Stories from the English and Scottish Ballads
Encyclopedia
Stories from the English and Scottish Ballads is a 1968 anthology of 15 ballad
s that have been collected and retold in prose
or fairy tale
form by Ruth Manning-Sanders
, for easier reading. It is one in a long series of anthologies by Manning-Sanders. Most, if not all, of the tales within are prose versions of the historically famous Child Ballads
. In a lengthy introduction, Manning-Sanders writes:
As to why she retells the ballads in prose instead of verse
, Manning-Sanders explains: "And finally it must be said how much is lost in the telling of these stories in prose. They were born in song, and their lyric quality is their greatest charm. ... But, as the ballads have been collected and set down in the dialect of the people who sang them, they are not, in their verse form, easy for children to read. ... And so we are now giving you these stories told in prose; in hope that, coming to know them and like them in this form, you may later on be led to read them for yourself in the original verse."
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
s that have been collected and retold in prose
Prose
Prose is the most typical form of written language, applying ordinary grammatical structure and natural flow of speech rather than rhythmic structure...
or fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
form by Ruth Manning-Sanders
Ruth Manning-Sanders
Ruth Manning-Sanders was a prolific British poet and author who was perhaps best known for her series of children's books in which she collected and retold fairy tales from all over the world. All told, she published more than 90 books during her lifetime. The dust jacket for A Book of Giants...
, for easier reading. It is one in a long series of anthologies by Manning-Sanders. Most, if not all, of the tales within are prose versions of the historically famous Child Ballads
Child Ballads
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 nineteenth century...
. In a lengthy introduction, Manning-Sanders writes:
"For the people of the Middle AgesMiddle AgesThe Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, the ballads took the place of story books, and they were made by the minstrelMinstrelA minstrel was a medieval European bard who performed songs whose lyrics told stories of distant places or of existing or imaginary historical events. Although minstrels created their own tales, often they would memorize and embellish the works of others. Frequently they were retained by royalty...
s who roamed the country, singing their stories and accompanying themselves on the harpHarpThe harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
. ... The stories that the minstrels sang were on familiar themes. Tender stories of love, stirring stories of well-known battles, of daring raids and captures and rescues, exhilarating stories of heroic resistance and of the doings of bold outlaws, tragic stories of treason and sad deaths, comic stories, cruel and terrible stories, stories of that fairyland in which most men believed -- we find them all, sung in direct, vigorous verse to the accompaniment of the minstrel's music."
As to why she retells the ballads in prose instead of verse
Verse (poetry)
A verse is formally a single line in a metrical composition, e.g. poetry. However, the word has come to represent any division or grouping of words in such a composition, which traditionally had been referred to as a stanza....
, Manning-Sanders explains: "And finally it must be said how much is lost in the telling of these stories in prose. They were born in song, and their lyric quality is their greatest charm. ... But, as the ballads have been collected and set down in the dialect of the people who sang them, they are not, in their verse form, easy for children to read. ... And so we are now giving you these stories told in prose; in hope that, coming to know them and like them in this form, you may later on be led to read them for yourself in the original verse."
Table of contents
- Introduction
- The Young Lord of LornThe Lord of Lorn and the False StewardThe Lord of Lorn and the False Steward or The Lord of Lorn and the Flas Steward or The Lord of Lorn is Child ballad number 271.A ballad, Lord of Lorn and the False Steward, was entered in the Stationers' Register in 1580, with a note that it is to the tune of Greensleeves.-Synopsis:The son of the...
- Hind HornHind Horn"Hind Horn" is traditional folk ballad.-Synopsis:Hind Horn and the king's daughter Jean fall in love. He gives her a silver wand, and she gives him a diamond ring and tells him when the stones grow pale, he has lost her love. One day, on his travels, he sees it growing pale and sets out for her...
- May Colvin
- Adam BellAdam BellAdam Bell was a legendary English outlaw.He and his companions William of Cloudsley and Clym of the Clough lived in Inglewood Forest near Carlisle and were figures similar to Robin Hood...
, Clym of the Clough, and William of Cloudesley - Childe RowlandChilde Rowland"Childe Rowland" is a fairy tale, the most popular version being by Joseph Jacobs in his English Folk and Fairy Tales, published in 1892, and written partly in verse and part in prose.-Synopsis:...
- The Crafty FarmerThe Crafty FarmerThe Crafty Farmer is Child ballad 283, existing in several variants.-Synopsis:A farmer is travelling with a sum of money—sometimes because he must pay his rent for a long period of time, sometimes because he has sold a cow—when he falls in with a highwayman. He either admits to the money, or the...
- Tam LinTam LinTam Lin is the hero of a legendary ballad originating from the Scottish Borders. The story revolves around the rescue of Tam Lin by his true love from the Queen of the Fairies...
- King EstmereKing EstmereKing Estmere is an English and Scottish Child ballad and number 60 of 305 ballads collected by Francis James Child.-Synopsis:King Estmere's brother Alder the Younger urges him to marry King Adland's daughter, and suggests that he look at the lady himself, rather than be deceived by any description...
- Alison GrossAllison Gross"Allison Gross" is a traditional ballad, catalogued as Child Ballad #35. It tells the story of "the ugliest witch in the north country" who tries to persuade a man to become her lover and then punishes him by a transformation.-Synopsis:Allison Gross, a hideous witch, tries to bribe the narrator to...
- Young BekieYoung Beichan"Young Beichan" is a ballad, which with a number of variants and names such as "Lord Baker", "Lord Bateman", and "Young Bekie", was collected by Francis James Child in the late nineteenth century, and is included in the Child ballad as number 53 .-Synopsis:Beichan is born in London but travels to...
- Thomas the RhymerThomas the RhymerThomas Learmonth , better known as Thomas the Rhymer or True Thomas, was a 13th century Scottish laird and reputed prophet from Earlston . He is also the protagonist of the ballad "Thomas the Rhymer"...
- The Heir of LinneThe Heir of LinneThe Heir of Linne is a traditional folk song existing in several variants.Francis James Child, English and Scottish Popular Ballads, -Synopsis:...
- The Lochmaben Harper
- King OrfeoSir OrfeoSir Orfeo is an anonymous Middle English narrative poem, retelling the story of Orpheus as a king rescuing his wife from the fairy king.-History and Manuscripts:...
- A Tale of Robin HoodRobin HoodRobin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
- 1. The Birth of Robin HoodRobin HoodRobin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
- 2. Robin Hood and Sir Richard at the Lee
- 3. Sir Richard at the Lee and the Abbot
- 4. Little John and the Sheriff of NottinghamSheriff of NottinghamThe Sheriff of Nottingham was historically the office responsible for enforcing law and order in Nottingham and bringing criminals to justice. For years the post has been directly appointed by the Lord Mayor of Nottingham and in modern times, with the existence of the police force, the position is...
- 5. Robin Hood and the Monk
- 6. The Sheriff's Shooting Match
- 7. The Sheriff Complains to the King
- 8. The King and Robin Hood