Grundtvig's Index B of English and Scottish Ballads
Grundtvig's Index B of English and Scottish Ballads
by S. B. Hustvedt
PMLA, Vol. 50, No. 2 (Jun., 1935), pp. 595-605
GRUNDTVIG'S INDEX B OF ENGLISH AND SCOTTISH BALLADS
WHILE Francis James Child was preparing the manuscript for the publication of The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, Svend Grundtvig sent to him, in the form of enclosures with letters dated August 25, 1877 and January 29, 1880, a numbered list of English and Scottish ballads arranged in the order which Grundtvig, at Child's earlier request, meant to propose as a proper sequence for publication. This list is printed in full in my Ballad Books and Ballad Men under the designation of the "Grundtvig-Child Index." This index was prepared by Grundtvig mainly from two other manuscript indexes which he had drawn up many years before for convenient reference in his work with the Danish ballads. The first of the two, named Index A by Grundtvig himself, contained what he regarded at the time as a standard list of English and Scottish ballads. The second, named by him Index B, comprised ballads which he regarded for various reasons as questionable. Index A began in 1850; Index B appears to belong to approximately the same period.[1] Between twenty and thirty years afterward, when Grundtvig prepared for Child's guidance the Grundtvig-Child Index, he admitted into it many ballads from Index B. In the interval he had obviously changed his mind or resolved his doubts as to the merits of a group of ballads originally regarded by him as distinctly secondary in value. It is to be observed, however, that, in his classifications for Child in the Grundtvig-Child Index, Grundtvig admits no ballad from Index B into his First Class, in his opinion the most ancient poems; on the other hand, he places a large number of pieces from Index B in his Fourth Class, "consisting of imitations of the old ballad style." Whether, then, we take into account Grundtvig's earlier or his later judgment, Index B represents a secondary order of merit. Careful attention should be paid, meanwhile, to the variety of reasons which led Grundtvig, according to his own introductory note, to the formation of Index B. This index was to him in effect a sort of ballad purgatory, from which in the course of time he released such of the numbers as appeared to him worthy of liberation.
In the preparation of the Grundtvig-Child Index, Grundtvig incorporated from Index B all but seven of the sixty-one numbers. These fifty-four originally secondary ballads were thus recommended to Child as candidates for admittance into his definitive collection. Child finally accepted all but eight of the fifty-four. Besides, he admitted two numbers listed in Index B which Grundtvig had not seen fit to recommend, namely Young Peggy and The West Country Damsel's Complaint. Child never saw Index B except in so far as numbers from it were included in the Grundtvig-Child Index. In making his final roster of three hundred and five ballads, Child, although influenced considerably by Grundtvig's nominations, rested in the long run on an exhaustive study of the documentary backgrounds of the texts and on a critical tact acquired through long familiarity with popular literature. It is not to be wondered at that the two men occasionally differed; rather is it remarkable that they agreed so well. Of the two hundred and sixty-nine nominations in the Grundtvig-Child Index, Child rejected less than twenty. Only some fifty, therefore, of Child's total tally of three hundred and five, did not appear on Grundtvig's list of recommendations. Although Child eventually, through the acquisition of texts drawn from manuscripts and early printed books unknown to Grundtvig, came to be much better equipped for the determination of the traditional authenticity of the English and Scottish ballads than his Danish correspondent (who relied mainly on the ordinary printed collections) could possibly be, never-the-less Child always placed a high value on Grundtvig's expert opinion. A study of the full list of sources available to Grundtvig as compared with the older, largely manuscript sources for the same ballads as given in Child's definitive edition will help us to understand Grundtvig's fluctuations of judgment and to appreciate Child's final decisions, whether in the end he rejected a given ballad and its versions or accepted them. Index B, therefore, incorporated to so great an extent into the Grundtvig-Child Index, is a document of some importance in the history of the formation of the Child canon. It is printed here from a photostatic reproduction of the original manuscript text, as preserved in the Danish Folklore Collection of the Royal Library at Copenhagen (DFS 69A). Nothing has been omitted except some numerals attached, apparently in a hand other than Grundtvig's, to four of the serial numbers; these attached numerals turn out to be in each case Child's number for the corresponding ballad in the E.S.P.B. In a few cases I have corrected what seemed to me to be obvious errors in paging; in other instances I have suggested a correction in brackets. Some added explanatory matter appears in brackets.
