Ballads

1
Ballads

• Using a strong beat and repetition, ballads are a
  type of story passed from performer to performer,
  from generation to generation!

2
Ballad

• Ballads are songs or songlike poems that tell
  stories in simple, rhythmic language. Virtually
  every ballad includes certain predictable
  features, including sensational or tragic subject
  matter, omitted details, supernatural events, and
  a refrain- a repeated word, line, or group of
  lines.

3
Poetry of the People

• Entertainment in the medieval period had a
  tendency to sway towards the sensational!
• Medieval ballads are a lot like popular music
  today
• Predictably popular subjects
• Ballads were passed down orally
• Subjects
• Domestic tragedy
• False love
• True love
• Absurdity in husband-wife relationship
• The supernatural

4
Song Dance

• Ballad is derived from an Old French word meaning
  dancing song.
• Clearly written to be accompanied by music.
• Meter strong, simple beat
• Verse uncomplicated and appealed to general
  audience (non- elitist)

5
Later

• Meter and rhyme scheme (abcd) of the ballad
  stanza arose with the era of literary ballads.
• Ballads we know today probably originated in the
  15th century, but were not printed until Sir.
  Thomas Percy published a number in 1765.
• Inspired by Percy, Sir Walter Scott traveled the
  British Isles and copied down such folk songs.
  These ballads are a reflection of the history of
  the times.

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The Medieval Romance Narrative
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The Medieval Romance Narrative

• Overview
• Prose or poetry.
• Idealized hero who undertakes a great quest or
  overcomes danger for the sake of a noble lady or
  high ideal.
• Faces trials and adventures encountering
  supernatural or magical beings.

8
The Romance

• 900 years ago Chretien de Troyes, a friend court
  poet, began to craft tales of knightly adventures
  focusing on the exploits of King Arthur and the
  Knights of the Round Table.
• Chretien invented the style of narrative that is
  known today as Arthurian romance.

9
Not Just a Love Story

• The Medieval Romance is a long narrative of
  prose/poetry that
• Features an idealized hero who overcomes danger
  for the sake of a noble lady or high ideal.
• Tells the adventures of a hero on a quest for
  something valuable.
• Love can play a role, but the hero is the focus.
• The hero sometimes faces supernatural/magical
  forces.
• Because the hero is bound by the code of chivalry
  (which emphasizes loyalty to his lord and service
  to those who are oppressed) many romances are
  about seeking justice and helping those in need.

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Example?

• Camelot King Arthur and the Knights of the Round
  Table!

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The Romance Hero

• Almost always encounters an adventure or series
  of trials.
• Receives a reward or fulfillment.
• Strives to prove his worth, by helping others in
  need.

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Arthur is the model or archetypal romance hero-
the medieval descendant of the epic hero!

• Handsome, strong.
• Nobel
• Strict moral code
• Grows up in obscurity
• Undergoes a childhood initiation involving a
  magic weapon
• As an adult he fights to defeat evil and promote
  peace.
• Throughout his life he is aided by magical
  weapons and mysterious events.
• Even his departure implies that he may return to
  help his people in need.

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• Today, the term romance means any story that
  presents a happier, more perfect, more heroic
  world!

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Gawain the Gallant

• One of the most famous Arthurian Romances is Sir
  Gawain and the Green Knight.
• Probably written around 1375.
• At the time, ideals of knightly conduct were
  fading, and the poem is filled with romantic
  conventions that cling to those concepts!