This list of the Child Ballads contains all the 305 ballad types in Francis James Child's collection Popular English and Scottish Ballads, collected in the 19th century, colloquially known as the Child Ballads; see this for further general information. In order to get more information on a certain ballad type, follow the corresponding link below.
Child grouped the ballads into rough categories, as follows, and attempted to sort the ballads within each category "according to the probable antiquity of the story". [1]
BOOK I. contains Ballads involving Superstitions of various kinds, — as of Fairies, Elves, Water-spirits, Enchantment, and Ghostly Apparitions; and also some Legends of Popular Heroes.
BOOK II. Tragic Love-ballads.
BOOK III. other Tragic Ballads.
BOOK IV. Love-ballads not Tragic.
BOOK V. Ballads of Robin Hood, his followers, and compeers.
BOOK VI. Ballads of other Outlaws, especially Border Outlaws, of Border Forays, Feuds, &c.
BOOK VII. Historical Ballads, or those relating to public characters or events.
BOOK VIII. Miscellaneous Ballads, especially Humorous, Satirical, Burlesque; also some specimens of the Moral and Scriptural, and all such pieces as had been overlooked in arranging the earlier volumes.[1]