Harris repertoire
Encyclopedia
The Harris Repertoire consists of two manuscripts, both written by the sisters Amelia and Jane Harris. Containing 29 and 59 ballad
s and songs respectively, these manuscripts are part of the cornerstone of nineteenth-century ballad collecting. The second manuscript written was used by Francis James Child
(1825–1896) in his seminal work, The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, commonly known as the Child Ballads
.
, a professor at the University of Edinburgh
, a manuscript containing 29 ballads. She had heard him talk on the subject in Lerwick
in 1855, and knew that he himself had published two volumes of "Antient Ballads". She enclosed a letter, which has become famous within ballad studies, for it not only presents the origin of the ballads she and her sister Jane knew, but offers the conundrum of ballads being passed from the non-literate to the literate. While the sisters knew, clearly loved, and sang the ballads, and did not re-create the tales, but sang what they knew, and were "most scrupulous in writing them exactly as I heard them, leaving a blank, when I was in doubt as to a word or line".
Aytoun was appreciative of the manuscript, and wrote to the sisters to thank them - we know this from surviving extract made by Jane Harris. He also informed other collectors, whom he was in contact with, such as the Aberdonian
advocate
Norval Clyne. Clyne was interested in the Harris sisters' version of "Sir Patrick Spens
", as it provided evidence against the much-discussed "Lady Wardlaw Heresy", initiated by David Laing
and perpetuated by Robert Chambers
, which proposed that Lady Wardlaw was in fact the author of the ballad. While Aytoun's letter including the Harris sisters' version of the ballad came too late for Clyne to include it in the text of his refutation of Chambers' proposition, James Hutton Watson did use the Harris material - quoting a letter Aytoun had written to Clyne in its entirety.
, Edinburgh, who had a request from Francis James Child for advice and information on collecting ballads in Britain. Clyne advised Child to place an appeal in Notes and Queries
regarding material and its location. Clyne himself became actively involved in Child's search, and was in correspondence with him. Having written to the publisher John Blackwood, to Aytoun's sisters - who were also fond of ballads - and to Aytoun's widow, who "was not on terms" with his family, and even following up leads in Newburgh
, where the Harris sisters had been living when they sent the manuscript, Clyne drew a blank: the manuscript had vanished and 1873, Clyne and Child resigned themselves to the fact that the manuscript was lost and the ladies who had written it could not be traced.
, Aytoun's successor as Professor of Rhetoric at the University of Edinburgh
. Although she did not refer to Child's Notes and Queries appeal, it may have been the impetus for the sisters to try to contact someone about their ballads, as they had annotated their ballads and songs a second time. This letter was sent from Laurel Bank, Lasswade
, near Edinburgh, which explains Clyne's failure to trace them in Newburgh.
Masson sent Jane Harris's letter on to Child and Child alerted Clyne. Clyne deduced that Miss Harris who wrote to Masson had to be the elusive Newburgh lady, and he made contact. On 26 August 1873, Clyne had tea with the Misses Harris and established an essential point of contact for Child. Clyne found that while Jane had written to Masson about the new manuscript, she had written the musical score, while her sister, Amelia, had written out the verses. The Misses Harris were clear about the origin of their ballads - they had learned them from their mother, who in turn had got them from "an aged nurse". This gave these sets an eighteenth-century provenance. He also discovered that they had sent a couple of ballads to Peter Buchan as well as Aytoun.
On the polite suggestion Jane Harris that the manuscript may be of worth, Clyne and Child agreed that some sum had to be agreed upon, and in a letter dated 15 September 1873, Amelia Harris noted that she had received a telegram from Frederick James Furnivall
, whom Child was staying with in London in the summer of 1873, informing her that he had forwarded a cheque for £15 for the manuscript. She promises to send the manuscript of the ballads that afternoon, and the manuscript of the music the following day. Child was on the point of leaving for America - he had noted in his correspondence with Macmath that "from the 16th it will be safer to address me in America". We know that the manuscripts were bound - costing a further 6 shillings on top of the £15 paid. The cost in shillings indicates that this was done in Britain, and it seems that Furnivall may have taken responsibility for it. The manuscript was then forwarded to Child at Harvard. This manuscript remains in America, in the Houghton Library
, MS 25241.17*, still bound in 3/4 maroon Morocco and marbled boards.
in an Edinburgh bookshop-depository in 1955. It was among other books belonging to one Captain Forbes: the flyleaf of this bound volume is inscribed "Capt. Forbes, R. N., Seabank". The Forbes books had been deposited before 1939 and had not been disturbed between that time and 1955. This MS contained only the texts, and having noted that Amelia Harris refers to the writing down of the airs, an extremely thorough search was made for the airs manuscript in the depository, but it was not found and remains lost.