The bracketed entries in the two columns at the right will show which numbers- not which versions- were incorporated into the Grundtvig- Child Index; and which numbers and versions were eventually admitted into The English and Scottish Popular Ballads. Where the source assigned is the same for Child's earlier collection, employed by Grundtvig, and for Child's final collection, the agreement is likewise noted in the column at the right. Unless otherwise indicated, the bracketed entries are mine.
The detailed history of the relation between Grundtvig's indexes and the Child canon may be studied by means of the Grundtvig-Child Correspondence and the Grundtvig-Child Index as printed in my Ballad Books and Ballad Men. With the exception of about a dozen numbers, Grundtvig's basic list, Index A, which Child apparently never saw, may be reconstructed through Grundtvig's bracketed references in the Grundtvig- Child Index. Index A, unpublished so far as I know, is preserved in the Danish Folklore Collection as Grundtvig left it (DFS 69A). The following is a list of the more important collections actually used or referred to by Grundtvig, not readily identified from the text:
Anon, A Collection of Old Ballads, 3 vols. London i, ii, 1723; In, 1725.
Aytoun, W. E., The Ballads of Scotland, 2d ed., 2 vols. Edin. and L., 1859.
Bell, Robert, Ancient Poems, Ballads, and Songs of the Peasantry of England. London, 1857.
Buchan, Peter, Ancient Ballads and Songs of the North of Scotland, 2 vols. Edinburgh, 1828 (Grundtvig's Buchan); Gleanings of Scotch, English, and Irish Scarce Old Ballads. Peterhead, 1825.
Child, F. J., English and Scottish Ballads, 2d ed. (London issue of 1861), 8 vols. (Grundtvig's Child). Cromek, R. H. (Bums), Select Scottish Songs, 2 vols. London, 1810. Dixon, J. H., Scottish Traditional Versions of Ancient Ballads (Percy Society, Vol. XVII). London, 1845.
Evans, Thomas, Old Ballads, new edition by R. H. Evans, 4 vols. London, 1810. Gutch, J. M., A Lytyll Geste of Robin Hode, 2 vols. London, 1847.
Herd, David, Ancient and Modern Scottish Songs, 2d ed., 2 vols. Edinburgh, 1776.
Johnson, James, The Scots Musical Museum, 3d ed., 4 vols. Edin. and L., 1853.
Maidment, James, A North Country Garland. Edinburgh, 1824.
Percy, Thomas, Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, 6th ed., 4 vols. London, 1823 (Grundtvig's Percy); Bishop Percy's Folio Manuscript, ed. Hales and Furnivall, 4 vols. London, 1867-68 (Grundtvig's Percy MSS.).
Pinkerton, John, Select Scotish Ballads, 2 vols. London, 1783.
Ritson, Joseph, Ancient Songs. London, 1792. 2d ed., 2 vols. London, 1829.
---Pieces of Ancient Popular Poetry. London, 1791.
---Robin Hood, new edition. London, 1820.
---Scotish Songs, 2 vols. London, 1794.
---A Select Collection of English Songs, 2d ed. by Thomas Park, 3 vols. London, 1813.
Scott, Walter, Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, 5th ed., 3 vols. Edinburgh, 1812.
Sharpe, C. K., A Ballad Book. Edinburgh, 1823.
Smith, R. A., The Scotish Minstrel, 6 vols. n.d.
Thomson, W., Orpheus Caledonius, 2 vols. London, 1733.
