Chapter IV: Robin Hood the Myth (3)

[Annotations:
1.1: 'carping' = talking, tale.
1.5: This line is the burden: it is repeated at the end in the MS.
2.1: 'wern' = were (plural termination as in 'wenten,' etc.);
'children,' young fellows, as in 'Child Roland,' etc.
5.2: 'flo,' arrow.
6.1: 'i-flaw' = flayed. Cp. 'slaw,' 16.3.
8.1: MS. reads 'and lokyd west.'
8.4: 'clepen,' name, call.
9.4: _i.e._, laced in a thrum, or warp.
10.4: 'Misaunter [= misadventure] have' was used in imprecations:
cf. in the _Merlin_ romance, 'Mysauenture haue that it kepeth eny
counseile.'
11.3: 'Each at the other's heart.'
13.3: 'sanchothes': unexplained; but it obviously means that the
arrow struck between his legs.
16.1: 'yelp,' boast.
16.3: 'slaw,' slain.]

ROBIN HOOD AND THE MONK

+The Text+ is modernised from a MS. in the University Library, Cambridge (MS. Ff. v. 48), which belongs to the middle of the fifteenth century. We have also a single leaf of another MS. version, of about the same date, preserved amongst the Bagford Ballads in the British Museum, but this contains a bare half-dozen stanzas.

+The Story+ might be called a counterpart to _Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne_, inasmuch as it has Little John for its hero, and relates how he set his master free, although Robin had lost his temper with him in the morning. A most unfortunate hiatus after 30.2 prevents us from learning how Robin's fate was reported to his men; but as it stands it is a perfect ballad, straightforward, lively, and picturesque. The first five stanzas, which make a delightful little lyric in themselves, breathe the whole spirit of the greenwood.

ROBIN HOOD AND THE MONK

1.
In summer, when the shaws be sheen
And leaves be large and long,
It is full merry in fair forest
To hear the fowlës song,

2.
To see the deer draw to the dale,
And leave the hillës hee,
And shadow them in the leavës green,
Under the greenwood tree.

3.
It befel on Whitsuntide,
Early in a May morning,
The sun up fair can shine,
And the briddës merry can sing.

4.
'This is a merry morning,' said Little John,
'By him that died on tree;
A more merry man than I am one
Lives not in Christiantë.

5.
'Pluck up thy heart, my dear master,'
Little John can say,
'And think it is a full fair time
In a morning of May.'

6.
'Yea, one thing grieves me,' said Robin,
'And does my heart much woe;
That I may not no solemn day
To mass nor matins go.

7.
'It is a fortnight and more,' said he,
'Syn I my Saviour see;
To-day will I to Nottingham,
With the might of mild Marie.'

8.
Then spake Much the milner son,
Ever more well him betide!
'Take twelve of thy wight yeomen,
Well weapon'd by thy side.
Such one would thyselfë slon,
That twelve dare not abide.'

9.
'Of all my merry men,' said Robin,
'By my faith I will none have,
But Little John shall bear my bow,
Till that me list to draw.'

10.
'Thou shall bear thine own,' said Little John,
'Master, and I will bear mine,
And we will shoot a penny,' said Little John,
'Under the greenwood lyne.'

11.
'I will not shoot a penny,' said Robin Hood,
'In faith, Little John, with thee,
But ever for one as thou shootës,' said Robin,
'In faith I hold thee three.'

12.
Thus shot they forth, these yeomen two,
Both at bush and broom,
Till Little John won of his master
Five shillings to hose and shoon.

13.
A ferly strife fell them between,
As they went by the way,
Little John said he had won five shillings
And Robin Hood said shortly nay.

14.
With that Robin Hood lied Little John,
And smote him with his hand;
Little John waxëd wroth therewith,
And pulled out his bright brand.

15.
'Were thou not my master,' said Little John,
'Thou shouldest by it full sore;
Get thee a man where thou wilt,
For thou gettest me no more.'

16.
Then Robin goes to Nottingham,
Himself mourning alone,
And Little John to merry Sherwood,
The paths he knew ilkone.

17.
When Robin came to Nottingham,
Certainly withouten layn,
He prayed to God and mild Mary
To bring him out safe again.

18.
He goes into Saint Mary church,
And kneeled down before the rood;
All that ever were the church within,
Beheld well Robin Hood.

19.
Beside him stood a great-headed monk,
I pray to God woe he be!
Full soon he knew good Robin,
As soon as he him see.

20.
Out at the door he ran,
Full soon and anon;
All the gates of Nottingham,
He made to be sparred everychone.

21.
'Rise up,' he said, 'thou proud sheriff,
Busk thee, and make thee bown;
I have spied the kingës felon,
For sooth he is in this town.

22.
'I have spied the false felon,
As he standës at his mass;
It is long of thee,' said the monk,
'And ever he fro us pass.

23.
'This traitor name is Robin Hood,
Under the greenwood lynd;
He robbëd me once of a hundred pound,
It shall never out of my mind.'

24.
Up then rose this proud sheriff,
And radly made him yare;
Many was the mother son,
To the kirk with him can fare.

25.
In at the doors they throly thrast,
With stavës full good wone;
'Alas, alas!' said Robin Hood,
'Now miss I Little John.'

26.
But Robin took out a two-hand sword
That hangëd down by his knee;
Thereas the sheriff and his men stood thickest,
Thitherward would he.

27.
Thrice throughout them he ran then
For sooth as I you say,
And wounded many a mother son,
And twelve he slew that day.

28.
His sword upon the sheriff head
Certainly he brake in two;
'The smith that thee made,' said Robin,
'I pray God work him woe.'

29.
'For now am I weaponless,' said Robin,
'Alas! against my will;
But if I may flee these traitors fro,
I wot they will me kill.'

30.
Robin into the churchë ran,
Throughout them everilkone,
... ... ...
... ... ...

31.
Some fell in swooning as they were dead,
And lay still as any stone;
None of them were in their mind
But only Little John.

32.
'Let be your rule,' said Little John,
'For his love that died on tree;
Ye that should be doughty men;
It is great shame to see.

33.
'Our master has been hard bestood,
And yet scapëd away;
Pluck up your hearts and leave this moan,
And hearken what I shall say.

