The Bonny Lass of Anglesey is Child ballad 220.

Synopsis

Fifteen English lords come to the king "To dance and win the victory." He gets the bonny lass to dance with them, offering her lands and either the fairest knight (of her choice), or the bravest, in his court. She wins. The fifteenth lord laid aside his sword but still had to admit defeat—in one variant, for exhaustion.

Commentary

The significance of this dancing competition and the "victory" won is unclear. The point is that none of the knights can outdance her.

Francis James Child Francis James Child (February 1, 1825 – September 11, 1896) was an American scholar, educator, and folklorist, best known today for his collection of English and Scottish ballads now known as the Child Ballads. Child was Boylston professor of ...

classified it among the "historical" ballads.

Adaptions

Delia Sherman Cordelia Caroline Sherman (born 1951, Tokyo, Japan), known professionally as Delia Sherman, is an American fantasy writer and editor. Her novel ''The Porcelain Dove'' won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award. Background Sherman attended The Chapin Scho ...

reworked this ballad in her short story "The Fiddler of Bayou Teche"."2007 Nebula Award Nominees", ''The Bulletin of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America'' Spring 2008 p 44

References

Child Ballads Year of song unknown Songwriter unknown {{Folk-song-stub