Below is a listing of scholarly books and references about Tam Lin. This includes written history and scholarly enquiry. If you are looking for fiction based on Tam Lin, please see either the fiction page for traditional publications or the transformative work section for fanfic and parodies.
Listing are sorted into content, and then organized chronologically, then by author name.
Reference Books
Books containing ballad versions, commentary, and research or reference information
- Wedderburn Complaynt of Scotland. 1549
- notes: Contains several references to Tam Lin, but no ballad version
- availability: excerpts available on site, with links to several versions of full text.
- Johnson, James. The Scottish Musical Museum; Consisting of Upwards of Six Hundred Songs, with Proper Bases for the Pianoforte. James Johnson & Co. (Edinburgh, Scotland) 1787
- notes: Ballad covers page 423-425 of Vol. V, includes musical notation.
- availability: online at Archive.org and National Library of Scotland
- Scott, Sir Walter. Ministrelsy of the Scottish border 1802
- notes: Contains discussion of common folk beliefs concerning faeries, particularly as related to Scotland and the area where the ballad was collected. Excerpts of several related ballads are included.
- availability: Chapter on Tamlane available on site
- Ritson, Joseph. The North-Country Choirster: an unparalleled variety of excellent songs. Collected and published together, for general amusement, by a Bishoprick ballad-singer. Durham: L. Pennington, 1802.
- notes: not seen, not available online.
- Dixon, James Henry, Ed. Scottish Traditional Versions of Ancient Ballads. London: The Percy Society, 1845.
- notes: "Tam-a-line, the Elfin Knight" occurs on pages 11-20 with no additional commentary. Version listed matches Child's 39G.
- availability: Online at archive.org and Google Books.
- Whitelaw, Alexander. The Book of Scottish Ballads, 1845
- Aytoun, William Edmondstoune The ballads of Scotland, Volume 2 W. Blackwood, 1858
- notes: Aytoun's version is collated from several versions, and his book has commentary on the collection.
- availability full text on archive.org. Tam Lin text on site
- Child, Francis James. English and Scottish Popular Ballads. 1882-1898
- notes:
- availability: Chapter on Tam Lin, associated additions and corrections and chapter on Thomas the Rhymer available on site.
- Maidment, James, Ed. A New Book of Old Ballads. Bibliotheca Curiosa (Ser.), 1885.
- notes: "Tam Lin (a fragment)" occurs on pages 54-60. Overall book was intended for private circulation.
- excerpt: "The following fragment of the interesting ballad of Tom Linn or Tamlane was taken down from the recitation of an old woman - it contains numerous deviations from the copy printed in the Border Minstrelsy, (Scott's Poetical Works, Vol. ii, p. 337,) and on that account has been included in this little volume."
- availability: available online at archive.org
- Bates, Katherine Lee, Ed. Ballad Book. 1890.
- notes: Ballad occurs on pages 4-11, in section "Ballads of Superstition" , with one paragraph note on first note page.
- excerpt "mainly after Aytoun's collated vesion. Stanzas 16-19, obtained by Scott "from a gentleman residing near Langholm" are too modern in diction to harmonize well with the rest, but are retained here because of their fidelity to the ancient beliefs of the country folk about fairies. "
- availability: online at archive.org and project Gutenberg.
- Borland, Robert. Yarrow: Its Poets and Poetry Thomas Fraser, 1890
- notes: page 25-31, version is from Aytoun, includes a short text introduction, citing the antiquity of the ballad.
- availability: online at Archive.org
- Gummere, Francis B. Old English Ballads Folcroft Library, 1894.
- notes: Ballad "Tam Lin" appears on pages 283-289, text matches of 39A, with some commentary in the notes on Scott.
- excerpt: "This ballad, interesting in so many ways, is printed here in the version communicated by Burns to Johnson's Museum (Child, II, 340), and freely used by Scott in compounding The Young Tamlane for his Minstrelsy. It is impossible in this place to discuss such features of the ballad as the transformation, and the hints of faery, or the relations and parallels in other literature. Scott wrote an admirable essay 'On the Fairies of Popular Superstition' by way of introduction to the ballad. "
- availability: online at archive.org
- Johnson, R. Brimley. Popular British Ballads Ancient and Modern. London: J. M. Dent & Co., 1894.