34.
'He has servëd Our Lady many a day,
And yet will, securly;
Therefore I trust her specially
No wicked death shall he die.

35.
'Therefore be glad,' said Little John,
'And let this mourning be;
And I shall be the monkës guide,
With the might of mild Marie.'

36.
... ... ...
'We will go but we two;
And I meet him,' said Little John,
... ... ...

37.
'Look that ye keep well our tristel-tree,
Under the leavës smale,
And spare none of this venison
That goës in this vale.'

38.
Forth then went these yeomen two,
Little John and Much on fere,
And lookëd on Much emës house,
The highway lay full near.

39.
Little John stood at a window in the morning,
And lookëd forth at a stage;
He was ware where the monk came riding,
And with him a little page.

40.
'By my faith,' said Little John to Much,
'I can thee tell tidingës good;
I see where the monkë comës riding,
I know him by his wide hood.'

41.
They went into the way, these yeomen both,
As curteis men and hend;
They spyrrëd tidingës at the monk,
As they had been his friende.

42.
'Fro whence come ye?' said Little John,
'Tell us tidingës, I you pray,
Of a false outlaw, called Robin Hood,
Was taken yesterday.

43.
'He robbed me and my fellows both
Of twenty mark in certain;
If that false outlaw be taken;
For sooth we would be fain.'

44.
'So did he me,' said the monk,
'Of a hundred pound and more;
I laid first hand him upon,
Ye may thank me therefore.'

45.
'I pray God thank you,' said Little John,
'And we will when we may;
We will go with you, with your leave,
And bring you on your way.

46.
'For Robin Hood has many a wild fellow,
I tell you in certain;
If they wist you rode this way,
In faith ye should be slain.'

47.
As they went talking by the way,
The monk and Little John,
John took the monkës horse by the head,
Full soon and anon.

48.
John took the monkës horse by the head,
Forsooth as I you say;
So did Much the little page,
For he should not scape away.

49.
By the gullet of the hood
John pulled the monkë down;
John was nothing of him agast,
He let him fall on his crown.

50.
Little John was sore aggrieved,
And drew out his sword on high;
This monkë saw he should be dead,
Loud mercy can he cry.

51.
'He was my master,' said Little John,
'That thou hast brought in bale;
Shall thou never come at our king,
For to tell him tale.'

52.
John smote off the monkës head,
No longer would he dwell;
So did Much the little page,
For fear lest he would tell.

53.
There they buriëd them both,
In neither moss nor ling,
And Little John and Much in fere
Bare the letters to our king.

54.
... ... ...
He kneelëd down upon his knee:
'God you save, my liegë lord,
Jesus you save and see!

55.
'God you save, my liegë king!'
To speak John was full bold;
He gave him the letters in his hand,
The king did it unfold.

56.
The king read the letters anon,
And said, 'So mote I the,
There was never yeoman in merry England
I longëd so sore to see.

57.
'Where is the monk that these should have brought?'
Our king can say:
'By my troth,' said Little John,
'He died after the way.'

58.
The king gave Much and Little John
Twenty pound in certain,
And made them yeomen of the crown,
And bade them go again.

59.
He gave John the seal in hand,
The sheriff for to bear,
To bring Robin him to,
And no man do him dere.

60.
John took his leave at our king,
The sooth as I you say;
The next way to Nottingham
To take, he yede the way.

61.
When John came to Nottingham
The gatës were sparred each one;
John callëd up the porter,
He answerëd soon anon.

62.
'What is the cause,' said Little John,
'Thou sparrës the gates so fast?'
'Because of Robin Hood,' said the porter,
'In deep prison is cast.

63.
'John and Much and Will Scathlock,
For sooth as I you say,
They slew our men upon our wallës,
And sauten us every day.'

64.
Little John spyrred after the sheriff,
And soon he him found;
He opened the kingës privy seal
And gave him in his hond.

65.
When the sheriff saw the kingës seal,
He did off his hood anon;
'Where is the monk that bare the letters?'
He said to Little John.

66.
'He is so fain of him,' said Little John,
'For sooth as I you say,
He has made him abbot of Westminster,
A lord of that abbay.'

67.
The sheriff made John good cheer,
And gave him wine of the best;
At night they went to their bed,
And every man to his rest.

68.
When the sheriff was on sleep,
Drunken of wine and ale,
Little John and Much for sooth
Took the way unto the jail.

69.
Little John callëd up the jailor;
And bade him rise anon;
He said Robin Hood had broken prison,
And out of it was gone.

70.
The porter rose anon certain,
As soon as he heard John call;
Little John was ready with a sword,
And bare him to the wall.

71.
'Now will I be porter,' said Little John,
'And take the keys in hond';
He took the way to Robin Hood,
And soon he him unbound.

72.
He gave him a good sword in his hand,
His head therewith for to keep,
And thereas the wall was lowest
Anon down can they leap.

73.
By that the cock began to crow,
The day began to spring;
The sheriff found the jailor dead,
The comyn bell made he ring.

74.
He made a cry throughout all the town,
Whether he be yeoman or knave,
That could bring him Robin Hood,
His warison he should have.

75.
'For I dare never,' said the sheriff,
'Come before our king;
For if I do, I wot certain
For sooth he will me hing.'

76.
The sheriff made to seek Nottingham,
Both by street and sty,
And Robin was in merry Sherwood,
As light as leaf on lynd.

77.
Then bespake good Little John,
To Robin Hood can he say,
'I have done thee a good turn for an evil;
Quite thee when thou may.

78.
'I have done thee a good turn,' said Little John,
'For sooth as I you say;
I have brought thee under green wood lyne;
Farewell, and have good day.'

79.
'Nay, by my troth,' said Robin Hood,
'So shall it never be:
I make thee master,' said Robin Hood,
'Of all my men and me.'

80.
'Nay, by my troth,' said Little John,
'So shall it never be;
But let me be a fellow,' said Little John,
'No nother keep I be.'

81.
Thus John gat Robin Hood out of prison,
Certain withouten layn;
When his men saw him whole and sound,
For sooth they were full fain.

82.
They filled in wine, and made them glad,
Under the leavës smale,
And gat pasties of venison,
That goodë was with ale.

