This piece is transcribed three times in Herd's manuscripts, with a note prefixed in each instance that it was copied from the mouth of a milkmaid in 1771. In the first half of the story 'The Bonny Hind' comes very near to the fine Scandinavian ballad of 'Margaret' (Grundtvig and SigurSsson, No 14). The conclusions differ altogether. The story of Kullervo, incorporated in what is called the national epic of the Finns, the Kalevala, has striking resemblances with the ballads of the 'Bonny Hind' class (Schiefner, runes 35, 36).
This page most recently updated on 07-Dec-2010, 17:52:27. Return to main index
