Scott's conclusions cannot now be accepted without question, but the illustrations with which he sets them forth and the wide reading and sincere love of folk-poetry which evidently lie behind them produce a pleasant effect of ripe and reasonable judgment.

The admirable qualities of the book were at once recognized by competent critics, and it will always be studied with enthusiasm by scholars as well as by the uncritical lover of ballads.
_Studies in the Romances_ Scott's theory as to the connection between ballads and romances--His early fondness for romances--His acquaintance with Romance languages--His work on the _Sir Tristrem_--Value of his edition--Special quality of Scott's interest in the Middle Ages--General theories expressed in the body of his work on romances--His type of scholarship.
Ballads and romances are so closely related that Scott's early and lasting interest in the one form naturally grew out of his interest in the other.

He held the theory that "the romantic ballads of later times are for the most part abridgments of the ancient metrical romances, narrated in a smoother stanza and more modern language."[72] It is not surprising, then, that a considerable body of his critical work has to do with the subject of mediaeval romance.
Throughout his boyhood Scott read all the fairy tales, eastern stories, and romances of knight-errantry that fell in his way.

When he was about thirteen, he and a young friend used to spend hours reading together such authors as Spenser, Ariosto, and Boiardo.[73] He remembered the poems so well that weeks or months afterwards he could repeat whole pages that had particularly impressed him.

Somewhat later the two boys improvised similar stories to recite to each other, Scott being the one who proposed the plan and the more successful in carrying it out.