83.
Then wordë came to our king
How Robin Hood was gone,
And how the sheriff of Nottingham
Durst never look him upon.

84.
Then bespake our comely king,
In an anger hee:
'Little John has beguiled the sheriff,
In faith so has he me.

85.
'Little John has beguiled us both,
And that full well I see;
Or else the sheriff of Nottingham
High hangëd should he be.

86.
'I made them yeomen of the crown,
And gave them fee with my hand;
I gave them grith,' said our king;
'Throughout all merry England.

87.
'I gave them grith,' then said our king;
'I say, so mote I the,
Forsooth such a yeoman as he is one
In all England are not three.

88.
'He is true to his master,' said our king;
'I say, by sweet Saint John,
He lovës better Robin Hood
Than he does us each one.

89.
'Robin Hood is ever bound to him,
Both in street and stall;
Speak no more of this matter,' said our king;
'But John has beguiled us all.'

90.
Thus ends the talking of the monk,
And Robin Hood i-wis;
God, that is ever a crownëd king,
Bring us all to his bliss!

[Annotations:
1.1: 'shaws,' woods, thickets: 'sheen,' beautiful.
2.2: 'hee,' high. Cf. 84.2.
3.3: 'can,' did.
7.2: _i.e._, since I took the sacrament.
8.1: 'milner son,' = miller's son: cp. 24.3.
8.5: 'slon,' slay.
10.4: 'lyne,' tree: so 'lynd' in 23.2. Cf. 76.4, 78.3, etc.
11.4: _i.e._, I will give you odds of three to one.
13.1: 'ferly,' strange.
14.1: 'lied,' gave the lie to.
15.2: 'by,' aby, atone for.
16.4: 'ilkone' = each one: cf. 30.2.
17.2: Another form of 'certain without leasing' = forsooth without
lying. Cf. 81.2.
20.4: 'sparred,' shut: 'everychone,' every one (cf. 16.4).
21.2: _i.e._, make ready: cf. _Guy of Gisborne_, 5.1.
22.4: 'And' = if: 'it will be your fault if he escapes us.'
23.1: 'traitor' is genitive: cf. 'milner son,' 8.1, and
'mother son,' 24.3.
24.2: 'radly,' quickly: 'yare,' ready.
24.3: See notes 8.1, 23.1.
25.1: 'throly thrast,' strenuously pressed.
25.2: 'wone,' plenty.
26.3: 'Thereas' = where. Cf. 72.3.
29.3: 'But if' = unless.
30.2: Cf. 16.4. Probably six stanzas are lost here.
32.1: 'rule,' behaviour, conduct.
34.2: 'securly' = surely.
37.1: 'tristel-tree,' trysting-tree.
38.2: 'on fere,' in company.
38.3: 'Much emës house,' the house of Much's uncle.
39.2: 'at a stage': ? from an upper story.
41.2: 'hand,' gallant.
41.3: 'spyrrëd . . . at,' asked . . . of. (Cf. Scottish 'speir.')
41.4: 'friende' is plural.
48.4: 'For' = for the purpose that. Cp. 'for' in _Child Waters_,
28.6, First Series, p. 41.
49.3: 'of him agast,' afraid of the consequences to him.
51.2: 'bale,' trouble.
54.4: 'see,' protect.
56.2: Cf. _Gest_, 234.2.
57.4: 'after': 'by,' as we should say.
59.4: 'dere,' injury.
60.4: 'yede' ( = gaed), went.
61.2: 'sparred': cp. 20.4.
63.4: 'sauten,' assault.
64.1: Cp. 41.3.
73.4: 'comyn' = commons': _i.e._ the town bell.
74.4: 'warison,' reward.
76.2: 'sty,' alley.
77.4: 'Quite thee,' acquit yoursle, _i.e._ reward me. But the
Baford MS. reads 'Quit me.'
80.4: 'keep I be,' I care to be.
81.4: 'fain,' glad.
84.2: 'hee': see 2.2.
86.3: 'grith,' peace (Norse, 'grið').
87.2: See 56.2.
89.2: _i.e._ whether on the road, or housed.]

ROBIN HOOD AND THE POTTER

+The Text+ is modernised, as far as is possible, from a MS. of about 1500 in the University Library at Cambridge (Ee. 4, 35). The ballad was first printed therefrom by Ritson in his _Robin Hood_ (1795), vol. i. p. 81, on the whole very accurately, and with a few necessary emendations. He notes that the scribe was evidently 'a vulgar and illiterate person' who 'irremediably corrupted' the ballad. In several places, however, a little ingenuity will restore a lost rhyme.

+The Story+, of an outlaw disguising himself in order to gain information from his enemies, is common to the legends of Hereward the Saxon, Wallace, Eustace the monk, and Fulk Fitz Warine, the first three of whom assumed the guise of a potter at one time or another.

The ballad of _Robin Hood and the Butcher_ is a tale similar to this; and part of the Play of Robin Hood is based on this ballad (see Introduction, p. xxiii.).

ROBIN HOOD AND THE POTTER

1.
In summer, when the leavës spring,
The blossoms on every bough,
So merry doth the birdës sing
In woodës merry now.

2.
Hearken, good yeomen,
Comely, courteous, and good;
One of the best that ever bare bow,
His name was Robin Hood.

3.
Robin Hood was the yeoman's name,
That was both courteous and free;
For the love of Our Lady
All women worshipped he.

4.
But as the good yeoman stood on a day,
Among his merry meynë,
He was ware of a proud potter
Came driving over the lee.

5.
'Yonder cometh a proud potter,' said Robin,
'That long hath haunted this way;
He was never so courteous a man
One penny of pavage to pay.'

6.
'I met him but at Wentbridge,' said Little John,
'And therefore evil mote he thee!
Such three strokës he me gave,
That by my sides cleft they.

7.
'I lay forty shillings,' said Little John,
'To pay it this same day,
There is not a man among us all
A wed shall make him lay.'

8.
'Here is forty shillings,' said Robin,
'More, and thou dare say,
That I shall make that proud potter,
A wed to me shall he lay.'

9.
There this money they laid,
They toke it a yeoman to keep.
Robin before the potter he breyde
And bade him stand still.

