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Lord Lovel

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Lord Lovel is Child ballad number 75, in existing in several variants.[1] This ballad is originally from England, originating in the 16th century with oldest known versions being found in the regions of Gloucestershire, Somerset, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, and Wiltshire.[2]

Synopsis

A lord tells the lady he loves that he is going in a journey that will take several years. After a time, he longs to see her. He returns whereupon he hears of her death, and dies of grief.

The journey that Lord Lovel undertakes is a pilgrimage, a quest to a holy shrine.

Variants

Forms of this ballad are very common in Scandinavia and Germany.[3]

The ballads, Lord Thomas and Fair Annet and Fair Margaret and Sweet William contain some similar themes, but in those ballads, the hero is actively fickle, seeking another bride.[4]

A closer equivalent to this ballad is Lady Alice, Child ballad 85.[5]

References

  1. ^ Francis James Child, English and Scottish Popular Ballads, "Lord Lovel"
  2. ^ Francis James Child, The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, v 5, p 790, Dover Publications, New York 1965
  3. ^ Francis James Child, The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, v 2, p 204-6, Dover Publications, New York 1965
  4. ^ Francis James Child, The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, v 2, p 204, Dover Publications, New York 1965
  5. ^ Francis James Child, The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, v 2, p 279, Dover Publications, New York 1965