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ROBIN HOOD. 
 
PUBLISHER'S NOTE. 
 
 Of this fine Large Paper Editioti one hundred 
 copies are printed, each being nutnbered. 
 
 The portrait and nine etchings are given in dup- 
 licate, one being printed on Whatman paper and 
 the other' on Japanese. 
 
 No.ki 
 
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RITSOiV 
 
 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 a Collection of all tbe flncient poems, 
 
 Songs anO JSallaOs, now ejtant, "Relative to 
 
 tbat CelebratcO JEnglisb ©utlaw 
 
 TO WHICH ARE PREFIXED HISTORICAL ANECDOTES 
 OF HIS LIFE 
 
 By JOSEPH RITSON 
 
 SSSitl) €ts6tp OlTooD ^ngtabtngsi 
 By THOMAS BEWICK 
 
 PRINTED ON CHINA PAPER 
 
 aij(o Mint (£tc!)inj!;0 from iJDrigtnal Patntnigj 
 By a. H. TOURRIER and E. BUCKMAN 
 
 LONDON 
 
 J(M1N C. NIMMO 
 
 14, KING WILLIAM STREET, STRAND, W.C. 
 
 1885 
 
PUBLISHER'S NOTICE. 
 
 n 
 
 This edition of Robin Hood is printed fro in that 
 published in 1832, which was carefully edited and 
 printed from Mr. Kitson^s own annotated edition 
 ofil9S- 
 
 The original wood engravings, by the celebrated 
 Thomas Bewick, have been again used ; and 
 from being printed on China paper, will be found 
 superior in clearness and beauty to the first im- 
 pression. 
 
 The nine etchings now given have been netcly 
 etched from original pictures painted by A. H. 
 TouRRiER and E. Buck man. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 THE LIFE OF ROBIN HOOD 
 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Part t\it iFirst. 
 
 L A LYTELL GESTE OF ROBYN HODE . 
 IL ROBIN HOOD [AND THE POTTER] , 
 IIL ROBIN HOOD AND THE BEGGAR 
 IV, ROBIN HOOD AND GUY OF GISBORNE 
 
 V. A TRUE TALE OF ROBIN HOOD 
 
 I 
 
 8i 
 
 97 
 114 
 126 
 
 Part i{)c Sccontr. 
 
 I. ROBIN hood's BIRTH, BREEDING, VALOUR, 
 
 AND MARRIAGE 
 
 IL ROBIN hood's PROGRESS TO NOTTINGHAM 
 IIL THE JOLLY PINDER OF WAKEFIELD, WITH 
 
 ROBIN HOOD, SCARLET, AND JOHN 
 IV. ROBIN HOOD AND THE BISHOP 
 V. ROBIN HOOD AND THE BUTCHER 
 VI. ROBIN HOOD AND THE TANNER 
 VII. ROBIN HOOD AND THE TINKER 
 VIIL ROBIN HOOD AND ALI.IN A DALE 
 IX. ROBIN HOOD AND THE SHEPHERD 
 
 149 
 161 
 
 166 
 170 
 
 181 
 189 
 197 
 203 
 
( ix ) 
 
 PAGK 
 
 X. ROBIN HOOD AND THE CURTALL FRYER . 209 
 
 XI. ROBIN HOOD AND THE STRANGER . .217 
 
 XII. ROBIN HOOD AND QUEEN KATHERINE . 235 
 
 XIII. ROBIN hood's CHASE 244 
 
 XIV. ROBIN hood's GOLDEN PRIZE . . . 249 
 XV. ROBIN HOOD RESCUING WILL STUTLY . 254 
 
 XVL THE NOBLE FISHERMAN ; OR, ROBIN HOOd's 
 
 PREFERMENT 262 
 
 XVIL ROBIN hood's DELIGHT .... 268 
 
 XVIIL ROBIN HOOD AND THE BEGGAR . . . 274 
 
 XIX. LITTLE JOHN AND THE FOUR BEGGARS . 280 
 
 XX. ROBIN HOOD AND THE RANGER . . . 285 
 
 XXL ROBIN HOOD AND LITTLE JOHN . . . 29O 
 
 XXIL ROBIN HOOD AND THE BISHOP OF HEREFORD 298 
 
 XXIIL ROBIN HOOD RESCUING THE WIDOW's THREE 
 
 SONS FROM THE SHERIFF WHEN GOING 
 
 TO BE EXECUTED 303 
 
 XXIV, ROBIN HOOD AND MAID MARIAN . . 309 
 XXV. THE king's DISGUISE, AND FRIENDSHIP 
 
 WITH ROBIN HOOD 314 
 
 XXVL ROBIN HOOD AND THE GOLDEN ARROW . 323 
 
 XXVIL ROBIN HOOD AND THE VALIANT KNIGHT . 33O 
 
 XXVIIL ROBIN hood's DEATH AND BURIAL . . 335 
 
 APPENDIX 341 
 
 GLOSSARY 387 
 
LIST OF EMBELLISHMENTS. 
 
 PORTRAIT OF JOSEPH RITSON 
 KIRKLEY HALL . 
 COURTESY OF LITTLE JOHN 
 LITTLE JOHN AND THE KNIGHl 
 ROBIN HOOD AND THE LADY 
 THE BANQUET . 
 ROBIN HOOD AND THE ABBOT 
 ROBIN HOOD AND THE PINDER 
 THE PRAYER OF THE FRIARS . 
 ROBIN HOOD AND HIS BETRAYER 
 
 Frontispiece 
 Page xlv 
 6 
 14 
 58 
 89 
 132 
 16S 
 252 
 336 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 [HE singular circumstance that the 
 name of an outlawed individual of 
 the twelfth or thirteenth century 
 should continue traditionally popu- 
 lar, be chanted in ballads, and, as one may say, 
 
 Familiar in our mouth as household words, 
 
 at the end of the eighteenth, excited the editor's 
 curiosity to retrieve all the historical or poetical 
 remains concerning him that could be met with : 
 an object which he has occasionally pursued for 
 many years ; and of which pursuit he now pub- 
 lishes the result. He cannot, indeed, pretend that 
 his researches, extensive as they must appear, have 
 been attended with, all the success he could have 
 wished; but, at the same time, it ought to be 
 acknowledged that many poetical pieces, of great 
 antiquity and some merit, are deservedly rescued 
 from oblivion. 
 
 The materials collected for the " Life " of this 
 celebrated character, which are either preserved at 
 
( ^ii ) 
 
 large or carefully referred to in the "Notes and 
 Illustrations," are not, it must be confessed, in every 
 instance, so important, so ancient, or, perhaps, 
 so authentic, as the subject seems to demand; 
 although the compiler may be permitted to say, 
 in humble second-hand imitation of the poet 
 Martial : 
 
 Some there are good, some middling, and some bad ; 
 But yet they were the best that could be had. 
 
 Desirous to omit nothing that he could find upon 
 the subject, he has everywhere faithfully vouched 
 and exhibited his authorities, such as they are: 
 it would, therefore, seem altogether uncandid or 
 unjust to make him responsible for the want of 
 authenticity of such of them as may appear liable 
 to that imputation. 
 

 ,17 
 
 
 )^^ 
 
 THE LIFE OF ROBIN HOOD. 
 
 [T will scarcely be expected that one should 
 be able to offer an authentic narrative of 
 the life and transactions of this extraordi- 
 nary personage. The times in which he lived, the 
 mode of life he adopted, and the silence or loss of 
 contemporary writers, are circumstances sufficiently 
 favourable, indeed, to romance, but altogether inimi- 
 cal to historical truth. The reader must, therefore, 
 be contented with such a detail, however scanty or 
 imperfect, as a zealous pursuit of the subject enables 
 one to give ; and which, though it may fail to satisfy, 
 may possibly serve to amuse. 
 
 No assistance has been derived from the labours 
 of his professed biographers ( i ) ;* and even the in- 
 
 * For Notes, &c., see p. xiv. et seq. 
 
 a 
 
U THE LIFE OF ROBIN HOOD. 
 
 dustrious Sir John Hawkins, from whom the pubhc 
 might have expected ample gratification upon the 
 subject, acknowledges that " the history of this popu- 
 lar hero is but little known, and all the scattered 
 fragments concerning him, could they be brought 
 together, would fall far short of satisfying such an 
 inquirer as none but real and authenticated facts will 
 content. We must," he says, " take his story as we 
 find it." He accordingly gives us nothing but two or 
 three trite and trivial extracts, with which every one 
 at all curious about the subject was as well acquainted 
 as himself. It is not, at the same time, pretended, 
 that the present attempt promises more than to bring 
 together the scattered fragments to which the learned 
 historian alludes. This, however, has been done, 
 according to the best of the compiler's information 
 and abilities ; and the result is, with a due sense 
 of the deficiency of both, submitted to the reader's 
 candour. 
 
 Robin Hood was born at Locksley, in the county 
 of Nottingham (2), in thfe reign of King Henry the 
 Second, and about the year of Christ 11 60 (3). 
 His extraction was noble, and his true name Robert 
 FiTZOOTH, which vulgar pronunciation easily cor- 
 rupted into Robin Hood (4). He is frequently 
 styled, and commonly reputed to have been. Earl 
 of Huntingdon ; a title to which, in the latter 
 part of his life, at least, he actually appears to have 
 had some sort of pretension (5). In his youth he 
 
THE LIFE OF ROBIN HOOD. Ill 
 
 is reported to have been of a wild and extravagant 
 disposition ; insomuch that, his inheritance being con- 
 sumed or forfeited by his excesses, and his person 
 outlawed for debt, either from necessity or choice, 
 he sought an asylum in the woods and forests, with 
 which immense tracts, especially in the northern 
 parts of the kingdom, were at that time covered (6). 
 Of these, he chiefly affected Barnsdale, in Yorkshire, 
 Sherwood, in Nottinghamshire, and, according to 
 some, Plompton Park, in Cumberland (7). Here 
 he either found, or was afterward joined by, a num- 
 ber of persons in similar circumstances — 
 
 ' ' Such as the fury of ungovern'd youth 
 Tlirust from the company of awful men," (8) 
 
 who appear to have considered and obeyed him as 
 their chief or leader, and of whom his principal 
 favourites, or those in whose courage and fidelity 
 he most confided, where Little John (whose surname 
 is said to have been Nailor), William Scadlock 
 (Scathelock or Scarlet), George a Green, pinder (or 
 pound-keeper) of Wakefield, Much, a miller's son, 
 and a certain monk or frier named Tuck (9). He 
 is likewise said to have been accompanied in his re- 
 treat by a female, of whom he was enamoured, and 
 whose real or adopted name was Marian (10). 
 
 His company, in process of time, consisted of a 
 hundred archers ; men, says Major, most skilful in 
 battle, whom four times that number of the boldest 
 fellows durst not attack (11). His manner of recruit- 
 ing was somewhat singular ; for, in the words of an 
 
IV THE LIFE OF ROBIN HOOD. 
 
 old writer, " whersoever he hard of any that were of 
 unusual strength and 'hardines,' he would desgj^se 
 himselfe, and, rather then fayle, go lyke a begger to 
 become acquaynted with them ; and, after he had 
 tryed them with fyghting, never give them over tyl 
 he had used means to drawe [them] to lyve after his 
 fashion " (12): a practice of which numerous instances 
 are recorded in the more common and popular songs, 
 where, indeed, he seldom fails to receive a sound 
 beating. In shooting with the long bow, which they 
 chiefly practised, " they excelled all the men of the 
 land ; though, as occasion required, they had also 
 other weapons " ( 1 3). 
 
