Thank you, Steve. I always welcome knowledgeable correction. Recall that my level of understanding of Child ballads dates from the distant past.

But what was the principal intention of the deceit? To boost the faker's own prestige as a collector? To lie about the past? To create the most artistically pleasing verses?

If they really knew the value (to us) of authentic texts, why would they turn out fakes unless it was because they thought an artsy fake was of greater value than a blah artifact? Wouldn't the presumed value at the time then be in the artistry rather than the authenticity?

I'm still smarting over Lloyd's clandestine "improvements," so I don't think that folk and learned changes are comparable.