"Then there are grey areas.Looking at an article In mustrad magazine on Walter Pardon, I noticed two songs in his repertoire, Lord Lovel [generally considered traditional]and The Mistletoe Bough[ Thomas Bayley 1884]A relatively recent composition, a fine song, but not in my opinion traditional., although collected from a traditional singer."

What's 'wrong' with Lord Lovel (Child 75), Capt. B.? It is, after all a CHILD BALLAD. Also the fact that The Mistletoe Bough has a known author does not necessarily mean that it's not trad. It has,after all, been selected by many traditional singers - meaning that it may well be/may well have been, well on its way to becoming trad. I believe (and I have said this on another thread) that the insistence on a song having an anonymous author, before it can be considered to be traditional, is mistaken. Any song can become traditional - given enough time and the existence of a process involving selection, transmission and change. The really interesting question is whether such a process operates now.