Synopsis
The wife of a nobleman, Lord Arlen (other names include Lord Daniel, Arnold, Donald, and Barnard), entices Matty Groves (or Little Musgrave), a servant or retainer of her husband, into an adulterous affair. Lord Arlen receives word of the betrayal; in some versions a foot-page hears them planning and warns Lord Arlen; the lord promises reward if he is telling the truth -- to make him his heir, or marry him to his eldest daughter -- and execution if he is lying. The nobleman returns home, where he surprises the lovers in bed. The death may be put off by Matty arguing for a weapon. Lord Arlen kills Matty Groves in a duel. When his wife spurns him and expresses a preference for her lover, even in death, over her husband, he stabs her through the heart. The ballad may end there, or with the lord's death, by suicide or execution. Yet another version has him cutting off his wife's head and kicking it against the wall in anger.
Some versions of the ballad include elements of an aubade, a poetic form in which lovers part after spending a night together.
Read more about this topic: Matty Groves