Nothing, perhaps, serves better as an introduction to the Middle Ages than a glimpse at how it was preserved in verse.
Presented in this section is a selection of ballads covering the fundamental aspects of the era – love, war, heroic deeds and their tragic aftermath, and a look into the supernatural and superstitious nature of the time. In order to preserve the historical integrity of the ballads, they are presented in their original dialects. A synopsis of each ballad, in modern American English, is provided to aid in ease of comprehension of these dialects.
The ballads in this section, with the exception of Blind Harry's Wallace were culled from The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, Edited by Francis James Child and published by Houghton, Mifflin and Company in five volumes during the years 1884, 1886, 1889, 1892 and 1898. These volumes are now in the public domain.
Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of the British Isles from the later medieval period until the 19th century. ... Read more at Wikipedia.
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. ... Read more at Wikipedia.
The Child Ballads are 305 traditional ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, anthologized by Francis James Child during the second half of the 19th century. ... Read more at Wikipedia.