"Edward" and "Sven I Rosengård": A Study in the Dissemination of a Ballad

by Archer Taylor

Overview

“ ‘Edward’ and ‘Sven I Rosengård’ is a comparative study of the English and Scandinavian ballad texts. The texts of numerous ballad versions are reproduced in the last half of the book.

"The aim of this comparison and analysis is not to determine as many ‘original’ traits as possible, but to establish the ballad’s history and, above all, the manner of its dissemination. It is indeed a desperate undertaking to reconstruct a ballad text, and one hesitates to venture upon such a difficult task. But a systematic comparison and analysis of the variations tells us many things which can be discovered in no other way and leads us to a clearer understanding of the historical development. . . .

"The most superficial examination of the versions of the ballad reveals the existence of two groups, the Scandinavian and the English. The differences which mark these groups are not merely linguistic, but concern also the ballad’s structure and spirit.”

Archer Taylor

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781888215694
Publisher:	Fathom Publishing Company
Publication date:	02/15/2018
Pages:	132
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x 0.28(d)

About the Author

Archer Taylor (August 1, 1890-September 30, 1973). Taylor earned his PhD at Harvard. He taught at Washington University in St. Louis 1915-25, University of Chicago 1925-39 and University of California, Berkeley 1939-58. Taylor published The Proverb (1931), its Index (1934) and Bibliography of Riddles (1939). Archer Taylor and Bartlett Jere Whiting published A Dictionary of American Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, 1820-1880 (1958). He wrote A History of Bibliographies of Bibliographies (1955) and General Subject-Indexes Since 1548 (1966). His library is at University of Georgia, except his ballad collection at University of California, Berkeley. More information at www.archertaylor.com.