Robin Hood ALTERNATIVE

Robin Hood
an alternative view
by Frank Dennett MBE
Sheriff of Nottingham 1980 - 81 and 1984 - 85
There has never been any doubt that Robin Hood, of Nottingham,*DISPUTED YORKSHIRE outlaw, bane of successive Sheriffs enemy of the rich, benefactor of the poor and eternal hero of the English people, at home or abroad, really existed.

To say that Robin was not a real person is to make a profound statement for which no evidence exists to substantiate it. Many have written in support of our hero and many against; the latter being of the opinion that he was a myth, a creation of ballads and a figment of the imagination, but evidence has been presented, mainly by Jim Lees, Nottinghamshire, who has researched the history over nearly forty years, to prove, beyond a doubt, that Robin Hood lived; but not during the period indicated by the legend made popular by the American film makers.

England, prior to the Norman Conquest of 1066, was inhabited by Saxons and, when William I took control of his 'new lands', the area of land central to our story was in the hands of a Saxon Lord by the name of William Anschetil. The land in question was the Kyme lands of Lincolnshire which, coming under the control of the Conqueror, became the responsibility of Gilbert de Grant (Gaunt) 1086 who, as one of William's Knights, managed it for the King. The said Gilbert died without issue and the Kyme estate passed into the hands of Ralph Fitzooth (Knight) (1106-1147) who had been the Steward of de Grant. Ralph married Maud, from which association one child, a daughter named Hawise (Avice) (1147-1194), was born, who married the Saxon, Philip de Kyme, still styled Lord of Kyme.

A quirk of history came with the marriage, for, Philip was the greatgrandson of William (Lord at the time of the Conqueror) and grandson of William Fitz Anschetil (1066-1115/6), tenant of Waldron, the engineer, and son of Simon Fitz William (1115-1161/2), the founder of Bollington Priory; note the change of name which was common in those times. Philip de Kyme's son, Simon, Sheriff of Lincoln, 1197, supported the Barons against John; he married Rohese, co-heiress of Robert de Maltby, and died in 1220. Simon had a son, Philip, supporter of the Barons, until 1217, who married Agnes Welles (Walleys) from which marriage came another Simon, Lord of Kyme, and he married Maud de Ferrers (daughter of William de Ferrers, Earl of Derby, Lord of Loxley), but he died in 1248 without issue, so that the title, Lord of Kyme, passed to his brother William whose first wife Rohese, presented him with a son, Robert, and a daughter Margaret.


Around the period 1240 to 1250, Rohese died and William took a second wife, Lucy, who was the daughter of William de Roos, at one time Lord of the Manor of Warsop, North Nottinghamshire, and grandaughter of William, the Lion of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon. William's second marriage resulted in two sons, Philip and Simon. The eldest son, Robert, as a minor, held lands in Oxcombe, Lincolnshire, of his Uncle Simon who held them of the Earl of Chester. So it is correct to say that, in all, there is some substance in the notion that this Robert had pretentions to being 'a noble man' with connections to the Earl of Huntingdon.

However, Robert de Kyme, whose father William, Lord of Kyme, lived at Bilborough Manor, Nottingham, never succeeded to the title for, in 1226, he was accused of crime(s) and, failing to respond to the demands of the courts, under the jurisdiction of the Sheriffs, on behalf of the King, he was, eventually, declared an outlaw; his father disowned him.

It appears that Robert, fearing for his life, due to his family's action in the Baron uprising against the King, changed his name to Robin Hood and took to the Sherwood Forest. Following his successful battle against the Barons (Evesham 1265), King Henry III, and his son Prince Edward, visited Nottingham to flush out the remnants of their opposition; it is here that we get the basis of the story of Robin Hood. King Henry III made another visit to Nottingham, on 23rd. August 1268 and, in the years 1269, 1270 and 1290, Edward 1 visited the town and, along with the Sheriff's organised the search and capture of Robin Hood.

In the Calendar of Patent Rolls, Public Records Office, "In 1272 by the King's writ of February 11th. at Westminster, Reginald de Grey, Sheriff at the time, waged war on Robin and was paid one hundred marks to rid the counties of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire of robbers, on horseback and on foot, who molested religious and other persons and spoiled them of their sport".

As indicated earlier, the Sheriff was a local officer, appointed by the King and, during Robin's lifetime, there was several, some being: -

1214 Phillip Marc
1224 Ralph filius Nicholai
1236 Hugh filius Radulfi
1246 Robert Vavassur (Lord of Bilborough)
1260 Simon de Aslakiston (Aslockton)
1264 John de Grey
1266 Reginald de Grey
1279 Sir Gervase de Clifton

These Sheriffs were successful noblemen and lived at the Red Lodge, in what is now Angel Row, in Nottingham City Centre. It can be said that many of the exploits of Robin Hood, his outlaws, the Sheriff's, the King's and the Clergy were 'embroidered" by the legend but, sufficient information indicates that they emanated from similar, less flamboyant, activities.

One feature of Robin Hood's character was that he was extremely pious and devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary; he was fearless in his strength of her protection. Because he so respected womanhood, it was the law of the outlaw band that no harm be done to any woman, or man in woman's company - a command that he reminded Little John of at the time of his death.

Today, we cannot seperate Robin Hood from Maid Marian, who remains a chaste lady - usually in the castle under "house arrest" by the 'wicked Sheriff', and warned Robin of danger, but the fact is that there never was such a person. The Maid Marian was originally created by the Morris Dancers, on the occasion of the May Festivals (and others as time went by), as the personification of the Blessed Mary; Robin Hood also featured in these festive activities.

Little John, so called for his heavy stature, was, in fact, John Nailer (Naylor), a nail maker, originally called John of the
Little; tradition has it that John lived in a cottage on Peafield Lane, between Mansfield Woodhouse and Edwinstowe, which is the Site of old Roman Road,

Friar Tuck was a character representative of many people, over the years, and, unlike Robin Hood, never existed as a real person for friars were not established until some time later. It is suggested that the name is derived from "Frere Tucke" (Brother or friend Tucke) a name given by locals to a person who misbehaved and was a troublemaker. Another story is that some person, in Robin Hood's band of outlaws, had a close assocation with the monks at Lenton Priory, in Nottingham, and this led to his christening as Friar Tuck.

George '0' Green was a local pinder, a person who looked after the animal pound and Gilbert of the Lilly White Hand was so named for his "purity". Will Stukely, Right Hitting Brand and others would, no doubt, be names given by the people where they lived.

Will Scarlet (Scathelocke) is reputed to have been buried near a church at Blidworth but no record of his death, or burial, nor have any remains been found. Scathelocke is a nickname derived from "scathe" to burn, and "locke" meaning hair; Scarlet was a red head.


Much the miller's son was a close friend of the Kyme family and
thus had to be local for, as Robin's father owned Bilborough
Manor, which included a mill, on the River Leen - Boburmilne (now
Bobbers Mill), Nottingham; it could be that Much (Mycel or
Mulohel) was the son of the miller.

Alan a Dale was "the man who lived in the dale". History has it that, in the village church, of Papplewick, where Alan lived, Robin and his men took from the Bishop the sweet maiden he was to marry to an old and wealthy Norman, and restored her to her true love Alan. On the Bishop's insistance that the marriage could not be legal, as the banns had not been called, Robin took from him his cope and mitre and gave them to Little John who called the banns seven times to make sure the matter was legal.

little John

read the original page

Johanas Littel, John Le Litel, John Littel, John Little, Littel John, Little John all names synonymous with the legendary figure. As for his birthplace, the Geste places this in Holderness, East Riding of Yorkshire/Humberside. Some suggest he was the son of William de Faucumberg of Catfoss manor in Holderness.
Local tradition at Hathersage in Derbyshire says that Little John retired and was buried here in the churchyard. No other place has claimed this, although the same could not be said for his commander.
Eliza Ashmole writing in the late 1600's first recorded that Little John's bow hung in the church chancel and that he was buried at Hathersage with a stone set at each end with a large distance between.
In 1784 the local church vicar, Charles Spencer-Stanhope (d.1874) wrote that the squires brother, William ShuttleworthRobin and Little John hung a thigh bone, reputedly from Little John's grave in his room. However as it was thought to be bringing poor fortune to its owner, it was ordered to be reburied by his clerk. But the clerk kept the labelled bone in his window as a curio.
When the father of Charles Spencer-Stanhope (Walter Spencer-Stanhope of Cannon Hall and Horsforth Hall 1749-1821) and Sir George Strickland were visiting Hathersage, Strickland* is reported to have "run away with it" and it has never been recovered.

