Ballads of the North, Medieval to Modern

Ballads of the North, Medieval to Modern

Essays Inspired by Larry Syndergaard

In: Festschriften, Occasional Papers, and Lectures

Edited by: Sandra Ballif Straubhaar and Richard Firth Green

Medieval Institute Publications | 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110661934

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About this book

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This volume is intended as a belated but heartfelt thank-you and Gedenkschrift to the late Larry Syndergaard (1936-2015), long-time professor of English at Western Michigan University and Fellow of the Kommission für Volksdichtung (International Ballad Commission). Larry’s contributions down the decades to ballad studies--particularly Scandinavian and Anglophone--included dozens of papers and articles, as well as his supremely useful book, English Translations of the Scandinavian Medieval Ballads. As David Atkinson and Thomas A. McKean of the Kommission have written (May 2015): “Larry... was a sound scholar with a penetrating mind which he used to support, encourage and befriend others, rather than show off his own knowledge. He will be remembered for his contributions to international balladry, especially for providing a bridge between the English- and Scandinavian-language ballads.” Larry’s particular fascination with the vernacular ballads of the northern medieval world are reflected in this collection; topics here range from plot elements such as demonic whales, otherworldly antagonists, and mer-people to thematic issues of genre, religion and sexual mores. As a tribute to the global influence of Larry’s scholarship and the broad academic interest in medieval ballads, the essays in this volume were contributed by twelve international scholars of narrative song based in Europe, North America and Australia.

Author information

Sandra Ballif Straubhaar, University of Texas at Austin, USA; Richard Firth Green, Ohio State University, Columbus, USA.

Frontmatter Free access PDF PDF	i
Contents Free access PDF PDF	vii
Acknowledgments and Tabula Commemorativa Free access PDF PDF	ix
“Both Me and Mine He Causd to Dine” Sandra Ballif Straubhaar and Richard Firth Green Free access PDF PDF	xi
Bibliographical Note Free access PDF PDF	xix
Part I: The Ballad Genre
1. Swedish Ballad Authenticity and Its Gatekeepers James Massengale Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	1
2. The Relationship of the Anomalous Ballad Þorgeirs rímur [Stjakarhöfða] to Áns rímur bogsveigis Shaun F. D. Hughes Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	29
3. Hervör, Hervard, Hervik: The Metamorphosis of a Shieldmaiden Sandra Ballif Straubhaar Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	55
Part II a: Traditional Ballads in Context: Motifs and Themes
4. Uncanny Cetology in the Sagas and Later West-Scandinavian Balladry Sarah Harlan-Haughey Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	73
5. If You Go Down to the Woods Today … Fateful Locations in the Ballad Landscapes of Three Kingdoms Tom Pettitt Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	91
6. “His Hawk, His Hound, and Lady Fair”: Social Symbols and Ballad Metaphors James Moreira Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	123
7. Balladry and Social Mores: An Exploration of Attitudes to Sexual Relations in Songsters, Broadsides, and Oral Tradition David Gregory Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	139
Part II b: The Traditional Ballad in Context: Individual Ballads
8. The Agnete Ballad of Denmark: Cultural Tool or Protest Song? Lynda Taylor Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	159
9. From Sir Eglamour to “Old Bangum”: The Travels of a Ballad Hero Richard Firth Green Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	175
Part III: The Afterlife of the Traditional Ballad
10. Writing Romances for Amateur Singers: A Nineteenth-Century Danish Example Hans Kuhn Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	195
11. The Secret Lives of Ballads: Fan Fiction as Folk Space Sally Ann Schutz Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	209
12. A Game of Crows: Poe, Plagiarism, and the Ballad Tradition Jennifer Goodman Wollock Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	221
Notes on the Contributors Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	241
Index Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	243

Ballads of the North, Medieval to Modern

Essays Inspired by Larry Syndergaard

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