{{short description|Single sheet of paper printed on one side}} {{for|the 2011 The Baseball Project album|The Broadside Ballads}} [[File:Skillingtryck 1583 KB 1995 a.tif|thumb|The oldest preserved Swedish broadside ballad, printed in 1583.]] A '''broadside''' (also known as a '''broadsheet''') is a single sheet of inexpensive paper printed on one side, often with a [[ballad]], [[rhyme]], [[news]] and sometimes with [[woodcut]] illustrations. They were one of the most common forms of printed material between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, particularly in Britain, Ireland and North America because they are easy to produce and are often associated with one of the most important forms of traditional music from these countries, the ballad. They were also common across Scandinavia and the rest of Europe.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Skouvig |first=Laura |date=2022-09-12 |title=Siv Gøril Brandtzæg og Karin Strand (red.): Skillingsvisene i Norge 1500-1950. Studier i en forsømt kulturarv |url=https://www.scup.com/doi/10.18261/edda.109.3.6 |journal=Edda |volume=109 |issue=3 |pages=211–215 |doi=10.18261/edda.109.3.6 |issn=0013-0818|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Refsum |first=Anne Sigrid |date=2024-12-09 |title=Skillingsvisene i Norge ca. 1780–1860: Mellom muntlighet og massemedium |url=https://www.scup.com/doi/10.18261/nlvt.27.2.7 |journal=Norsk litteraturvitenskapelig tidsskrift |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=133–135 |doi=10.18261/nlvt.27.2.7 |issn=0809-2044|doi-access=free }}</ref>
==Development of broadsides== Ballads developed out of [[minstrel]]sy from the fourteenth and fifteenth century.<ref name=Fowler-1986>{{cite book|title=A Literary History of the Popular Ballad|date=1986|publisher=Duke University Press|location=Durham, NC|last1=Fowler|first1=David}}</ref>{{rp|p=7}} These were narrative poems that had combined with French courtly romances and Germanic legends that were popular at the King's court, as well as in the halls of lords of the realm.{{r|Fowler-1986|pp=7–8}} By the seventeenth century, minstrelsy had evolved into ballads whose authors wrote on a variety of topics. The authors could then have their ballads printed and distributed. Printers used a single piece of paper known as a broadside, hence the name broadside ballads.<ref name=Fumerton-2010>{{cite book|last1=Fumerton|first1=Patricia|last2=Guerrini|first2=Anita|title=Ballads and Broadsides in Britain, 1500 - 1800|date=2010|publisher=Ashgate|location=Surrey}}</ref>{{rp|p=253}} It was common for ballads to have crude [[woodcut]]s at the top of a broadside.{{r|Fumerton-2010|p=253}} Historians Fumerton and Gerrini show just how popular broadsides had been in early modern England: the ballads printed numbered in the millions.{{r|Fumerton-2010|p=1}} The ballads did not stay just in London but spread to the English countryside.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Kendrick Wells|first1=Evelyn|title=The Ballad Tree: A Study of British and American Ballads, their Folklore, Verse, and Music|date=1950|publisher=The Ronald Press Company|location=New York|pages=213}}</ref> Owing to the printing press, publishing large amounts of broadsides became easier. Commoners were frequently exposed to ballads, in either song or print, as they were ubiquitous in London.{{r|Fumerton-2010|p=2}}
The invention of the [[printing press]] helped the broadsides to become so popular. This new technology helped printers to produce these ballads cheaply and in mass quantities. Historian Adrian Johns explains the printing process as well as how and where people of this time bought ballads. The ballads retailed on the streets of London or in village squares for up to a penny, meaning almost everyone could afford this cheap form of entertainment. In the seventeenth century, people called "Stationers" printed and published in the same place.{{r|n=Johns-1998|r={{cite book|last1=Johns|first1=Adrian|title=The Nature of the Book|url=https://archive.org/details/naturebookprintk00john|url-access=limited|date=1998|publisher=The University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago}} [https://archive.org/details/naturebookprintk00john/page/n79 p. 59]|p=59}} Stationers had great control over what was printed.{{r|n=Johns-1998|p=60|a=[https://archive.org/details/naturebookprintk00john/page/n80 p. 60]}} Protestant or Catholic printers would publish broadsides in favor of their beliefs. This worked the same for political beliefs.
