English Language · English Literature

Given below are two statements: one is labelled as Assertion A and the other is labelled as Reason R: Assertion A: In his 18th-century historical masterpiece 'The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire', Edward Gibbon posits that the collapse of Rome was not a sudden event but a gradual dissolution caused by 'immoderate greatness' and the erosion of civic virtue. Reason R: Thomas Percy's 'Reliques of Ancient English Poetry' (1765) and the pseudo-medieval 'Rowley poems' of Thomas Chatterton were foundational to the 18th-century 'Ballad Revival', which redirected literary interest toward folk traditions and medievalism. In light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below: