Scottish Ballads

Scotland's ballads represent one of the high-water marks of Scottish literature and are famous as superb expressions of oral culture, reflecting a world of magic, deep passion and history transformed into legend.

This selection includes more than eighty of the finest ballads, together with an introduction, notes and glosses. The versions come from the last three centuries-from the time of Burns and Scott, who were among the earliest collectors, up to the present day.

Although the …