It was William Shuttleworth who in the late 1700's had the grave body exhumed, the thigh bone was measured at 291/2 inches by the woodsman Mr. Hinchcliffe.
The grave was reported to be two stones 13 feet apart which were erected by the Ancient Order of Foresters in 1929.
The reputed bow of Little John hung on the walls of Hathersage church until 1729. From here it was taken by the Spencer-Stanhope family caput, Cannon Hall in Cawthorne. Here it remained until the early 1950's. The bow was hung below the minstrel gallery in the Cannon Hall ballroom [built 1891]. The bow that was personally observed in the early 1950's hanging in the ballroom was more like a recurved heavy, thick bow, one end broken and with the other end tipped with a horn. It looked nothing like the bow shown in the photograph [below] taken in the grounds of Cannon Hall during the inter-war period,. This purportedly shows 'Little John's bow', a six foot long, thin, tapering weapon, held by an archaeologist, H.C. Haldane of Clarke, Hall near Wakefield.

taxus bocata the yew tree

A NATION OF ARCHERS

robin hood

Best known for his stirring adventures, Robin Hood is also an object of study by archivists and historians, seeking traces of a real Robin Hood who might, like the equally elusive King Arthur, be the real figure behind the myths -- or legends, as such historians would want to call them. In 1852 Joseph Hunter found a man called Robin Hood who was actually a valet to King Edward II in the north of England and assumed that he lay behind some of the story of the Gest. But there was no sign that the king's valet was ever thought of as an outlaw. More recently archivists have found other traces of criminals known to the medieval legal authorities as Hood, R.

The earliest contender is one Robert Hod, described as a fugitive, who is mentioned in the York assizes record of 1226: his goods were being confiscated because he owed money to St. Peter's of York (Owen, 1936). The debt is not unlike that of Sir Richard in the Gest and certainly consistent with the fierce hostility toward abbeys and rich churchmen through the whole myth. A slightly later reference speaks of William Le Fevre, son of a smith, who was indicted at Reading for larceny in 1261 (Crook, 1984). Nothing very surprising about that, except that in the following year there is another reference to him, and now he is called William Robehod, as if that surname has become appropriate to his condition as a fugitive from justice.

The fact that Robin Hood's name was interpreted in that way in legal circles is clear from a record from Tutbury, Staffordshire for 1439, which says that a certain Piers Venables, of nearby Aston,

gadered and assembled unto hym many misdoers beynge of his clothinge and, in manere of insurrection, wente into the wodes in that contre, like as it hadde be Robyn Hode and his meyne. (Child, 1965, III, 41)

romantic

robin was litterate - his mark

we know from archived sources more than is commonly assumed about Bob hod

worldwide culture

The story of Robin Hood has many parallels around the world in myth, folklore and mythology. One of the most strikingly similar stories is the Ramayana, the sacred tale of the adventures of the Hindu lord Rama, an atavar (human incarnation) of the god Krishna.

Rama was a crown prince who was wrongly exiled to the forest for fourteen years. He was a skilled archer who won his wife's hand by proving his skill with the bow. His beautiful wife Sita and his loyal brother Laksmana accompanied him into the forest in exile, where they lived by hunting game. Sita was abducted by a monster and Rama was aided in rescuing her by a monkey named Hanuman, a servant of the monkey king. In return, Rama helped the deposed king of the monkeys reclaim his throne from a usurper brother.

From this synopsis, we can see the structural parallels with the Robin Hood story. Robin, the outlaw archer, banished to the forest, like Rama, is accompanied by his wife Marian (from the early 16th century at least) and his loyal lieutenant (and, in a 17th century version, cousin) Little John. In many of the later romances, Marian is abducted by the sheriff or his men and must be rescued. Also, since Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe, Robin Hood has been the supporter of King Richard over his usurper brother Prince John.

Certainly from the time of the British colonization of India, beginning in 1600 CE, there has been contact between the two cultures. The evolution of the Robin Hood story may thus in part reflect a knowledge of the Ramayana among Britons who had visited India. At the same time, the two cultures share an ancient linguistic and cultural heritage, representing the western and eastern extremities of the Indo-European language region. The basic similarity then, of Rama and Robin, as archer heroes exiled to the forest, may reflect an ancient Proto-Indo-European myth that has developed separately in the two wideflung cultures, only to coalesce further at the time of renewed cultural contact.

Looking farther east, beyond the Indo-European region, we find a second surprising parallel to the Robin Hood myth, in the 14th century Chinese novel "The Water Margins", about the 12th century outlaw Song Jiang and his band of 108 freedom fighters who retreated to a swampland wilderness to wage war against a corrupt feudal system. Perhaps, here the closer parallel is to the historical figure Hereward the Wake, the Saxon hero who held Ely and its surrounding boglands against the invading Normans. Hereward, of course, is thought to be one of the historical models for the Robin Hood legend.

handfasting, traditions , sherwood

There is much debate as to where Robin's forest really was. Although Nottingham has the strongest literary tradition, Barnsdale Forest in Yorkshire and Plumpton Park in Lancashire also lay claim to the legend. Sadly, the Sherwood Forest near Nottingham is greatly diminished in size, increasingly encroached by human settlement. To learn about the efforts being made to conserve what is left, check out the Sherwood Initiative homepage.

Within the remaining forest of Sherwood is a huge, ancient oak tree, known as the Major Oak. Once thought to be 1000 years old, it is the fabled meeting place of Robin and his men. The tree is now propped up to prevent it succumbing to age. Modern dating techniques suggest the tree may actually be only 300 years old, but it is symbolic of Robin and the Greenwood nonetheless. As we have argued, Robin is the Oak King, and any such venerable tree would be sacred to him.

The name "Sherwood" derives from the term "shire wood", meaning the forest local to a shire or region. As such, it is a fairly generic term. Rather than being a single physical place, Sherwood is more likely an abstraction, representing "the wilderness" as a whole.

Within the legends of Sherwood, time stands still. It is perpetually May Day inside Sherwood forest. The Wheel of the Year has ground to a halt. Robin and Marian are the eternal springtime divine lovers. They live happily ever after together without needing to marry, have children, work or grow old. Although there is a ballad telling of the death of Robin, the character will not die. Rather, he is continuously reborn, like the Sun at the Winter Solstice. The tales of Robin & Marian continue to be rewritten and retold even to this day. Perhaps, just as Arthur sleeps in Avalon, to arise when Britain has need of him, so too does Robin sleep in Sherwood, ready to awake and return.

greenwood marriage

Robin Hood is a part of our popular culture, and has been for over 600 years. This outlaw of medieval England has seemingly appeared everywhere. Medieval chroniclers like Andrew of Wyntoun (c. 1420) and Walter Bower (c. 1440) happily accepted Robin�s existence, and his wide appeal led to brief mentions in various texts. Scholars have long searched for the origin of Robin Hood, for an identifiable, historical outlaw in the Sherwood or Barnsdale area. The opening quote from Langland�s Piers Plowman (c. 1377) is Robin�s first appearance in a text, be it literary or historical, and it is not a shining reference. Sloth suggests songs of Robin Hood are widely known in taverns, implying he is a popular figure without a literary pedigree. Clearly, Robin Hood is of no importance to the aristocracy, but he holds some currency in popular circles. Sloth�s familiarity with drinking songs about Robin Hood, but utter lack of knowledge of things spiritual, also reflects the concern of the Church for the souls of people who likely attended mass grudgingly, but could readily recite popular songs. Later texts similarly present Robin as a popular figure, and few strictly medieval documents featuring Robin survive.




