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Primary sourceBook

The Sweet Trinity

An anonymous ballad that tells how Sir Walter Raleigh had a ship built and how a ship's boy offered to win back the captured Sweet Trinity. It shows how Raleigh was remembered in popular song.

Shows how Raleigh was remembered in popular song, with his name attached to a dramatic sea tale about recovering a captured ship.

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Source: Wikisource

About this source

What it is

The Sweet Trinity is an anonymous ballad about Sir Walter Raleigh. In the verses, Raleigh has built a ship called The Sweet Trinity, which is taken by a false galley. A little ship-boy offers to swim out, take the galley, and free the Sweet Trinity in return for gold, a fee, and the hand of Raleigh's eldest daughter. The ballad uses a refrain about sailing in the Low-lands. The text on this archive comes from a Wikisource transcription, so its spelling may differ from the original printed copy.

Why it matters

Ballads like this one were passed around by ordinary people and show how a famous man could become a subject of popular stories. The ballad does not record real events in a precise way. Instead, it shows how Raleigh's name was used to create an adventure tale about the sea, the Low Countries and daring young men.

Look closer

  • Who does the ballad present as the hero, and why might the writer have chosen that person?
  • What does the ballad show about how ordinary people saw Raleigh and sea adventure?
  • What details in the ballad might not be true, and how could you check them?

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