INDEX B
From my Index A of English and Scottish Ballads the following have been excluded out of different reasons, partly because they were of too local a charac- ter, as the Border Ballads, partly as decidedly political pieces; some also, while they seemed to be of too recent a date or were of a doubtful antiquity. [Marginal note:J N.B. Besides all the ballads contained in Ritson's Robin Hood (reprinted in Evans' Collection [1810], Vol. II), Gutch's Robin Hood, Child, Vol. v, Bell, p. 59 [The Bold Pedlar and Robin Hood].
1. Dick o' the Cow [G.-C. Index 212] [E.S.P.B. 185]
(Motherwell, Introd., No. 41)
Scott, I, 209
Aytoun, I, 167
Child, VI, 67 [185 b]
2. Jock o' the Side [213] [187]
(Motherwell, Introd., Nos. 42, 64)
A. John a Side. Percy MSS., ii, 203 [187 A]
a. Scott, I, 226
Aytoun, I, 264
Child, vi, 80 [187 Ba]
b. (Archie of Ca'field)
Scott, I, 274
Child, VI, 88 [188 Bb]
c. (Billie Archie) Motherwell, 335 [188 DI]
Child, VI, 94 [188 DI
d. (The three Brothers) Buchan, I, 1I1 [188 C]
3. Hobbie Noble [214] [189]
(Motherwell, Introd., No. 43)
Scott, I, 243
Aytoun, I, 271
Child, VI, 97 [189 a]
4. Hughie Grame [210] [191]
(Motherwell, Introd., No. 51)
a. Ritson's Anc. Songs, Cl. v, No. 1 (Mine afskrr. [My copies], ii, 2)
Evans, I, No. 87
Child, VI, 247 [191 Ad]
Aytoun, II, 128
b. Johnson's Museum, [No.] 303
(Mine melodier [My melodies], 22
Child, VI, 51 [191 B]
c. Scott, III, 232 [191 C]
Child, VI, 55 [191 C]
d. Dixon, Scott. Ball., No. 15 [191 E]
Sigurd Bernhard Hustvedt 599
5. Lord Ewrie [G.-C. Index] [E.S.P.B.]
(Motherwell, Introd., No. 58)
Scott, I, 131 Spurious [Grundtvig brackets the whole of No. 5]
6. The Lochmaben Harper [207] [192]
(Motherwell, Introd., No. 59)
a. Scott, i, 136 [192 Ac]
Child, VI, 7 [192 Ac]
b. Johnson's Museum, vi, ... [No. 5791 [192 Ab]
Child, VI, 3 [192 AbI Aytoun, I, 121
c. Dixon, Scott. Ball., No. 4to [IV] [192 E]
7. Jamie Telfer of the fair Dodhead [216] [190]
(Motherwell, Introd., No. 60)
Scott, I, 144 [190]
Aytoun, I, 211 Child, VI, 105 [190]
8. Kinmont Willie [209] [186]
(Motherwell, Introd., No. 61) Scott, I, 178 [186]
Aytoun, I, 95
Child, vi, 58 [186]
9. Bartram's Dirge
(Motherwell, Introd., No. 63)
Scott, I, 269 Cf. Motherwell, Introd., p. 1 [501 Spurious [Grundtvig brackets the whole of No. 91
10. The Lads of Wamphray [220] [184]
(Motherwell, Introd., No. 68)
Scott, I, 310
Child, VI, 168
11. The Battle of Philiphaugh (1680) [177] [202]
(Motherwell, Introd., No. 69)
Scott, II, 15 [202]
Aytoun, ii, 279
