Percy folio

The Percy Folio is a manuscript from the 17th century, not the 15th century as sometimes stated, that contains a collection of popular and secular verse from the late medieval period. It was discovered in the house of a friend of Thomas Percy, an English antiquarian and bishop, who later used it as the basis for his influential collection, Reliques of Ancient English Poetry (1765).12

The manuscript includes various forms of poetry such as romances, humorous songs, and ballads, some of which are similar to those collected from oral sources in later centuries. The Percy Folio is considered a valuable sampling of the repertoire of late medieval itinerant entertainers and played a significant role in sparking the "ballad revival," inspiring Romantic poets.21