Gone Medieval Love and Death in Old Songs
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Sep 30, 2025 Join Amy Jeffs, an author known for her creative reimaginings of traditional ballads, as she delves into the captivating world of medieval music and folklore. In this engaging discussion, she explores themes of love and morality through haunting ballads, revealing their oral roots and narrative forms. Amy highlights the collaborative process of transforming these songs into stories with illustrations and music. Additionally, she shares insights on the contemporary relevance of ballads and their mesmerizing tales of temptation, fairy encounters, and survival.
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Ballads As Living Story-Songs
- Ballads are best understood as story-songs rather than strict literary forms with fixed rules.
- They evolved organically in oral tradition and often disobey formal rhyme or stanza patterns.
Creative Collaboration Born At Parties
- Amy, Gwen and Nat developed the book as a three‑thread project of words, pictures and music created simultaneously.
- They met at pubs and birthday parties and let sketches, music and text inform each other.
Child's Collection Anchors Ballad Research
- Francis James Child's 19th‑century collection is the primary source for traditional ballads used in the book.
- Child compiled many versions and traced motifs across languages, linking ballads to older literature and traditions.
