AIF2025 - Crossing Borders: The People’s Voice and the German Roots of the Scottish Ballad Revival

In this fascinating and wide-ranging talk, Dr. Sigrid Rieuwerts (Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz) explores the enduring power of the people’s voice in oral tradition—tracing the influence of the Brothers Grimm on Harvard scholar Francis James Child and his landmark collection of Scottish ballads. With insight into the living folk traditions that inspired both German and British collectors, and drawing on her own work as managing editor of The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, Dr. Rieuwerts offers a rich perspective on the cultural currents that shaped—and continue to shape—the music and poetry of these islands.

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