The pagan themes embedded within the Robin Hood legend become increasingly clear when we examine the rites associated with the celebration of Beltane, or May Day as the festival is now more commonly known.

In pre-christian Britain on Beltane Eve, large bonfires were lit on the hilltops, and the community gathered and danced around them. Young couples would sneak away from the festivities, into the shadows and nearby woods to tryst. They would stay out all night, ostensibly gathering hawthorn flowers (the "may" flower) to welcome in the dawn on May Day morn.

In anticipation of these trysts, the young men would prepare a lovers' nest somewhere private, in the nearby woods or countryside. They would make a bower, a crude shelter of branches, decorated with flowers. The folk name for these love nests is "Robin Hood's Bowers". The young couples would make love in these rustic arbours and their unions were sanctioned by the community and referred to as "Greenwood Marriages". Children born of these couplings were considered particularly blessed and known as "Children of the May" or "merrybegots". Some couples chose to make their liaisons more formal and entered into trial marriages at Beltane, becoming handfast for a year and a day. At some of these weddings, a Friar Tuck figure officiated.

guy de gisborne

ROBIN HOOD AND GUY OF GISBORNE

Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne
Edited by Stephen Knight and Thomas H. Ohlgren
Originally Published in Robin Hood and Other Outlaw Tales
Kalamazoo, Michigan: Medieval Institute Publications, 1997


When shawes beene sheene and shradds full fayre, 1
And leeves both large and longe,
Itt is merry, walking in the fayre forrest,
To heare the small birds singe.

The woodweele sang, and wold not cease,
Amongst the leaves a lyne.
"And it is by two wight yeoman,
By deare God, that I meane.

"Me thought they did mee beate and binde,
And tooke my bow mee froe;
If I bee Robin a-live in this lande,
Ile be wrocken on both them towe."

"Sweavens are swift, master," quoth John,
"As the wind that blowes ore a hill,
For if itt be never soe lowde this night,
To-morrow it may be still."

"Buske yee, bowne yee, my merry men all,
For John shall goe with mee,
For Ile goe seeke yond wight yeomen
In greenwood where the bee."

The cast on their gowne of greene,
A shooting gone are they,
Untill they came to the merry greenwood,
Where they had gladdest bee;
There were the ware of wight yeoman,
His body leaned to a tree.

A sword and a dagger he wore by his side,
Had beene many a mans bane,
And he was cladd in his capull-hyde,
Topp, and tayle, and mayne.

"Stand you still, master," quoth Litle John,
"Under this trusty tree,
And I will goe to yond wight yeoman,
To know his meaning trulye."

"A, John, by me thou setts noe store,
And thats a farley thinge;
How offt send I my men beffore,
And tarry myselfe behinde?

"It is noe cunning a knave to ken,
And a man but heare him speake;
And itt were not for bursting of my bowe,
John, I wold thy head breake."

But often words they breeden bale,
That parted Robin and John;
John is gone to Barnsdale,
The gates he knowes eche one.

And when hee came to Barnesdale,
Great heavinesse there hee hadd;
He found two of his owne fellowes
Were slaine both in a slade,

And Scarlett a foote flyinge was,
Over stockes and stone,
For the sheriffe with seven score men
Fast after him is gone.

"Yett one shoote Ile shoote," sayes Litle John,
"With Crist his might and mayne;
Ile make yond fellow that flyes soe fast
To be both glad and faine."

John bent up a good yeiwe bow,
And fetteled him to shoote;
The bow was made of a tender boughe,
And fell downe to his foote.

"Woe worth thee, wicked wood," sayd Litle John,
"That ere thou grew on a tree!
For this day thou art my bale,
My boote when thou shold bee!"

This shoote it was but looselye shott,
The arrowe flew in vaine,
And it mett one of the sheriffes men;
Good William a Trent was slaine.

It had beene better for William a Trent
To hange upon a gallowe
Then for to lye in the greenwoode,
There slaine with an arrowe.

And it is sayd, when men be mett,
Six can doe more then three:
And they have tane Litle John,
And bound him fast to a tree.

"Thou shalt be drawen by dale and downe,"
quoth the sheriffe,
"And hanged hye on a hill."
"But thou may fayle," quoth Litle John,
"If itt be Christs owne will."

Let us leave talking of Litle John,
For hee is bound fast to a tree,
And talke of Guy and Robin Hood,
In the green woode where they bee.

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

"Good morrow, good fellow," quoth Sir Guy;
"Good morrow, good felow," quoth hee,
"Methinkes by this bow thou beares in thy hand,
A good archer thou seems to be."

"I am wilfull of my way," quoth Sir Guye,
"And of my morning tyde."
"Ile lead thee through the wood," quoth Robin,
"Good felow, Ile be thy guide."

"I seeke an outlaw," quoth Sir Guye,
"Men call him Robin Hood;
I had rather meet with him upon a day,
Then forty pound of golde."

"If you tow mett, itt wold be seene whether were better
Afore yee did part awaye;
Let us some other pastime find,
Good fellow, I thee pray.

"Let us some other masteryes make,
And wee will walke in the woods even;
Wee may chance meet with Robin Hoode
Att some unsett steven."

They cutt them downe the summer shroggs
Which grew both under a bryar,
And sett them three score rood in twinn,
To shoote the prickes full neare.

"Leade on, good fellow," sayd Sir Guye,
"Lead on, I doe bidd thee."
"Nay, by my faith," quoth Robin Hood,
"The leader thou shalt bee."

The first good shoot that Robin ledd
Did not shoote an inch the pricke froe;
Guy was an archer good enoughe,
But he cold neere shoote soe.

The second shoote Sir Guy shott,
He shott within the garlande;
But Robin Hoode shott it better than hee,
For he clove the good pricke-wande.

"Gods blessing on thy heart!" sayes Guye,
"Goode fellow, thy shooting is goode,
For an thy hart be as good as thy hands,
Thou were better then Robin Hood.

"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."

"I dwell by dale and downe," quoth Guye,
"And I have done many a curst turne;
And he that calles me by my right name
Calles me Guye of good Gysborne."

"My dwelling is in the wood," sayes Robin,
"By thee I set right nought;
My name is Robin Hood of Barnesdale,
A fellow thou has long sought."

He that had neither beene a kithe nor kin
Might have seene a full fayre sight,
To see how together these yeomen went,
With blades both browne and bright.

To have seene how these yeomen together fought,
Two howers of a summers day;
Itt was neither Guy nor Robin Hood
That fettled them to flye away.

Robin was reachles on a roote,
And stumbled at that tyde,
And Guy was quicke and nimble with-all,
And hitt him ore the left side.

"Ah, deere Lady!" sayd Robin Hoode,
"Thou art both mother and may!
I thinke it was never mans destinye
To dye before his day."

Robin thought on Our Lady deere,
And soone leapt up againe,
And thus he came with an awkwarde stroke;
Good Sir Guy hee has slayne.

He tooke Sir Guys head by the hayre,
And sticked itt on his bowes end:
"Thou hast beene traytor all thy liffe,
Which thing must have an ende."

Robin pulled forth an Irish kniffe,
And nicked Sir Guy in the face,
That hee was never on a woman borne
Cold tell who Sir Guye was.

Saies, "Lye there, lye there, good Sir Guye,
And with me be not wrothe;
If thou have had the worse stroakes at my hand,
Thou shalt have the better cloathe."

Robin did his gowne of greene,
On Sir Guye it throwe;
And hee put on that capull-hyde,
That cladd him topp to toe.

