With its haunting melody, and the romantic myth that it was written by #HenryVIII as a love song for #AnneBoleyn, Greensleeves has remained popular over the centuries and today, is probably the best known of all #Tudor#songs.
However there is no proven connection to Henry VIII, and the earliest mention of the broadside ballad called #Greensleeves was not until September 1580, (some 33 years after his death). It was an immediate hit, and a number of imitations and parodies were produced in the following months and years.
Our recording uses the text from 'A Handful of Pleasant Delights', 1584 - the earliest surviving source. There are many verses, some of which contain lovely descriptions of #Elizabethan clothing and other aspects of #MaterialCulture