Many of these ballads appeared in the Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, under the heading of “Romantic Ballads”.  In the 1802 edition, these ballads all contain some kind of relationship at the heart of their narrative. This may be between a parent and a child or between lovers. However, by the 1803 edition, there are some ballads which Scott listed under the heading “Historical”, but which may better be considered “Romantic”. These include, among others, “Sir Hugh the Blond”, “The Lament of the Border Widow” and “The Dowie Dens of Yarrow”. Scott assigned historical connections to these ballads, but these, along with others, often only have a tenuous direct connection with historic events. Instead, then, we have decided to define them as ballads of love and loss.

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