With sudden wrath she turned away.
In seven days the knight was dead.
Was it her deed? No one can say.
The epoch of the Crusades is beyond the limit of the popular ballads which have been preserved, although it is probable that they may have had their foundation in originals of that date. The story of the return of the spouse from the Holy Land, and his making himself known after various trials of his wife's fidelity, is a common one in the ballads of all European nations, and is of a character to appeal to the dramatic instincts of the popular poets. Close resemblances to the ballad of The Fair Princess can be found in German, French, and Spanish popular poetry, and the theme itself of course dates back to the return of Ulysses, and to the ballads which were the origin of the Odyssey.
THE FAIR PRINCESS.
The princess sat in her garden fair;
With a golden comb she combed her hair.
She raised her eyes to the azure bay.