==The nature of broadsides== With primitive early [[printing press]]es, printing on a single sheet of paper was the easiest and most inexpensive form of printing available and for much of their history could be sold for as little as a penny.<ref>B. Capp, 'Popular literature', in B. Reay, ed., ''Popular Culture in Seventeenth-Century England'' (Routledge, 1985), p. 198.</ref> They could also be cut in half lengthways to make 'broadslips', or folded to make [[chapbooks]] and where these contained several songs such collections were known as 'garlands'.<ref>G. Newman and L. E. Brown, ''Britain in the Hanoverian Age, 1714–1837: An Encyclopedia'' (Taylor & Francis, 1997), pp. 39–40.</ref>
The earliest broadsides that survive date from the early sixteenth century, but relatively few survive from before 1550.<ref>B. R. Smith, The Acoustic World of Early Modern England: Attending to the O-factor (University of Chicago Press, 1999), p. 177.</ref> From 1556 the [[Stationers Company]] in London attempted to force registration of all ballads and some 2,000 were recorded between then and 1600, but, since they were easy to print and distribute, it is likely that far more were printed.<ref>A. W. Kitch, 'Printing Bastards: Monstrous Birth Broadsides in Early Modern England', in D. A. Brooks, ''Printing and Parenting in Early Modern England'' (Ashgate, 2005), p. 227.</ref> Scholars often distinguish between the earlier [[blackletter]] broadsides, using larger heavy 'gothic' print, most common up to the middle of the seventeenth century, and lighter [[History of Western typography#Modern romans|whiteletter]], roman or [[italic type]]faces, that were easier to read and became common thereafter.<ref>G. Taylor, J. Lavagnino and T. Middleton, Thomas Middleton and Early Modern Textual Culture: A Companion to the Collected Works (Oxford University Press, 2007), p. 202.</ref> A centre of broadside production was the [[Seven Dials, London|Seven Dials]] area of London.<ref name="gammond">{{cite book| first1= Peter| last1= Gammond| year= 1991| title= The Oxford Companion to Popular Music| publisher= Oxford University Press| location= Oxford| pages= [https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00gamm/page/82 82-83]| isbn= 0-19-311323-6| url-access= registration| url= https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00gamm/page/82}}</ref>
Broadsides were produced in huge numbers, with over 400,000 being sold in England annually by the 1660s, probably close to their peak of popularity.<ref name="B. Capp 1985 p. 199">B. Capp, 'Popular literature', in B. Reay, ed., ''Popular Culture in Seventeenth-Century England'' (Routledge, 1985), p. 199.</ref> Many were sold by travelling [[chapmen]] in city streets and at fairs or by balladeers, who sang the songs printed on their broadsides in an attempt to attract customers.<ref>M. Spufford, ''Small Books and Pleasant Histories: Popular Fiction and Its Readership in Seventeenth-Century England'' (Cambridge University Press, 1985), pp. 111–28.</ref> In Britain broadsides began to decline in popularity in the seventeenth century as initially chapbooks and later bound books and [[newspapers]], began to replace them, until they appear to have died out in the nineteenth century.<ref name="B. Capp 1985 p. 199" /> They lasted longer in Ireland, and although never produced in such huge numbers in North America, they were significant in the eighteenth century and provided an important medium of propaganda, on both sides, in the [[American War of Independence]].<ref>M. Savelle, Seeds of liberty: The Genesis of the American Mind (Kessinger Publishing, 2005), p. 533.</ref>
