Scott's Border Minstrelsy Exhibition

“Young Lochinvar” from “A garland of new songs”, ballads collected by John Bell, Newcastle [between 1810 and 1828] A ‘ chapbook’ is a pocket-sized booklet. The term chapbook was formalised by bibliophiles of the 19th century, as a variety of ephemera, containing popular or folk literature. It includes many kinds of printed material such as pamphlets, political and religious tracts, nursery rhymes, poetry, fairy tales, children's literature, almanacs, popular ballads and songs. Material from these chapbooks, such as Scott’s ballad ‘Young Lochinvar’ , seen here, would often enter the oral folk tradition. ’Young Lochinvar’ derives from The song of 'Lochinvar' in the fifth canto of Scott’s epic poem ‘ Marmion’ which was modelled on the old ballad ' Katharine Jaffray’ . Thus Scott has adapted a traditional ballad and reused it as material in the high-art form of an epic poem. The chapbook has then taken Scott’s adaptation of the ballad and helped re-circulate it back into popular culture. Folklorists were later to collect Scott’s version of the ballad amongst traditional singers.

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