- notes: Ballad occurs on page 220-229, matches Child's 39A. Small illustrations interspersed.
- excerpt: "[Johnson's Museum, p. 423.]
This ballad, known also as Tam Lin, The Young Tamlane, Kertonha, or The Fairy Court, and Tamaline the Elfin Knight, is traditionally connected with the plain of Carterhaugh "at the conflux of the Ettrick and Yarrow in Selkirkshire. . . . Miles Cross, where fair Janet awaited the arrival of the Fairy train, is said to have stood near the Duke of Buccleuch's seat of Bow-hill, about half a mile from Carterhaugh." The humorous verses of Tommy Linn (y.v.) have no connection with this ballad. " - availability: online at archive.org
- Lang, Andrew. A Collection of Ballads London: Chapman and Hall, 1897
- Quiller-Couch, Sir Arthur. Oxford Book of English Verse 1250 - 1918 Oxford University Press, 1900
- notes: Contains ballad text only, matching Child's 39A
- Sargent, Helen Child; Lyman Kitterage, George. English and Scottish Popular Ballads Boston and New York: Houghton, Miflin, and Company, 1904.
- notes: contains part of Child's text and Child 39A.
- availability: online at Archive.org
- Sidgwick, Frank. Popular Ballads of the Olden Time, Volume 2. A. H. Bullen, 1904
- notes: Text matches Child 39A, with brief introduction discussing other early texts and parallel ballads found in other cultures.
- availability: online at google books, pages 47-59.
- Hart, Walter Morris. Ballad and Epic: A Study in the Development of the Narrative Art. Studies and Notes in Philology and Literature Ser. 11. Boston, Ginn & Co., 1907.
- notes: Cites Tam Lin as an example of a ballad using supernatural elements and discusses how the story established an otherworldly feel to settings involving the faeries, place relations in creating a setting for a story, and how uncommon a character is found in Janet, who has both a unique voice and uncommon courage.
- availability: portions available at Google books
- A.W. Ward, A.R. Waller, W.P. Trent, J. Erskine, S.P. Sherman, and C. Van Doren. (eds) The Cambridge History of English and American Literature 1907–21
- notes: Passing references only
- excerpt In chapter "Funeral Ballads", "Commerce with the other world occurs in Thomas Rymer, derived from a romance, and in Tam Lin, said by Henderson to be largely the work of Burns. ", in chapter "Joanne Bailey", reference is made to Tam Lin, but is referencing the humorous ballad Tom o the Lin
- availability: Available online at Bartleby.com
- Dixon, W. MacNeile. The Edinburgh Book of Scottish Verse 1300-1900. London: Meiklejohn and Holden, 1910.
- notes: Ballad occurs on pages 185-192, numbered as ballad #63, matches Child's 39A. No additional commentary.
- availability: Online at archive.org
- Quiller-Cough, Sir Arthur. The Oxford book of Ballads. Oxford University Press, 1910
- notes: version is Oxford Book of Ballads. Glossary of terms used, No additional commentary
- availability: online at Bartleby.
- Hill, Vernon. Tamlane in Ballads Weird and Wonderful 1912
- notes: pages 53-60. Version is close to Aytoun's, with minor variations.
- availability: available at archive.org
- Watt, Lauchlan Maclean The Scottish Ballads and Ballad Writing. 1923.
- notes: Contains some verses of ballad, mention of Tam Lin in relation to other tales, short prose discussion.
- Watt, Lauchlan Maclean The Scottish Ballads and Ballad Writing. 1923.
- notes: Verses of ballad, mention of Tamlane in relation to other tales.
- Stewart, George R., Jr. The Meter of the Popular Ballad. 1925.
- notes: Notation of rhyme pattern in ballads. Not seen.
- Keith, Alexander. Scottish Ballads: Their Evidence of Authorship and Origin. 1926.
- Wimberly, Lowry C. Folklore in the English and Scottish Ballads. 1928.
- Miller, Frank, F.S.A., Scot. The Mansfield Manuscript: An Old Edinburgh Collection of Songs and Ballads. Dumfries: Thos. Hunter, Watson, & Co. Ltd. 1935.