10.
Hands upon his horse he laid,
And bade the potter stand full still;
The potter shortly to him said,
'Fellow, what is thy will?'

11.
'All this three year and more, potter,' he said,
'Thou hast haunted this way,
Yet were thou never so courteous a man
One penny of pavage to pay.'

12.
'What is thy name,' said the potter,
''Fore pavage thou ask of me?'
'Robin Hood is my name,
A wed shall thou leave me.'

13.
'Wed will I none leave,' said the potter,
'Nor pavage will I none pay;
Away thy hand fro my horse!
I will thee tene else, by my fay.'

14.
The potter to his cart he went,
He was not to seek;
A good two-hand staff he hent,
Before Robin he leaped.

15.
Robin out with a sword bent,
A buckler in his hand;
The potter to Robin he went
And said, 'Fellow, let my horse go.'

16.
Together then went these two yeomen,
It was a good sight to see;
Thereof low Robin his men,
There they stood under a tree.

17.
Little John to his fellows said,
'Yon potter will stiffly stand':
The potter, with an ackward stroke,
Smote the buckler out of his hand.

18.
And ere Robin might get it again
His buckler at his feet,
The potter in the neck him took,
To the ground soon he yede.

19.
That saw Robin his men
As they stood under a bough;
'Let us help our master,' said Little John,
'Yonder potter else will him slo.'

20.
These yeomen went with a breyde,
To their master they came.
Little John to his master said
'Who hath the wager won?'

21.
'Shall I have your forty shillings,' said Little John,
'Or ye, master, shall have mine?'
'If they were a hundred,' said Robin,
'I' faith, they been all thine.'

22.
'It is full little courtesy,' said the potter,
'As I have heard wise men say,
If a poor yeoman come driving on the way
To let him of his journey.'

23.
'By my troth, thou says sooth,' said Robin,
'Thou says good yeomanry;
And thou drive forth every day,
Thou shalt never be let for me.

24.
'I will pray thee, good potter,
A fellowship will thou have?
Give me thy clothing, and thou shalt have mine;
I will go to Nottingham.'

25.
'I grant thereto,' said the potter;
'Thou shalt find me a fellow good;
But thou can sell my pottës well,
Come again as thou yode.'

26.
'Nay, by my troth,' said Robin,
'And then I beshrew my head,
If I bring any pottës again,
And any wife will them chepe.'

27.
Then spake Little John,
And all his fellows hend;
'Master, be well ware of the sheriff of Nottingham,
For he is little our friend.'

28.
'Heyt war howt,' said Robin;
'Fellows, let me alone;
Through the help of Our Lady,
To Nottingham will I gone.'

29.
Robin went to Nottingham,
These pottës for to sell;
The potter abode with Robin's men,
There he fared not ill.

30.
Though Robin drove on his way,
So merry over the land:
Here is more, and after is to say
The best is behind.

31.
When Robin came to Nottingham,
The sooth if I should say,
He set up his horse anon,
And gave him oats and hay.

32.
In the midst of the town,
There he showed his ware;
'Pottës, pottës,' he gan cry full soon,
'Have hansel for the mare!'

33.
Full often against the sheriff's gate
Showëd he his chaffare;
Wives and widows about him drew
And chepëd fast of his ware.

34.
Yet, 'Pottës, great chepe!' cried Robin,
'I love evil thus to stand.'
And all that saw him sell
Said he had be no potter long.

35.
The pottës that were worth pence five,
He sold them for pence three;
Privily said man and wife,
'Yonder potter shall never thee.'

36.
Thus Robin sold full fast,
Till he had pottës but five;
Up he them took off his car
And sent them to the sheriff's wife.

37.
Thereof she was full fain;
'Gramercy, sir,' then said she;
'When ye come to this country again
I shall buy of thy pottës, so mote I thee.'

38.
'Ye shall have of the best,' said Robin,
And sware by the Trinity;
Full courteously she gan him call,
'Come dine with the sheriff and me.'

39.
'God amercy,' said Robin,
'Your bidding shall be done.'
A maiden in the pottës gan bear,
Robin and the sheriff wife followed anon.

40.
When Robin into the hall came,
The sheriff soon he met;
The potter could of courtesy,
And soon the sheriff he gret.

41.
'Lo, sir, what this potter hath give you and me;
Five pottës small and great!'
'He is full welcome,' said the sheriff,
'Let us wash, and go to meat.'

42.
As they sat at their meat,
With a noble cheer,
Two of the sheriff's men gan speak
Of a great wager;

43.
Of a shooting was good and fine,
Was made the other day,
Of forty shillings, the sooth to say,
Who should this wager win.

44.
Still then sat this proud potter,
Thus then thought he;
'As I am a true Christian man,
This shooting will I see.'

45.
When they had fared of the best,
With bread, and ale, and wine,
To the butts they made them prest,
With bows and bolts full fine.

46.
The sheriff's men shot full fast,
As archers that were good;
There came none near nigh the mark
By half a good archer's bow.

47.
Still then stood the proud potter,
Thus then said he;
'And I had a bow, by the rood,
One shot should ye see.'

48.
'Thou shall have a bow,' said the sheriff,
'The best that thou will choose of three;
Thou seemest a stalwart and a strong,
Assay[ed] shall thou be.'

49.
The sheriff commanded a yeoman that stood them by,
After bows to wend;
The best bow that the yeoman brought,
Robin set on a string.

50.
'Now shall I wot and thou be good,
And pull it up to thine ear.'
'So God me help,' said the proud potter,
'This is but right weak gear.'

51.
To a quiver Robin went,
A good bolt out he took;
So nigh unto the mark he went,
He failëd not a foot.

52.
All they shot about again,
The sheriff's men and he;
Of the mark he would not fail,
He cleft the prick in three.

53.
The sheriff's men thought great shame
The potter the mastery won;
The sheriff laughed and made good game,
And said, 'Potter, thou art a man.

54.
... ... ...
... ... ...
'Thou art worthy to bear a bow
In what place that thou go.'

55.
'In my cart I have a bow,
Forsooth,' he said, 'and that a good;
In my cart is the bow
That gave me Robin Hood.'

