Book Description:
"The Child Ballads are a collection of 305 ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, collected by Francis James Child in the late 19th century. The collection was published as The English and Scottish Popular Ballads between 1882 and 1898 by Houghton Mifflin in 10 Volumes. The ballads vary in age; for instance, a version of "A Gest of Robyn Hode" was printed in the late 15th or early 16th century, and the manuscript of "Judas" dates to the 13th century. The majority of the ballads, however, date to the 17th and 18th century; although some probably have very ancient influences, only a handful can be definitively traced to before 1600. Moreover, few of the tunes collected are as old as the words. While many of them had been individually printed, e.g. as broadsides, Child's collection was far more comprehensive than any previous collection of ballads in English. (However, there were comprehensive ballad collections in other languages, like the Danish collection Danmarks gamle Folkeviser, which Child referred to in his comments.)
One Child number may cover several ballads, which Child considered variants of the same story, although they may differ in many ways (as in "James Hatley"). Conversely, ballads classified separately may contain turns of phrase, and even entire verses, that are identical.
The Child Ballads deal with subjects typical to many ballads: romance, supernatural experiences, historical events, morality, riddles, murder, and folk heroes. On one extreme, some recount identifiable historical people, in known events. On the other, some differ from fairy tales solely by their being songs and in verse; some have been recast in prose form as fairy tales. A large part of the collections is about Robin Hood; some are about King Arthur. A few of the ballads are rather bawdy." (Quote from wikipedia.org)
Table of Contents:
Publisher's Preface; Preface; List Of The Principal Collections Of English And Scottish Ballads And Songs; Riddles Wisely Expounded; The Elfin Knight; The Fause Knight On The Road; Lady Isabel And The Elf Knight; Gil Brenton; Willie's Lady; Earl Brand; Erlinton; The Fair Flower Of Northumberland; The Twa Sisters; The Cruel Brother; Lord Rendal; Edward; Babylon Or The Bonnie Banks O Fordie; Leesom Brand; Sheath And Knife; Hind Horn; Sir Lionel; King Orfeo; The Cruel Mother; The Maid And The Palmer; St. Stephen And Herod; Judas; Bonnie Annie; Willie's Lyke-wake; The Three Ravens; The Whummil Bore; Burd Ellen And Young Tamlane; The Boy And The Mantle; King Arthur And King Cornwall; The Marriage Of Sir Gawain; King Henry; Kempy Kay; Kemp Owyne; Allison Gross; The Laily Worm And The Machrel Of The Sea; Thomas Rymer; The Wee Wee Man; Tam Lin; The Queen Of Elfan's Nourice; Hind Etin; Clerk Colvill; The Broomfield Hill; The Two Magicians; King John And The Bishop; Captain Wedderburn's Courtship; Proud Lady Margaret; Young Andrew; The Twa Brothers; The Bonny Hind; Lizie Wan; The King's Dochter Lady Jean; Young Beichan; The Cherry-tree Carol; The Carnal And The Crane; Dives And Lazarus; Brown Robyn's Confession; Sir Patrick Spens; Sir Aldingar; King Estmere; Sir Cawline
About the Publisher:
Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, Esoteric and Mythology. www.forgottenbooks.org
Forgotten Books is about sharing information, not about making money. All books are priced at wholesale prices. We are also the only publisher we know of to print in large sans-serif font, which is proven to make the text easier to read and put less strain on your eyes.
"The Child Ballads are a collection of 305 ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, collected by Francis James Child in the late 19th century. The collection was published as The English and Scottish Popular Ballads between 1882 and 1898 by Houghton Mifflin in 10 Volumes. The ballads vary in age; for instance, a version of "A Gest of Robyn Hode" was printed in the late 15th or early 16th century, and the manuscript of "Judas" dates to the 13th century. The majority of the ballads, however, date to the 17th and 18th century; although some probably have very ancient influences, only a handful can be definitively traced to before 1600. Moreover, few of the tunes collected are as old as the words. While many of them had been individually printed, e.g. as broadsides, Child's collection was far more comprehensive than any previous collection of ballads in English. (However, there were comprehensive ballad collections in other languages, like the Danish collection Danmarks gamle Folkeviser, which Child referred to in his comments.)
One Child number may cover several ballads, which Child considered variants of the same story, although they may differ in many ways (as in "James Hatley"). Conversely, ballads classified separately may contain turns of phrase, and even entire verses, that are identical.
The Child Ballads deal with subjects typical to many ballads: romance, supernatural experiences, historical events, morality, riddles, murder, and folk heroes. On one extreme, some recount identifiable historical people, in known events. On the other, some differ from fairy tales solely by their being songs and in verse; some have been recast in prose form as fairy tales. A large part of the collections is about Robin Hood; some are about King Arthur. A few of the ballads are rather bawdy." (Quote from wikipedia.org)
Table of Contents:
Publisher's Preface; Preface; List Of The Principal Collections Of English And Scottish Ballads And Songs; Riddles Wisely Expounded; The Elfin Knight; The Fause Knight On The Road; Lady Isabel And The Elf Knight; Gil Brenton; Willie's Lady; Earl Brand; Erlinton; The Fair Flower Of Northumberland; The Twa Sisters; The Cruel Brother; Lord Rendal; Edward; Babylon Or The Bonnie Banks O Fordie; Leesom Brand; Sheath And Knife; Hind Horn; Sir Lionel; King Orfeo; The Cruel Mother; The Maid And The Palmer; St. Stephen And Herod; Judas; Bonnie Annie; Willie's Lyke-wake; The Three Ravens; The Whummil Bore; Burd Ellen And Young Tamlane; The Boy And The Mantle; King Arthur And King Cornwall; The Marriage Of Sir Gawain; King Henry; Kempy Kay; Kemp Owyne; Allison Gross; The Laily Worm And The Machrel Of The Sea; Thomas Rymer; The Wee Wee Man; Tam Lin; The Queen Of Elfan's Nourice; Hind Etin; Clerk Colvill; The Broomfield Hill; The Two Magicians; King John And The Bishop; Captain Wedderburn's Courtship; Proud Lady Margaret; Young Andrew; The Twa Brothers; The Bonny Hind; Lizie Wan; The King's Dochter Lady Jean; Young Beichan; The Cherry-tree Carol; The Carnal And The Crane; Dives And Lazarus; Brown Robyn's Confession; Sir Patrick Spens; Sir Aldingar; King Estmere; Sir Cawline
About the Publisher:
Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, Esoteric and Mythology. www.forgottenbooks.org
Forgotten Books is about sharing information, not about making money. All books are priced at wholesale prices. We are also the only publisher we know of to print in large sans-serif font, which is proven to make the text easier to read and put less strain on your eyes.
