The Three Ravens
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"The Three Ravens" (Child 26, Roud) is an English folk ballad, printed in the song book Melismata compiled by Thomas Ravenscroft and published in 1611, but it is perhaps older than that. More recent versions (with different music) were recorded right up through the 19th century. Francis James Child recorded several versions in his Child Ballads (catalogued as number 26). A common derivative is called "Twa Corbies" ("Two Ravens" or "Two Crows"), and it follows a similar general story, but with a cynical twist.
The ballad extolls the loyal mistress of a slain knight, who buries her dead lover and then dies of the exertion, as she was in an advanced stage of pregnancy. It is noteworthy that the ballad-maker assigned this role to the knight's mistress ("leman" was the term common at the time) rather than to his wife.