56.
'Knowest thou Robin Hood?' said the sheriff;
'Potter, I pray thee tell thou me.'
'A hundred turn I have shot with him,
Under his trystell-tree.'

57.
'I had liefer nor a hundred pound,' said the sheriff,
And sware by the Trinity,
' ... ... ...
That the false outlaw stood by me.'

58.
'And ye will do after my rede,' said the potter,
'And boldly go with me,
And tomorrow, ere we eat bread,
Robin Hood will we see.'

59.
'I will quite thee,' quoth the sheriff,
'I swear by God of might.'
Shooting they left and home they went,
Their supper was ready dight.

60.
Upon the morrow, when it was day,
He busked him forth to ride;
The potter his cart forth gan ray,
And would not leave behind.

61.
He took leave of the sherriff's wife,
And thanked her of all thing:
'Dame, for my love and you will this wear,
I give you here a gold ring.'

62.
'Gramercy,' said the wife,
'Sir, God yield it thee.'
The sheriff's heart was never so light,
The fair forest to see.

63.
And when he came into the forest,
Under the leavës green,
Birdës there sang on boughës prest,
It was great joy to see.

64.
'Here it is merry to be,' said Robin,
'For a man that had ought to spend;
By my horn I shall awit
If Robin Hood be here.'

65.
Robin set his horn to his mouth,
And blew a blast that was full good;
That heard his men that there stood,
Far down in the wood.

66.
'I hear my master blow,' said Little John,
... ... ...
... ... ...
They ran as they were wood.

67.
When they to their master came,
Little John would not spare;
'Master, how have you fare in Nottingham?
How have you sold your ware?'

68.
'Yea, by my troth, Little John,
Look thou take no care;
I have brought the sheriff of Nottingham,
For all our chaffare.'

69.
'He is full welcome,' said Little John,
'This tiding is full good.'
The sheriff had liefer nor a hundred pound
He had never seen Robin Hood.

70.
'Had I wist that before,
At Nottingham when we were,
Thou should not come in fair forest
Of all this thousand year.'

71.
'That wot I well,' said Robin,
'I thank God that ye be here;
Therefore shall ye leave your horse with us
And all your other gear.'

72.
'That fend I god's forbode,' quoth the sheriff,
So to loose my good;
... ... ...
... ... ...

73.
'Hither ye came on horse full high,
And home shall ye go on foot;
And greet well thy wife at home,
The woman is full good.

74.
'I shall her send a white palfrey,
It ambleth, by my fay,
... ... ...
... ... ...

75.
'I shall her send a white palfrey,
It ambleth as the wind;
Nere for the love of your wife,
Of more sorrow should you sing!'

76.
Thus parted Robin Hood and the sheriff;
To Nottingham he took the way;
His wife fair welcomed him home,
And to him gan she say:

77.
'Sir, how have you fared in green forest?
Have ye brought Robin home?'
'Dame, the devil speed him, both body and bone;
I have had a full great scorn.

78.
'Of all the good that I have led to green wood,
He hath take it fro me;
All but this fair palfrey,
That he hath sent to thee.'

79.
With that she took up a loud laughing,
And sware by him that died on tree,
'Now have you paid for all the pottës
That Robin gave to me.

80.
'Now ye be come home to Nottingham,
Ye shall have good enow.'
Now speak we of Robin Hood,
And of the potter under the green bough.

81.
'Potter, what was thy pottës worth
To Nottingham that I led with me?'
'They were worth two nobles,' said he,
'So mote I thrive or thee;
So could I have had for them
And I had there be.'

82.
'Thou shalt have ten pound,' said Robin,
'Of money fair and free;
And ever when thou comest to green wood,
Welcome, potter, to me.'

83.
Thus parted Robin, the sheriff, and the potter,
Underneath the green wood tree;
God have mercy on Robin Hood's soul,
And save all good yeomanry!

[Annotations:
5.4: 'pavage,' road-tax.
7.4: 'wed,' pledge, wager.
8.2: 'and,' if.
9.2: 'toke,' gave.
9.3: 'breyde,' rushed, leapt.
13.4: 'tene,' harm.
16.3: _i.e._ thereat laughed Robin's men.
17.3: 'ackward,' back-handed (?).
18.4: 'yede,' went.
19.4: 'slo,' slay.
20.1: 'a breyde,' haste.
22.4: 'let,' stop, hinder.
23.3: 'And,' if.
25.3: 'But,' unless.
25.4: 'yode,' went.
26.4: 'chepe,' bargain for, buy.
28.1: 'Heyt war howt,' a call to horses while driving, like the
modern 'Gee up.'
32.4: 'hansel' is a gift, especially an 'earnest' or instalment;
'mare' probably is 'more'; but the meaning of the whole phrase
is uncertain.
33.2: 'chaffare,' merchandise.
34.1: 'great chepe' = great bargain.
35.4: 'thee,' thrive.
37.1: 'fain,' glad.
40.3: 'could of courtesy,' knew how to be courteous.
40.4: 'gret,' greeted.
45.3: 'prest,' quickly.
47.3: 'And,' if.
54.1,2: Two lines missing in the MS.; so 57.3.
58.1: 'rede,' advice.
59.1: 'quite' = requite.
59.4: 'dight,' prepared.
60.2: 'busked,' made ready.
60.3: 'ray' = array.
62.2: 'yield it thee,' reward thee for it.
63.3: 'prest,' freely.
64.3: 'awit': either = wit, know, or = await.
66.2,3: Two lines omitted in the MS.
66.4: 'wood,' mad.
72.1: A duplicated deprecation: 'I protest--God forbid!'
72.3,4: Two lines omitted in the MS.; so 74.3,4.
75.3: 'Nere' = ne were, were it not.]

ROBIN HOOD AND GUY OF GISBORNE

+The Text.+--The only text of this ballad is in the Percy Folio, from which it is here rendered in modern spelling. Although the original is written continuously, it is almost impossible not to suspect an omission after 2.2. Child points out, however, that the abrupt transition is found in other ballads (see _Adam Bell_, 2.2), and Hales and Furnivall put 2.3,4 in inverted commas as part of Robin's relation of his dream. Percy's emendation was:

'The woodweete sang, and wold not cese,
Sitting upon the spraye,
Soe lowde, he wakend Robin Hood
In the greenwood where he lay.

