The Victorians were HUGE fans of fairytales and mythology, as can be seen in the illustrations of Arthur Rackham and the paintings of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, such as Millais’ The Lady Of Shalott. [EXPAND]
Francis J. Child‘s five volume work, The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (1882-1898) is a staggeringly huge catalogue of songs and poems collected from across the British Isles. The majority of the ballads have been traced back no further than the 16th Century, but of course there are plenty of motifs within the ballads which owe their origins to folktales from the Middle Ages, possibly earlier.
The Ballad of Alison Gross (sometimes referred to as Alison Cross) is of particular interest to me as it turns the traditional stereotype of ‘bewitched young female’ (Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, anything Disney have had their paws on) on its head. The subject here is a man whom Alison Gross – ‘the ugliest witch in the North Country’ – captures and tries to seduce with promises of fine gifts and trinkets.She offers him a scarlet mantle, a shirt garnished with pearls, and a cup hewn from Welsh gold, all of which he refuses as she gently combs his hair, singing to him of offering him ‘so many good things’.
He spurns her advances, and as punishment for rebuking her, Alison turns him into a Worm. She tethers him to a tree, and there he remains until Hallowe’en, when the Fairy Queen passes him with her court and deigns to free him from his enchantment by stroking his head and reversing the witch’s spell, restoring him to human form.
I first heard the Ballad of Alison Gross in the Steeleye Span song of the same name. Although this version is rather more Anglicised than the one recorded in Childe’s anthology, it does an excellent job of bringing the song to life:
A Scottish folk band called Malinky recorded a gorgeous version which is a little more faithful to the Ballad’s Scottish roots:
(It is interesting to note that this version is called ‘Alison Cross’, a possible corruption of Child’s title but one which is referred to elsewhere occasionally.)
Further Reading:
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