This manuscript is also bound, probably under Aytoun's instruction. It has a maroon cover, with the wording "M.S. OLD SCOTTISH BALLADS" on its spine, marbled endpapers and Hilary Corke's bookplate inside the front cover. Hilary Corke, a lecturer in Mediaeval English Literature at the University of Edinburgh, realised the value of his find, and wrote to Harvard University for information about the Harris MS listed by Child as being in Harvard College Library - a correspondence passed on to the curator of the Houghton Library. The important discovery of the "lost" manuscript was first made in print in 1977 by Dr Emily Lyle of The School of Scottish Studies, University of Edinburgh, although she had been in touch with Hilary Corke for a couple of years prior to that.
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
s and songs respectively, these manuscripts are part of the cornerstone of nineteenth-century ballad collecting. The second manuscript written was used by Francis James Child
Francis James Child
Francis James Child was an American scholar, educator, and folklorist, best known today for his collection of folk songs known as the Child Ballads. Child was Boylston professor of rhetoric and oratory at Harvard University, where he produced influential editions of English poetry...
(1825–1896) in his seminal work, The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, commonly known as the Child Ballads
Child Ballads
The Child Ballads are a collection of 305 ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, collected by Francis James Child in the late nineteenth century...
.
History
In 1859 Amelia Harris sent William Edmonstoune AytounWilliam Edmonstoune Aytoun
William Edmondstoune Aytoun FRSE was a Scottish lawyer and poet.Born in Edinburgh, he was the only son of Joan Keith and Roger Aytoun , a writer to the signet, and was related to Sir Robert Aytoun...
, a professor at the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
, a manuscript containing 29 ballads. She had heard him talk on the subject in Lerwick
Lerwick
Lerwick is the capital and main port of the Shetland Islands, Scotland, located more than 100 miles off the north coast of mainland Scotland on the east coast of the Shetland Mainland...
in 1855, and knew that he himself had published two volumes of "Antient Ballads". She enclosed a letter, which has become famous within ballad studies, for it not only presents the origin of the ballads she and her sister Jane knew, but offers the conundrum of ballads being passed from the non-literate to the literate. While the sisters knew, clearly loved, and sang the ballads, and did not re-create the tales, but sang what they knew, and were "most scrupulous in writing them exactly as I heard them, leaving a blank, when I was in doubt as to a word or line".
Aytoun was appreciative of the manuscript, and wrote to the sisters to thank them - we know this from surviving extract made by Jane Harris. He also informed other collectors, whom he was in contact with, such as the Aberdonian
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
advocate
Advocate
An advocate is a term for a professional lawyer used in several different legal systems. These include Scotland, South Africa, India, Scandinavian jurisdictions, Israel, and the British Crown dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man...
Norval Clyne. Clyne was interested in the Harris sisters' version of "Sir Patrick Spens
Sir Patrick Spens
"Sir Patrick Spens" is one of the most popular of the Child Ballads , and is of Scottish origin.-Historicity:The events of the ballad are similar to, and may chronicle, an actual event: the bringing home of the Scottish queen Margaret, Maid of Norway across the North Sea in 1290...
", as it provided evidence against the much-discussed "Lady Wardlaw Heresy", initiated by David Laing
David Laing (Scottish antiquary)
David Laing was a Scottish antiquary.The son of William Laing, a bookseller in Edinburgh, where he was born, he was educated at the Canongate Grammar School. At fourteen he was apprenticed to his father. Shortly after the death of the latter in 1837, Laing was elected to the librarianship of the...
and perpetuated by Robert Chambers
Robert Chambers
Robert Chambers was a Scottish publisher, geologist, proto-evolutionary thinker, author and journal editor who, like his elder brother and business partner William Chambers, was highly influential in mid-19th century scientific and political circles.Chambers was an early phrenologist, and was the...
, which proposed that Lady Wardlaw was in fact the author of the ballad. While Aytoun's letter including the Harris sisters' version of the ballad came too late for Clyne to include it in the text of his refutation of Chambers' proposition, James Hutton Watson did use the Harris material - quoting a letter Aytoun had written to Clyne in its entirety.
The search
Aytoun had intended to publish the Harris MS material, but did not live to prepare a third volume of ballads, but Clyne did keep the Harris ballads in mind, and when he was contacted by Dr John Stuart of General Register HouseNational Archives of Scotland
Based in Edinburgh, the National Archives of Scotland are the national archives of Scotland. The NAS claims to have one of the most varied collection of archives in Europe...
, Edinburgh, who had a request from Francis James Child for advice and information on collecting ballads in Britain. Clyne advised Child to place an appeal in Notes and Queries
Notes and Queries
Notes and Queries is a long-running quarterly scholarly journal that publishes short articles related to "English language and literature, lexicography, history, and scholarly antiquarianism". Its emphasis is on "the factual rather than the speculative"...
regarding material and its location. Clyne himself became actively involved in Child's search, and was in correspondence with him. Having written to the publisher John Blackwood, to Aytoun's sisters - who were also fond of ballads - and to Aytoun's widow, who "was not on terms" with his family, and even following up leads in Newburgh
Newburgh
-Places:Scotland*Newburgh, Fife, a former royal burgh*Newburgh, Aberdeenshire, a village*Newburgh, Borders, a village*Newburgh, Moray, a village*Newburgh, Orkney, a villageEngland*Newburgh, Lancashire, a village*Newburgh, North Yorkshire, a village...
