Ancient Poems, Ballads, and Songs of the Peasantry of England
Author(s): Various
Genre(s): Poetry
Narrators: Devorah Allen, Josh Kibbey, Nemo, Jim Gallagher, Ellies, Stephen Harvey, Ritalouise, Alan Mapstone, Chris Pyle, Lynda Marie Neilson, Carrie-Lorraine Sherry, Larry Wilson, Oxenhandler
Number of Chapters: 109
Length: 08 hours and 50 minutes
Language: English
This traditional, and, for the most part, unprinted literature,—cherished in remote villages, resisting everywhere the invasion of modern namby-pamby verse and jaunty melody, and possessing, in an historical point of view, especial value as a faithful record of the feeling, usages, and modes of life of the rural population,—had been almost wholly passed over amongst the antiquarian revivals which constitute one of the distinguishing features of the present age. While attention was successfully drawn to other forms of our early poetry, this peasant minstrelsy was scarcely touched, and might be considered unexplored ground. There was great difficulty in collecting materials which lay scattered so widely, and which could be procured in their genuine simplicity only from the people amongst whom they originated, and with whom they are as ‘familiar as household words.’ - Summary by Robert Bell