For the record, it might be good to give an explanation of that "earliest date" entry in the Traditonal Ballad Index. It's the earliest version of the song found in resources reviewed by the Index. Rather than attempt to determine a date of composition, the Index simply gives the earliest date its resources provide.
I'd like ot see us go farther and determine a date, but the Index doesn't attempt that.
Make sense?
-Joe Offer-