Child, VII, 131 [202]
12. The Battle of Pentland Hills [226]
(Motherwell, Introd., No. 71)
Scott, II, 51 Child, VII, 240
13. The Battle of Loudon Hill [227] [205]
(Motherwell, Introd., No. 72)
Scott, II, 58 [205]
Aytoun, ii, 325
Child, vii, 144 [205]
14. The Battle of Bothwell Bridge [G.-C. Index 228] [E.S.P.B. 206]
(Motherwell, Introd., No. 73) Scott, II, 48 [206]
Aytoun, II, 328
Child, VII, 148 [206]
15. Grame and Bewick [258] [211]
(Motherwell, Introd., No. 79)
Scott, ii, 288
Aytoun, ii, 212
Child, III, 77
16. The Trumpeter of Fyvie [261] [233]
(Motherwell, Introd., No. 107)
a. Jamieson, I, 126 [233 A]
Child, II, 201 [233 A]
b. Motherwell, 239 [233 Cb]
Child, II, 190 [233 Cb] (Andrew Lammie)
c. Jamieson's Appendix, Iv [233 B]
Aytoun, ii, 302
Motherwell, Musick, xxviii
17. The Death of Queen Jane [221] [170]
(Motherwell, Introd., No. 110) a. Jamieson, I, 182 [170 Ca]
b. Kinloch, 116 (with the air) [170 B] Child, VII, 74 [170 B]
c. London Collection [Old Ballads] of 1723 (?-[One word which I cannot read]*)
d. Bell, p. 113 [170 D] Child, VII, 77 [170 D]
18. The Bonny House of Airly [219] [199]
(Motherwell, Introd., No. 118)
a. Finlay, II, 22[25] [199 Ab] Child, VI, 183 [199 Ab]
b. Sharpe, p. 59 [199 Aa] Child, VI, 186 [199 Aa]
c. Kinloch, 100 (with the air) [199 D] Aytoun, II, 270
19. Lord Derwentwater [179] [208]
(Motherwell, Introd., No. 162)
a. Motherwell, 349 [208 A] Child, VII, 164 [208 A]
b. Gentleman's Mag., 1825 [Part First], p. 489 [208 I]
c. Notes and Queries [First Series], xiI, 492 [208 B]
Motherwell, Musick, IV * The obscure word may be "hist.," querying the historicity of the ballad. Cf. the introduction to this number in the Old Ballads.
20. The Laird of Muirhead (a fragment) [G.-C. Index 168] [E.S.P.B.]
H. Weber, Floddon Field, p. 294
21. The Battle of Flodden Field [171] [168]
a. Ritson's Anc. Songs Weber, Floddon Field, p. 289 Child, VII, 71
b. Evans, iii, No. 12
22. Chevy Chace [130] [162]
([Grundtvig's] Engelske og skotske Folkeviser, No. 13)
a. Hearne [Guilielmi Neubrigensis Historia] Percy, i, 116 Herd, i, 54 Child, Vii, 29
b. Old Ballads, 1723 Percy, ii, 57 [591 Park's edition of Ritson's Engl. Songs, II, 359 Child, Vii, 43 Melody from Engl. Songs, my 'Studier," No. 5
23. Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne [137] [118]
a. Percy, I, 197 Child, v, 159
b. Ritson's Robin Hood, p. 83
24. Adam Bell, Clym of the Clough & Will Cloudesly [1361 [116]
(Dansk ved Steen Blicher [Danish ver- sion by Steen Blicher])
