The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #142308   Message #3279452
Posted By: GUEST,IC Keith
24-Dec-11 - 04:08 PM
Thread Name: Folklore: Child Ballad variant letters
Subject: Folklore: Child Ballad variant letters
I checked an old thread about the logic of Child ballad organization but found no answer to my question. I understand that the ballads are numbered and the variants are lettered, "78C," for example. what does it mean if the upper case variant letter is followed by a lower case letter? For example, #78 (The Unquiet Grave)has 8 variants, 78A-78H. However, H is subdivided into 78Ha, 78Hb, and 78Hc. What is the distinction between upper and lower case identifications?