"He included few versions from any oral sources "
Perhaps it might be more polite to suggest I am misunderstanding Richard ?
After all, I'm supposed to be the impolit one
Yes - I did misunderstand - looking at it like that, it seems like a silly question
Child seldom indicated the social or ethnic groupings of many of the source singers
I think one of the few he ever met personally was the housemaid who gave him 'The Cruel Mother'
Since that time, Travellers have featured largely as sources of the ballads
I apologise for any confusion
Jim