 In those forests, and with this company, he for 
 many years reigned like an independent sovereign ; 
 at perpetual war, indeed, with the King of England, 
 and all his subjects, with an exception, however, of 
 the poor and needy, and such as were "desolate and 
 oppressed," or stood in need of his protection. When 
 molested, by a superior force in one place, he retired 
 to another, still defying the power of what was called 
 law and government, and making his enemies pay 
 dearly, as well for their open attacks, as for their 
 clandestine treachery. It is not, at the same time, 
 to be concluded that he must, in this opposition, have 
 been guilty of manifest treason or rebellion ; as he 
 most certainly can be justly charged with neither. 
 An outlaw, in those times, being deprived of protec- 
 tion, owed no allegiance : " his hand was against 
 every man, and every man's hand against .him" (14). 
 
THE LIFE OF ROBIN HOOD. V 
 
 These forests, in short, were his territories ; those 
 who accompanied and adhered to him his subjects : 
 
 "The world was not his friend, nor the world's law :" 
 
 and what better title King Richard could pretend to 
 the territory and people of England than Robin Hood 
 had to the dominion of Barnsdale or Sherwood is a 
 question humbly submitted to the consideration of the 
 political philosopher. 
 
 The deer with which the royal forests then abounded 
 (every Nonnan tyrant being, like Nimrod, "a mighty 
 hunter before the Lord '') would afford our hero and 
 his companions an ample supply of food throughout 
 the year ; and of fuel, for dressing their vension, or 
 for the other purposes of life, they could evidently be 
 in no want. The rest of their necessaries would be 
 easily procured, partly by taking what they had occa- 
 sion for from the wealthy passenger who traversed or 
 approached their territories, and partly by commerce 
 with the neighbouring villages or great towns. 
 
 It may be readily imagined that such a life, during 
 great part of the year, at least, and while it continued 
 free from the alarms or apprehensions to which our 
 foresters, one would suppose, must have been too 
 frequently subject, might be sufficiently pleasant and 
 desirable, and even deserve the compliment which is 
 paid to it by Shakespeare in his comedy of As you 
 like it (act i. scene i), where, on Oliver's asking, 
 "Where will the old duke live?" Ch:irles answers, 
 " They say he is already in the forest of Arden, and 
 
VI THE LIFE OF ROBIN HOOD. 
 
 a many merry men with him ; and there they live 
 Hke the OLD RoBiN HooD OF England ; . . . and 
 fleet the time carelessly as they did in the golden 
 world." Their gallant chief, indeed, may be presumed 
 to have frequently exclaimed with the banished Valen- 
 tine, in another play of the same author :* 
 
 " How use doth breed a habit in a man ! 
 This shadowy desert, unfrequented woods, 
 I better brook than flourishing peopled towns : 
 Here can I sit alone, unseen of any. 
 And, to the niglitingale's complaining notes, 
 Tune my distresses and record my woes." 
 
 He would doubtless, too, often find occasion to add : 
 
 "What hallooing and what stir is this to-day? 
 These are my mates, that make their wills their law, 
 Have some unhappy passenger in chace : 
 They love me well ; yet I have much to do, 
 To keep them from uncivil outrages." 
 
 But, on the other hand, it will be at once difficult and 
 
 painful to conceive, 
 
 ' ' When they did hear 
 
 The rain and wind beat dark December, how, 
 In that their pinching cave, they could discourse 
 The freezing hours away ! " (15). 
 
 Their mode of life, in short, and domestic economy, 
 of which no authentic particulars have been even 
 traditionally preserved, are more easily to be guessed 
 at than described. They have, nevertheless, been 
 elegantly sketched by the animating pencil of an 
 excellent though neglected poet : — 
 
 * Two Gentlemen of Verona, act v. scene 4. 
 
THE LIFE OF ROBIN HOOD. Vll 
 
 " The merry pranks he play'd, would ask an age to tell. 
 And the adventures strange that Robin Hood befell, 
 When Mansfield many a time for Robin hath been laid, 
 How he hath cousen'd them, that him would have betray'd ; 
 How often he hath come to Nottingham disguis'd, 
 And cunningly escap'd, being set to be surpriz'd. 
 In this our spacious isle, I think there is not one, 
 But he hath heard some talk of him and Little John ; 
 And to the end of time, the tales shall ne'er be done, 
 Of Scarlock, George a Green, and Much the miller's son, 
 Of Tuck the merry frier, which many a sermon made 
 In praise of Robin Hood, his outlaws, and their trade. 
 An hundred valiant men had this brave Robin Hood, 
 Still ready at his call, that bowmen were right good, 
 All clad in Lincoln green (i6), with caps of red and blue, 
 His fellow's winded horn not one of them but knew, 
 When setting to their lips their little beugles shrill. 
 The warbling ecchos wak'd from every dale and hill. 
 Their bauldricks set with studs, athwart their shoulders cast, 
 To which under their arms their sheafs were buckled fast, 
 A short sword at their belt, a buckler scarce a span. 
 Who struck below the knee, not counted then a man : 
 All made of Spanish yew, their bows were wondrous strong ; 
 They not an arrow drew, but was a cloth-yard long. 
 Of archery they had the very jjerfect craft. 
 With broad-arrow, or but, or prick, or roving shaft, 
 At marks full forty score, they us'd to prick, and rove. 
 Yet higher than the breast, for compass never strove ; 
 Yet at the farthest mark a foot could hardly win : 
 At long-outs, short, and hoyles, each one could cleave the 
 
 pin : 
 Their arrows finely pair'd, for timber, and for feather. 
 With birch and brazil piec'd to fly in any weather ; 
 And shot they with the round, the square, or forked pile, 
 The loose gave such a twang, as might be heard a mile. 
 And of these archers brave, there was not any one. 
 But he could kill a deer his swiftest Sf)eed upon. 
 Which they did boil and roast, in many a mighty wood. 
 Sharp hunger the fine sauce to their more kingly food. 
 
viii THE LIFE OF ROBIN HOOD. 
 
 Then taking them to rest, his merry men and he 
 Slept many a summer's night under the greenwood tree. 
 vTrom wealthy abbots' chests, and churls' abundant store, 
 What oftentimes he took, he shar'd amongst the poor : 
 No lordly bishop came in lusty Robin's way. 
 To him before he went, but for his pass must pay : 
 The widow in distress he graciously reliev'd, 
 And remedied the wrongs of many a virgin griev'd : (17) 
 He from the husband's bed no married woman wan, 
 But to his mistress dear, his loved Marian, 
 Was ever constant known, which wheresoe'er she came. 
 Was sovereign of the woods ; chief lady of the game : 
 Her clothes tuck'd to the knee, and dainty braided hair. 
 With bow and quiver arm'd, she wander'd here and there. 
 Amongst the forests wild ; Diana never knew 
 Such pleasures, nor such harts as Mariana slew." * 
 
 That our hero and his companions, while they 
 lived in the woods, had recourse to robbery for their 
 better support is neither to be concealed nor to be 
 denied. Testimonies to this purpose, indeed, would 
 be equally endless and unnecessary. Fordun, in 
 the fourteenth century, calls him '■'■ille famostsshnus 
 siccarius" that most celebrated robber, and Major 
 terms him and Little John '■'• famatissimi latroiies." 
 But it is to be remembered, according to the con- 
 fession of the latter historian, that, in these exertions 
 of power, he took away the goods of rich men only ; 
 never killing any person, unless he was attacked or 
 resisted : that he would not suffer a woman to be 
 maltreated ; nor ever took anything from the poor, 
 but charitably fed them with the wealth he drew 
 from the abbots. I disapprove, says he, of the rapine 
 * Drayton's Polyolbion, song xxvi. 
 
THE LIFE OF ROBIN HOOD. IX 
 
 of the man : but he was the most humane and the 
 prince of all robbers (i8). In allusion, no doubt, 
 to this irregular and predatory course of life, he has 
 had the honour to be compared to the illustrious 
 Wallace, the champion and deliverer of his country ; 
 and that, it is not a little remarkable, in the latter's 
 own time (19). 
 
 Our hero, indeed, seems to have held bishops, 
 abbots, priests, and monks, in a word, all the clergy, 
 regular or secular, in decided aversion. 
 
 •' These byshoppes and thyse archebyshoppes, 
 Ye shall them bete and bynde," 
 
 was an injunction carefully impressed upon his fol- 
 lowers. The Abbot of Saint Mary's, in York (20), 
 from some unknown cause, appears to have been 
 distinguished by particular animosity ; and the Sheriff 
 of Nottinghamshire (2 1 ), who may have been too 
 active and officious in his endeavours to apprehend 
 him, was the unremitted object of his vengeance. 
 
 Notwithstanding, however, the aversion in which 
 he appears to have held the clergy of every denomi- 
 nation, he was a man of exemplary piety, according 
 to the notions of that age, and retained a domestic 
 chaplain (Frier Tuck, no doubt) for the diurnal cele- 
 bration of the divine mysteries. This we learn from 
 an anecdote preserved by Fordun (22), as an instance 
 of those actions which the historian allows to deserve 
 commendation. One day, as he heard mass, which 
 he was most devoutly accustomed to do (nor would 
 
 b 
 
X THE LIFE OF ROBIN HOOD. 
 
 he, in whatever necessity, suffer the office to be in- 
 terrupted,) he was espied by a certain sheriff and 
 officers belonging to the king, who had frequently 
 before molested him in that most secret recess of 
 the wood where he was at mass. Some of his people, 
 who perceived what was going forward, advised him 
 to fly with all speed, which, out of reverence to the 
 sacrament, which he was then most devoutly wor- 
 shipping, he absolutely refused to do. But the rest 
 of his men having fled for fear of death, Robin, con- 
 fiding solely in Him whom he reverently worshipped, 
 with a very few, who by chance were present, set 
 upon his enemies, whom he easily vanquished ; and, 
 being enriched with their spoils and ransom, he 
 always held the ministers of the Church and masses 
 in greater veneration ever after, mindful of what is 
 vulgarly said : 
 
 "Him God does surely hear 
 Who oft to th' mass gives ear." 
 
 Having, for a long series of years, maintained a 
 sort of independent sovereignty, and set kings, judges, 
 and magistrates at defiance, a proclamation was 
 published (23) offering a considerable reward for 
 bringing him in either dead or alive ; which, how- 
 ever, seems to have been productive of no greater 
 success than former attempts for that purpose. At 
 ^ length, the infirmities of old age increasing upon 
 him (24), and desirous to be relieved, in a fit of sick- 
 ness, by being let blood, he applied for that purpose 
 to the Prioress of Kirkleys nunnery in Yorkshire, his 
 
THE LIFE OK ROBIN HOOD. XI 
 
 relation (women, and particularly religious women, 
 being, in those times, somewhat better skilled in 
 surgery than the sex is at present), by whom he was 
 treacherously suffered to bleed to death. This event 
 happened on the i8th of November 1247, being the 
 3 1 St year of King Henry 1 1 1, and (if the date assigned 
 to his birth be correct) about the 87th of his age (24). 
 He was interred under some trees, at a short distance 
 from the house ; a stone being placed over his grave, 
 with an inscription to his memory (25). 
 
 Such was the end of Robin Hood : a man who, in 
 a barbarous age, and under a complicated tyranny, 
 displayed a spirit of freedom and independence 
 which has endeared him to the common people, 
 whose cause he maintained (for all opposition to 
 tyranny is the cause of the people), and, in spite of 
 the malicious endeavours of pitiful monks, by whom 
 history was consecrated to the crimes and follies of 
 titled ruffians and sainted idiots, to suppress all 
 record of his patriotic exertions and virtuous acts, 
 will render his name immortal. 
 
