No problem, Jim
Hope you enjoyed your breakfast.

I don't really want once again to take over Richie's thread with our differences so if you want to discuss the origins further we must start another thread.

However, the veracity of PB's ballads is very relevant to this thread. Of course they were all at it. The only difference is to what extent each of then went with this literary interference and what claims they made for the material. Motherwell, Jamieson and Scott admitted their interference and regretted it, although they would have done well to have been more specific as to what they contributed. However there is plenty of evidence in the ballads themselves to demonstrate that PB went way over the top and claimed unequivocally that every word came from oral tradition. What is more he never showed any regret for his actions. Once again I repeat, if you want some evidence I suggest you look closely at the ballad above and what Jim B has to say about it. There plenty of other even worse examples if you are interested.