Naval songs and ballads

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About this book

"Naval songs and ballads" by C. H. Firth is a collection of historical ballads written in the early 20th century. It gathers English popular verse about the navy from the sixteenth to the mid-nineteenth century, using songs to illuminate battles, piracy, seamanship, and public feeling about maritime power. The opening of this volume sets out its purpose and scope, explains the historical value of ballads, and classifies them into three main kinds: pieces by professional broadside writers, songs by sailors and officers, and politically minded works by men of letters. It then sketches a brisk literary history, from medieval and Elizabethan celebrations through Armada-era broadsides, Barbary corsair tales, and Restoration Dutch War songs, to William III’s La Hogue ballads and the rise of pirate lore (Avery, Kidd).