 With respect to his personal character : it is suffi- 
 ciently evident that he was active, brave, prudent, 
 patient ; possessed of uncommon bodily strength and 
 considerable military skill ; just, generous, benevo- 
 lent, faithful, and beloved or revered by his followers 
 or adherents for his excellent and amiable qualities. 
 Fordun, a priest, extols his piety, Major (as we have 
 seen) pronounces him the most humane and the prince 
 of all robbers ; and Camden, whose testimony is of 
 
XU THE LIFE OF ROBIN HOOD. 
 
 some weight, calls him '•'■ prcedonem mitissimum^'' the 
 gentlest of thieves. As proofs of his universal and 
 singular popularity : his story and exploits have 
 been made the subject as well of various dramatic 
 exhibitions (26), as of innumerable poems, rimes, 
 songs and ballads (27) : he has given rise to divers 
 proverbs (28) ; and to swear by him, or some of his 
 companions, appears to have been a usual practice 
 (29) : his songs have been chanted on the most solemn 
 occasions (30) ; his service sometimes preferred to 
 the Word of God (31) : he may be regarded as the 
 patron of archery (32) ; and, though not actually 
 canonised (a situation to which the miracles wrought 
 in his favour, as well in his lifetime as after his 
 death, and the supernatural powers he is, in some 
 parts, supposed to have possessed (33), give him an 
 indisputable claim), he obtained the principal dis- 
 tinction of sainthood, in having a festival allotted to 
 him, and solemn games instituted in honour of his 
 memory, which were celebrated till the latter end 
 of the sixteenth century ; not by the populace only, 
 but by kings or princes and grave magistrates ; and 
 that as well in Scotland as in England ; being con- 
 sidered, in the former country, of the highest poli- 
 tical importance, and essential to the civil and reli- 
 gious liberties of the people, the efforts of govern- 
 ment to suppress them frequently producing tumult 
 and insurrection (34). His bow, and one of his 
 arrows, his chair, his cap, and one of his slippers, 
 were preserved, with peculiar veneration, till within 
 
THE LIFE OF ROBIN HOOD. XIU 
 
 the present century (35) ; and not only places which 
 afforded him security or amusement, but even the 
 well at which he quenched his thirst, still retain his 
 name (36) : a name which, in the middle of the 
 present century, was conferred as a singular distinc- 
 tion upon the prime minister to the king of Mada- 
 gascar (37). 
 
 After his death his company was dispersed (38). 
 History is silent in particulars : all that we can, there- 
 fore, learn is, that the honour of Little John's death 
 and burial is contended for by rival nations (39) ; 
 that his grave continued long "celebrous for the 
 yielding of excellent whetstones ; " and that some of 
 his descendants, of the name of Nailor, which he 
 himself bore, and they from him, were in being so 
 late as the last century (40). 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS REFERRED 
 TO IN THE FOREGOING LIFE. 
 
 (i) ^^ Former biographers" (S^c] Such, that is, as have 
 already appeared in print, since a sort of manuscript life in 
 tlie Sloane Library will appear to have been of some service. 
 The first of these respectable personages is the author, or 
 rather compiler, of " The noble birth and gallant atchieve- 
 ments of that remarkable outlaw Robin Hood ; together 
 with a true account of the many merry extravagant exploits 
 he played ; in twelve several stones : newly collected by an 
 ingenious antiquary. London, printed by W. O." [William 
 Onley], 4to, black letter, no date. These "several stories," 
 in fact, are only so many of the songs in the common 
 Garland transposed ; and the " ingenious antiquary," who 
 strung them together, has known so little of his trade, that 
 he sets out with informing us of his hero's banishment by 
 King Henry the Eighth. The above i^ supposed to be the 
 "small merry book" called Robin Hood, mentioned in a 
 list of "books, ballads, and histories, printed for and sold 
 by William Thackeray at the Angel in Duck-lane " (about 
 1680), preserved in one of the volumes of old ballads (part 
 of Bagford's collection) in the British Museum. 
 
 Another piece of biography, from which much will not be 
 expected, is ' ' The lives and heroick atchievements of the 
 renowned Robin Hood and James Hind, two noted robbers 
 and highwaymen. London, 1752." 8vo. This, however, 
 is probably nothing more than an extract from Johnson's 
 " Lives of the Highwaymen," in which, as a specimen of the 
 author's historical authenticity, we have the life and actions 
 of that noted robber. Sir John Falstaff. 
 
KIRKLEY HALL 
 
KIRKLF.Y HALL 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. XV 
 
 The principal if not sole reason why our hero is never 
 once mentioned by Matthew Paris, Benedictus Abbas, or 
 any other ancient English historian, was most probably his 
 avowed enmity to churchmen ; and history, in former times, 
 was written by none but monks. They were unwilling to 
 praise the actions which they durst neither misrepresent nor 
 deny. Fordun and Major, however, being foreigners, have 
 not been deterred by this professional spirit from rendering 
 homage to his virtues. 
 
 (2) — "was born at Locksley, itt the county of Notting- 
 Aam."] "Robin Hood," says a MS. in the British Museum 
 (Bib. Sloan. 715), written, as it seems, toward the end of 
 the sixteenth century, " was borne at Lockesley in Yorkshyre, 
 or after others in Nottinghamshire." The writer here labours 
 under manifest ignorance and confusion, but the first row 
 of the rubric will set him right : 
 
 " In Locksly town, in merry Nottinghamshire, 
 In merry sweet Locksly town, 
 There bold Robin Hood was born and was bred, 
 Bold Robin of famous renown." * 
 
 Dr. Fuller (Worthies of England, 1662, p. 320) is doubtful 
 as to the place of his nativity. Speaking of the " Memorable 
 Persons" of Nottinghamshire, "Robert Hood," says he, 
 " (if not by birth) by his chief abode this country-man." 
 
 The name of such a town as Locksley, or Loxley (for so 
 we sometimes find it spelled), in the county of Nottingham 
 or of York, does not, it must be confessed, occur either in 
 Sir Henry Spelman's Villare Anglicum, in Adams's Index 
 Villaris, in Whatley's England's Gazetteer,! in Thorotou's 
 History of Nottinghamshire, or in the Nomina Viilarum 
 Eboiacensium (York, 1768, 8vo). The silence of these 
 authorities is not, however, to be regarded as a conclusive 
 proof that such a place never existed. The names of towns 
 and villages, of which no trace is now to be found but in 
 ancient writings, would fill a volume. 
 
 * See Part II. Ballad i. 
 
 t All three mention a Loxley in Warwickshire, and another in 
 St.-iffbrdshire ("near Needwood forest; the manor and seat of the 
 Kinardsleys "). 
 
XVI NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 (3) — "in the reign of Kin^ Henry the Second, and about 
 the year of Christ 1 160."] " Robin Hood," according to the 
 Sloane MS., " was borne. . . in the dayes of Henry the 2nd, 
 about the yeare 11 60." This was the 6th year of that 
 monarch; at whose death (anno 1 189) he would, of course, 
 be about 29 years of age. Those writers are therefore pretty 
 correct who represent him as playing his pranks (Dr. Fuller's 
 phrase) in the reign of King Richard the First, and, according 
 to the last-named author, "about the year of our Lord 
 1200." * Thus Mair (who is followed by Stowe, Annales, 
 1592, p. 227), "Circa hsec tempora [sci. Ricardi I.] ut 
 auguror,"&c. A MS. note in the Museum (Bib. Har. 1233), 
 not, in Mr. Wanley's opinion, to be relied on, places him 
 in the same period, " Temp. Rich. I." Nor is Fordun 
 altogether out of his reckoning in bringing him down to the 
 time of Henry III., as we shall hereafter see ; and with him 
 agrees Andrew of Wyntowne, in his " Oryginale Cronykil," 
 written about 1420, which, at the year 1283, has the following 
 lines : 
 
 " Lytil Jhon and Robyne Hude 
 Wayth-men were commendyd gud : 
 In Yngil-wode and Barnysdale 
 Thai oysyd all this tyme thare trawale." 
 
 A modern writer (History of Whitby, by Lionel Charlton, 
 York, 1779, 4to), though of no authority in this point, 
 has done well enough to speak of him as living "in the 
 days of abbot Richard and Peter his successor ; " that is, 
 between the years 1176 and 121 1. The author of the two 
 plays upon the story of our hero, of which a particular ac- 
 count will be hereafter given, makes him contemporary with 
 King Richard, who, as well as his brother Prince John, is 
 introduced upon the scene ; which is confirmed by another 
 play, quoted in Note 5. Warner, also, in his Albion's 
 England, i6o2, p. 132, refers his existence to "better daies, 
 first Richard's daies." This, to be sure, may not be such 
 evidence as would be sufficient to decide the point in a 
 court of justice ; but neither judge nor counsel will dispute 
 
 * It is 1100 in the original, but that is clearly an error of the press. 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. xvii 
 
 the authority of that oracle of the law Sir Edward Coke, 
 who pronounces that "This Robert Hood lived in the reign 
 of King R. I." (3 Institute, 197). 
 
 We must not therefore regard what is said by such writers 
 as the author of "George a Greene, the pinner of Wake- 
 field," 1599 (see Note 9), who represents our hero as con- 
 temporary with King Edward IV.,* and the compiler of a 
 foolish book called "The noble birth, &c. of Robin Hood" 
 (see Note i), who commences it by informing us of his 
 banishment by King Henry VIH. As well, indeed, might 
 we suppose him to have lived before the time of Charle- 
 magne, because Sir John Harington, in his translation of the 
 Orlando Furioso, 1590, p. 391, has made 
 
 "Duke 'Ammon in great wrath thus wise to speake : 
 This is a Tale indeed of Robin Hood, 
 Which to beleeve, might show my wits but weake ;" 
 
 or to imagine his story must have been familiar to Plutarch, 
 because in his Morals, translated by Dr. Philemon Holland, 
 1603, p. 644, we read the following passage: — "Evenso 
 [i.e. as the crane and fox serve each other in .^sop], when 
 learned men at a table plunge and drowne themselves (as it 
 were, in subtile problemes and questions interlaced with 
 logicke, which the vulgar sort are not able for their lives to 
 comprehend and conceive ; whiles they also againe for their 
 part come in with their foolish songs, and vain ballads of 
 Robin-Hood and Little John, telling tales of a tubbe, or of 
 a roasted horse, and such like." Who, indeed, would be 
 apt to think that his skill in archery was known to Virgil ? 
 And yet, as interpreted by our facetious friend Mr. Charles 
 Cotton, he tells us that 
 
 "Cupid was a little tyny, 
 Cogging, lying, peevish nynny ; 
 But with a bow the shit-breecht elf 
 Would shoot like Robin Hood himself." 
 
 In a word, if we are to credit translators, he must have 
 
 • King Edward, it is true, is introduced in the " Lytell Geste," &c., 
 hut the author has unquestionably meant they?r*/ of that name. 
 
 C 
 
XVIU NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 existed before the siege of Troy ; for thus, according to one 
 of Homer's : 
 
 "Then came a choice companion 
 Of Robin Hood and Little John, 
 Who many a buck and many a doe. 
 In Sherwood forest, with his bow. 
 Had nabb'd ; believe me it is true, sir, 
 The fellow's Christian name was Teucer." 
 
 Iliad, by Bridges, 4to, p. 231.* 
 
 This last supposition, indeed, has even the respectable coun- 
 tenance of Dan Geoffrey Chaucer : 
 
 " Pandarus answerde, it may be well inough, 
 And held with him of all that ever he saied, 
 But in his hart he thought, and soft lough. 
 And to himselfe full soberly he saied. 
 From hasellwood there Jolly Robin plaied. 
 Shall come all that thou abidest here. 
 Ye, farewell all the snow of feme yere." 
 
 Troilus (Ij. 5), Speght's edition, 1602. 
 
