The ballad - Index of

The Ballad
Both these songs are obviously danced ;
both
are ceremonial. The Maori one is plainly antiphonal,
and the Roman one, too, has the appearance
of being shared between the priests and the
people. Observe, moreover, the verbal repetitions.
It must not be thought that such chants
are in any way uncommon ; many
the same characteristics are known.
others exhibiting
Keeping in mind these marks of antiquity in
popular song, let us look for them in our ballads.
There can be little doubt but that Child was
right in placing at the beginning of his collection
the " riddle " ballads : riddles are at least as old
as Samson and the Sphinx, and it would be
foolish to pretend that their is
popularity exhausted.
In the riddle-ballads, naturally enough,
the ceremonial element of the choral song has
passed into an element of pastime but it is interesting
to see how long the dance survived. A
;
few years ago Mr. Baring Gould recorded a version
of The 1 Elfin Knight, which used to be sung
in North Cornwall between a young man who
went outside the room and a girl
who remained
inside, with a chorus of lads and lasses.
Many
" drawing-room
"
games, of course, retain this
feature ;
in particular we may mention " forfeits,"
which, while riddles are intellectual challenges,
are usually tests of strength, endurance or
dexterity.
Question and answer, however, have
Second Series, 170.
44