"The bowe, the arrowes, and litle horne,
And with me now Ile beare;
For now I will goe to Barnsdale,
To see how my men doe fare."

Robin sett Guyes horne to his mouth,
A lowd blast in it he did blow;
That beheard the sheriffe of Nottingham,
As he leaned under a lowe.

"Hearken! hearken!" sayd the sheriffe,
"I heard noe tydings but good,
For yonder I heare Sir Guyes horne blowe,
For he hath slaine Robin Hoode.

"For yonder I heare Sir Guyes horne blow,
Itt blowes soe well in tyde,
For yonder comes that wight yeoman,
Cladd in his capull-hyde.

"Come hither, thou good Sir Guy,
Aske of mee what thou wilt have."
"Ile none of thy gold," sayes Robin Hood,
"Nor Ile none of itt have."

"But now I have slaine the master," he sayd,
"Let me goe strike the knave;
This is all the reward I aske,
Nor noe other will I have."

"Thou art a madman," said the shiriffe,
"Thou sholdest have had a knights fee;
Seeing thy asking bee soe badd,
Well granted it shall be."

But Litle John heard his master speake,
Well he knew that was his steven;
"Now shall I be loset," quoth Litle Iohn,
"With Christs might in heaven."

But Robin hee hyed him towards Litle John,
Hee thought hee wold loose him belive;
The sheriffe and all his companye
Fast after him did drive.

"Stand abacke! stand abacke!" sayd Robin;
"Why draw you mee soe neere?
Itt was never the use in our countrye
One's shrift another shold heere."

But Robin pulled forth an Irysh kniffe,
And losed John hand and foote,
And gave him Sir Guyes bow in his hand,
And bade it be his boote.

But John tooke Guyes bow in his hand
His arrowes were rawstye by the roote;
The sherriffe saw Litle John draw a bow
And fettle him to shoote.

Towards his house in Nottingam
He fled full fast away,
And soe did all his companye,
Not one behind did stay.

But he cold neither soe fast goe,
Nor away soe fast runn,
But Litle John, with an arrow broade,
Did cleave his heart in twinn.
(see note)


(see note)

woodwall (golden oriole); (see note)
of the lime tree
sturdy; (see note)



from me

revenged; two

Dreams; (see note)
over
loud


Prepare you, get ready


they

They put on; (see note)



they were aware; (see note)
against a tree


murderer
horse-hide



trysting tree; (see note)




amazing



takes no skill to know a knave
If
damaging


cause anger

(see note)
ways



(see note)
forest glade

on foot
stumps



shot I'll shoot


happy

yew; (see note)
prepared



Misery come to you

trouble
help

inaccurately


(see note)







(see note)
taken
firmly

dragged by a horse
(see note)










lime (trees in general); (see note)
business


(see note)




uncertain
time













competitive feats of skill

(see note)
unexpected occasion

bushes

315 yards apart








center of the target




ring suspended on stick

stick that holds up ring



if; heart; (see note)








cursed deed

(see note)






friends or relatives


bloodstained


hours

prepared

careless; (see note)


on

Virgin Mary
maiden





backhanded; (see note)


hair




(see note)


Could


angry



took off; (see note)
Threw it over Guy's body
horse-hide




(see note)





stood; hill







time
(see note)








servant (i.e., Little John)




fief (land-holding)
(see note)



voice
set loose


hastened
at once






confession; (see note)




benefit


rusty with blood at their tips

prepare






could


twain; (see note)



ROBIN HOOD AND GUY OF GISBORNE: FOOTNOTES

1 When woods are bright, and branches full fair


ROBIN HOOD AND GUY OF GISBORNE: NOTES
1 MS: shales. Child emends to shawes, a word frequently used to set the early summer scene for a Robin Hood ballad. It is not an obvious error for a scribe to make, but no other likely emendation offers itself.

4 MS: singe. Child emends to songe for the sake of rhyme, but this seems unnecessary in the context of the fairly relaxed practices of ballad rhyming.

5 MS: woodweete. Child emends to woodweele, the woodwall or golden oriole; this may have become confused with bird names like godwit and peewit.

7 Editors have felt that although there is no break in the manuscript a substantial piece of narrative is missing. They feel that in the missing stanzas Robin has introduced and described a bad dream. Child locates the gap after line 8, and Dobson and Taylor agree. However, the reason they can reconstruct the notionally missing lines is that (unlike the case in Robin Hood and the Monk after line 120) there is no information missing from the poem. In view of the characteristic "leaping and lingering" style of ballads, and the way in which many Robin Hood adventures begin very rapidly after a short nature introduction, there seems in fact no reason other than the fixed ideas of realist-minded scholars to assume a gap here. The text works as it stands in the manuscript.

13 Little John tries to reassure Robin that since dreams are fleeting they do not need to be taken seriously. Dream lore is a popular theme in Middle English poetry; see Chaucer's Nun's Priest's Tale, lines 2907-3156; The House of Fame, 1-52; and The Romaunt of the Rose, lines 1-20. Like Pertelote in the Nun's Priest's Tale, Little John is giving Robin bad advice.

21 This is a six-line stanza, which can also be identified in several other early texts, e.g., Adam Bell, lines 358-63, Robin Hood and the Potter, lines 208-13, 254-59, 280-85, Robin Hood and the Monk, lines 137-42, as well as several stanzas in the short Robin and Gandeleyn.

25 Child inserts a between of and wight, but these early ballads are often very clipped in their utterance (as in line 28), and there is no convincing case for the emendation.

32 trusty tree. Presumably a corruption of the phrase "trystyng tree." It also appears as "trystyll" (trestle or platform) tree -- presumably suitable for speeches or even hangings. The three notions of tryst, trust, and trestle all embody central concepts of the outlaw band, with its meetings, fidelity, and occasional addresses by the leader.

45 Barnsdale. Child emends to Barnesdale, but this seems a freely varying spelling at this time.

49 Child omits owne.

59 yeiwe. Child reads the manuscript, damaged here, as veiwe and so, with less certainty, do Dobson and Taylor (1976, p. 142). Under ultra-violet light the word appears to be, as might be expected, yeiwe.

70 Dobson and Taylor comment "The confusion of sense in this stanza makes it probable that the text hereabouts is corrupt" (1976, p. 142); it is not clear what they mean by confusion. The action seems straightforward: because John's bow breaks, his inaccurate (and so "vaine," yet still fatal) shot misses the sheriff and hits one of his men.

76 Child reports this line as mostly illegible, but ultra violet light supports his hypothetical reading.

79 This is a long line; Percy remarks that quoth the sheriff has probably been added to clarify matters (Reliques, 1765, p. 80), yet these opening lines of speech with a speaker added recur in the ballads (see Gest, lines 309, 441, 629, 757, 1001, Potter, lines 21, 41, 81, 222, 226), and there seem no good grounds to emend; see line 103 below.

88 lyne. The lime tree is a linden, a tree that is particularly fragrant when in bloom. The term is used often for trees in general, however.

91 Guy speaks the first line and Robin the next three.

103 Guy pretends to be another forester, who also seeks Robin Hood; Little John uses the same maneuver in Robin Hood and the Monk, lines 162-82.

109 MS: mee. Ritson, Gutch, and Child emend to meet.

129 MS: on: an, meaning "if" seems a probable emendation.

138 Gysborne. Child says that "Gisburne is in the West Riding of Yorkshire, on the borders of Lancashire, seven miles from Clitheroe" (III, 91), but Bellamy suggests that Guy is connected with the village of "Guisborough in the North Riding (known in the middle ages as Giseburne)" (1985, pp. 34-35).

151 MS: reachles. Child emends to reacheles, presumably on metrical grounds, but this is unnecessary.

161 Percy emends to "backward," but "acward" meaning "back-handed," here spelled awkwarde, is common in Middle English.

167 Irish kniffe. Presumably a form of hunting knife.

175-76 MS: Robin did on his gowne of green, / On Syr Guye hee did it throwe. This does not make sense. Child emends on in line 175 to off, but this is still very awkward. It is better to assume that having inserted on erroneously in line 175 (because of the collocation with did in the context of clothing), the scribe then tried to patch line 176 by adding "hee did it." If these notional insertions are omitted, the text has the characteristically condensed tone of the early ballad.

