine? ---was it that he was enjoying himself or was it that he was not happy?
The King did not just point out that Sir Patrick spen should sail his new ship
The King inquires from whom?
The King has a new Ship

Who else was there when the eldern knight spoke?
Why didn't any one second the statement or disagree with the claim?
Or was it that it was only the king and the eldern knight that where there? If so why? Was he some sort of special advisor to the King?
Was Sir Patrick spans really the best sailor?

The seal of the king was on the letter, showing its importance.
What was Sir Patrick spens doing on the strand?
Sir Patrick Spens is ordered to fetch the king’s daughter of noroway.
Note that it was not said that this thou must bring her back, neither was it said that mine daughter of noroway, thus we can Say that the princes was not the daughter of the king sitting in Dunfermline town, thus the king uses home because the home of sir Patrick is where he is and thus the home used refers to Sir Patrick Spen's home.

Why was sir Patrick spens happy when he begun to read the letter? What fascinated him, let us take note that the first word "to" that Sir Patrick read he was happy but the next word "noroway" that sir Patrick read he was sad. Thus even before reading the rest of the contents of the letter Sir Patrick spens was unhappy. However if Sir Patrick Spens where suspicious about his king he wouldn’t have been happy from the start, unless he was not aware of it.

Did sir Patrick spens really want to know who had told the King about him, or was it that sir Patrick spens did not see himself to be that famous or was it that Sir Patrick Spens was of the view that whoever told the king about him was not thoughtful, but what if the eldern knight spoke on impose, that is without knowing what he had said out of a sense of duty or what if he said it without knowing the king was going to issue an order for a voyage during that Season? What if he had good intensions? What if the eldern knight did not even know that the king had written a letter to Sir Patrick spens afterwards? However was it that the king was ignorant of the season when he gave those orders or did he do it with evil intent.

Sir Patrick spens avows to accomplish his task. Was it possible for Sir Patrick Spen to have petitioned the king to Postpone the journey? What if the Kings daughter of noroway refused to go back with Sir Patrick Spens or what if the King of Noroway refused or was it that the King of Noroway was dead or was it that he and his daughter could not refuse? What did the King want with the king’s daughter of Noroway anyway? Would Sir Patrick Spens have to take force if the princes refused to come with him? How many men was Sir Patrick travelling with? Where they in procession of weapons?



They got ready on Monday and with sped made it to noroway on a Wednesday. How long did it take to make the trip, was the trip a safe one? The trip should have been safe since there was not report of any misfortunes.


Sir Patrick spens and his men had only spent two days in noroway when the lords of noroway begun to accuse them of steeling.


We learn that sir Patrick Spens and his men are Scottish and from the way it is said this implies that the lords of noroway where not Scottish. On what grounds did the lords of noroway have to state their claims, was this a false accusation? Was it that sir Patrick spens and his men where spending so much money in noroway? we learn that the king of noroway has more money that his queen. Sir Patrick Spens claims the accusations are false. He does not keep quiet about it. But why didn’t the king and queen of the lords of noroway make those accusations?

Sir Patrick Spens claims that he and his men brought much money from home with them.


Was it the original plan of Sir Patrick spens to sail in the morning or was it that he didn’t want to have more lies thrown at him or was it that he feared some form of prosecution in Noroway? Was Sir Patrick spens respected in noroway since he had come under the authority of his king? I think not if not he would not have been falsely accused. Why is Sir Patrick Spens describing his men as merry when they are been accused of theft? Is this to ginger his men to make them merry since they are sad or is this because his men are merry because despite the accusations they had completed part of their mission by acquiring the king daughter of noroway. Would Sir Patrick spens after coming so far not complete his assignment because he was been accused, I do not think so. However we are told of a deadly storm.


We are told of a bad omen, and that one of the crew members feels that they would be in danger if they sail on the scheduled day. there is however no account of another sailor repeating the same thing or disagreeing with it, Sir Patrick Spen himself does not verify or refuse the statement addressed to him, Why is this so?


They had sailed barely 5 kilometres---a league---- when they where hit by the storm.

Why did Sir Patrick Spens not call out the name of one of his crew to take the helm in hand rather than ask for such a person, why wasn’t there a quarrel so that the crew would want to take the helm in hand after all it was the captains duty to take the helm in hand. Wasn’t there someone whose duty was to spie land at the tall top mast or couldn’t Sir Patrick Spens order someone to see if they could spie land. However we notice the seriousness of Sir Patrick to dock his ship and go on land. If the princes was on board it would be highly unlikely that she would be on deck since most of the work done on the ship was done by the commoners and if was not allowed for the aristocrats that the commoners to socialised in those days even if the prince had wanted to come on deck she would have change he mind or advised to do otherwise since it was a deadly storm.


Someone steps forward to take Sir Patricks place at the helm but then the person suggest that sir Patrick wouldn’t spie land, why did the fellow make such a statement? Did he know better than Sir Patrick Spens in such matters?


We learn that Sir Patrick Spens had not covered the distance of two steps when a boat onboard the ship fell overboard and the sea water rushed in.


We learn that Sir Patrick Spens gives orders to salvage the ship and prevent water from entering it.

We are told that his orders are obeyed; we are also told that the ship was good thus it was strong. However the water still came into the boat, and this water entered with great force and pressure, thus the men who where around the place trying to salvage the ship had to struggle as the water rushed in.


This account closes the events of the storm. We learn that the Scots Lord did not want to wet their cock heeled shoon, but after the storm their hats where floating on the water.

We learn that some money was floating on the sea, was this money paper since if it where gold it would have sunk.

The wives of the crew are on the shore and are distraught

Very much like the pervious summary

The distance to Aberdeen is slightly more than 13 leagues and is 300 ft deep. Where sir Patrick spens lies with the scot lords------it should be taken into account that there is not mention of the commoners supposedly since they are the least ranked in the society, however if the prince of noroway was also on board there was no mention about her as well and this can be explain in a number of reasons first of which is that in those times messages where either sent through messengers riding on horse, a bird of prey such a hawk or sent overseas on a ship, supposedly the princes of noroway was onboard the ship the people of noroway wouldn’t have been able to communicate this to the Scottish people since a messenger and the bird of prey could have been killed in the storm or in the case of the messenger delayed, a ship would have sunk as that of Sir Patrick spens. Thus when this ballad was written no news concerning the princes onboard the ship of sir Patrick spens would have reached the Scottish.

Now supposing that there was treachery in this ballad who would be behind it and who would it have been against?. If the King of Scotland wanted the princes of noroway died was there no other way to kill her that inviting her during a bad season, wouldn’t it have been obvious to all that he wanted her dead? However what if sir Patrick spens and his crew had not made it to noroway in the first place? Would the Scottish king have sent someone else, or had the Scottish king previously sent someone who died on the way? What if the Scottish king wanted to kill sir Patrick spens? Wouldn’t there had been another way? What would he stand to gain? What was the relationship between sir Patrick Spens and the Scottish King?