 (4) ^'' His extraction ivas noble, and his true name Robert 
 Fitzooth"'\ In "an olde and auncient pamphlet," which 
 Grafton the chronicler had seen, it was written that "This 
 man discended of a noble parentage." The Sloane MS. 
 says " He was of ... . parentage ; " and though the material 
 word is illegible, the sense evidently requires noble. So, 
 likewise, the Harleian note : "It is said that he was of noble 
 blood." Leland also has expressly termed him "nobilis" 
 (Collectanea, i. 54). The following account of his family 
 will be found sufficiently particular. Ralph Fitzothes, or 
 Fitzooth, a Norman, who had come over to England with 
 William Rufus, married Maud or Matilda, daughter of 
 Gilbert de Gaunt, Earl of Kyme and Lindsey, by whom he 
 had two sons : Piiilip, afterward Earl of Kyme, that earldom 
 being part of his mother's dowry, and William. Philip the 
 elder died without issue ; William was a ward to Robert 
 de Vere, Earl of Oxford, in whose household he received his 
 education, and who, by the king's express command, gave 
 
 * Thus, likewise, in a much earlier version from the same immortal 
 bard {Homer a la mode, 1664), we read of 
 
 " greate Apollo, who's as good 
 
 At pricks and buts as Robin Hood." 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. XIX 
 
 him in marriage to his own niece, the youngest of the three 
 daughters of the celebrated Lady Roisia de Vere, daughter 
 of Aubrey de Vere, Earl of Guisnes in Normandy, and lord 
 Jiigh chamberlain of England under Henry I., and of Adeliza, 
 daughter to Richard de Clare, Earl of Clarence and Hertford, 
 by Payn de Beauchamp, baron of Bedford, her second hus- 
 band. The offspring of this marriage was our hero, Robert 
 Fitzooth, commonly called Robin Hood. (See Stukeley's 
 Palaeographia Britannica, No. I. passim.) 
 
 A writer in the Gentleman's Magazine for March 1793, 
 under the signature D. H.,* pretends that Hood is only a 
 corruption of " o' th' wood, q.d. of Sherwood." This, to 
 be sure, is an absurd conceit ; but, if the name were a matter 
 of conjecture, it might be probably enough referred to some 
 particular sort of hood our hero wore by way of distinction 
 or disguise. See Scot's Discoverie of Witchcraft, 1584, p. 
 522. In Jonson's masque of " The king's entertainment at 
 Welbeck" (Works, 1756, vii. 53), certain characters are 
 introduced " in livery hoods," of whom Fitz-ale says, 
 
 " Six hoods they are, and of the blood, 
 They tell of ancient Robin Hood." 
 
 It may be remembered that Hugh Capet, the first king of 
 France of the third and last race, obtained that surname 
 from a similar circumstance. It is unnecessary to add 
 that Hood is a common surname at this day, as well as a 
 place in Yorkshire, formerly Hode ; and that Edward the 
 Third, in the tenth year of his reign, confirmed to Thomas, 
 the son of Robert de Hode, of Hoveden, in tail-general, certain 
 places of moorland, ^c. in vasto de Incklcamore, &"€. (Ro. 
 Pa. 10 E. 3. m. 31). 
 
 (5) •'//> is frequently styled . . . Earl of Huntingdon, a 
 title to which, /or the latter part of his life at least, he actually 
 appears to have had some sort of pretension."^ In Grafton's 
 " olde and auncient pamphlet," though the author had, as 
 already noticed, said " this man discended of a noble 
 PARENTAGE," he adds, "or rather beyng of a base stocke 
 
 * Alias R. G., the scurrilous and malignant editor of that degraded 
 publiciitioD. 
 
XX NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 and linage, was for his manhood and chivalry advaunced to the 
 noble dignitie of an erle." 
 
 In the MS. note (Bib. Har. 1233) is the following passage : 
 " It is said that he was of noble blood no lesse then an earle." 
 Warner, in his Albion's England, already cited, calls him " a 
 county." The titles of Mundy's two plays are : "The down- 
 fall" and "The death of Robert earle of Huntington." He 
 is likewise introduced in that character in the same author's 
 Metropolis Coronata, hereafter cited. In his epitaph we shall 
 find him expressly styled " Robert, Earl of Huntingtun." 
 
 In "A pleasant commodie called Looke about you," 
 printed in 1600, our hero is introduced, and performs a prin- 
 cipal part. He is represented as the young Earl of Hunting- 
 ton, and in ward to Prince Richard, though his brother 
 Henry, the young king, complains of his having "had wrong 
 about his wardship." He is described as 
 
 " A gallant youth, a proper gentleman ; " 
 and is sometimes called " pretty earle " and "little wag." 
 One of the characters thus addresses him : 
 
 " But welcome, welcome, and young Huntington, 
 Sweet Robyn Hude, honor's best flowing bloome," 
 
 and calls him 
 
 " an honourable youth, 
 
 Vertuous and modest, Huntington's right heyre." 
 
 It is also said that 
 
 " His father Gilbert was the smoothst fac't lord 
 That ere bare armes in England or in Fraunce." 
 
 In one scene, " Enter Richard and Robert with coronets." 
 
 "Rich. Richard the Prince of England, with his ward, 
 The noble Robert Hood, earle Huntington, 
 Present their service to your majestie." 
 
 Dr. Percy's objection, that the most ancient poems make 
 no mention of this earldom,* but only call him a yeoman, 
 will be considered in another place. How he founded his 
 pretensions to this title will be seen in his pedigree. Here 
 it is. 
 
 * The authority cited by Grafton in 1369 as then " olde and auncient " 
 must have been at least of equal antiquity with the most ancient poems 
 that Dr. P. is acquamted with. 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 XXI 
 
 " THE PEDIGREE OF ROBIN HOOD EARL OF HUNTINGTON. 
 
 Richard FitzgiI-=Roisia. 
 I. bert de Clare, 
 
 Waltheof earl of=Judith countess of earl of Brien. 
 
 Northumberland Huntingdon, the 
 and Huntington, conqueror's niece. 
 
 Simon de S.=Maud=David I. king 
 
 Alice=Robert Fiugilbert. 
 
 lis I. earl of | 
 Northampton | 
 and Hunting- 
 don .... 
 
 of Scots, earl 
 of Huntingdon. 
 
 Henry earl of=Ada daugh- 
 Northumber- ter of Wil- 
 land and Hun- liam earl of 
 tingdon. Warren. 
 
 .V. I 
 SimonS.lisII.=IsabeIdau. of 
 earl of North- Robert Bossu 
 ampton and earlof LeiceS' 
 Huntington. 
 
 Malcolm IV. king 
 of Scots, earl of 
 Northumberland 
 and Huntingdon. 
 
 Gilbert de Gaunt=Roisia. 
 earl of Kyme and I 
 Liiidsey came in I 
 with the con- 
 queror. I 
 
 VII. I 
 
 William earl of Huntingdon. 
 
 VIll. 
 
 Simon S. lis III. earl of Hun-=Alice heiress, 
 tingdon and Northton. ob. s. 
 p. I 184. 
 
 IX. 
 
 David earl of 'Carrick ' and Hunting- 
 don, son of Henry IV. (above) earl 
 and of Ada. ob. 12 19. 
 
 Walter de Gaunt 
 
 I earl of Lind- 
 sey. 
 Gilbert de Gaunt=Avis dau. 
 earl of Lincoln. I and heir of 
 William de 
 
 I Romara c. 
 
 of Lincoln. 
 
 Ralf Fitzooth a Maud. 
 Norman, lord 
 of Kyme. 
 
 Philip Fitzooth, 
 lord of Kyme, 
 ob. s. p. 
 
 John simamed Scot his son, earl 
 of Angus and Huntingdon, ob. s. 
 /• "37. 
 
 Fiu 
 
 Robert Fiizooth, commonly called Robin Hood, 
 pretended earl of Huntington, ob. 1274 [1247].'' ~ 
 
 William Fitzooth— a daughter of 
 brought up by Ro- I Payn Beau- 
 bert earl of Oxford. ch.-imp and 
 
 ! lady Roisiade 
 
 Vere. 
 
 * Stukeley's Palxographia Britannica, Na II. p. 115. In an inter- 
 
XXn NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 (6) " In his youth he is reported to have been of a wild 
 and extravagant disposition,^^ &'ci\ Grafton's pamphlet, after 
 supposing him to have been "advaunced to the noble dignitie 
 of an erle," continued thus : "But afterwardes he so prodi- 
 gally exceeded in charges and expences, that he fell into 
 great debt, by reason whereof, so many actions and sutes were 
 commenced against him whereunto he answered not, that by 
 
 leaved copy of Robin Hood's Garland formerly belonging to Dr. Stuke- 
 ley, and now in the possession of Francis Douce, esquire, opposite the 
 second page of the first song, is the following note in his own hand : 
 
 " Guy earl of Warwick. 
 
 George Gamwell Joanna= 
 
 of Gamwell hall magna | Fitz Odoth 
 
 esq. I 
 
 Robin Fitz Odoth 
 
 Gamwell the king's forester in Yorkshire, 
 mentioned in Camden. 
 
 See my answer, No. II. of Lady Roisia, 
 where is Robin Hood's true pedigree." 
 
 The Doctor seems, by this pedigree, to have founded our hero's preten- 
 sions on his descent from Roisia, sister of Robert Fitzgilbert, husband 
 of Alice, youngest daughter of Judith, Countess of Huntingdon, which, 
 whatever it might do in those times, would scarcely be thought sufficient 
 to support such a claim at present. Beside, though John the Scot died 
 without issue, he left three sisters, all married to powerful barons, either 
 in Scotland or in England, none of whom, however, assumed the title. 
 It is, therefore, probable, after all, that Robin Hood derived his earldom 
 by some other channel. 
 
 Dr. Stukeley, whose learned labours are sufficiently known and 
 esteemed, was a professed antiquary, and a beneficed clergj'man of the 
 Church of England. He has not, it is true, thought it necessary to cite 
 any ancient or other authority in support of the above representations ; 
 nor is it in the editor's power to supply the deficiency. Perhaps, indeed, 
 the Doctor might think himself entitled to expect that his own authority 
 would be deemed sufficient : upon that, however, they must be content 
 to rest. Sit fides penes aiictorem. I Mr. Parkin, who published " A reply 
 to the peevish, weak, and malevolent objections brought by Dr. Stuke- 
 ley in his Origines Roystonianae, No. 2" (Norwich, 1748, 4to), terms 
 " his pedigree of Robin Hood, quite jocose, an original indeed ! " (See 
 pp. 27, 32.) 
 
 Otho and Fitz-Otho, it must be confessed, were common names among 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. XXUl 
 
 order of lawe he was ouUawed" * Leland must undoubtedly 
 have had good authority for calling him " nobilis ille exlex."t 
 Fordun supposes him in the number of those deprived of 
 their estates by King Henry III. " Hoc intempore," says he, 
 "de exheredatis surrexit & caput erexit ille famosissimus 
 siccarius Robertus Hode & littill Johanne cum eorum com- 
 plicibus " (p. 774). The Sloane MS. says he was " so ryotous 
 that he lost or sould his patrimony & for debt became an 
 outlawe;" and the Harleian note mentions his "having 
 wasted his estate in riotous courses." The former authority, 
 however, gives a different, though, it may be, less credible, 
 account of his being obliged to abscond. It is as follows : 
 " One of his first exployts was the going abrode into a forrest 
 & bearing with him a bowe of exceeding great strength, he fell 
 into company with certayne rangers or woodmen, who fell to 
 quarrel with him, as making showe to use such a bowe as no 
 man was able to shoote withall. Whereto R'lbin replyed 
 that he had two better then that at Lockesley, only he bare 
 that with him nowe as a byrding bowe. At length the 'con- 
 tention' grewe so bote that there was a wager layd about the 
 kyllyng of a deere a greate distance of, for performance whereof 
 Robin offered to lay his head to a certayne some of money, 
 the advantage of which rash speach the others presently tooke. 
 So the marke being found out, one of them, both to make 
 his hart faynt and hand unsteady, as he was about to shoote 
 urged him with the losse of head if he myst the marke. Not- 
 withstanding Robyn kyld the deare, and gave every man his 
 
 the Anglo-Normans, 1 but no such name as Othes, Ooth, Fitz-Othes, or 
 Fitz-Ooth, has been elsewhere met with. Philip de Kime, ako, was 
 certainly a considerable landholder in the county of Lincoln in the lime 
 of King Henry II., but it nowhere appears, except from Dr. Stukeley, 
 that his surname was Fitz-Ooth. 
 