Most of the knowledge of broadsides in England comes from the fact that several significant figures chose to collect them, including [[Samuel Pepys]] (1633–1703), [[Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer|Robert Harley]], 1st Earl of Oxford and Mortimer (1661–1724), in what became [[Roxburghe Ballads]].<ref name="B. Sweers, 2005 p. 45">B. Sweers, ''Electric Folk: The Changing Face of English Traditional Music'' (Oxford University Press, 2005), p. 45.</ref> In the eighteenth century there were several printed collections, including [[Thomas D'Urfey]]'s ''Wit and Mirth: or, Pills to Purge Melancholy'' (1719–20), Bishop [[Thomas Percy (Bishop of Dromore)|Thomas Percy]]'s ''Reliques of Ancient English Poetry'' (1765), and [[Joseph Ritson]]'s, ''The Bishopric Garland'' (1784).<ref name="B. Sweers, 2005 p. 45" /> In Scotland similar work was undertaken by figures including [[Robert Burns]] and [[Walter Scott]] in ''[[Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border]]'' (1802–03).<ref name="B. Sweers, 2005 p. 45" /> One of the largest collections was made by Sir Frederick Madden who collected some 30,000 songs now in the 'Madden Collection' in the Cambridge University Library.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200207072443/http://microformguides.gale.com/Data/Introductions/30330FM.htm Publisher’s Introduction: Madden Ballads From Cambridge University Library].</ref> The mid-20th-century American [[singer-songwriter]] [[Phil Ochs]] described his own songs and those of [[Tom Paxton]], [[Pete Seeger]], [[Leonard Cohen]], and [[Graeme Allwright]] as contemporary equivalents of broadside ballads.<ref>Ochs, Phil (August 12, 1967). "It Ain't Me, Babe". The Village Voice.</ref>
==Broadside ballads== {{see also|Ballad}} [[File:Tragical Ballad 18th century.png|right|thumb|An eighteenth-century broadside ballad]]Broadside ballads (also known as 'roadsheet', 'broadsheet', 'stall', 'vulgar' or 'come all ye' ballads) varied from what has been defined as the 'traditional' ballad, which were often tales of some antiquity, which has frequently crossed national and cultural boundaries and developed as part of a process of oral transmission.<ref>A. N. Bold, ''The Ballad'' (Routledge, 1979), p. 5.</ref> In contrast broadside ballads often lacked their epic nature, tended not to possess their artistic qualities and usually dealt with less consequential topics. However, confusingly many 'traditional' ballads, as defined particularly by the leading collectors, [[Svend Grundtvig]] for Denmark and [[Francis James Child|Francis Child]] for England and Scotland, only survive as broadsides.<ref>T. A. Green, ''Folklore: An Encyclopedia of Beliefs, Customs, Tales, Music, and Art'' (ABC-CLIO, 1997), p. 352.</ref> Among the topics of broadside ballads were love, religion, drinking-songs, legends, and early journalism, which included disasters, political events and signs, wonders and prodigies.<ref>B. Capp, 'Popular literature', in B. Reay, ed., ''Popular Culture in Seventeenth-Century England'' (Routledge, 1985), p. 204.</ref> For example, news ballads about [[Great Train Wreck of 1856]] were published both in the USA<ref>{{Cite book |last=McDevitt |first=John |url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/rbpe.15602600/ |title=Disastrous calamity on the North Pennsylvania rail road |date=1856 |others=Printed Ephemera Collection (Library of Congress) |location=Philadelphia |language=english}}</ref> and in Norway.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://skillingsvisene.hf.ntnu.no/omeka/items/show/47012#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-816%2C-258%2C4750%2C5143 |title=En bedrøvelig Vise om den skrækkelige Ulykke paa Jernbanen i Nordamerika den 17de Juli 1856, hvorved 200 Børn ynkelig omkom |publisher=J.P. Lorentzens Forlag |year=1856 |location=Christiania (now [[Oslo]]) |trans-title=The sad song of the terrible accident on the railway in North America on the 17th of July 1856, where 200 children tragically died}}</ref> Generally broadside ballads included only the lyrics, often with the name of a known tune that would fit suggested below the title.