- Scarborough, Dorothy. A Song Catcher in Southern Mountains: American Folk Songs of British Ancestry. New York: Columbia Univ. Press, 1937.
- Wells, Evelyn Kendrick. The Ballad Tree: A study of British and American Ballads, Their Folklore, Verse, and Music. New York: The Ronald Press Co., 1950.
- Coffin, Tristram Potter. The British Traditional Ballad in North America. The American Folkore Society, 1950.
- excerpt: "Except for the melody and the first stanza which were given to the informant by Elinor Wylie, this text can not be fully accepted as part of the American tradition of the Child ballads."
- availability: online at archive.org
- Seal, Graham. Encyclopedia of Folk Heroes ABC-CLIO, inc, 1950
- notes: Lists Tam Lin as the central hero of the story. Short summary of story, several verses quotes
- Housman, John E. Phd., Ed. British Popular Ballads. 1952.
- notes: Discussion and ballad pages 77-83. Short introduction, ballad following is Child's 39A.
- Leach, MacEdward Ballad Book. Oak Tree Publications, 1955
- notes: Contains references to Child, text of 39A. No additional commentary
- Friedman, Albert B. The Penguin Book of Folk Ballads of the English-Speaking World. New York: Viking, 1956
- McNeil, Marian. The Silver Bough vol.1 Edinburgh: Canongate Classics, 1956
- Bronson, Bertrand Harris. The Traditional Tunes of the Child Ballads Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey: 1959
- Friedman, Albert B. The Ballad Revival: Studies in the influence of Popular on Sophisticated Poetry. Chicago & London: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1961.
- Leach, MacEdward; Tristram P. Coffin. The Critics and The Ballad. New York: Southern Illinois Univ. Press, 1961.
- McNeill, F. Marian. The Silver Bough: A Four Volume Study of the National and Local Festivals of Scotland. Glasgow: William MacLellan, 1961
- Hodgert, M. The Ballads. W.W. Norton & Co 1962
- Friedman, Albert B. The Viking Book of Folk Ballads of the English-Speaking World. Viking Press, 1963
- notes: Short summary and commentary (3 pages), followed by Burns's version of Tam Lin.
- availability available for limited download at archive.org
- Hodgart, Matthew, editor.Faber Book of Ballads London, Faber & Faber, 1965
- Muir, Willa. Living With Ballads. London: Hogarth Press, 1965.
- MacQueen, John, and Tom Scott, Eds. The Oxford Book of Scottish Verse. Oxford: Clarendon, 1966.
- Leach, MacEdward. The Heritage Book of Ballads (1967)
- Fowler, David. A Literary History of the Popular Ballad. Durham, N. C.: Duke Univ. Press, 1968.
- Finlay, Winifred. Folk Tales from Moor and Mountain. New York: Roy Publishers, Inc., 1969.
- Briggs, Katherine M. A Dictionary of Folk-Tales in the English Language, Incorporating the F. J. Norton Collection. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1970.
- Buchan, David. The Ballad and the Folk. London & Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1972.
- Gardner, Helen Louise, Ed. The New Oxford Book of English Verse. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1972.
- Buchan, David. A Scottish Ballad Book. London: Routledge, 1973.
- notes: Ballad occurs on pages 97-100, matches Child's 39D, internal numbering ballad #27. Buchan separates ballads out into several categories based on where they fallon the transition from oral tradition to written history, placing this in a section titled "The Tradition in Transition: The Ballads of James Nichol"
- Crawfurd, Andrew; Lyle, E.B. (ed) Collection of Ballads and Songs, Volume 1, 1975
- notes: version, Tam Blain, was collected ca. 1827 by Thomas Macqueen at Mauchline in Ayrshire
- Grigson, Geoffrey, Ed. The Penguin Book of Ballads. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1975.
- Briggs, Katherine Mary. An Encyclopedia of Fairies, Hobgoblins, Brownies, Bogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures. New York: Pantheon, 1976.
- notes: The book details stories and motifs in Fairie stories, through a series of short entries, listed alphabetically, with extensive cross-referencing. Tam Lin entry is listed under "Young Tamlane". Two paragraphs of commentary, listing of listing of numbered motifs, and full text of 39A.
