The Ballad of Reading Gaol The Ballad of Reading Gaol The Ballad of Reading Gaol is a poem by Oscar Wilde, written in exile in Berneval-le-Grand, after his release from Reading Gaol () on 19 May 1897. Wilde had been incarcerated in Reading after being convicted of homosexual offences in 1895 and sentenced to two years' hard labour in prison. During his imprisonment, on Tuesday, 7 July 1896, a hanging took place. Charles Thomas Wooldridge had been a trooper in the Royal Horse Guards. He was convicted of cutting the throat of his wife, Laura Ellen, earlier that year at Clewer, near Windsor. He was
The Battle of Otterburn (ballad) The Battle of Otterburn (ballad) "The Battle of Otterburn" (or "Otterbourne") is a Scottish ballad, catalogued as Child Ballad 161, Roud 3293. It is an account of the Scottish victory at the Battle of Otterburn in 1388. This battle also inspired "The Ballad of Chevy Chase", an English version, but the Scottish version is more historically accurate. The lead verse of the ballad is: "It fell about the Lammas tide, <br>"When the muir-men win their hay, <br>"The doughty Earl of Douglas rode <br>"Into England, to catch a prey." James, 2nd Earl of Douglas who led the raid was mortally wounded