, where the Harris sisters had been living when they sent the manuscript, Clyne drew a blank: the manuscript had vanished and 1873, Clyne and Child resigned themselves to the fact that the manuscript was lost and the ladies who had written it could not be traced.
The second manuscript
On the same day that Clyne wrote to Child regarding the failure to trace either the 1859 ballad manuscript, or the women who had written it, Jane Harris was writing to Professor David MassonDavid Masson
David Masson , was a Scottish writer.He was born in Aberdeen, and educated at Aberdeen Grammar School and at Marischal College, University of Aberdeen. Intending to enter the Church, he proceeded to Edinburgh University, where he studied theology under Dr Thomas Chalmers, with whom he remained...
, Aytoun's successor as Professor of Rhetoric at the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
. Although she did not refer to Child's Notes and Queries appeal, it may have been the impetus for the sisters to try to contact someone about their ballads, as they had annotated their ballads and songs a second time. This letter was sent from Laurel Bank, Lasswade
Lasswade
Lasswade is a civil parish and village in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River North Esk, nine miles south of Edinburgh city centre, between Dalkeith and Loanhead...
, near Edinburgh, which explains Clyne's failure to trace them in Newburgh.
Masson sent Jane Harris's letter on to Child and Child alerted Clyne. Clyne deduced that Miss Harris who wrote to Masson had to be the elusive Newburgh lady, and he made contact. On 26 August 1873, Clyne had tea with the Misses Harris and established an essential point of contact for Child. Clyne found that while Jane had written to Masson about the new manuscript, she had written the musical score, while her sister, Amelia, had written out the verses. The Misses Harris were clear about the origin of their ballads - they had learned them from their mother, who in turn had got them from "an aged nurse". This gave these sets an eighteenth-century provenance. He also discovered that they had sent a couple of ballads to Peter Buchan as well as Aytoun.
On the polite suggestion Jane Harris that the manuscript may be of worth, Clyne and Child agreed that some sum had to be agreed upon, and in a letter dated 15 September 1873, Amelia Harris noted that she had received a telegram from Frederick James Furnivall
Frederick James Furnivall
Frederick James Furnivall , one of the co-creators of the Oxford English Dictionary , was an English philologist...
, whom Child was staying with in London in the summer of 1873, informing her that he had forwarded a cheque for £15 for the manuscript. She promises to send the manuscript of the ballads that afternoon, and the manuscript of the music the following day. Child was on the point of leaving for America - he had noted in his correspondence with Macmath that "from the 16th it will be safer to address me in America". We know that the manuscripts were bound - costing a further 6 shillings on top of the £15 paid. The cost in shillings indicates that this was done in Britain, and it seems that Furnivall may have taken responsibility for it. The manuscript was then forwarded to Child at Harvard. This manuscript remains in America, in the Houghton Library
Houghton Library
Houghton Library is the primary repository for rare books and manuscripts at Harvard University. It is part of the Harvard College Library within the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Houghton is located on the south side of Harvard Yard, next to Widener Library.- History :Harvard's first...
, MS 25241.17*, still bound in 3/4 maroon Morocco and marbled boards.
The "lost and found" manuscript
Neither Child nor Clyne ever located the first manuscript. Its history after Aytoun's death is uncertain and obscure. However, it was discovered by Mr Hilary CorkeHilary Corke
Hilary Topham Corke was a writer, composer and mineralogist...
in an Edinburgh bookshop-depository in 1955. It was among other books belonging to one Captain Forbes: the flyleaf of this bound volume is inscribed "Capt. Forbes, R. N., Seabank". The Forbes books had been deposited before 1939 and had not been disturbed between that time and 1955. This MS contained only the texts, and having noted that Amelia Harris refers to the writing down of the airs, an extremely thorough search was made for the airs manuscript in the depository, but it was not found and remains lost.
This manuscript is also bound, probably under Aytoun's instruction. It has a maroon cover, with the wording "M.S. OLD SCOTTISH BALLADS" on its spine, marbled endpapers and Hilary Corke's bookplate inside the front cover. Hilary Corke, a lecturer in Mediaeval English Literature at the University of Edinburgh, realised the value of his find, and wrote to Harvard University for information about the Harris MS listed by Child as being in Harvard College Library - a correspondence passed on to the curator of the Houghton Library. The important discovery of the "lost" manuscript was first made in print in 1977 by Dr Emily Lyle of The School of Scottish Studies, University of Edinburgh, although she had been in touch with Hilary Corke for a couple of years prior to that.