Introduction: The Flowering Thorn, International Ballad Studies

The flowering thorn expresses the dual nature of the ballad: at once a distinctive
expression of European tradition,² but also somewhat tricky to approach from a
scholarly perspective, requiring a range of disciplines to illuminate its rich composition. Much of this latter quality has to do with the very features that characterize ballads, erzählenden Lieder, or narrative songs.³ These include an
appearance of fragmentation, a wide range of cultural and social referents, complex, evocative symbolic language, and variation.