On “John’s Knot”

This Middle English lyric poem does not have a title in the manuscript where it is found (Harley 2253) but is usually called “Annot and John” (Annot is an older spelling of Annette) or “I know a lady” (a modern English translation of the first line). What I’m calling a poem here was probably actually a folk song developed by multiple performers. Lines and stanzas from it appear elsewhere in other manuscripts and much of the material within it seems to be recycled.

Though most scholars assume that the poem is written about a woman and from the perspective of a man, it includes many gender-neutral pronouns. In Middle English, “he” is ungendered third person singular and “hire” can be first person singular feminine or third person plural. Moreover, terms that often refer to a woman (burde and mai) can also mean a young man, especially one who is sexually inexperienced. The gems, animals, and plants are not solely ones associated with female characteristics. I am not trying to entirely override modern English translations of this poem that characterize the object of affection as a woman, but I am suggesting that a medieval person, like a modern one, could have recognized the gender flexibility of this poem and chosen to translate it as I have, perhaps only for themselves, privately, choosing not to read or listen to it “straight.” This is how I read the poem the first time I encountered it in Middle English. Human beings do this all the time, now and then—we look around for a bit of room for ourselves and then crawl inside.

In my version of this poem, I’ve returned flexibility to words that are often translated with unimaginative bias. I’ve tried to preserve the punning playfulness and general sound effects of the poem rather than always emphasize perfect one-to-one meaning or exact replication of the original rhyme and meter.