Thomas Percy (bishop of Dromore)
Thomas Percy was Bishop of Dromore, County Down, Ireland. Before being made bishop, he was chaplain to George III of the United Kingdom. Percy's greatest contribution is considered to be his Reliques of Ancient English Poetry (1765), the first of the great ballad collections, which was the one work most responsible for the ballad revival in English poetry that was a significant part of the Romantic movement.
Thomas Percy
Thomas Percy, 1775
Reliques of Ancient English Poetry
The Reliques of Ancient English Poetry is a collection of ballads and popular songs collected by Bishop Thomas Percy and published in 1765.
Title page of the third edition of Reliques of Ancient English Poetry (1775).
Joseph Wright of Derby - William and Margaret from Percy's 'Reliques of Ancient English Poetry', c. 1785