Reliques of Ancient English Poetry - Volume 3 : Consisting of Old Heroic Ballads, Songs, and Other Pieces of our Earlier Poets

This three-volume collection of historical ballads, compiled by Thomas Percy (1729–1811), achieved great popularity upon its publication in 1765. It generated much interest in the genre, undented by Percy's oft-criticised editorial practices. Volume 3 includes ballads of Sir Gawain and King Arthur, and corrections for all three volumes.

While visiting a friend, the writer and cleric Thomas Percy (1729–1811) noticed a neglected folio whose pages were being used by the maids to light the fire. Upon inspection, this manuscript was found to be a seventeenth-century collection of historical ballads. Following this discovery, Percy collected further ballads and songs from a number of sources, which he published in this three-volume work in 1765, although ultimately only a quarter of the texts he presented came from that original manuscript. Although this work proved to be incredibly popular, Percy's idiosyncratic editorial practices also received much criticism. The collection centres on historical ballads and romances, demonstrating the development of language, customs and traditions, to which Percy added contemporary ballads for his readers' enjoyment. Volume 3 includes ballads of Sir Gawain, King Arthur and St George and the Dragon, and contains the additions and corrections to all three volumes.