> Well, I'm in the process now of revising an article I wrote that attempts
> to answer that question.  Basically, when referring to Scottish Ballads
> (i.e., Child), before 1600 (our period) would be "Early" whereas from
> 1600-1950 would be "Traditional" (unless the author is known, of course),
> and anything after 1950 would be "Modern" or "Contemporary."  Of course,
> these are MY classifications.

There are also some weirder situations. "The Three Ravens" is known to
have been written down first by Ravenscroft in 1611, but also survived
(and slowly changed) in tradition down to the present day. I would
call the one printed in Ravenscroft "Ravenscroft" and the traditional
one "traditional, first published in Ravenscroft".

The notion of "anonymous authorship" of ballads is a bunch of bull, in
my opinion. That's what underlies the notion that ballads with known
authors are not really traditional... But, of course, there are many
opinions on this topic.

> My article points out
> and details these medieval qualities of traditional Scottish songs.

I'd love to see that. I'd also like to see discussion of what
qualities of traditional Scottish songs aren't medieval.

Gregory Blount


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