Now by my faye, said jollye Robin,
A sweaven[1] I had this night;
I dreamt me of tow mighty yemen
That fast with me can fight.'

+The Story.+--Whether verses have been lost or not, the story has become confused, as there is nothing to show how Robin knows that the Sheriff of Nottingham holds Little John captive; yet he makes careful preparations to pass himself off as Sir Guy, in order to set John free.

There has come down to us a fragment of a play of Robin Hood and the Sheriff.[2] In this dramatic fragment, an unnamed knight is promised a reward by the sheriff if he takes Robin Hood. The knight and Robin shoot and wrestle and fight; Robin wins, cuts off the knight's head, puts on his clothes, and takes the head away with him. A second scene shows how the sheriff takes prisoner the other outlaws, amongst whom is Friar Tuck; but the allocation of the parts in the dialogue is mostly conjectural.

[Footnote 1: _sweaven_, dream.]

[Footnote 2: See Introduction, p. xxii.]

ROBIN HOOD AND GUY OF GISBORNE

1.
When shaws been sheen, and shradds full fair,
And leaves both large and long,
It is merry, walking in the fair forest,
To hear the small bird's song.

2.
The woodweel sang, and would not cease,
Amongst the leaves o' lyne,
And it is by two wight yeomen,
By dear God, that I mean.

*** *** ***

3.
'Methought they did me beat and bind,
And took my bow me fro;
If I be Robin alive in this land,
I'll be wroken on both them two.'

4.
'Swevens are swift, master,' quoth John,
'As the wind that blows o'er a hill;
For if it be never so loud this night,
Tomorrow it may be still.'

5.
'Busk ye, bown ye, my merry men all,
For John shall go with me;
For I'll go seek yond wight yeomen
In greenwood where they be.'

6.
They cast on their gown of green,
A shooting gone are they,
Until they came to the merry greenwood,
Where they had gladdest be;
There were they 'ware of a wight yeoman,
His body leaned to a tree.

7.
A sword and a dagger he wore by his side,
Had been many a man's bane,
And he was clad in his capul-hide,
Top and tail and mane.

8.
'Stand you still, master,' quoth Little John,
'Under this trusty tree,
And I will go to yond wight yeoman,
To know his meaning truly.'

9.
'Ah, John, by me thou sets no store,
And that's a ferly thing;
How oft send I my men before,
And tarry myself behind?

10.
'It is no cunning a knave to ken,
And a man but hear him speak;
And it were not for bursting of my bow,
John, I would thy head break.'

11.
But often words they breeden bale;
That parted Robin and John;
John is gone to Barnësdale,
The gates he knows each one.

12.
And when he came to Barnësdale,
Great heaviness there he had;
He found two of his fellows
Were slain both in a slade,

13.
And Scarlet afoot flying was,
Over stocks and stone,
For the sheriff with seven score men
Fast after him is gone.

14.
'Yet one shot I'll shoot,' says Little John,
'With Christ his might and main;
I'll make yond fellow that flies so fast
To be both glad and fain.'

15.
John bent up a good yew bow,
And fettled him to shoot;
The bow was made of a tender bough,
And fell down to his foot.

16.
'Woe worth thee, wicked wood,' said Little John,
'That e'er thou grew on a tree!
For this day thou art my bale,
My boot when thou should be.'

17.
This shot it was but loosely shot,
The arrow flew in vain,
And it met one of the sheriff's men;
Good William a Trent was slain.

18.
It had been better for William a Trent
To hang upon a gallow
Than for to lie in the greenwood,
There slain with an arrow.

19.
And it is said, when men be met,
Six can do more than three:
And they have ta'en Little John,
And bound him fast to a tree.

20.
'Thou shalt be drawn by dale and down,
And hanged high on a hill.'
'But thou may fail,' quoth Little John,
'If it be Christ's own will.'

21.
Let us leave talking of Little John,
For he is bound fast to a tree,
And talk of Guy and Robin Hood
In the greenwood where they be;

22.
How these two yeomen together they met,
Under the leaves of lyne,
To see what merchandise they made
Even at that same time.

23.
'Good morrow, good fellow,' quoth Sir Guy;
'Good morrow, good fellow,' quoth he;
'Methinks by this bow thou bears in thy hand,
A good archer thou seems to be.

24.
'I am wilful of my way,' quoth Sir Guy,
'And of my morning tide.'
'I'll lead thee through the wood,' quoth Robin,
'Good fellow, I'll be thy guide.'

25.
'I seek an outlaw,' quoth Sir Guy,
'Men call him Robin Hood;
I had rathèr meet with him upon a day
Than forty pound of gold.'

26.
'If you two met, it would be seen whether were better
Afore ye did part away;
Let us some other pastime find,
Good fellow, I thee pray.

27.
'Let us some other masteries make,
And we will walk in the woods even;
We may chance meet with Robin Hood
At some unset steven.'

28.
They cut them down the summer shroggs
Which grew both under a briar,
And set them three score rood in twain,
To shoot the pricks full near.

29.
'Lead on, good fellow,' said Sir Guy,
'Lead on, I do bid thee.'
'Nay by my faith,' quoth Robin Hood,
'The leader thou shalt be.'

30.
The first good shot that Robin led,
Did not shoot an inch the prick fro;
Guy was an archer good enough,
But he could ne'er shoot so.

31.
The second shot Sir Guy shot,
He shot within the garland;
But Robin Hood shot it better than he,
For he clove the good prick-wand.

32.
'God's blessing on thy heart!' says Guy,
'Good fellow, thy shooting is good;
For an thy heart be as good as thy hands,
Thou were better than Robin Hood.

33.
'Tell me thy name, good fellow,' quoth Guy,
Under the leaves of lyne:
'Nay, by my faith,' quoth good Robin,
'Till thou have told me thine.'

34.
'I dwell by dale and down,' quoth Guy,
'And I have done many a curst turn;
And he that calls me by my right name
Calls me Guy of good Gisborne.'

35.
'My dwelling is in the wood,' says Robin;
'By thee I set right nought;
My name is Robin Hood of Barnesdale,
A fellow thou hast long sought.'

