Thomas the Rhymer was a nickname of Sir Thomas of Ercildoun ('Earlston'), also known as True Thomas, a 13th Scottish laird (landowner) known as a poet and also reputed to have the gift of prophecy. The ballad "Thomas the Rhymer" condenses into ballad form a written romance which was a kind of 'origin story' for Thomas's supposed prophetic gifts.
Stories of mortals being abducted by faeries -- often, by the Queen of Elfland, the queen of the faeries, herself -- were fairly widespread, and the story of Thomas the Rhymer follows the standard pattern. Typical elements include the description of the queen appearing as a beautiful woman riding on a horse, who takes the mortal Thomas through a strange and disturbing landscape. In the legends, the mortal is then eventually dumped back in the real world, where they often find that either many years or no time at all has passed. They sometimes have the gift of poetry or prophecy (or both; the two are frequently linked) as a result of their adventure.
The traditional ballad "Tam Lin" is not directly related, but it falls under the same general heading. Like "Thomas the Rhymer", it's about a mortal man who has been taken to Elfland by the Queen of Faerie to be her lover or companion.
Thomas the Rhymer was a nickname of Sir Thomas of Ercildoun ('Earlston'), also known as True Thomas, a 13th Scottish laird (landowner) known as a poet and also reputed to have the gift of prophecy. The ballad "Thomas the Rhymer" condenses into ballad form a written romance which was a kind of 'origin story' for Thomas's supposed prophetic gifts.
Stories of mortals being abducted by faeries -- often, by the Queen of Elfland, the queen of the faeries, herself -- were fairly widespread, and the story of Thomas the Rhymer follows the standard pattern. Typical elements include the description of the queen appearing as a beautiful woman riding on a horse, who takes the mortal Thomas through a strange and disturbing landscape. In the legends, the mortal is then eventually dumped back in the real world, where they often find that either many years or no time at all has passed. They sometimes have the gift of poetry or prophecy (or both; the two are frequently linked) as a result of their adventure.
The traditional ballad "Tam Lin" is not directly related, but it falls under the same general heading. Like "Thomas the Rhymer", it's about a mortal man who has been taken to Elfland by the Queen of Faerie to be her lover or companion.