Child, Francis James

Child, Francis James, 1825–96, American scholar, b. Boston, grad. Harvard, 1846. At Harvard he was professor of rhetoric (1851–76) and English literature (1876–96). He greatly influenced modern methods of Chaucer study. He is best known, however, for his English and Scottish Popular Ballads (5 vol., 1883–98). This is a major source on folklore in which Child defined, with examples, some 305 types of ballads, including complete textual variations.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

• • Cite
  • Print
  • Email
  • Bookmark
    • Add bookmark
    • Add to del.icio.us
    • Digg It!
    • Add to Reddit