Folk Literature of the Sephardic Jews: Judeo-Spanish Ballads from Oral Tradition offers a comprehensive exploration of the rich oral traditions within the Sephardic Jewish community, focusing on ballads that trace their roots to medieval epic narratives. Drawing from a collection of ballads recorded between 1957 and 1980 across Eastern and North African Sephardic communities, the book examines five key narrative types, particularly those connected to the French medieval epic Chanson de Roland and the historical event of Roncesvalles. The volume provides a deep dive into the relationship between these modern Sephardic ballads and their epic antecedents, comparing them with sixteenth-century romancero versions, and placing them within the wider context of Pan-European balladry. Through synthetic texts and an analysis of variants, it uncovers the creative evolution of these ballads within the oral tradition, offering a fresh perspective on their narrative structures and thematic elements.

The book addresses ongoing debates in scholarship, particularly the contested connection between epic poetry and ballads. While some critics have downplayed or denied this link, the study presents ample evidence to confirm the genetic and oral-traditional relationship between the romancero and its epic origins. It highlights the preservation of medieval poetic forms and narrative motifs across centuries, particularly the survival of specific poetic features in the Sephardic ballads. The volume also emphasizes the importance of these ballads in understanding the continuity of Hispanic epic poetry within the Sephardic diaspora. Through detailed analysis and scholarly commentary, the book sheds light on the dynamic, living tradition of balladry, demonstrating the creative and evolving nature of these oral narratives across generations.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1994.

Translated by: Israel J. Katz