Music critic [[Peter Gammond]] has written:<blockquote>Although the broadsides occasionally printed traditional 'rural' ballads, the bulk of them were of urban origin, written by the journalistic hacks of the day to cover such news as a robbery or a hanging, to moralize, or simply to offer entertainment. In their diversity they covered all the duties of the modern newspaper. The use of crude verse or [[doggerel]] was common, as this was thought to heighten the dramatic impact. The verses themselves would be based on the rhythms of various traditional airs that were in common circulation, sometimes credited, occasionally with the melody line printed. This gave the verses shape and substance and helped to make them memorable. A widely known tune like '[[Greensleeves]]' was frequently used in this way; and the more popular items were employed ''ad nauseam''.<ref name="gammond"/></blockquote>
== Notable broadside ballads ==
=== 16th century ===
* [[A free admonition without any fees / To warne the Papistes to beware of three trees]]
=== 17th century === * [[Coridon and Parthenia]] * [[Cromwell's Panegyrick]] * [[The Last News From France|The Last News from France]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=EBBA 31936 - UCSB English Broadside Ballad Archive |url=https://ebba.english.ucsb.edu/ballad/31936/image |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220527130931/https://ebba.english.ucsb.edu/ballad/31936/image |archive-date=2022-05-27 |access-date=2025-03-29 |website=English Broadside Ballad Archive}}</ref> * [[Tis A Plaine Case Gentlemen]] * [['Tis Money makes a Man: Or, The Good-Fellows Folly]] * [[On the Death of His Grace, the Duke of Albemarle]] * [[The Old Man's Complaint Against His Wretched Son, Who to Advance His Marriage Did Undo Himself]] * [[News From Hide-Park]] * [[Neptune's Raging Fury]] * [[The Clarret Drinkers Song: Or, The Good Fellows Design]] * [[The Wandering Virgin]]
=== 18th century === * [[Ralph and Nell's Ramble to Oxford]]
==See also== * [[Koa-á books]] *[[Street literature]] *[[Shirburn Ballads]] *[[Popular prints]] *[[List of Irish ballads]]
==Notes== {{reflist|2}}
==Further reading== *''Broadside Ballads:Songs from the Streets, Taverns, Theatres and Countryside of 17th Century England (incl songs, orig melodies, and chord suggestions)'' by Lucie Skeaping (2005), Faber Music Ltd. {{ISBN|0-571-52223-8}} (Information and samples of more than 80 broadside ballads and their music) *''The British Broadside Ballad and Its Music'' by Claude M. Simpson (1966), Rutgers University Press. Out of Print. No ISBN.<nowiki/> (540 broadside ballad melodies from all periods) * Patricia Fumerton: ''The broadside ballad in early modern England : moving media, tactical publics'', Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, [2020], {{ISBN | 978-0-8122-5231-6}}
==External links== *[http://ballads.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/ Bodleian Library of Broadside Ballads] *[http://ebba.english.ucsb.edu/ English Broadside Ballad Archive, University of California-Santa Barbara] *[http://digital.nls.uk/english-ballads/ Collection of 2,300 broadside ballads, mostly printed in England in the 19th century] at [[National Library of Scotland]] *[http://speccoll.library.kent.edu/music/ballads/streetballads.html Street Ballads of Victorian England] *[http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/songsheets/ American Song Sheets, Duke University Libraries Digital Collections] *[http://wakespace.lib.wfu.edu/jspui/handle/10339/44 Wake Forest University - Confederate Broadside Poetry Collection]
[[Category:16th century in music]] [[Category:17th century in music]] [[Category:18th century in music]] [[Category:19th century in music]] [[Category:Song forms]] [[Category:Chapbooks]] [[Category:English broadside ballads| ]]