 'l"he Doctor likewise informs us that the arms of Ralph Fitz-Ooth, and 
 consequently of our hero, were " g. two benillets engrailed, o." 
 
 * Grafton's Chronicle, p. 85. t Collec. i. 54. 
 
 1 " Filius Robert! filii Odonis est in custodia Domini Regis, et est vj 
 annorum, et ipse est heres decime partis unius militis, et vix possunt 
 inde habere victum suum ipse et mater sua." Rotulus de vidius, &c. 
 (31 H..a)MSS. Har. 624. 
 
XXIV NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 money agayne, save to him which at the poynt of shooting so 
 upbraided him with danger to loose his hed for that wager ; 
 & he sayd they would drinke togeyther : whereupon the 
 others stomached the matter and from quarelling they grewe 
 to fighting with him. But Robin, getting him somewhat of, 
 with shooting dispatch them, and so fled away ; and then 
 betaking himselfe to lyve in the woods," &c.* 
 
 That he lurked or infested the woods is agreed by all. 
 " Circa hsec tempora," says Major, " Robertus Hudus Anglus 
 & parvus Joannes, latrones famatissimi, in nemoribus latue» 
 runt." 
 
 Dr. Stukeley says that " Robin Hood took to this wild way 
 of life in imitation of his grandfather Geoffrey de Mandeville, 
 who being a favorer of Maud empress, King Stephen took 
 him prisoner at S. Albans, and made him give up the tower 
 of London, Walden, Plessis, &c., upon which he lived on 
 plunder " (MS. note in his copy of Robin Hood's Garland). 
 
 (7) ^^ Of these, he chiefly affected Barnsdale" &=€?[ "Along 
 on the lift bond," says Leland, "a iii. miles of betwixt Mil- 
 burne and Feribridge I saw the wooddi and famose forrest of 
 Barnesdale, wher thay say that Robyn Hudde lyvid like an 
 outlaw" (Itinerary, v. loi). 
 
 " They haunted about Barnsdale forrest, Compton [r. 
 Plompton] parke.t and such other places" (MS. Sloane). 
 
 " His principal residence," says Fuller, " was in Shirewood 
 forrest in this county [Notts], though he had another haunt 
 (he is no fox that hath but one hole) near the sea in the 
 North Riding in Yorkshire, where Robin Hood's Bay still re- 
 taineth his name : not that he was any pirat, but a land-thief, 
 who retreated to those unsuspected parts for his security " 
 (Worthies of England, p. 320). 
 
 * See Robin Hood's Progress to Nottingham, part ii. ballad 2. 
 
 + Plompton Park, upon the banks of the Peterill, in Cumberland, was 
 formerly very large, and set apart by the kings of England for the 
 keeping of deer. It was disafforested or disparked by Henry VIII. 
 See Camden's Britannia, by Bishop Gibson, who seems to confound this 
 park with Inglewood forest, a district of sixteen miles in length, reach- 
 ing from Carlisle to Penrith, where the kings of England used to hunt, 
 and Edward I. is reported to have killed 200 bucks in one day (Ibid.) 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. XXV 
 
 In Thoroton's Nottinghamshire, p. 505, is some account of 
 the ancient and present state of Sherwootl forest ; but one 
 looks in vain through that dry detail of land-owners for any 
 particulars relating to our hero. "In anno domini 1 194, 
 King Richard the First, being a hunting in the forrest of Sher- 
 wood, did chase a hart out of the forrest of Sherwood into 
 Barnesdale in Yorkshire, and because he could not there 
 recover him, he made proclamation at Tickill in Yorkshire, 
 and at divers other places there, that no person should kill, 
 hurt, or chase the said hart, but that he might safely retorne 
 into forrest againe, which hart was afterwards called a hart- 
 royall proclaimed" (Manwood's Forest Laws, 1598, p. 25, 
 from "an auncient recorde" found by him in the tower of 
 Nottingham Castle).* 
 
 (8) " Here he either found" &'c.'\ After being outlawed, 
 Grafton tells us, " for a lewde shift, as his last refuge, [he] 
 gathered together a companye of roysters and cutters, and 
 practised robberyes and spoyling of the kinges subjects, and 
 occupied and frequented the forestes or wild countries." See 
 also the following note. 
 
 (9) "Little John, William Scadlock, George a Green, 
 pinier of Wakefield, Much a miller's son, and a certain monk 
 or frier named Tuck."] Of these, the pre-eminence is incon- 
 testably due to Little John, whose name is almost constantly 
 coupled with that of his gallant leader. " Robertus Hode & 
 liitill Johanne," are mentioned together by Fordun as early 
 as 1341 ; and later instances of the connection would be 
 almost endless. After the words, " for debt became an out- 
 
 • Anno 1194] Vicesima nana die ntensis martii Richardus rex Anglis 
 prolectus est videre Clipestone, &>> /orrestas de Sirewode, quas ipse 
 nunguam viderat antea : <5r» ftacuerunt eimultum, cr> eodem die rediit 
 ad Notingham (R. de Hoveden, Annates, p. 736). 
 
 Drayton (Polyolbion, song 26) introduces Sherwood in the character 
 of a nymph, who, out of disdain at the preference shown by the poet to 
 a sister-forest, 
 
 " AH self praise set apart, determineth to sins 
 That lusty Robin Hood, who long time like a king 
 Within her compass liv'd, and when he list to range, 
 For some rich booty set, or else his air to change. 
 To Sherwood still retir'd, his only standing court." 
 
 d 
 
XXVI NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 law," the Sloane MS. adds : " then joyninge to him many 
 stout fellowes of lyke disposition, amongst whom one called 
 Little John was principal or next to him, they haunted about 
 Barnsdale forrest," &c. See Notes 39, 40. 
 
 With respect to Frier Tuck, "thogh some say he was an 
 other kynd of religious man, for that the order of freyrs was 
 not yet sprung up " (MS. Sloan.), yet as the Dominican friers 
 (or friers preachers) came into England in the year 1221, up- 
 ward of twenty years before the death of Robin Hood, and 
 several orders of these religious had flourished abroad for some 
 time, there does not seem much weight in that objection : nor, 
 in fact, can one pay much regard to the term frier, as it seems 
 to have been the common title given by the vulgar (more 
 especially after the Reformation) to all the regular clergy, of 
 which the friers were at once the lowest and most numerous. 
 If Frier Tuck be the same person who, in one of the oldest 
 songs, is called the curtail frier of Fountains-dale, he must 
 necessarily have been one of the monks of that abbey, which 
 was of the Cistercian order. However this may be, Frier 
 Tuck is frequently noticed by old writers as one of the com- 
 panions of Robin Hood, and as such was an essential cha- 
 racter in the morris-dance (see Note 34). He is thus men- 
 tioned by Skelton, laureat, in his "goodly interlude" of 
 Magnificence, written about the year 1500, and with an evi- 
 dent allusion to some game or practice now totally forgotten 
 and inexplicable : 
 
 " Another bade shave halfe my berde, 
 And boyes to the pylery gan me plucke. 
 And wolde have made me freer Tucke, 
 To preche oute of the pylery hole." 
 
 In the year 1417, as Stow relates, ** one, by his counterfeite 
 name, called Frier Tucke, with manie other malefactors, com- 
 mitted many robberies in the counties of Surrey & Sussex, 
 whereupon the king sent out his writs for their apprehension " 
 (Annales, 1592). 
 
 George a Green is George o' the green, meaning perhaps 
 the town-green, in which the pound or pinfold stood of which 
 he had the care. He has been particularly celebrated, and 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. xxvii 
 
 "As good as George a Green" is still a common saying.* 
 Drayton, describing the progress of the river Calder, in the 
 West Riding of Yorkshire, has the following lines : 
 
 " It chanc'd she in her course on ' Kirkley ' cast her eye, 
 Where merry Robin Hood, that honest thief, doth lie ; 
 Beholding fitly too before how Wakefield stood, 
 She doth not only think of lusty Robin Hood, 
 But of his merry man, the pindar of the town 
 Of Wakefield, George a Green, whose fames so far are blown 
 For their so valiant fight, that every freeman's song 
 Can tell you of the same ; quoth she, be talk'd on long. 
 For ye were merry lads, and those were merry days." 
 
 Thus, too, Richard Brathwayte, in his poetical epistle *' to all 
 true-bred northerne sparts of the generous society of the Cot- 
 toneers" (Strappado for the Divell, 1615) : 
 
 " But haste, my muse, in colours to display 
 Some auncieut customes in their high-roade way. 
 
 At least such places labour to make knowne 
 As former times have honour'd with renowne. 
 
 The first whereof that I intend to show 
 
 Is merry Wakefield, and her pindar too. 
 
 Which fame hath blaz'd with all that did belong, 
 
 Urito that towne in many gladsome song, 
 
 The pindar's valour, and how firme he stood 
 
 In th' townes defence 'gainst th' rebel Robin Hood, 
 
 How stoutly he behav'd himselfe, and would, 
 
 In spite of Robin, bring his horse to th' fold, 
 
 His many May-games which were to be seene 
 
 Yearly presented upon Wakefield greene. 
 
 Where lovely Jugge and lustie Tib would go, 
 
 To see Tom-lively turne upon the toe ; 
 
 Hob, Lob, and Crowile the fidler would be there, 
 
 And many more I will not speake of here. 
 
 Good God 1 how glad hath been this hart of mine, 
 
 To see that tuwne, which hath, in former lime, 
 
 So flourish'd and so gloried in her name, 
 
 Famous by th' pindar who first rais'd the same I 
 
 Yea, I have paced ore that greene and ore 
 
 And th' more I saw't I tooke delight the more. 
 
 * It occurs in " Tarlton's Newes out of Purgatory," 1630, 4to (entered 
 on the Stationers' books in 1590). 
 
XXVIIl NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 For where we take contentment in a place, 
 
 A whole daies walke seemes as a cinquepace. 
 
 Yet as there is no solace upon earth 
 
 Which is attended evermore with mirth, 
 
 But when we are transported most with gladnesse. 
 
 Then suddenly our joy's reduc'd to sadnesse ; 
 
 So far'd with me to see the pindar gone, 
 
 And of those jolly laddes that were not one 
 
 Left to survive : I griev'd more then He say : 
 
 (But now for Bradford I must hast away). 
 
 Unto thy task, my muse, and now make knowne 
 The jolly shoo-maker of Bradford towne, 
 His gentle craft so rais'd in former time 
 By princely journey-men his discipline, 
 Where he was wont with passengers to quaffe, 
 But suffer none to carry up their staffe 
 Upon their shoulders, whilst they past through town. 
 For if they did he soon would beat them downe ; 
 (So valiant was the souter) and from hence 
 Twixt Robin Hood and him grew th' difference ; 
 Which, cause it is by most stage-poets writ, 
 For brevity I thought good to omit." 
 
 In the latter part of this extract, honest Richard evidently 
 alludes to " A pleasant concey ted comedie of George a Greene, 
 the pinner of Wakefield ; as it was sundry times acted by the 
 servants of the right honourable the earle of Sussex," 1599, 
 4to, which has been erroneously ascribed to Heywood the 
 epigrammatist, and is reprinted, with other trash, in the late 
 edition of Dodsley's Old Plays ; only it unluckily happens 
 that Robin Hood is almost the only person who has no dif- 
 ference with the souter (or shoemaker) of Bradford. The 
 play, in short (or at least that part of it which we have any 
 concern with), is founded on the ballad of Robin Hood and 
 the Finder of Wakefield (see part ii. song 3), which it directly 
 quotes, and is, in fact, a most despicable performance.* King 
 Edward (the Fourth) having taken King James of Scotland 
 prisoner, after a most bloody battle near Middleham Castle, 
 from which of 30,00x3 Scots not 5000 had escaped, comes 
 with his royal captive in disguise to Bradford, where they 
 
 * It likewise gives the proverb noiiced in a preceding page thus : 
 "Were he as good as George a Greene, I would strike him sure." 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. XXIX 
 
 meet Robin Hood and George a Green, who have just had a 
 stout affray : and after having read this, and a great deal 
 more such nonsensical stuff. Captain Grose sagaciously " sup- 
 poses that this play has little or no foundation in history ; " 
 and very gravely sits down and debates his opinion in form. 
 