181 MS: Barnsdale. As in line 45, Child inserts e unnecessarily.

193 wight. The MS has "wighty," which Child accepts, but this is probably a confusion of the true reading wight and "mighty."

205 Child inserts hath before MS beene. The manuscript reading is certainly unacceptable, but a better emendation would be bee, a subjunctive which a scribe could easily misread as a plural.

218 shrift. Robin continues the suggestion that he is to kill Little John and momentarily plays the priest, who hears the dying man's last words, as well as the executioner.

234 Percy euphemized the action by changing the line to "He shott him into the 'backe'-syde."

legend of bold Robin

The legend of Robin Hood has been questioned and debated for many years by historians and Robin Hood experts. The fallacy that the haunts of Robin Hood are all in Nottinghamshire has been constantly debated to the detriment of Robin’s Yorkshire connections. Most Robin Hood historians now recognise that Robin was a Yorkshireman who was born in Wakefield ,lived in Barnsdale Forest and died at Kirklees Priory all in Yorkshire . The ruined priory gatehouse, where he was gruesomely murdered by the wicked prioress ,is still in existence but both sites are on private land and access almost impossible , other than by stealthy trespass , & BEWARE the Armitage estate gamekeepers are known to be trigger happy . Slightly tongue in cheek , as in one famous incident a shotgun went off knocking the front teeth out of the gamekeeper , who swears he never touched the trigger . So if the living dont get you , maybe the undead will .
Latent energies abound places with so much mortal history , not only the murder of
Englands most famous son . Some 1200 years earlier a garrison of Roman soldiers occupied the site . I find it somewhat extraordinary that such a well preserved historic earthworks should be in such obscurity especially since it is so well preserved , though the timbers are gone it takes hardly any imagination to visualise
the medeival fortifications , the ramparts , the horses . In feudal Britain the deaths of Roman invaders at the hands of the merciless tribes of Brigantes & Celts
was what the soldiers were paid for . It is thought some 50 romans graves are within
a cockstride of the more well known victorian monument . Add to this 30 generations of cisterecian nuns all buried very nearby , & you dont need to question the witnesses who see all manner of ghostly manifestations at any time of day .
Among the dense dark copiced foliage is a surprisingly diverse animal population ,
badgers , hares , stoats , weasels & pine martens share the space with ubiquitous rabbits , squirrels , rats , foxes , & such like . I was recently afforded the stunning sight of a goshawk closing in on its prey , this beautiful & rare bird of prey , so remeniscent of the falconry of old . I should point out I am a keen ornitholigist & know the difference between goshawk & the more numerous accipter nisis sparrowhawk . Also a magnificent bird , but somewhat smaller .

****************************

Stories of paranormal phenomena have been reported,including ghosts,vampires and secret exorcisms. Druidic , Pagan , witcha , Shamen & even Yuri Geller have ritualised & sought enchantment at this most spiritual of places A book by Barbara Green SECRETS OF THE GRAVE lifts the lid off the story of Robin Hood’s death and some
of its amazing twentieth & twenty-first century consequences.

kirklees priory

Kirklees Priory was founded in the twelfth century by Reinor de Fleming,the manor lord of Clifton, West Yorkshire. The Rule was Cistercian and at first very strict, but as time passed, the “White Ladies”--so called because of the colour of their undyed habits--became less dedicated to the religious ideal. Many of them were the unwanted daughters of gentry with no real vocation to the cloistered life. The sisters were often admonished by visiting bishops for indulging in worldy ways ,keeping dogs, trimming their habits up , going out dancing--and for inviting men onto the holy premises!


In 1300 Pope Boniface VIII published a Papal Bull, PERICULOSO, which forbade such unseemly goings on, but the nuns threw the document after the bishop who came to deliver it , and chased him off the premises. In 1315 there were scandalous reports in circulation about the nuns of Kirklees. It was reported that one “Alice de Raggid, deceived by the allurements of frail flesh,in great levity of mind,hath gone forth from her house and hath wandered in great peril,having long ago put off her religious habit.” Later on,two more nuns,Elizabeth de Hopton and Joan de Heton,along with the rebellious Alice (who must have returned to the nunnery by then) were accused of admitting both clergy and laymen to “the secret places of the monastery........from which there is suspicion of sin and great scandal arises.” No wonder Robin came to such a sticky end among such flighty creatures !
The nunnery was finally dissolved, with the other Yorkshire monasteries, by Henry V111 IN 1539, after which Kirklees Hall was built on the nearby hillside,using the stones of the fallen priory. Only the gatehouse,where Robin died, was left standing. Today,like the grave,it is danger of being lost to our heritage as it is allowed to slowly crumble away, unchecked and unhindered by any official attempts to prevent the destruction.

The prioress who killed Robin, either intentionally or accidentally, has never been identified. Existing lists of prioresses are incomplete, plus no one knows for certain exactly when Robin died, though the pseudo medieval inscription on his Gothic-style grave states 24 December,1247. This may have been a miswriting of an earlier inscription, as 1347 is the estimated date of death for Robin Hood of Wakefield.
The grave of Prioress Elizabeth de Stainton is still standing in the grounds of Kirklees, a short distance from the gatehouse, but obviously there would have been many more unexcavated graves in the area as the nuns were there for over four hundred years. A large house now stands on the priory ruins. Another known prioress was Dame Mary Startin, who was in office in 1347--maybe she was the murderess ! According to the ballads, the prioress had a lover, Red Roger of Doncaster,who helped her in her evil task,though Robin managed to rise from his deathbed and kill him before expiring !
A Victorian visitor to Robin Hood’s Grave wrote:

“I had the strangest emotions when I first stood over the grave of this old forest hero. I stood there and had no words,nor can find any now to tell what my feelings were. Brave hearted Robin ! thou hast found a fit resting place in this glorious park,among these solemn yews and silent trees.”
If only he knew the deplorable state of the grave today !!!!

FOR FURTHER DETAILS READ “THE OUTLAW ROBIN HOOD ,HIS YORKSHIRE LEGEND” by Barbara Green

kirklees priory & the death of Robin

In researching the death of the most famous outlaw , a number of conflicting stories
present themselves . There are 3 candidates for the actual remains (bones) & a fourth
theory which suggests the bones were removed in the 19 century , during excavations for the laying of pipes .
The most supported site is where the actual grave is situated . However in visiting the area I get the weirdest feeling some 500 yards away . Tests to authenticate the firing
of Robins last arrow are I feel inaccurate as England was a nation of archers ,the renowned ROBERT OF LOXLEY being one of its finest . Also a number of historic texts depict little JOHN HATHERSAGE as firing the shaft , or at least aiding .

The Knights Hospitlars who were known for their medical skills were prominent in the area, they owned Platts Farm which is still lived in and they built a hospital at nearby Castleton at the invitation of William Peveril's wife, this was their home and it is where William Peveril I. who was the Sheriff of Nottingham died.

Judith the wife of Watheof the Earl of Huntingdon introduced monks to Ecclesfield and after her husbands death she gave the whole surrounding area of Hallamshire to Roger-de-Buslie, the Norman baron of Tickhill near Doncaster. Was he "Red Roger" of the Geste? Judith and her younger daughters became Prioresses while her eldest daughter married David, King of Scots and earl of Huntingdon. Was Judith or one of her daughters the “wicked prioress” and “kinswoman” of Robin Hood to whom he went for healing?

We are told that after Little John had buried Robin Hood at “Church Lees” or “Kirklees” that he made his way back to Hathersage which is only ten miles away, where he sadly prepared his own grave.

THE BALLAD

Then Robin Hood and little John
went over yon bank of broom,
said Robin Hood to Little John
we shot for many a pound.

