Re: Period Sea Chanties

[Brent David Kellmer <bdk8s@faraday.clas.virginia.edu>]

Poster: Brent David Kellmer <bdk8s@faraday.clas.virginia.edu>

On Sat, 28 Feb 1998, Gregory Blount wrote:
> 
> As surprising as this may sound, I don't think there are any known.
> There are some late-period Elizabethan folk songs, but none that
> I'd call a chanty...
> 

Actually, the problem here is not with a lack of sea-chanties -- there are
in fact plenty extant chanties.  It's just that few or none of them are in
English.  Think of who held the primary merchant fleets (and England isn't
really one of them until out of period).  Peter Burke, in his book Popular
Culture in Early Modern Europe quotes quite a number of Portugeuse and
Spanish sea-chanties, possibly some other languages as well.  Not
necessarily the complete songs, however, but he does cite everything.  I
could look up the cites if anyone's interested.

Rodrigo da Canossa

given by my hand at Isenfir at the hour of Terce, the fourth day before
the Nones of March, Indiction year VI. 

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