36.
He that had neither been kith nor kin
Might have seen a full fair sight,
To see how together these yeomen went,
With blades both brown and bright;

37.
To have seen how these yeomen together fought
Two hours of a summer's day;
It, was neither Guy nor Robin Hood
That fettled them to fly away.

38.
Robin was reckless on a root,
And stumbled at that tide,
And Guy was quick and nimble withal,
And hit him o'er the left side.

39.
'Ah, dear Lady!' said Robin Hood,
'Thou art both mother and may!
I think it was never man's destiny
To die before his day.'

40.
Robin thought on Our Lady dear,
And soon leapt up again,
And thus he came with an awkward stroke;
Good Sir Guy he has slain.

41.
He took Sir Guy's head by the hair,
And sticked it on his bow's end:
'Thou hast been traitor all thy life,
Which thing must have an end.'

42.
Robin pulled forth an Irish knife,
And nicked Sir Guy in the face,
That he was never on a woman born
Could tell who Sir Guy was.

43.
Says, 'Lie there, lie there, good Sir Guy,
And with me be not wroth;
If thou have had the worse strokes at my hand,
Thou shalt have the better cloth.'

44.
Robin did off his gown of green,
Sir Guy he did it throw;
And he put on that capul-hide
That clad him top to toe.

45.
'The bow, the arrows, and little horn,
And with me now I'll bear;
For now I will go to Barnësdale,
To see how my men do fare.'

46.
Robin set Guy's horn to his mouth,
A loud blast in it he did blow;
That beheard the sheriff of Nottingham,
As he leaned under a low.

47.
'Hearken! hearken!' said the sheriff,
'I heard no tidings but good;
For yonder I hear Sir Guy's horn blow,
For he hath slain Robin Hood.'

48.
'For yonder I hear Sir Guy's horn blow,
It blows so well in tide,
For yonder comes that wighty yeoman,
Clad in his capul-hide.

49.
'Come hither, thou good Sir Guy,
Ask of me what thou wilt have':
'I'll none of thy gold,' says Robin Hood,
'Nor I'll none of it have.'

50.
'But now I have slain the master,' he said,
'Let me go strike the knave;
This is all the reward I ask,
Nor no other will I have.'

51.
'Thou art a madman,' said the sheriff,
'Thou shouldest have had a knight's fee;
Seeing thy asking hath been so bad,
Well granted it shall be.'

52.
But Little John heard his master speak,
Well he knew that was his steven;
'Now shall I be loosed,' quoth Little John,
'With Christ's might in heaven.'

53.
But Robin he hied him towards Little John,
He thought he would loose him belive;
The sheriff and all his company
Fast after him did drive.

54.
'Stand aback! stand aback!' said Robin;
'Why draw you me so near?
It was never the use in our country
One's shrift another should hear.'

55.
But Robin pulled forth an Irish knife,
And loosed John hand and foot,
And gave him Sir Guy's bow in his hand,
And bade it be his boot.

56.
But John took Guy's bow in his hand
(His arrows were rawsty by the root);
The sheriff saw Little John draw a bow
And fettle him to shoot.

57.
Towards his house in Nottingham
He fled full fast away,
And so did all his company,
Not one behind did stay.

58.
But he could neither so fast go,
Nor away so fast run,
But Little John, with an arrow broad,
Did cleave his heart in twain.

[Annotations:
1.1: 'shaws,' woods: 'sheen,' beautiful: 'shradds,' copses.
2.1: 'woodweel,' a small warbler. Percy, Ritson, Hazlitt,
Halliwell, Child, Murray, Hales, and Furnivall, have variously
identified it with the woodpecker, woodlark, redbreast,
greenfinch, nuthatch, and 'golden ouzle.'
2.2: 'lyne,' tree.
3.4: 'wroken,' avenged.
4.1: 'swevens,' dreams.
5.1: 'Busk ye, bown ye' = get ready.
7.3: 'capul-hide,' horse-skin.
10.2: 'And' = if. So in next line.
12.4: 'slade,' valley, ravine.
15.2: 'fettled,' prepared.
16.3,4: 'bale, boot,' trouble, help.
20.1: 'quoth the sheriff' is added in the MS.
22.2: See 2.2 and 33.2, where it is obviously a commonplace.
24.1,2: Sir Guy means he has lost his way, and does not know the
time of day.
26.1: 'whether' = which of the two. Robin, of course, is speaking.
27.1: 'masteries,' feats of skill.
27.4: 'unset Steven,' unfixed time: _i.e._ by chance.
28.1: 'shroggy,' wands, sticks.
28.4: 'pricks,' marks for shooting at.
31.2,4: The 'garland' was simply a circular wreath, hung upon the
'prick-wand,' or upright stick.
35.2: 'set by' = care for.
36.4: 'brown': see _Glossary of Ballad Commonplaces_, First Series,
p. xlix.
38.1: 'reckless on,' heedless of.
40.3: 'awkward,' unexpected: another ballad-commonplace.
42.3: 'That' = so that.
45.4: We are not told how Robin knew what his men were doing.
46.4: 'low,' hill.
52.2: 'steven,' voice.
53.2: 'belive,' forthwith.
56.2: 'rawsty by the root.' It is suggested that this means rusty
(_i.e._ with blood) at the root (tip, end).]

ROBIN HOOD'S DEATH

+The Text+ is modernised from the Percy Folio MS. (c. 1650). At two points, after 8.3 and 18.2, half a page of the MS., or about nine stanzas, is missing--torn out and 'used by maids to light the fire' in Humphry Pitt's house, where Percy discovered the volume (see Introduction, First Series, xxxix.). At the end another half-page is lacking, but Child thinks that it represents only a few verses. He also indicates a lacuna after st. 4, though none appears in the MS.

+The Story+ of this version, mutilated as it is, agrees in its main incidents with that given at the end of the _Gest_ (stt. 451-455). Another variant, _Robin Hood's Death and Burial_, extant in two or three eighteenth-century 'Garlands,' but none the less of good derivation, gives no assistance at either hiatus, and we are left with a couple of puzzles.