But now I cannot shoot at all
my arrows will not flee,
my cousin lives down below,
and please to God she will bleed me.

Tomorrow I to Kirkley go
to skilfully have blood let.
I cannot drink or eat my meat
for it makes me most unwell.

Till I have been to merry Church Lees
my vein for blood to let.
Then said Will Scarlet “I won’t let you go,
for bad Red Roger lives close to the route.

He loves so to fight he won’t let you pass,
without a good guard a challenge he’ll make.
To gain my consent, fifty bowmen take,
for you my good friend my love knows no end.

“Said Robin to Will, “And thou be off home,
young Scarlett I say, I wish thee be off.
“As soon as he heard what Robin Hood said,
William Scarlett for home he did head,

“if thou be so angry my master dear,
then not one thing more shall you from me hear.”
Farewell my good friend said Robin to Scarlet,
Little John I say true together we go.

With you by my side for to bear my bent bow,
cantering together to Kirkley's we go.”
Yet Robin said John, “You bear your own bow,
and shoot an arrow, before we both go.”

Said Robin to John, “To that I assent.”
Riding together, to Kirkley's they went.
And on the way, as Scarlett feared,
bad Red Roger, he did appear.

His sword he thrust, poor Robin’s side,
“twas wounded deep, how could he ride.
Robin now was nimble of yore,
his pride he sought now to restore.

He struck a blow with all his might,
it hit Red Roger on neck right.
And there upon the ground it lay,
Red Roger’s head, “twas such a sight.

Lie there, you rogue you lump of meat,
for food the birds and dogs to eat.
He said a prayer for Roger Red,
and then to Little John he said,

"I trust to God in heav'n so high,
I feel so weak that I may die.
Give me the sacraments with your hand,
my sacraments so I won’t be dammed."

So feeling very feeble and ill,
they went as fast as Robin could go.
To Kirklees Priory Robin’s near gone,
in the saddle sat down very low.

The two bold men they both rode in rank,
until they came to deep water black.
And over brook was laid a plank,
upon it kneeled a woman old,
and she was cursing Robin bold.
Why do you curse bold Robin Hood
(half a page missing.)

Then on they go together the pair,
and happen across two ladies fair,
who wait to warn him of danger there,
and weeping sadly relate their woe.

Friend Robin true has a deadly foe,
his weakened body is near its end,
his blood to let by relative near,
but would she be a relative dear?

Said Robin its true but do not fear,
for close relatives we are and near,
the dame prioress my cousin she is,
this day no harm will she do to me.

She wouldn’t harm me the world to win,
So hurrying forth they quickly went,
and never did stop till there in sight,
came merry Churchlees, merry Churchlee.

Sir Roger of Doncaster, by the wicked prioress lay,
and there they betrayed Robin, with their dastardly false play.
With bad, foul, and evil thoughts, plots the prioress of Kirkley,
who for love of a black knight, betrayed Robin “twas not right.

Together for their false love,
full evil must now be done,
for good Robin how to slay,
plotting in bed where they lay.

And when they came to merry Church Lees,
they knocked upon the ring one two three,
none was so ready as his cousin,
she rose herself Robin to let in.

Now will you sit please cousin dear,
this day and drink some beer with me?
No, I will not I promise you,
till my blood you have letted be.

Then Robin gave to dame prioress,
full twenty pounds in gold no less.
He bade her spend upon herself,
when that was gone she would have more.

I have a room cousin Robin she said,
which you before this day did never see,
and if it pleases you to walk therein,
then on this day your blood shall letted be.

And down she came the dame prioress,
and in her hands all wrapped in silk,
a pair of blood irons she did hold,
with which to do her dirty work.

Her hand it was so lily-white,
She led him to a private room,
She laid the blood-irons on his vein,
and pressing hard she pierced it through.

She saw the blood so bright so red,
she left the room and locked the door,
The blood it flowed so bright and red,
the blood it flowed so thick and fast.

At first it flowed the thick, thick blood,
and then the blood began to thin,
it bled all day and through the night,
till noon next day, it was not right.

Good Robin Hood he felt so weak,
and in his heart he knew the worst,
what could he do to help himself,
the ill within it was so deep.

Then he beheld a casement door,
but weak he was he could not leap,
if down then up he could not rise,
so death was the unwanted prize.

He then thought of his bugle horn,
which to his knee was hung down low;
he set his horn unto his mouth,
and blew three times the sound was poor.

The notes were weak but Little John,
beneath a tree had heard the song,
he rushed towards the sound I fear,
my master Robin’s end is near.

Little John to Kirklees has gone,
running, his master to be near,
when he to Kirkley-Hall arrived,
his master for to see alive.

He broke the locks one two or three,
his master thinking to set free,
when Robin he himself did find,
upon his knees he sadly fell.

Good friend he cried good friend,
I beg thee master mine,
what is that my good friend,
quoth Robin Hood to him.

What do you beg of me,
It is cried Little John,
to burn the Kirkley-Hall,
and all their nunnery.

I never hurt a maid,
in all my life so fair,
nor at my end will I,
they are a treasure rare.

Put bow within my hand,
an arrow I’ll let flee,
where ere my arrow falls,
then there my grave shall be.

Lay me a green sod under my head
another at my feet,
my best bow beside me place
for truly t’was my music sweet,

and make my grave of gravel and green
which is most right and meet,
give me length and breadth to lie
so they will say when I am dead,


HERE LIES BOLD ROBIN HOOD MY FRIEND
HERE LIES BOLD ROBIN HOOD


These words they readily granted him,
which did bold Robin please,
and there they buried bold Robin Hood,
near to the fair Kirkleys.

Upon his grave was laid a stone,
Stating that he died long ago,
his deeds they were so true and just,
time never can his actions hide.

He lifted neither bow nor spear,
his murder was by letting blood,
so loving friends the story ends,
of valiant hero bold and good.

Our friends his name was Robin Hood,
His epitaph is all we have,
as on his grave it firm was set,
and you can read it on this day.

Like it was now so long ago,
the “Robert Earl of Huntingdon,
lies underneath this little stone,
No archer was like him so good.

His wildness named him Robin Hood,
full thirteen years and something more,
these northern parts he vexed so sore,
such out-laws and his merry men.

Tis England’s very sad lament,
That him they’ll never know again,
He died this way it is a shame,
have mercy on his soul dear Christ.”

Hey down a derry derry down.”




A Gest of Robyn Hode
This is a long poem: 456 4-line stanzas, divided into eight parts (cantos or fyttes)

Part I: In camp in Barnsdale, Little John, Much the Miller's son, and Will Scarlok are sent out to bring a guest to the feast. A knight comes to eat with them but has nothing to give them for the meal except 10 shillings. The knight is going to get his son from jail, who has committed murder, and the knight sold everything and mortgaged his land to abbot of St. Mary's, York, for 400 . Robin gives money to knight and sends him out with Little John.

Part II: In York, the abbot and high justice of England sit waiting for the knight to come to pay the debt. The knight appears and returns the money to the abbot; the abbot is in shock, but the knight goes to his land happily. He gathers the money to repay Robin and goes out to Barnsdale to return it.

Part IV: The trio again look for a dinner guest. They find a monk who turns out to be the high cellar of St. Mary's. They feel that he has come to repay the debt. But he denies knowing of the debt and admits to only having 20 marks on him. When Little John looks, the monk is carrying 800 . They celebrate that the loan is twice repayed. They send to monk on to London without any money, and when the knight comes to give back the 400 , the band give the knight the extra 400 that they received from the monk.

The other parts of the tale are about archery and skill: Part III tells of Little John in an archery contest that the Sheriff of Nottingham watches. Little John shows great skill and accepts a position under the sheriff with an alias. He converts the sheriff's cook to his side: They take the sheriff's valuables when the sheriff is away and run to join Robin's band. Little John lures the sheriff to Robin in the woods under the pretense of hunting. He is kept there overnight and vows to never harm Robin or his men if he is set free, and so he leaves in the morning.