- excerpt: "It is perhaps the most important of the supernatural ballads because of the many fairy beliefs incorporated into it."
- Grigson, Geoffrey (ed). The Penguin Book of Ballads Viking Press, 1976
- Niles, John D.; Conroy, Patricia (ed) "A Traditional Ballad and its Mask: Tam Lin." Ballads and Ballad Research: Selected Papers of the International Conference on Nordic and Anglo-American Ballad Research. Seattle: Univ. of Washington, 1977
- Harrowven, Jean. The Origins of Rhymes, Songs, and Sayings. London: Kay & Ward, 1977.
- Hunt, Roderick. Myths and Legends. Oxford Junior Readers Ser. 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981.
- McDiarmid, M. P. The Scottish Ballads: Appreciation and Exploration. Proc. of Third International Conf. on Scottish Language and Literature (Medieval and Renaissance). 1981, Stirling/Glasgow: Univ. of Sterling, 1981.
- Shuldham-Shaw, Patrick and E.B. Lyle. Grieg-Duncan Folk Song Collection. Aberdeen, Scotland Aberdeen Univ. Press, 1981.
- Darling, Charles W. The New American Songster: Traditional Ballads and Songs of North America 1983
- notes: Text is Child's 39A
- Opie, Iona and Peter, Eds. The Oxford Book of Narrative Verse. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983.
- notes: Anthology, includes text of 39A, no additional commentary.
- Crossley-Holland, Kevin, Ed. Folk-Tales of the British Isles. London: Faber and Faber Ltd., 1986.
- Crossley-Holland, Kevin. British Folk Tales: New Versions. New York and London: Orchard Books, 1987.
- McQueen, John; Scott, Tom. Oxford Book of Scottish Verse Oxford University Press, 1989
- Stewart, R.J. Robert Kirk: Walker Between Worlds. Longmead, UK: Element Books, 1990
- notes: an expansion on: Kirk, Robert. The Secret Commonwealth. 1690. (availability: available online at Sacred Texts.), which contains an exploration of many themes present in Tam Lin, but does not mention the ballad explicitly. availability: full text available at Dreampower.com
- notes: Discusses Tam Lin as examples of interaction with the Faeries through the breaking of taboos, and the non-Christian nature of the ballad
- notes: Mentions connections between Tam Lin and Thomas the Rhymer
- notes: mentioned in passing as a contrast to the Lothian Farmer's Wife, a tale where a man fails to save his wife from the Faeries.
- notes: entry on page 90 giving short description and list of motifs
- notes: article is on pg. 155-179
- excerpt: "The object of the woman's quest is not the exposure of silence per se, but it is only as a consequence of breaking the silence that the ultimately successful end of the story is achieved"
- notes: brief mention on pages 176-178.
- excerpt: "Divestiture and reinvestment merge here with the symbolim of the magic flight, the crossroads, and the well, which suggest the alchemical mysteries of the smith at the forge"
- notes: page 103 notes the story of Tam Lin in contrast to Irish tales of faerie abduction, citing the ballad form of the former, versus prose used in the latter.
- notes:: Provides motifs, history, and overview of critical review of Tam Lin and Thomas the Rhymer.availability: Some content available on google books
- notes: discussion of symbolism and themes in Tam Lin, such as boundaries, clothing, (not seen).
- notes: Short entry on Tam Lin on page 244, summarizing the ballad
- excerpt: "Not only are the fairies shown as magical beings with shape-shifting abilities and the power to cross between the worlds ... but are also depicted as amoral beings against whom one must be protected"
- notes: makes references to Tam Lin in a section on reclaiming, no verses cited
- notes: Overview of interactions with fairies. Contains brief description of Tam Lin on pg. 55, no ballad version
-
notes: Anthology. Contains a version of Tam Lin, brief biographies on some of the historians who collected version (Burns, Scott)
-
notes: Anthology. Tamlane chapter is pg. 10-18. Version of the ballad present is from Scott, with Batten's illustration. Footnotes give definitions for terms in the ballad. Brief text introduction identifies Tamlane as 'a cursed fairy prince'.
- notes: Version 39A is presented pages 125-131 . Notes on page 275 regarding origin of the version and folk belief regarding abduction by and recovery from fairies. Cites the ballad in introduction (pg 10) on how much chance plays into the preservation of the ballads.
