The importance of the ballad or romance in Spanish literature has long been recognized by serious students of Spanish culture. Not so well known, perhaps, is the extent to which the romance has been translated into English. As far as can be determined, Bishop Thomas Percy, of English ballad fame, published the first Spanish ballads in English, and since the initial appearance of his renditions in 1765, this field has attracted the attention of a good many writers on both sides of the Atlantic.