A was among the fifteen ballads furnished by Mrs. Brown to William Tytler in 1783, No 8. The first stanza is cited by Dr. Anderson in Nichols's Illustrations, VII, 177. There is a copy in the Abbotsford Manuscript "Scottish Songs," fol. 16, in which the text is considerably altered; stanzas 7, 12, 19, 22-24 are omitted, and 25 is inserted between 30 and 31. B b inserts two stanzas after B a 15, and adds one at the end. The copy in Christie's Traditional Ballad Airs, II, 32, is an abridgment of B b as made over in The Ballad Minstrelsy of Scotland, Glasgow, 1871, p. 63. C has an appendage of two stanzas which belong to an other ballad, and are transferred accordingly.
The first part of the story of this ballad, or down to the birth of the boy, is repeated in 'Willie and Earl Richard's Daughter ' (hitherto called 'The Birth of Robin Hood'), which immediately follows. This portion of the ballad has resemblances to 'Leesome Brand,' No 15.[foot-note]
A 9, B 15, is a popular passage the like of which is found in many ballads: as 'Child Waters,' A 2, 3; 'Lady Maisry,' H 7, 8; 'Willie o Winsbury,' A 5, C 5, D 3; 'Willie and Earl Richard's Daughter,' A 4; 'Der Ritter und die Magd,' Düntzer u. Herder, Briefe Goethe's, I, 157, st. 6; Nicolai, I, 40, No 2, st. 6; Wunderhorn, 1806, I, 50, st, 11, Erk, IV, 304, st. 5; Erk's Liederhort, p. 81, st. 10; Hoffmann u. Richter, No. 4, st. 4; Meier, Schwäbische Volkslieder, No 177, st. 9; Ditfurth, II, Nos 6, 7, 8, st. 5; Uhland, No 97 A, st. 5; Mittler, No 91, st. 6; 'Schön Elselein,' 'Das Schwabentöchterlein,' Böhme, No 51a st. 11, No 51b, st. 8 (= Mittler, No 218; Uhland, No 257); 'Þiðriks kvæði konúngs,' Islenzk fornkvæði, II, 218, No 57, st. (5; Haupt u. Schmaler, V. 1. der Wenden, 1,160, No 136, st. 7; Sakellarios, #932;ὰ Κυπριακά, III, 52, No 20, vv 5-9; Guillon, Ch. p. de l'Ain, 'La Fille d'un Boulanger,' p. 201, sts 1, 2; Mila, Romancerillo, 'La infanta seducida,' p. 249, No 258, 1. 4; 'De la infanta y el hijo del rey de Francia,' Wolf y Hofmann, Primavera, II, 91, No 158, verses 5, 6; Aigner, Ungarische Volksdichtungen, p. 86, st. 1, p. 215, st. 2.
The very ill-timed question in B 20 occurs in 'Young Hunting,' No 68, K 8, 'Clerk Saunders,' No 69, F 5, Buchan, Ballads of the North of Scotland, 'Auld Matrons,' II, 238, st. 4, and 'Willie's Fatal Visit,' II, 260, st. 7. For others in this passage see 'Rose the Red and White Lily.' The bribe of gowns in B 29 is found in 'Young Hunting,' B 9, C 7, K 13.
The historical foundation for this ballad suggested in The Ballad Minstrelsy of Scotland, Glasgow, 1871, p. 63, cannot be seriously entertained.
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