 "The history of George a Green, pindar of the town of 
 Wakefield," 410, no date,* is a modern production, chiefly 
 founded on the old play just mentioned, of neither authority 
 nor merit. 
 
 Our gallant pinder is thus facetiously commemorated by 
 Drunken Barnaby : 
 
 " Hinc diverso cursu, sero 
 Quod audissem de pindero 
 Wakefeeldensi ; gloria mundi, 
 Ubi socii sunt jiicundi, 
 Mecum statui peragrare 
 Georgii fustem visiuire." 
 
 •' Turning thence, none could me hinder 
 To salute the Wakefield pindar ; 
 Who indeed is the world's glory, 
 With his comrades never sorry. 
 This was the cause, le'^t you should miss it, 
 George's club I meant to visit." 
 
 " Veni Wakefield peramsenum, 
 Ubi quacrens Georgium Greenum, 
 Non invent, sed in lignum 
 Fixum reperi Georgii signum, 
 Ubi allam bibi feram 
 Donee Georgio fortior eram." 
 
 " Strait at Wakefield I was seen a, 
 Where I sought for George a Green a ; 
 But could find not such a creature, 
 Yet on a sign I saw his feature, 
 Where strength of ale had so much stir'd me, 
 That I grew stouter far than Jordie." 
 
 Besides the companions of our hero enumerated in the text, 
 and whose names are most celebrated and familiar, we find 
 those of William of Goldsbrough (mentioned by Grafton), 
 Right-hitting Brand (by Mundy), and Gilbert with the while 
 
 " There is an edition in 1706, 8va 
 
XXX NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 hand, who is thrice named in the Lyttell Geste of Robyn 
 Hode (i. 52, 71), and is likewise noticed by Bishop Gawin 
 Douglas in his Palice of Honour, printed at Edinburgh in 
 1579, but written before 1518 : 
 
 " Thair saw I Maitlaind upon auld Beird Gray, 
 Robene Hude, and Gilbert with the quhite hand. 
 How Hay of Nauchton slew, in Madin land." * 
 
 As no mention is made of Adam Beli, Glim of the Clough, 
 and William of Cloudeslie, either in the ancient legend or in 
 more than one of the numerous songs of Robin Hood, nor 
 does the name of the latter once occur in the old metrical 
 history of those famous archers reprinted in Percy's Reliques, 
 and among pieces of ancient popular poetry, it is to be con- 
 cluded that they flourished at different periods, or at least 
 had no connection with each other. In a poem, however, 
 intitled, " Adam Bell, Glim of the Glough, and young William 
 of Gloudesley, the second part," 1616, 4to, b. 1. (Bib. Bod, 
 Art. L. 7I) being a more modern copy than that in Selden G. 
 39, which wants the title, but was probably printed with the 
 first part, which it there accompanies, in 1605 ; differing con- 
 siderably therefrom in several places, and containing many 
 additional verses), are the following lines (not in the former 
 copy) : 
 
 "Now beare thy father's heart, my boy, 
 
 Said William of Gloudesley then, 
 When i was young i car'd not for 
 
 The brags of sturdiest men. 
 The pinder of Wakefield, George a Green, 
 
 I try'd a sommer's day, 
 Yet he nor i were victors made 
 
 Nor victor'd went away. 
 Old Robin Hood, nor Little John, 
 
 Amongst their merry men all. 
 Nor fryer Tuck, so stout and young. 
 
 My courage could appall." 
 
 (10) " Marian. "'\ Who or whatever this lady was, it is 
 observable that no mention of her occurs either in the Lytell 
 Geste of Robyn Hode, or in any other poem or song con- 
 
 * Scotish Poems, i. 132. 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. XXXI 
 
 ceming him, except the not very old ballad of Robin Hood's 
 Golden Prize, where she is barely named, and a still more 
 modem one of no merit (see part ii. song 24).* She is an 
 important character, however, in the two old plays of The 
 death and downfall of Robert earl of Huntington, written 
 before i6co, and is frequently mentioned by dramatic or 
 other writers about that period. Her presence, likewise, 
 was considered as essential to the morris-dance. See Note 
 
 34- 
 
 In the First Part of King Henry IV. Falstaff says to the 
 hostess, '* There's no more faith in thee than in a stew'd 
 prune ; nor no more truth in thee than in a drawn fox ; and 
 for womanhood, Maid Marian may be the deputy's wife of 
 the ward to thee ; " upon which Dr. Johnson observes, that 
 " Maid Marian is a man dressed like a woman, who attends 
 the dancers of the morris." ♦' In the ancient songs of Robin 
 Hood," says Percy, "frequent mention is made of Maid 
 Marian, who appears to have been his concubine. I could 
 quote," adds he, "many passages in my old MS. to this 
 purpose, but shall produce only one : t 
 
 'Good Robin Hood was living then. 
 Which now is quite forgot. 
 And so was fay re Maid Marian,' &c." 
 
 Mr. Steevens, too, after citing the old play of " Tlie down- 
 fall of Robert earl of Huntington," 1601, to prove " that Maid 
 Marian was originally a name assumed by Matilda, the 
 daughter of Robert, Lord Fitzwater, while Robin Hood re- 
 mained in a state of outlawry," observes, that "Shakespeare 
 speaks of Maid Marian in her degraded state, when she was 
 
 * Surely the " lady " alluded to in the old May-game cannot be our 
 Maid Marian. The earliest notice of her occurs in Barclay's Egloges, 
 about 1500, where she is evidently connected with Robin Houd. See 
 Note 36. 
 
 t Without "the ancient songs," to which the Doctor refers, are con- 
 fined to his "old MS.," heevidentlyasserts what he would probably find 
 it difficult to prove. As for the passage he produces, it seems nothing 
 to the purpose ; as, in the first place, it is apparently not " antient," 
 and, in the second, it is apparently not from a "song of Robin Hood." 
 
XXXll NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 represented by a strumpet or a clown ;" and refers to figure 2 
 in the plate at the end of the play, with Mr. Toilet's obser- 
 vations on it. The widow, in Sir W. Davenant's " Love and 
 Honour," says, " I have been Mistress Marian in a maurice 
 ere now ; " and Mr. Warton * quotes an old piece, entitled 
 " Old Meg of Herefordshire for a Maid Marian, and Here- 
 ford town for a morris-dance : or 12 morris-dancers in Here- 
 fordshire of I200 years old," London, 1609, 4to, which is 
 dedicated, he says, to one Hall, a celebrated labourer in that 
 country.t See Note 34. f ' '«:c^' 
 
 (11) *^ His company," ds^c."] See the entire pa'jsage quoted 
 from Major in a subsequent note. "By such bootyes as he 
 could get," says the writer of the Sloane MS., " his company 
 encreast to an hundred and a halfe." 
 
 (12) ■ — " the words of an old ■writer."'] The author of the 
 Sloane manuscript; which adds: "after such maner he 
 procured the pynner of Wakefeyld to become one of his 
 company, and a freyr called Muchel [r. Tuck] ... Scarlock 
 he induced upon this occasion : one day meeting him as he 
 walket solitary & like to a man forlorne, because a mayd to 
 whom he was affyanced was taken from [him] by the violence 
 of her frends, & given to another that was old & welthy, 
 whereupon Robin, understanding when the maryage-day 
 should be, came to the church as a begger, & having his own 
 company not far of, which came in so soone as they hard 
 
 * Mr. Warton, having observed that " The play of Robin and Marian 
 is said to have been performed by the school-boys of Anglers, according 
 to annual custom, in the year 1392 : The boys were deguisiez, says the 
 old French record ; and they had among them un fillette desguisee 
 (Carpent. Du Cange, v. Robinet-Pentecoste)," adds, "Our old charac- 
 ter of Mayd Marian may be hence illustrated " (His. En. po. i. 245). 
 This, indeed, seems sufficiently plausible ; but unfoitunately the Robin 
 and Marian of Anglers are not the Kobin and Marian of Sherwood. 
 The play is still extant. See Fabliaux ou Contes, Paris, 1781, ii. 144. 
 There are, likewise, some very ancient pastoral ballads on the subject 
 of these two lovers. See La Borde, Essai sur la Musique, ii. 163, 215. 
 But, in fact, the names of Robin and Marion seem to have been used 
 by the chansonniers of antiquity like those of Colin and Phoebe, &c. 
 
 t In 1592, Richard Jones, stationer, entered on the Company's books, 
 " A plesant fancie, or merrie conceyt, called the passion et morrys, 
 .daunst by a crue of 8 couple of worcs. 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. XXXllI 
 
 the sound of his home, he tooke the bryde perforce from him 
 that [bare] in hand to have marryed her, & caused the preist 
 to wed her & Scarlocke togeyther." (See part ii. song 8.) 
 This MS., of which great part is merely the old legend or 
 Lytell Geste of Robyn Hode turned into prose, appears to 
 have been written before the year 1600. 
 
 (13) "/« j/;<7o//«^," dr^f.] MS. Sloan. Grafton also speaks 
 of our hero's "excellyng principally in archery or shooting, 
 his manly courage agreeyng thereunto." 
 
 Their archery, indeed, was unparalleled, as both Robin 
 Hood and Little John have frequently shot an arrow a mea- 
 sured mile, or 1760 yards, which it is supposed no one, 
 either before or since, was ever able to do. " Tradition," 
 says Master Charlton, "informs us that in one of 'Robin 
 Hood's ' peregrinations, he, attended by his trusty mate Little 
 John, wenttodine [at Whitby Abbey] with the abbot Richard, 
 who, having heard them often famed for their great dexterity 
 in shooting with the long bow, begged them after dinner to 
 shew him a specimen thereof; when, to oblige the abbot, 
 they went up to the top of the abbey, whence each of them 
 shot an arrow, which fell not far from Whitby-laths, but on 
 the contrary side of the lane ; and in memorial thereof, a 
 pillar was set up by the abbot in the place where each of the 
 arrows was found, which are yet standing in these our days ; 
 that field where the pillar for Robin Hood's arrow stands 
 being still called Robin Hood's field, and the other where 
 the pillar for Little John's arrow is placed, still preserving 
 the name of John's field. Their distance from Whitby Abbey 
 is more than a measured mile, which seems very far for the 
 flight of an arrow, and is a circumstance that will stagger 
 the faith of many ; but as to the credibility of the story, 
 every reader may judge thereof as he thinks proper ; only I 
 must here beg leave to observe that these very pillars are 
 mentioned, and the fields called by the aforesaid names, in 
 the old deeds for that ground, now in the possession of Mr. 
 Thomas Watson" (History of Whitby, York, 1779, p. 146).* 
 
 • " The quarry fi»m whence King Wolfere fetched stones for his royal 
 structure [i.e. Peterborough] was undoubtedly that of Bemach near unto 
 Stamford .... And I find in the charter of K. Edward the Confessor, 
 
 e 
 
XXXIV NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS* 
 
 Dr, Meredith Hanmer, in his Chronicle of Ireland (p. 
 179)) speaking of Little John, says, " There are memorable 
 acts reported of him, which I hold not for truth, that he 
 would shoot an arrow a mile off and a great deale more ; 
 but them," adds he, " I leave among the lyes of the land."* 
 See Note 39. 
 
 which he granted to the abbot of Ramsey, that the abbot of Ramsey 
 should give to the abbot and convent of Peterburyh 4000 eeles in the 
 lime of Lent, and in consideration thereof the abbot of Peterburgh should 
 give to the abbot of Ramsey as much freestone from his pitts in Bernack, 
 and as much ragstone from his pitts in Peterburgh as he should need. 
 Nor did the abbot of Peterburgh from these pits furnish only that but 
 other abbies also, as that of St. Edmunds-Bury : in memory whereof 
 there are two long stones yet standing upon a balk in Castor-field, near 
 unto Gunwade-ferry ; which erroneous tradition hath given out to be 
 draughts of arrows from Alwalton churchyard thither ; the one of Robin 
 Hood, and the other of Little John ; but the truth is, they were set up 
 for witnesses, that the carriages of stone from Bernack to Gunwade-ferry, 
 to be conveyed to S. Edmunds-Bury, might pass that way without paying 
 toll ; and in some old terrars they are called S. Edmund's stones. These 
 stones are nicked in their tops after the manner of arrows, probably 
 enough in memory of S. Edmund, who was shot to death with arrows by 
 the Danes " (Gunton's History of the Church of Peterburgh, 1686, p. 4). 
 
