[7]
[Illustration (Signature Facsimile): Rene Basset]
[7] M. Basset's "Special Introduction" was written in French; the English
translation was made by Robert Arnot.
PREFACE
The Moorish ballads which appear in this volume are selected from a unique
department of European literature. They are found in the Spanish language,
but their character is oriental; their inspiration comes from the Mahometan
conquerors of northern Africa, and while they exhibit a blending of Spanish
earnestness and chivalry with the wild and dashing spirit of the Arab, they
present a type of literature which is quite unparalleled in the Latin and
Teutonic countries of the Mediterranean basin.
Spain is especially rich in ballad literature, infinitely richer than any
other civilized nation. These ballads take various forms. By Cervantes and
his countrymen they are styled romances, and the romance generally consists
in a poem which describes the character, sufferings, or exploits of a
single individual. The language is simple; the versification, often artless
though melodious, is seldom elaborated into complexity of rhyme.
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