Part V: There is another archery contest by the sheriff who promises a gold and silver arrow for the winner. Robin and his men try, and Robin wins. They are attacked by the sheriff's men when revealed, and they hide within the castle of Sir Richard. Little John is wounded in the knee.

Part VI: The sheriff and his men attack the castle. The knight and sheriff fight, and the sheriff heads to London to report to the king. Robin and men return to the forest, and when the sheriff returns to find them gone, he takes revenge by capturing the knight. The knight's wife tells Robin, and the men chase the sheriff to Nottingham and kill him. The knight is freed and hides with the men in the forest.

Part VII: The king comes to Nottingham to try to get the knight and the outlaws. He is upset by the fact that the men have depleted the forest of the deer as well. The king enters the forest with his men, all disguised as monks. Robin entertains them, thinking the king is an abbot sent by the king to bring them to Nottingham. In an archery match after the feast, the king is revealed as his archery betters Robin's. The outlaws are pardoned and enter royal service.

Part VIII: All return to Nottingham dressed in green. The knight receives his land back, and Robin stays in the service for a year. All his men have left but Little John and Wscathelocke. He gains permission to visit a Barnesdale chapel and blows his horn for the surrounding men to hear, reuniting him with his band. He lives in the woods for 22 years. At the end, he visits his relative at Kirklees for medical treatment and she and her lover, Sir Roger of Doncaster, betray him and kill him.


Robin Hoode his Death

This is from a partially recovered manuscript from the Percy Folios. It begins with Robin Hood saying he is going to Kirklees (or Church Lees) for blood letting. Will Scarlett warns him but he goes only with Little John. Robin argues that the Prioress is his cousin and he need not fear harm. Robin starts his treatment but quickly realizes that she means him harm and bleeds him more than she should, making him weak. He tells Little John what has happened, and he kills Red Roger. He refuses to attack his cousin, and asks Little John to place his sword at his head and his arrows at his feet and his bow at his side at his grave.


Robin Hood and the Monk
90 stanzas with a missing section

This begins with Little John enjoying the May Day and Robin Hood upset because he has not been to church in a fortnight. Robin heads to Nottingham, only taking Little John as his companion against his men's wishes. They quarrel over their archery skill -- Robin refuses to pay a bet won by Little John -- and they part ways, with John going to Sherwood. Robin enters St. Mary's church and a monk identifies him and calls the sheriff. The sheriff's men enter and a fight breaks out. Robin kills 12 men. He attempts to kill the sheriff, but his sword breaks and he is trapped there.

Then there is an omission in the text.

The next section is the band of men who hear of his capture. Little John and Much go to get the monk who is carrying news of Robin's capture to the king. They kill him and his page. The take the monk's letter to the king themselves, and the king makes them yeoman and sends them back to Nottingham. The sheriff receives them and they feast. As the sheriff sleeps, they get into the area where Robin is held, and the guard is killed by John. Robin is freed, and they return to Sherwood.
Little John decides to leave the men, but Robin wants him to stay and offers him command. Little John refuses command but does stay. The king does not punish the sheriff as they were both fooled by Robin and his men.


Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne
58 stanzas from the Percy Folios with omissions.

Robin Hood retells a dream in which he was captured and disarmed by two yeomen. He and Little John go out looking for them. They see a stranger, and when Little John offers to check into the man, Robin disagrees with him. They fight and Little John returns to the woods to find that two men were killed and Will Scarlett has run off from the sheriff's men. Little John kills one of the sheriff's men with an arrow, but his bow then breaks and he is captured. The sheriff ties him to a tree to wait for execution.

Robin Hood and the stranger, Guy of Gisborne, meet. Robin offers to take him around the forest and Guy states that he is hunting a man named Robin Hood. They compete cordially at archery and Robin wins. Robin admits he is the man that Guy is looking for and they fight. Robin is wounded but receives spiritual strength and kills Guy. He took Guy's head and placed it on the end of his bow, slashing his face so he was unrecognizable.

Robin goes to Barnesdale disguised in Guy's cloak. He blows Guy's horn so the sheriff thinks Robin Hood has been killed. As his reward, Robin requests that he himself kill Little John. So John is released, and Robin gives Guy's bow to Little John. They drive away the sheriff's men and Little John kills the sheriff with the bow and arrow.


Robin Hood and the Potter

Little John and Robin Hood come across a potter in the town of Barnesdale who wants to take a levy from Robin for passing through. Little John and Robin bet on the outcome, and the potter and Robin Hood fight about the payment. Robin fights with his sword but is defeated by the potter and his staff. Robin makes friends with the potter and wears his clothing to Nottingham, where he sells the goods at lesser cost. He presents his last 5 pots to the sheriff's wife as a gift. This gift beings about a dinner invitation with the sheriff and there is a proposal of an archery contest. He shoots well, and admits that he knows Robin Hood and has his bow. He promises to take the sheriff to him the next day.

When they reach the forest the next day, the horn is sounded by Robin Hood and the band of men appear. They take the sheriff's horse but is spared a worse fate because of the kind acts of his wife to Robin Hood. It ends with Robin paying the potter for the goods.


[Originally found in a folio manuscript (along with many Robin Hood ballads) belonging to Bishop Percy, some sections are sadly missing. The old woman who is cursing Robin Hood and it would seem (judging from the fragment) women weeping for him seem like the harbingers of death out of myth, like the washer at the ford. Red Roger is carrying a glave -- a kind of sword, and Robin's brand is also a sword. When Robin speaks of mood and houzel, he is asking for help in receiving the last sacraments for the dead. As I mentioned above, having a little blood drained was a common medieval healing practice, but the prioress betrays Robin by draining too much.]

1 'I will neuer eate nor drinke,' Robin Hood said,
'Nor meate will doo me noe good, Till I haue beene att merry Churchlees,
My vaines for to let blood.'
2 'That I reade not,' said Will Scarlett,
'Master, by the assente of me, Without halfe a hundred of your best bowmen
You take to goe with yee.
3 'For there a good yeoman doth abide
Will be sure to quarrell with thee, And if thou haue need of vs, master,
In faith we will not flee.'
4 'And thou be feard, thou William Scarlett,
Att home I read thee be:' 'And you be wrothe, my deare master,
You shall neuer heare more of mee.'


5 'For there shall noe man with me goe,
Nor man with mee ryde, And Litle Iohn shall be my man,
And beare my benbow by my side.'
6 'You'st beare your bowe, master, your selfe,
And shoote for a peny with mee:' 'To that I doe assent,' Robin Hood sayd,
'And soe, Iohn, lett it bee.'
7 They two bolde children shotten together,
All day theire selfe in ranke, Vntil they came to a blacke water,
And over it laid a planke,
8 Vpon it there kneeled an old woman,
Was banning Robin Hoode; 'Why dost thou bann Robin Hoode?' said Robin,