 * "In this relation," Mr. Walker observes, "the Doctor not only 
 evinces his credulity, but displays his ignorance of archery ; for the in- 
 genious and learned Mr. Barrington, than whom no man can be better 
 informed on the subject, thinks that eleven score and seven yards is the 
 utmost extent that an arrow can be shot from a long bow " (Archaeo- 
 logia, vol. viii.) According to tradition, he adds, Little John shot an 
 arrow from the Old-bridge, Dublin, to the present site of St. Michael's 
 church, a distance not exceeding, he believes, that mentioned by Mr. 
 Barrington (Historical Essay on the Dress of the Ancient and Modern 
 Irish, p. 129). 
 
 What Mr. Barrington "thinks" may be true enough, perhaps, of the 
 Toxophilite Society and other modern archers; but people should not 
 talk of Robin Hood who never shot in his bow. The above ingenious 
 writer's censure of Dr. Hanmer's credulity and ignorance, seems to be 
 misapplied, since he cannot be supposed to believe what he holds not 
 for truth, and actually leaves among the lyes of the land. 
 
 See also the old song, printed in the Appendix, No. 3. Drayton, who 
 wrote before archery had fallen into complete disuse, says — 
 
 "At marks full forty score they us'd to prick and rove." 
 
 That Mr. Barrington, indeed, was very ill informed on the subject is 
 evident from a most scarce book in the editor's possession, intitled 
 " Aime for the archers of St. George's fields, containing the names of 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. XXXV 
 
 (14) "An outlaiv, in those times, being deprived of pro- 
 tection, owed no allegiance" dr^c] Such a character was, 
 doubtless, at the period treated of, in a very critical situation ; 
 it being equally as legal and meritorious to hunt down and 
 dispatch him as it was to kill a wolf, the head of which 
 animal he was said to bear. "Item foris facit," says Brac- 
 ton (who wrote about the time), " omnia que pads sunt, quia 
 a tempore quo utls^atus est caput gerit lupinum, ita ut im- 
 pune ab omnibus interfici possit " (1. 2, c. 35). In the great 
 roll of the exchequer, in the 7th year of King Richard I., is 
 an allowance by writ of two marks to Thomas de Prest- 
 wude, for bringing to Westminster the head of William de 
 Elleford, an outlaw. (See Madox's History of the Exche- 
 quer, 136.) Those who received or consorted with a person 
 outlawed were subject to the same punishment. Such was 
 the humane policy of our enlightened ancestors ! See Note 2 1 . 
 
 " htnu 
 
 . . . . they could discourse 
 The freexing hours away ! "] 
 
 (Cymbeline, act iii. scene 3>. The chief subjects of our hero's 
 conversation are supposed, by a poetical genius of the l6lh 
 
 all the marks in the same fields, with their true distances according to 
 the dimensiiration of the line. Formerly gathered by Richard Hannis, 
 and now corrected by Thomas Bick and others. London, Primed by 
 N. Howell for Robert Minehard and Benjamin Brownsmith, and are to 
 be sold at tiie sign of the man in the moon in BUckraan street, 1664,'' 
 i6mo, where the distance from Alpha to Bick's memorial is 18 score 16 
 yards; and 11 score 7 yards (though there are inferior numbers, the 
 lowest being 9, 12) appears to be a very moderate shot indeed. Two of 
 these marks are Robin Hood and Little John. See also Shakespeare's 
 Secoml Part of K. Henry IV., act iii. scene 2, where it is said that Old 
 Double "would h.-»ve clapp'd i' the clout at twelve score ; and c.irry'd you 
 a forehand shaft a. fourteen anAfourteen and a half ;" and thenotcsupon 
 the passage in Steevcns's edition, 1793. It is probable, after all, that the 
 word forty in Drayton is an error, of the transcriber or pressman, for 
 fourteen. 
 
 Wh.-itever Robin Hood's father might do, there can be no question that 
 the author of the old ballad in which he is mentioned (part ii. song i) 
 has " shot in a lusty strong bow " when he speaks of 
 
 "Two north-country miles and an inch at a shoL" 
 
XXXVl NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 century, to have been the commendation of a forest-life and 
 the ingratitude of mankind. 
 
 " I have no tales of Robin Hood, though K^conteM was he 
 In belter daies, first Richard's daies, and liv'd in \foo3s as we 
 A Tymon of the world ; but not devoutly was he see, 
 And therefore praise I not the man : but for from him did groe 
 Words worth the note, a word or twaine of him ere hence we goe. 
 
 Those daies begot some mal-contents, the principall ofwhome 
 A county was, that with a troope of yomandry did rome, 
 Brave archers and deliver men, since nor before so good, 
 Those took from rich to give the poore, and manned Robin Hood. 
 He fed them well, and lodg'd them safe in pleasant caves and bowers, 
 Oft saying to his merry men, What juster life than ours ? 
 Here use we tallents that abroad the churles abuse or hide. 
 Their coffers' excrements, and yeat for common wants denide. 
 We might have sterved for their store, & they have dyc'st our bones, 
 Whose tongues, driftes, harts, intice, meane, melt, as syrens, foxes, stones. 
 Yea even the best that betterd them heard but aloofe our mones. 
 And redily the churles could prie and prate of our amis, 
 Forgetfull of their owne. . . . 
 
 I did amis, not missing friends that wisht me to amend : 
 I did amend, but missed friends when mine amis had end : 
 My friends therefore shall finde me true, but I will trust no frend. 
 Not one I knewe that wisht me ill, nor any workt me well. 
 To lose, lacke, live, time, frends, in yncke, an hell, an hell, an hell ! 
 Then happie we (quoth Robin Hood) in merry Sherwood that dwell."* 
 
 It has been conjectured, however, that, in the winter sea- 
 son, our hero and his companions severally quartered them- 
 selves in villages or country-houses more or less remote, with 
 persons of whose fidelity they were assured. It is not im- 
 probable, at the same time, that they might have tolerably 
 comfortable habitations erected in the woods. 
 
 Archery, which our hero and his companions appear to 
 have carried to a state of perfection, continued to be cultivated 
 for some ages after their time, down, indeed, to that of Henry 
 VIII., or about the year 1540, when, owing to the introduc- 
 tion of artillery and matchlock -guns, it became neglected, 
 and the bowmen of Cressy and Agincourt utterly extinct ; 
 though it may be still a question whether a body of expert 
 archers would not, even at this day, be superior to an equal 
 
 * Warner's Albion's England, 1602, p. 132. It is part of the hermit's 
 speech to the Earl of Lancaster. 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. XXXVU 
 
 number armed with muskets.* The loss sustained from 
 this change by the people at large seems irreparable. An- 
 ciently, the use of the bow or bill qualified every man for a 
 soldier ; and a body of peasants, led on by a Tyler or a Cade, 
 was not less formidable than any military force that could be 
 raised to oppose them : by which means the people from 
 time to time preserved the very little liberty they had, and 
 which their tyrants were constantly endeavouring to wrest 
 from them. See how the case stands at present : the sovereign, 
 let him be who or what he will (kings have been tyrants, and 
 may be so again), has a standing army, well disciplined and 
 accoutred, while tlie subjects or people are absolutely de- 
 fenceless : as much care having been taken, particularly since 
 "the glorious revolution," to deprive them of arms as was 
 formerly bestowed to enforce their use and practice.t The 
 following extract from Hale's Historia Placitorum Coronae 
 (i. Ii8) will serve to show how familiar the bow and arrow 
 was in the 14th century : — "M. 22. E. 3. Rot. 117. coram 
 rege Ebor. This was the case of Henry Vescy, who had 
 been indicted before the sheriff in turno suo ... of divers 
 felonies, whereupon the sheriff mandavit commissionem suam 
 Henrico de Clyderawe & aliis ad capiendum prajdictum H. 
 Vescy, & salvo ducendum usque castrum de Ebor." Vescy 
 would not submit to an arrest, but fled, and inter fugiendum 
 shot with his bow and arrows at his pursuers, but in the end 
 was killed by Clyderawe : to which may be added a remark- 
 able passage in Harison's "Description of England" (pre- 
 fixed to Holinshed's Chronicle, 1587), to prove how much it 
 had declined in the i6th. " In times past," says he, "the 
 
 * Sir Roger Williams, in his Brie/e discourse o/warre, 1590, has a 
 chapter " To prooue bow-men the worst shot vsed in these daies." Sir 
 John Smythe, however, was of a different opinion. See his " Discourses 
 concerning the formes and effects of divers sorts of weapons, &c. As 
 also, of the great sufficiencie, excellencie, and wonderful effects of 
 archers," 1590, 4to. See also a different treatise by him upon the same 
 subject in Num. 132 of the Harleian MSS. 
 
 t " A prince who fills the throne with a disputed title dares not arm 
 his subjects, the only method of securing a people fully both against 
 domestic oppression and foreign conquest " (Hume's Essays, " Of the 
 Protestant Succession "). 
 
XXXVllI NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 cheefe force of England consisted in their long bowes. But 
 now we have in maner generallie given over that kind of 
 artillerie, and for long bowes in deed doo practise to shoot 
 compasse for our pastime ; which kind of shooting can never 
 yeeld anie smart stroke, nor beat down our enemies, as our 
 countrymen were woont to doo at everie time of need, 
 Certes the Frenchmen and Rutters,* deriding our new 
 archerie in respect of their corslets, will not let, in open 
 skirmish, if anie leisure serve, to turne up their tailes, and 
 crie, Shoote, English ; and all because our strong shooting is 
 decaied and laid in bed. But if some of our Englishmen 
 now lived that served King Edward the Third in his warres 
 with France, the breech f of such a varlet should have beene 
 nailed to his bum with one arrow, and an other fethered in 
 his bowels, before he should have turned about to see who 
 shot the first " (p. 198). Bishop Latimer, in his sixth sermon 
 before King Edward VI., gives an interesting account how the 
 sons of yeomen were, in his infancy, trained up to the bow. 
 " But now," says he, " we have taken up whooring in townes, 
 instead of shooting in the fieldes." 
 
 (16) 
 
 " A/l clad m Lincoln green."^ 
 
 This species of cloth is mentioned by Spenser (Faerie Queene, 
 VI. ii. 5) : 
 
 " All in a woodman's jacket he was clad 
 Of Lincolne greene, belay'd with silver lace 
 And on his head an hood with aglets sprad, 
 And by his side his hunter's home he hanging had." 
 
 ■ It is likewise noticed by our poet himself, in another place : 
 
 " Swains in shepherds gray, and gyrles in Lincolne greene." } 
 
 See Poiyolbion, song xxv., where the marginal note says, 
 " Lincolne anciently dyed the best green in England." Thus 
 Coventry had formerly the reputation of dying the best blue. 
 