- notes: 160 pages. Historical setting, 1327. In the borderlands of Scotland, Janet Douglas was a child with as much fighting spirit as her famous uncle, The Black Douglas. She meets young Thomas Gray when the families gather to celebrate, and she is heartbroken when he never returns from the hunting trip the men go on. She grows up hearing tales from Millicent Learmont, daughter of Thomas the Rhymer, about the Faerie lands, and seven years later, when Thomas returns as Tam Lin, guardian of the woods Janet has been given by her father, she seeks advice on how to return him to the realm of mortals. The Faerie Queen will test her devotion, and Janet will have to face trials at Halloween to win her true love back.
The book includes an extensive section after the main tale, detailing the author's research into the ballad, including maps, photographs of places of interest, history of families and characters, and exploration of history of the ballad and folklore associated with it.
- notes: Discusses several of the retellings of the ballad, particularly Joan D. Vinge's Fire and Hemlock, and Moray from A Fair Stream of Silver, and Sussex's Deersnake, andhow these related to agency, sexuality, and social norms. Covers pages 221-227
- excerpt: " Tam Lin may be a compendium of faerie lore, but it is first of all a story about the boundaries of sexual desire. Most commonly, the consequence of breaking an interdiction is an immenant disaster which the transgressor must recuperate"
Journal Articles
- Hart W.M. Professor Child and the Ballad. PMLA. 1906;21(4):755-807
- excerpt: "Other debased or counterfeit or spurious ballads are present for the same reason, or because, like Tam Lin, they contain some purely popular or traditional feature."
- Lang, A. Breaking the Bough in the Grove of Diana. Folklore. 1907 Mar;18(1):89-91
- excerpt: "In the ballad of Tam Lin, communicated by Robert Burns to Johnson's Museum, Carterhaugh Wood is haunted by an enigmatic being named Tam Lin. Janet, being warned of this, and forbidden to go to Carterhaugh, naturally hurries thither "as fast as she can hie." Her motive being to challenge Tam Lin, she plucks two roses."
- Rawn, I.N.; Peabody, C. More Songs and Ballads from the Southern Appalachians The Journal of American Folklore. 1916 Apr-Jun;29(112):198-20
- notes: In a discussion of the ballad "Oh! Madam I will give to you", cites Tam Lin as another ballad with warnings of the type "Come all you fair and tender ladies", etc.
- excerpt: "We find the trespass, encounter, forfeit theme at the beginning of all eight versions of "Tam Lin."e "
- excerpt: "In a number of the longer variants of the ballad "Tam Lin" (Child 39), there is what could be called a double opening, with some narrative repetition in the two parts."
- excerpt: "The narrative of Tam Lin appears to unite two separate traditional beliefs at this point. Firstly, there is the belief that a mortal taken by the faeries can be recovered when they ride out on Halloween, and secondly, there is a belief discussed here that the fairies pay mortals as tributes to the devil."
- excerpt: "Is Tam, the fairie, trespassing on human property, or has Janet, the human, entered fairyland without permission? They are both there in their own rights, and Carterhaugh is the place where therefore two worlds meet;"
- excerpt: "Once we recognize that not all rescues from fairyland need be by King Orfeo the gates of narrative swing open, and we begin to recognize the much wider field of medieval romance-and Child ballad-which the Return Song complex opens up to our analysis:"
- notes: discusses a musical adaptation of Thomas the Rhymer, where Thomas is called Tam, but does not appear to discuss Tam Lin directly.
- excerpt: "The meaning of traditional song can be elusive, especially when one considers only a bare plot summary. Let us then review the events of Tam Lin looking now at particular versions, always with an eye towards the song's play of images and its patterns of internal symmetry. "
- excerpt: "The mortal as captive in fairyland is, however, a principal theme in the ballad "Tam Lin" (Child 39), but here a sexual complication appears, that can be found in no English tale."
- excerpt: ". The lords and ladies of Tam Lin or The Gypsy Laddie walk in an aristocratic world that has nothing to do with the urban masses, and that at first sight might seem to have even less relation to the Travellers."
