Origins: St Stephen and King Herod

Subject: Origins: St Stephen and King Herod
From: GUEST,Julia L
Date: 01 Dec 20 - 12:16 PM

Just a note to say that this song is wrongly attributed in the DT Lyrics
In her book Ballads Migrant in New England, page 217 Helen Flanders says

"This ballad was recorded in Burlington VT as remembered by Mr. George L. Edwards from the singing of his grandmother of Seaton, East Riding, Yorkshire, England   H.H. F. collector October 16, 1934"

The original recording is documented to be found here, but the recording is cut off before it plays
https://archive.org/details/HHFBC_tapes_C06A
Track 06c : [fragment] St Stephen and King Herod - voice performance by George Edwards at Burlington (Vt.). Classification #: CH022. Dated 10-16-1934.

In Flanders's books, her attributions are noted BEFORE the song, not after. It can be confusing as in this case on page 218 where "Charles Fennimore of Bridgewater Maine" is noted as singing the next song.

Subject: RE: Origins: St Stephen and King Herod
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 01 Dec 20 - 02:23 PM

Interestingly in the later Vol 1 of Ancient Ballads (1960) HHF states the song came from his grandfather, (p239) with a lot more info such as a spoken account of the rest of the story and further fragments of verse.

Subject: RE: Origins: St Stephen and King Herod
From: Steve Gardham
Date: 01 Dec 20 - 02:35 PM

Edwards' version is a straight modern translation of the Sloane Ms version, the only other version, from the 15th century. In my opinion someone in my native East Yorkshire translated this from the printing at the end of the 18th century by Joseph Ritson. What Edwards was remembering of his grandfather's version is this newly made translation some time in the 19th century.

If I am wrong then we have a tremendously important and seemingly impossible survival.

Subject: RE: Origins: St Stephen and King Herod
From: GUEST,Julia L
Date: 01 Dec 20 - 10:10 PM

Wonderful Steve- thanks for that. I dd not think to check the Ancient Ballads. It's interesting that she says in Ballads Migrant that he learned it from his grand-MOTHER... not terribly important I suppose unless one was doing a genealogy to trace the source.

BTW this is not the first mistake I have found in her books

It is all very intriguing. It's too bad the recording is not available