The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, Volume 1

by Francis James Child

The rich field of English balladry was virgin territory before Francis James Child entered it. The few published ballad editions that existed were unreliable, filled with unacknowledged editorial changes and distortions of the original manuscripts. Professor Child compiled all the extant ballads with all known variants, and made them available for the first time — together with his invaluable commentary that prefaces each work — in a single source that maintained absolute fidelity to the original texts. Published between 1882 and 1898, the original ten-part study became the definitive collection of popular ballads in the English language, never to be superceded. To this day, scholars and devotees speak of "The Child Ballads" with the awe and respect generated by few other literary works. Volume 1: Parts I and II of the original set, ballads 1-53 including "Edward," "Lord Randal," "Tam Lin," "Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight," "Earl Brand," "Thomas Rymer," more. Biographical sketch of Child by Prof. Kittredge, Child's portrait, additions and corrections.

Genres: Music, Poetry, Folklore, History, Anthologies, Classics

544 pages, Paperback

First published January 28, 1965

About the author

Francis James Child (1825-1896) was an American scholar, educator, and folklorist, best known today for his collection of English and Scottish ballads now known as the Child Ballads. Child was Boylston professor of rhetoric and oratory at Harvard University, where he produced influential editions of English poetry. In 1876 he was named Harvard's first Professor of English, a position which allowed him to focus on academic research. It was during this time that he began work on the Child Ballads.

The Child Ballads were published in five volumes between 1882 and 1898. While Child was primarily a literary scholar with little interest in the music of the ballads, his work became a major contribution to the study of English-language folk music.

Reviews

[Bob Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

F J Child

Fascinating read. It is just a pity there is not any music to go with the words although I recently found books by B H Bronson. He has variations of music to go with Child's words.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read selections of the work for a module on Ballads and Popular Romance

[Toad Soup · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this entire thing for my thesis just to tell you that here people are OBSESSED with elf knights

[Kathleen Tahk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the classic resource for the popular ballads at the heart of 20th century pop music. Not only did Child collect a tremendous wealth of ballads, he also provides multiple variants on many of them, which illuminate the various mutations each one underwent. Absolutely fascinating for its strange collection of murder ballads.