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[Half a page missing]
9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
'To giue to Robin Hoode; We weepen for his deare body,
That this day must be lett bloode.'
10 'The dame prior is my aunts daughter,
And nie vnto my kinne; I know shee wold me noe harme this day,
For all the world to winne.'
11 Forth then shotten these children,
And they did neuer lin, Vntill they came to merry Churchlees,
To merry Churchlee[s] with-in.
12 And when they came to merry Churchlees,
They knoced vpon a pin; Vpp then rose dame prioresse,
And lett good Robin in.
13 Then Robin gaue to dame prioresse
Tweny pound in gold, And bad her spend while that wold last,
And she shold haue more when shee wold.
14 And downe then came dame prioresse,
Downe she came in that ilke, With a pair off blood-irons in her hands,
Were wrapped all in silke.
15 'Sett a chaffing-dish to the fyer,' said dame prioresse
'And stripp thou vp thy sleeue:' I hold him but an vnwise man
That will now warning leaeve..
16 She laid the blood-irons to Robin Hoods vaine,
Alacke, the more pitye! And pearct the vaine, and let out the bloode,
That full red was to see.
17 And first it bled, the thicke, thicke bloode,
And afterwards the thinne, And well then wist good Robin Hoode
Treason there was within.
18 'What cheere my master?' said Litle Iohn;
'In faith, Iohn, litle goode;'
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [Half a page missing]
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
19 'I haue upon a gowne of greene,
Is cut short by my knee, And in my hand a bright browne brand
That will well bite of thee.'
20 But forth then of a shot-windowe
Good Robin Hood he could glide; Red Roger, with a grounden glaue,
Thrust him through the milke-white side.
21 But Robin was light and nimble of foote,
And thought to abate his pride, For betwixt his head and his shoulders
He made a wound full wide.
22 Says, ly there, ly there, Red Roger,
The doggs they must thee eate; 'For I may haue my houzle,' he said,
'For I may both goe and speake.
23 'Now giue me mood,' Robin said to Litle Iohn,
'Giue me mood with thy hand; I trust to God in heauen soe hye
My houzle will me bestand.'
24 'Now giue me leaue, giue me leaue, master,' he said,
'For Christs loue giue leaue to me, To set a fier within this hall,
And to burne vp all Churchlee.'
25 'That I reade not, said Robin Hoode then,
'Litle Iohn, for it may not be; If I shold doe any widow hurt, at my latter end,
God,' he said, 'wold blame me;
26 'But take me vpon thy backe, Litle Iohn,
And beare me to yonder streete, And there make me a full fayre graue,
Of grauell and of greete.
27 'And sett my bright sword at my head,
Mine arrowes at my feete, And lay my vew-bow by my side,
My met-yard wi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[Half a page missing] Came shining over the plain. 28 'O who are you,' the sheriff he said,
'Come tripping over the lee?' 'The 're my attendants,' brave Robin did say,
'They'll pay a visit to thee.' 29 They took the gallows from the slack,
They set it in the glen, They hangd the proud sheriff on that,
Releasd their own three men.'

The Death Scene from A Gest of Robyn Hode

[Clearly the story of Robin Hood's death has been around longer than the versions of the ballad above. The events of Robin's death are summarized at the end of a long early ballad.

The surviving versions of the Gest were most likely composed around 1460. It is one of the earliest ballads and by far the longest and most influential. For a variety of reasons, I have not put the whole Gest on my site -- even though it's one of the best ballads. But here I offer a sample to compare with the ballads which came later.

Movies often end with Robin Hood being pardoned by the king [Richard the Lionheart in the recent versions, but a king named Edward in the original ballad. Current scholarship by Thomas Ohlgren and others suggests that the ballad best reflects the time period of Edward III.] And like in the films, the king comes to the greenwood in the disguise of an abbot. He befriends and pardons Robin Hood.

But most movies don't show what comes next.]

433 Had Robyn dwelled he kynges courte
But twelue monethes and thre, That [he had] spent an hondred pounde,
And all his mennes fe.
434 In euery place where Robyn came
Euer more he layde downe, Both for knyghtes and for squyres,
To gete hym grete renowne.
435 By than the yere was all agone
He had no man but twayne, Lytell Johan and good Scathelocke,
With hym all for to gone.
436 Robyn sawe yonge men shote
Full fayre vpon a day; 'Alas!' than sayd good Robyn,
'My welthe is went away.
437 'Somtyme I was an archere good,
A styffe and eke a stronge; I was compted the best archere
That was in mery Englonde.
438 'Alas!' then sayd good Robyn,
'Alas and well a woo!' Yf I dwele lenger with the kynge,
Sorowe wyll me sloo.'
439 Forth than went Robyn Hode
Tyll he came to our kynge; 'My lorde the kynge of Englonde,
Graunte me myn askynge.
440 'I made a chapell in Bernysdale,
That semely is to se, It is of Mary Magdaleyne,
And thereto wolde I be.
441 'I myght neuer in this seuen nyght
No tyme to slepe ne wynke, Nother all these seuen dayes
Nother ete ne drynke.
442 'Me longeth sore to Bernysdale,
I may not be therfro; Barefote and wolwarde I haue hyght
Thyder for to go.'
443 'Yf it be so,' than sayd our kynge,
'It may no better be, Seuen nyght I gyue the leue,
No lengre, to dwell fro me.'
444 'Gramercy, lorde,' then sayd Robyn,
And set hym on his kne; He toke his leue full courteysly,
To grene wode then went he.
445 Whan he came to grene wode,
In a mery mornynge, There he herde the notes small
Of byrdes mery syngynge.
446 'It is ferre gone,' sayd Robyn,
'That I was last here; Me lyste a lytell for to shote
At the donne dere.'
447 Robyn slewe a full grete harte;
His horne than gan he blow, That all the outlawes of that forest
That horne coud they knowe,
448 And gadred them togyder,
In a lytell throwe. Seven score of wyght yonge men
Came redy on a rowe,
449 And fayre dyde of theyre hodes,
And set them on theyr kne: 'Welcome,' they saydm 'our [dere] mayster,
Under this grene-wode tre.'
450 Robyn dwelled in grene wode
Twenty yere and two; For all drede of Edwarde our kynge,
Agayne wolde he not goo.
451 Yet he was begyled, i-wys,
Through a wicked woman, The pryoresse of Kyrkesly,
That nye was of hys kynne:
452 For the loue of a knyght,
Sir Roger of Donkesly, That was her owne speciall;
Full euyll mote they thee!
453 They toke togyder theyr counsell
Robyn Hode for to sle, And how they myght best do that dede,
His banis for to be.
454 Than bespake good Robyn,
In place where as he stode, 'To morow I muste to Kyrke[s]ly,
Craftely to be leten blode.'
455 Syr Roger of Donkestere,
By the pryoresse he lay, And there they betrayed good Robyn Hode,
Through theyr false playe.
456 Cryst haue mercy on his soule,
That dyed on the rode! For he was a good outlawe,
And dyde pore men moch god.

*************************************************
popular culture


Robin Hood is a part of our popular culture, and has been for over 600 years. This outlaw of medieval England has seemingly appeared everywhere. Medieval chroniclers like Andrew of Wyntoun (c. 1420) and Walter Bower (c. 1440) happily accepted Robin�s existence, and his wide appeal led to brief mentions in various texts. Scholars have long searched for the origin of Robin Hood, for an identifiable, historical outlaw in the Sherwood or Barnsdale area. The opening quote from Langland�s Piers Plowman (c. 1377) is Robin�s first appearance in a text, be it literary or historical, and it is not a shining reference. Sloth suggests songs of Robin Hood are widely known in taverns, implying he is a popular figure without a literary pedigree. Clearly, Robin Hood is of no importance to the aristocracy, but he holds some currency in popular circles. Sloth�s familiarity with drinking songs about Robin Hood, but utter lack of knowledge of things spiritual, also reflects the concern of the Church for the souls of people who likely attended mass grudgingly, but could readily recite popular songs. Later texts similarly present Robin as a popular figure, and few strictly medieval documents featuring Robin survive.

Robin and his fellows were a popular subject in early printed texts, with their low price and wide appeal, and it is in the early days of printing that he finally comes into his own as a literary figure. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, antiquarians were especially invested in finding the sources of their national culture and heroes, and Robin proved to be of special interest to the English. They not only reviewed these early plays and poems for clues to the historical identity of the figure, but also scoured historical and legal records to find any information that may have led to a proof for his identity. Despite the efforts of authors like P. Valentine Harris (see case 5), no verifiable Robin Hood emerged from the historical record. Today, most scholars accept Robin as a literary invention, based in part on other figures like Gamelyn and Fouke fitz Waryn, as well as real-life outlaws. Any search for the ideal Robin Hood, a dispossessed noble who robs from the rich to give to the poor, is doomed to failure.