The old story-book of Valentine and Orson (which suggested the plan of this tale, but it is not strictly followed in it) was originally a translation from the French, being one of their earliest attempts at romance. See Le Bibliothèque de Romans, &c.
The circumstance of the bridge of bells is taken from the old metrical legend of Sir Bevis, and has also been copied in the Seven Champions. The original lines are,
"Over the dyke a bridge there lay,
That man and beest might passe away:
Under the brydge were sixty belles;
Right as the Romans telles;
That there might no man passe in,
But all they rang with a gyn."
Sign. E. iv.
In the Editor's folio MS. was an old poem on this subject, in a wretched corrupt state, unworthy the press: from which were taken such particulars as could be adopted.
[The poem entitled The Emperour and the Childe in the Folio MS. (ed. Hales and Furnivall, vol. ii. p. 390) only suggested the subject of the present ballad. It commences—
Within the Grecyan land some time did dwell
an Emperour, whose name did ffar excell;
he tooke to wiffe the lady B[e]llefaunt,
the only sister to the kinge of ffrance,
with whome he liued in pleasure and delight
vntill that ffortune came to worke them spighte.