Emblems Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green The area was once best known for the popular early modern ballad, The Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green, which tells the story of a beautiful young woman named Bess, the daughter of a blind beggar. The earliest known explicit mention of the ballad is from 1624, but it was clearly well established by that date, as two other ballads of similar date were said to have been sung to the tune of the Blind Beggar. A play on the same theme, almost certainly based on an existing ballad, is known to have been performed in 1600.Robinson and Chesshyre 1986, p. 31.
Emblems Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green The area was once best known for the popular early modern ballad, The Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green, which tells the story of a beautiful young woman named Bess, the daughter of a blind beggar. The earliest known explicit mention of the ballad is from 1624 but it was clearly well established by that date as two other ballads of similar date were said to have been sung to the tune of the Blind Beggar. A play on the same theme, almost certainly based on an existing ballad, is known to have been performed in 1600.Robinson and Chesshyre 1986, p. 31.