>Perhaps a little digression from all the serious talk recently. A few
>weeks ago I suddenly realized that the title track of Pentangle's Cruel
>Sister is the same (rather grotesque) story as "Harpen", one of the best
>known Norwegian medieval ballads.
>
>Obviously, neither Pentangle's version nor the "official" Norwegian are
>originals - Pentangle's is clearly late 16th Century, while the ones you
>find in Norwegian collections are even more recent. Also, the ballad
>seems to have some stylistic traits that suggest it's neither British
>nor Norwegian originally.
>
>Does anybody have any information about the ballad?
It's very well known. As far as I remember it's the first ballad listed
in Child, there are lots and lots of versions and it's found in many
languages (which, of course implies that it is extremely ancient).
If nobody else posts any more detailed information, I'll look it
up later and send you the info.
Phil Taylor
To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
