Abstract
Joseph Ritson's antiquarian interest was of early inception. From his school days in Stockton, he had been interested in history, old songs, and ballads. This interest continued throughout his life. It resulted in a series of publications ranging from the history of certain legal offices, through British topography and royal geneology, to old English and Scottish songs and ballads. In all this work he was careful to use the oldest manuscripts and sources he could find: he showed amazing diligence in searching out original documents. His editing was in accord with modern practice: it did not suffer from the misleading procedure of such editors as Percy. He was extremely critical of the treatment of texts by his contemporaries, and justly deserves to be called the watchdog of English scholarship.
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