‘Round-head knaves’: The Ballad of Wrexham and the subversive political culture of Interregnum north-east Wales

Ward Clavier, Sarah

Abstract

© 2017 Institute of Historical Research. This article broadens ballad studies to encompass a regional perspective and significantly adds to the literature on Welsh royalism. It argues that the ballad author sought to destabilize the newly established parliamentarian government by attacking its members’ honour, religion and personal morality. The article provides a contextualized and detailed textual analysis of a versified manuscript libel, a vitriolic and specific attack on the Wrexham committee of 1647. It considers it in the context of ballad and libel scholarship, Welsh political culture, and contemporary events, using a range of manuscript and printed sources to explain and analyse the ballad in depth.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 2, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Jan 11, 2018
• Publication Date: Feb 1, 2018
• Deposit Date: Jul 3, 2019
• Journal: Historical Research
• Print ISSN: 0950-3471
• Electronic ISSN: 1468-2281
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 91
• Issue: 251
• Pages: 39-60
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2281.12195
• Keywords: ballad studies, Welsh royalism, textual analysis, versified manuscript libel, Wrexham committee of 1647
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/1474284
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2281.12195