What’s Up With the Title?

To be fair, this poem can be found in many different forms, under many different names. The simplest and most common among them is plain old "Lord Randall," though in other versions, the main character's name might be different (it's sometimes Lord Ronald or Donald, or King Henry, or in the Italian version of this ballad, the title is simply "L'avvelenato," or "The Poisoned Man," which kind of gives away the whole thing from the get-go). Generally, though, this poem is referred to by the name of the tragic young man whose story it tells. Simple enough.