Traditionally, a ballad was a song that was designed to be danced to, as the etymology of the word, Provençal balada meaning ‘dance, song to dance to’, ultimately from late Latin ballare. The great British ballads – and we say ‘British’ because many of them were Scottish rather than English in origin – date from around the fourteenth century onwards, and represent some of the best popular poetry written in English. Many of the Border ballads are narrative poems which tell a story, often tragic but sometimes lighter and happier. Below, we introduce ten of the best ballads from British history.