The opening of the ballad, stt. 1-6, should be compared with _Robin Hood and the Monk_, stt. 6-10, where Much takes Will Scarlett's place. Robin, shooting for a penny with Little John along the way, comes to a black water with a plank across it, and an old woman on the plank is cursing Robin Hood. He has been already reminded by Scarlett that he has a yeoman foe at Kirklees; but neither the banning of the witch, nor the weeping of others ('We,' 9.3), presumably women, deter him. The explanation of the witch is lost.

Having arrived at Kirklees and submitted to being bled, Robin at length suspects treason, and hints as much to Little John. The latter may be indoors with his master, or, as Child thinks, calling to Robin through a window from below. Here the second hiatus occurs; and when the ballad resumes, we can only guess that st. 19 is Robin's final retort after an altercation with somebody, presumably Red Roger, who is perhaps the 'yeoman' referred to by Will Scarlett. A final difficulty is raised by the word 'mood' in st. 23; but Child's emendation is not improbable, and Robin himself realises that he must take his 'housel' in an irregular way.

In the Garland version Robin goes alone to Kirklees, where his 'cousin' bleeds him, and leaves him to bleed all day and all night in a locked room. He summons Little John with 'weak blasts three' of his horn, and bids him dig a grave where the last arrow shot by Robin Hood falls.

ROBIN HOOD'S DEATH

1.
'I will never eat nor drink,' Robin Hood said,
'Nor meat will do me no good,
Till I have been at merry Churchlees,
My veins for to let blood.'

2.
'That I rede not,' said Will Scarlett,
'Master, by the assent of me,
Without half a hundred of your best bowmen
You take to go with ye.

3.
'For there a good yeoman doth abide,
Will be sure to quarrel with thee,
And if thou have need of us, master,
In faith we will not flee.'

4.
'And thou be fear'd, thou William Scarlett,
At home I rede thee be.'
'And you be wroth, my dear master,
You shall never hear more of me.'
... ... ...

5.
'For there shall no man with me go,
Nor man with me ride,
And Little John shall be my man,
And bear my benbow by my side.'

6.
'You'st bear your bow, master, yourself,
And shoot for a penny with me.'
'To that I do assent,' Robin Hood said,
'And so, John, let it be.'

7.
They two bold children shotten together,
All day theirself in rank,
Until they came to black water,
And over it laid a plank.

8.
Upon it there kneeled an old woman,
Was banning Robin Hood,
'Why dost thou ban Robin Hood?' said Robin,
... ... ...

9.
... ... ...
To give to Robin Hood;
We weepen for his dear body,
That this day must be let blood.'

10.
'The dame prior is my aunt's daughter,
And nigh unto my kin;
I know she would me no harm this day,
For all the world to win.'

11.
Forth then shotten these children two,
And they did never lin,
Until they came to merry Churchlees,
To merry Churchlees within.

12.
And when they came to merry Churchlees,
They knocked upon a pin;
Up then rose dame prioress,
And let good Robin in.

13.
Then Robin gave to dame prioress
Twenty pound in gold,
And bade her spend while that would last,
And she should have more when she wold.

14.
And down then came dame prioress,
Down she came in that ilk,
With a pair of blood-irons in her hands,
Were wrappëd all in silk.

15.
'Set a chafing-dish to the fire,' said dame prioress,
'And strip thou up thy sleeve!'
I hold him but an unwise man
That will no warning 'lieve.

16.
She laid the blood-irons to Robin Hood's vein,
Alack, the more pity!
And pierced the vein, and let out the blood,
That full red was to see.

17.
And first it bled the thick, thick blood,
And afterwards the thin,
And well then wist good Robin Hood
Treason there was within.

18.
'What cheer, my master?' said Little John;
'In faith, Little John, little good;
... ... ...
... ... ...

*** *** ***

19.
'I have upon a gown of green,
Is cut short by my knee,
And in my hand a bright brown brand
That will well bite of thee.'

20.
But forth then of a shot-window,
Good Robin Hood he could glide;
Red Roger, with a grounden glaive,
Thrust him through the milk-white side.

21.
But Robin was light and nimble of foot,
And thought to abate his pride,
For between his head and his shoulders
He made a wound full wide.

22.
Says, 'Lie there, lie there, Red Roger,
The dogs they must thee eat;
For I may have my housel,' he said,
'For I may both go and speak.

23.
'Now give me mood,' Robin said to Little John,
'Give me mood with thy hand;
I trust to God in heaven so high
My housel will me bestand.'

24.
'Now give me leave, give me leave, master,' he said,
'For Christ's love give leave to me
To set a fire within this hall,
And to burn up all Churchlee.'

25.
'That I rede not,' said Robin Hood then,
'Little John, for it may not be;
If I should do any widow hurt, at my latter end,
God,' he said, 'would blame me;

26.
'But take me upon thy back, Little John,
And bear me to yonder street,
And there make me a full fair grave
Of gravel and of greet.

27.
And set my bright sword at my head,
Mine arrows at my feet,
And lay my yew-bow by my side,
My met-yard wi . . .'

[Annotations:
2.1: 'rede,' advise.
4.1,3: 'And,' if.
4.4: 'A stanza or more seems to be lost here.' --Child. There is,
however, no break in the MS.
6.1: 'You'st' = you shall.
8.2: 'banning,' cursing.
11.2: 'lin,' stop.
14.2: 'in that ilk' [time], at that same moment.
14.3: 'blood-irons,' lancets for bleeding.
20.3: 'glaive,' a sword or knife tied to the end of a pole.
22.3: 'housel,' communion, sacrament.
23.1: 'give me mood': Child suggests 'give me my God,' _i.e._
the consecrated Host. He admits it is a bold emendation, but
cites some striking parallels in support of it.
23.4: 'bestand,' help.
26.4: 'greet,' grit, sand.
27.4: 'met-yard,' measuring-rod.]

ADAM BELL, CLYM OF THE CLOUGH AND WILLIAM OF CLOUDESLY

+The Text.+--The earliest complete text, here given, was printed by William Copland between 1548 and 1568: there are extant two printed fragments, one printed by John Byddell in 1536, and the other in a type older than Copland's. Later, there are two editions printed by James Roberts in 1605; and finally a MS. text in the Percy Folio (c. 1650).

Copland's text is obviously full of faults, and in emendations I have mostly followed Child.