- excerpt: "Frankie Armstrong has been singing "Tam Lin" (Child 39) for many years now; full of arcane fairy lore that seems largely alien to England, the ballad has nonetheless been recorded quite frequently by English revival singers;"
- excerpt: "This study looks at the sociocultural function of "Tam Lin," first in its traditional balladric format and then as it became modified and reconstructed in the twentieth century by authors and editors working in the field of children's literature"
- availability Catherine College Library
- excerpt: "This article examines three novels which use stories of elves—especially the ballad "Tam Lin" —as pre-texts, and contemplates how they explore the issue of Otherness."
- Excerpt: "However, some women in ballads, such as the heroine of the Scottish ballad “Tam Lin,” known in most variants of the tale as Janet, are far from subtle in their defiance of her society’s rules regarding the behavior of unmarried women: specifically, the rules governing their sexual conduct. "
Dissertations and Other Material
- Odell, George C. D. Simile and Metaphor in the English and Scottish Ballads. Dissertation, New York, 1892
- availability: online at archive.org
- Stainton, Annetta Barr Proteus and Tam Lin Masters essay. Columbia University 1926
- Gower, Herschel. Traditional Scottish Ballads in the United States. Dissertation Vanderbilt University, 1957.
- Conroy P. (ed) A Traditional Ballad and Its Mask: Tam Lin. Ballads and Ballad Research ed. Patricia Conroy (Seattle, 1978), pp. 147-158.
- notes: Conference proceeding?
- Bratman, David. Tam Lin in Literature. Khazad-dûm Discussion Group Report, Mythopoetic Society. Oct. 1986. 7
- availability: online at mythopoetic society
- Guy, Sandra Marie. 'With Fairy Forth Y-Nome': A Study of the Fairy Abductions and Rescues in 'Thomas Rymer,' 'Tam Lin,' 'Sir Orfeo,' and 'Sir Launfal. MA Thesis Lehigh University, 1997.
- Hixon, Martha Pittman. "Awakenings and transformations: Re-visioning the tales of 'Sleeping Beauty,' 'Snow White,' 'The Frog Prince,' and 'Tam Lin'." Diss. U of Southwestern Louisiana, 1997.
- White, Kimberly Ann Kennedy. 'And he never once asked her leave': A Reinterpretation of the Scottish Ballad 'Tam Lin. Master's Thesis. U of Oregon, 1997.
- Mullen, Ginger. The transformation of "Tam Lin" : an analysis of folktale picture books Master's Dissertation, University of British Columbia, 2003
- availability: online at university
- Gilbert, S. Elfland Revisited: A Comparative Study of Late Twentieth Century Adaptations of Two Traditional Ballads. Dissertation, Universität Trier November 2007.
- availability: online at university
- Hight, Alison Marie "What are ye, little mannie?": The Persistence of Fairy Culture in Scotland, 1572 -1703 and 1811- 1927 Master's Dissertation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, May 2014
- availability: available online
Audio
- Tam Lin Adventures in Poetry. Series 5, episode 4. BBC 01 August 2004
- notes: 27:40 minutes. Hosted by Peggy Reynolds. Interviews Robin Lang, Frankie Armstrong, Ian MCShane, Abigail Acland. Contains clips from multiple versions of Tam Lin, interviews with artists and folklore experts.
- On Fairies and The Ballad of Tam Lin. The Spirit Revolution. Podcast. 12 August 2012
- notes: 59:40 minutes. Hosted by Kathleen McGowan and Philip Coppens. Discussion of McGowan's experiences and research into the ballad as part of the process of writing her novel, The Ballad of Tam Lin, as well as the history of fairy lore in lowland Scotland and ties to modern spiritual practices.
- Availability: Episode on The Spirit Revolution Site
- Episode 24: Tonight It Is Good Halloween . Folk Buddies. Podcast. 31 October 2014
- notes: 59 Minutes. Hosted by Clarrie Maguire, Andrew Rilstone. Informal but informed discussion of faerie tales in culture, with specific focus on Tam Lin and its variants. Discussion of a number of recordings, including how various recordings reflect on the time period in which they were recorded.
- related resources: Episode on Folk Buddies site
Comments
Notes
Added to site September 1997. Substantially re-written and made into separate pages October 2014.