A. Percy MSS., iii, 76 [116 f] Percy, i, 270 Ritson's Pieces of Anc. Poetry Gutch's Robin Hood Child, v, 124
B. Percy MSS., iII, 102 [116 App.]
25. The Rising in the North [223] [175]
Percy, ii, 80 Child, Vii, 82 Percy MSS., [ii, 210] [175]
26. Northumberland Betrayed [224] [176]
Percy MSS., [ii, 217] [176] Percy, ii, 90 Child, Vii, 92
27. Rookhope Ride [215] [179]
Scott, I, 256 [Richardson], Borderer's Table Book, vii, 245 Child, VI, 121
28. Robin Hood and the Old Man [150] [140]
Robin Hood and the Widow's Three Sons [151, 152] [140]
a. Jamieson, ii, 49 [G.-C. Index] [E.S.P.B. 140 Al Child, v, 257 [140 A]
b. Ritson's Robin Hood, p. 210 Child, v, 261
c. Ritson's Robin Hood, p. 000 Child, v, 267
29. Robin Hood and the Monk [132] [119] ([Grundtvig's] Eng. og sk. Folkev., 24) Hartshorne's Anc. Meir. Tales, p. 179 Jamieson, II, 54 Child, v, 1
30. Bonnie George Campbell [244] [210]
(Eng. og sk. F., 42) Finlay's Preface [p. xxxiii] [210 B]
Motherwell, 44
Aytoun, ii, 42
Child, III, 92
31. Robin, Lend to me thine Bow
Ritson's Anc. Songs, Cl. iv, No. 11 (My melodies, No. 8) [As if by afterthought, with the idea of removing this piece from the list, Grundtvig brackets the numeral 31.]
32. The marriage of Sir Gawaine [25] [311
Percy MSS., i, 103 [31] Percy, iv, 249 (Cf. III, 272) [311
Madden, Sir Gawayne, p. 298 [31]
Child, I, 28
33. King Arthur's Death [269]
Percy MSS., I, 501 Percy, III, 288 Child, I, 40
34. The Bailiff's Daughter of Islington [254] [105]
Percy, Iv, 33 Park's edit. of [Ritson's] Engl. Songs, ii, 272
Child, iv, 158
35. Lady Isabella's Tragedy [253]
Percy, Iv, 55
Child, III, 366
Child, III, 360 Cf. Index A, 141 [Lady Isabel, E.S.P.B., No. 261] Tysk: Cf. Erlach, iv, 596; Kretschmer, No. 49 36. Young Peggy [298] Kinloch, 153 (Suspicious) [298]
37. Lord Henry and Fair Eleanor
Kinloch, 219 (Suspicious)
Sigurd Bernhard Hustvedt 603
38. Lady Mary Ann [G.-C. Index] [E.S.P.B.]
Motherwell, 86 (Suspicious)
39. Carol for St. Stephen's Day [ 52] [ 22]
Ritson's Anc. Songs, Class II, No. xi (My collection, I, 1)
Sandys' Christmas Carols, p. 4
Child, I, 315 [Marginal note] D.g.F. [Grundtvig's Danmarks gamle Folkeviser], 96 [Jesusbarnet, Stefan og Herodes]
40. The Battle of Corichie [246]
Evans' Old Ballads, III, 132 Finlay, I, 147 Child, Vii, 210
41. The West Country Damsel's Complaint [292]
Collier's Roxburghe Ballads, p. 202
Child, II, 384 (Cf. my Index A, 133 [Clerk Tamas, No. 260])
42. Bessie Bell and Mary Gray [264] [201]
a. Lyle, Anc. Ball. and Songs, p. 160 [201 b] Child, III, 126 [201 b]
b. Cunningham, Songs of Scotl., III, 60
c. Chambers, Scott. Ball., p. 146
Aytoun, ii, 372 Cf. Halliwell's Nursery Rhymes Tea Table Miscellany, I, 70
43. The Hawthorn-Tree [189]
Ritson's Anc. Songs, Park's edit. [? 2d ed., 1829], II, 46[44]
Evans' Old Ballads (1810), I, 342
Child, I, 315[311] [Marginal note] Cf. D. g. F., 66 [Jonifruen i Linden]
44. Glenlogie [118] [238]
(Motherwell, Introd., No. 128)
a. Scottish Minstrel [Smith's, iv, 78] [238 Ia] Child, Iv, 80 [238 Ia]
b. Sharpe [Ballad Book, p. 37] [238 B] Chambers [Scottish Ballads, p. 305] Aytoun, II, 99
c. Buchan, I, 188 (Jean o' Bethelnie's Love) [238 Ea]
45. John o' Hazelgreen [251] [293]
a. Kinloch, p. 206 [293 B]
b. Buchan, II, 253 [293 Da]
Child, IV, 83 [293 Da]
c. Chambers [Scottish Ballads], p. 315 [293 Db]
46. The fause Lover [G.-C. Index 121] [E.S.P.B. 218]
Buchan, I, 268 [218 A] Child, IV, 89 [218 A]
47. King John and the Abbot [240] [45]
Percy's Reliques, III, 146 Child, viII, 3 Percy MSS., I, 508 [45 A]
48. The Duke of Gordon's Daughters [172] [237]
(Motherwell, Introd., No. 54)
Ritson's Scott. Songs
Aytoun, ii, 288
Child, iv, 102 Cf. Index [A] 183 [Richie Story, E.S.P.B., No. 232]
49. The Battle of Harlaw [169] [163]
Aytoun, I, 75
Child, Vii, 317 Cf.
