Expanding a Traditional Ballad: Tam Lin in the Picture Book Fantasies of Jane Yolen and Susan Cooper

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Janis Dawson

Abstract

Tam Lin is one of the better known of the traditional Scottish fairy ballads. This highly romantic story of a young woman who rescues her lover from the Fairy Queen was noted in written sources as early as the sixteenth century. Although the ballad itself, set in the wild border lands of Scotland, appears to be unique to the Scottish people, folklorists have connected the story with Greek popular traditions older than Homer (Child 336) The story has also been linked to other traditional ballads and tales, including Thomas the Rhymer, The Faerie Oak of Corriewater, Alice Brand, The King’s Daughter Jane, and Beauty and the Beast, and it has been described as the canonical ballad ("Legends"). In more recent times, the story has continued to inspire artists, writers, and musicians. Tam Lin has even entered the electronic age with an extensive web site devoted to the discussion and interpretation of the ballad.

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