Motherwell, Introd., No. 2
Aytoun, I, p. 64 etc.
Child, Vii, 180
50. John Seton [248] [198]
(Motherwell, Introd., No. 140)
a. Buchan's Gleanings ... [p. 161] [198 A]
b. Maidment's [North Countrie] Garland, p. 15 [198 A]
Child, vii, 230 [198 A]
c. Buchan, II, 136 [198 B]
Aytoun, I, 139
51. The Death of Parcy Reed [217] [193]
Borderer's Table Book, vii, 364 [193 B]
Child, VI, 139 [193 B]
52. Willie Macintosh and the Burning of Auchindown [218] [183]
a. Finlay, II, 97 [183 B]
Child, vi, 159 [183 B]
b. [A. Laing], The Thistle of Scotland, p. 106 [183 Aa]
Child, VI, 161 [183 Aa]
c. Whitelaw [The Book of Scottish Ballads], p. 248 [183 Ab]
53. Gilderoy [G.-C. Index 247]
Wit and Mirth ... Pills to Purge Melancholy ... Old Ballads, 1723... Orpheus Caledonius .. [The Scots] Musical Museum ... Ritson's Scott. Songs, ii, 24
Percy, ii, 132 Herd ... Pinkerton ... Chambers [Scottish Songs, I, 80]
Aytoun, ii, 149
Child, VI, 196
54. The Murder of the King of Scots (Darnley) [G.-C. Index 222] [E.S.P.B. 174]
Percy, III, 25 Percy MSS., ii, 260 [174]
Child, VII, 78
55. Sir John Suckling's Campaign [267]
Musarum Deliciae Percy, II, 159 Child, VII, 128
56. Rob Roy [250] [225]
Burns' Sel. Scott. Songs, ed. by Cromek, II, 199 [225 G]
Child, VI) 257 [225 G]
Maidment's [North Countrie] Garland, p. 44 Child, VI) 258 Thistle of Scotland, p. 93 [225 K] Chambers ... [Scottish Ballads, p. 155] Child, VI, 202 Aytoun, ii, 380
57. Get up and Bar the Door [185] [275]
Herd, II, 159 [275 Aa]
Johnson's [Scots Musical] Museum [275 C]
Ritson's Scott. Songs ...
Child, Viii, 125
58. Sir Andrew Barton [203] [167]
(Historical from the time of King Henry VIII)
Percy MSS., III, 399 [167 A] Frygtelig forbedret hos [Fearfully improved in]
Percy [iii, 6] (Child, vii, 55)
Ritson's Anc. Songs, II, 204 Old Ballads, 1723, i, 159 Moore, Pictor. Ball., p. 256 [Halliwell], Early Naval Ball. (Percy Society's Publ., Vol. II), 4 Child, vii, 201
59. King Edward the Fourth and the Tanner of Tamworth [180] [273]
Child, VIII, 21 etc.
60. Sir John Butler of Bewsey Hall, murdered by his brother-in-law, Lord Stanley, 1462 [170] [165]
Percy MSS., III, 205 [165]
61. The Battle of Alford [249]
Child, VII, 238 S. B.
Footnotes:
1. See Ballad Books and Ballad Men, pp. 300-301.