 * Flemings, 
 t Breeches, 
 t Thus also in part ii. ballad i : 
 
 " She got on her holyday kirtle and gown 
 They were of a light Lincolne greeu." 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. XXXIX 
 
 See Ray's Proverbs, p. 178. Kendal green is equally famous, 
 and appears to have been cloth of a similar quality. This 
 colour was adopted by foresters to prevent their being too 
 readily discovered by the deer. See Sir John Wynne's His- 
 tory of the Guedir Family (Barrington's Miscellanies), p. 419. 
 Thus the Scotish Highlanders used to wear brown plaids to 
 prevent their being distinguished among the heath. It is 
 needless to observe that green has ever been the favourite 
 dress of an archer, hunter, &c. See Note 34.* We now 
 call it a Saxon or grass green : 
 
 " His coat is of a Saxon green, his waistcoat's of a plaid " (O. song). 
 
 Lincoln green was well known in France in or before 
 the 13th century. Thus, in an old fabliau, transprosed by 
 M. Le Grand (Fabliaux ou Contes, iv. 13), " 11 mit done 
 son surcot fourre d'ecureuil, et sa belle robe d'Estanfort teinte 
 en verd." Estanfort is Stamford, in Lincolnshire. t This 
 cloth is, likewise, often mentioned by the old Scotish poets 
 under the names of Lincum licht, Lincum twyne, &c., and 
 appears to have been in universal request : and yet, notwith- 
 standing this cloud of evidence, Mr. Pinkerton has had the 
 confidence to assert that "no particular cloth was ever made 
 at Lincoln." (See Ancient Scotish Poems, ii. 430.) But, 
 indeed, this worthy gentleman, as Johnson said of Goldsmith, 
 only stumbles upon truth by accident. 
 
 * In the sign of The green man and still, we perceive a huntsman in 
 a green coat standing by the side of a still ; in allusion, as it has been 
 facetiously conjectured, to the partiality shown by that description of 
 gentry to a morning dram. The genuine representation, however, should 
 be the green-man (or man who deals in green herbs) with a bundle of 
 peppermint or penny-royal under his arm, which he brings to have 
 distilled. 
 
 " And farewell all gaie garments now, 
 With jewels riche of rare devise : 
 Like Kobin Hood, I wot not how, 
 
 I must goe raunge in woodmen's wyse, 
 Cladde in a cote of greene or gray, 
 And gladde to get it if i maye." 
 The workes of a young wyt, Done by N. B. Gent. 1577, 4to, b. I. 
 t There appears, however, to be a town of this name in Fl.inders, which 
 may be the place here meant. The above conjecture, therefore, will be 
 received for no more than it is worth. 
 
Xl NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 (17) 
 
 ^'From wealthy abbots' chests," iSr'f.] 
 
 *' But who," exclaims Dr. Fuller, having cited this passage, 
 "made him a judge? or gave him a commission to take 
 where it miglit be best spared, and give where it was most 
 wanted ? " That same power, one may answer, wiiich au- 
 thorises kings to take where it can be worst spared, and give 
 it where it is least wanted. Our hero, in this respect, was a 
 knight-errant ; and wanted no other commission than that 
 of Justice, whose cause he militated. His power, compared 
 with that of the king of England, was by no means either 
 equally usurped or equally abused : the one reigned over 
 subjects (or slaves) as a master (or tyrant), the other possessed 
 no authority but what was delegated to him by the free suf- 
 frage of his adherents, for their general good : and as for the 
 rest, it would be absurd to blame in Robin what we should 
 praise in Richard.* The latter, too, warred in remote partg 
 of the world against nations from which neither he nor his 
 subjects had sustained any injury ; the former at home against 
 those to whose wealth, avarice, or ambition he might fairly 
 attribute not only his own misfortunes, but the misery of the 
 oppressed and enslaved society he had quitted. In a word, 
 every man who has the power has also the authority to pursue 
 the ends of justice, to regulate the gifts of fortune, by trans- / 
 
 ferring the superfluities of the rich to the necessities of the 
 poor ; by relieving the oppressed, and even, when necessary, 
 destroying the oppressor. These are the objects of the social 
 union, and every individual may, and to the utmost of his 
 power should, endeavour to promote them. Had our Robin 
 Hood been, like M 'Donald of Barrisdale, a reader of Virgil, 
 he, as well as that gallant chief, might have inscribed on his 
 baldric — 
 
 * When Bulas, or Felix, the robber, was brought before Papinian, the 
 latter asked him why he gave himself up to robbing and spoiling : " And ' 
 
 I why, sir," was the answer, " are you ' a governor ' V See Dio Cassius 
 * in Severus. 
 
 " Because I do that," said the pirate to Alexander, " with a single 
 ship which thou dost with a great fleet, I am called a thief, and thou art 
 called a king." 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. xli 
 
 " Hx tibi enint artes ; pacts componere mores, 
 Parcere subjectis, et debellare siiperbos." * 
 
 (i8) "But it is to be remembered,'''' &'c.'\ The passage 
 from Major's work, which has been already quoted, is here 
 given entire (except as to a single sentence introduced in 
 another place). "Circa haec tempora [s. Ricardi I.] ut 
 auguror, Robertus Hudus & Parvus Joannes latrones fama- 
 tissimi, in nemoribus latuerunt, solum opulentum viroruir. 
 bona diripientes. Nullum nisi eos invadentem vel resistentem 
 pro suarum rerum tuitione occiderunt. Centum sagittarios 
 ad pugnam aptissimos Robertus latrociniis aluit quos 400 
 viri fortissimi invadere non audebant. Faeminam nullum 
 opprimi permisit, nee pauperum bona surripuit, verum eos 
 ex abbatum bonis ablatis opipare pavit. Viri rapinam im- 
 probo sed latronum omnium humanissimus & princeps erat " 
 (Majoris Britanniae Historia, Edin. 1740, p. 128). 
 
 Stowe, in his Annates, 1592, p. 227, gives an almost 
 literal version of the above passage ; Richard Robinson ver- 
 sifies it ; t and Camden slightly refers to it. 
 
 * See Pennant's Tour in Scotland MDCCLXXII. part i. p. 404. The 
 original reading, whether altered by mistake or design, is — 
 
 " — pacisque imponerc morem." 
 One might, to the same purpose, address our hero in the words of 
 Plautus (Trinummus, act iv. scene i) : 
 
 " Atque banc tuam gloriam jam ante auribtis acceperam, et nobiles apud 
 homines, 
 P.tiiperibus te parcere solitum, divites damnare atque domare. 
 Abi, laudo, scis ordine. ut sequom'st, 
 Tractare homines, hoc dis dignum'st, semper mendicis modesti sint." 
 
 " I've heard before 
 
 This commendation of you, and from great ones. 
 That you were wont to spare the indigent. 
 And crush the wealthy. — I applaud your justice 
 In treating men according to their merits.— 
 'Tis worthy of the gods to have respect 
 Unto the poor." 
 
 t " Richard Coeur de Lyon cald a king and conquerour was. 
 
 With Phillip king of France who did unto Jerusalemm passe : 
 
 In this kin::'s time was Robyn Hood, that archer and oullawe. 
 And little John his partener eke, unto them which did drawe 
 
 / 
 
xlii NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 (19) — ^^ has had the honour to be compared to the illus- 
 trious Wallace" dr'c] In the first volume of Peck's intended 
 supplement to the Monasticon, consisting of collections for 
 the history of Prsemonstratensian monasteries, now in the 
 British Museum, is a very curious riming Latin poem with 
 the following title: " Prioris AInwicensis de bello Scotico 
 apud Dumbarr, tempore rigis Edwardi I. dictamen sive 
 rithmus Latinus, quo de Willielmo Wallace Scotico illo 
 Robin Whood, plura sed invidiose canit ; " and in the margin 
 are the following date and reference : — "22. Julii 1304. 32. 
 E. I. Regist. Prem. fol. 59. a." This, it maybe observed, is 
 the first known instance of our hero's name being mentioned 
 by any writer whatever ; and affords a strong and respectable 
 proof of his early popularity. 
 
 (20) " The abbot of St. Mary's in Yorh."] " In the year 
 1088, Alan, Earl of Richmond, founded here a stately abbey 
 for black monks to the honour of St. Olave ; but it was after- 
 wards dedicated to the Blessed Virgin by the command of 
 king William Rufus. Its yearly revenues at the suppression 
 amounted to jC^5S°> 7^- 9^- Dugd., ^^2850, is. ^d. Speed " 
 (Willis's Mitred Abbeys, i. 214). The abbots in our hero's 
 time were — 
 
 Robert de Harpsham (el. 1184), ob. 1198. 
 Robert de Longo Campo, ob. 1239. 
 William Rondele, ob. 1244. 
 Tho. de Wharterhille, ob. 1258. 
 
 (21) — " the sheriff of Nottinghamshire.^^ Ralph Murdach 
 was sheriff of Derby and Nottinghamshires in the first year 
 of King Richard I., and for the seven years preceding, and 
 William Brewerre in his sixth year, between which and the first 
 no name appears on the roll. See Fuller's Worthies, &c. 
 
 In the year 1 195, Hubert, Archbishop of Canterbury, jus- 
 One hondred tall and good archers, on whom foure hondred men. 
 Were their power never so strong, could not give onset then ; 
 The abbots, monkes, and carles rich these onely did molest, 
 And rcskewd woemen when they saw of theeves them so opprest ; 
 Restoring poore men's goods, and eke abundantly releeved 
 Poore travellers which wanted food, or were with sicknes greeved." 
 (Third Assertion, &c., quoted elsewhere.) 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. xliii 
 
 ticiary of all England, sent throughout the kingdom this form 
 of oath : that all men of tiie realm of England would keep 
 the peace of the lord the king to their power ; and that they 
 would neither be thieves nor robbers, nor the receivers of 
 such, nor consent to them in anything ; and that when they 
 were able to know such-like malefactors, they would take 
 them to the utmost of their power, and deliver them to the 
 sheriff; who in no wise should be delivered unless by the lord 
 the king or his chief justice ; and if unable to take them, 
 they should cause the bailiffs of the lord the king to know who 
 they were : and, cry being raised for pursuing outlaws, rob- 
 bers, thieves, or their receivers, all should fully do that suit to 
 the utmost of their power, &c. Knights were to be assigned 
 for these purposes, and men chosen and faithful were sent to 
 execute them in every county, who by the oath of true men 
 of the vicinages took many and put them in the king's prisons ; 
 but many, being forewarned, and conscious of evil, left their 
 houses and possessions and fled (A", de f/oveden, p. 757). 
 
 (22) — " an anecdote preserved by Fordun" ^'c'l "Dequo 
 eciam quadam commendabilia recitantur, sicut patuit in hoc, 
 quod cum ipse quondam in Barnisdale iram [f. ob iram] 
 regis & fremitum principis, missam, ut solitus erat, devotissime 
 audiret, nee aliqua necessitate volebat interrumpere officium, 
 quadam die cum audiret missam, i quodam vicecomite & 
 ministris regis, saspius per prius ipsum infestantibus, in illo 
 secretissimo loco nemorali, ubi missse interfuit, exploratus, 
 venientes ad eum qui de suis hoc perceperuni, ut omni 
 annisu fugeret suggesserunt, qui, ob reverentiam sacramenti, 
 quod tunc devotissime venerabatur, omnino facere recusavit. 
 Sed ceteris suis, ob metum mortis trepidantibus, Robertus 
 tantum confisus in eum, quern coluit reveritus, cum paucis- 
 simis, qui tunc forte ei affuerunt, inimicos congressus & eos 
 de facili devicit, et de eorum spoliis ac redemptione ditatus, 
 ministros ecclesise & missas semper in majori veneratione 
 semper & de post habere prseelegit, attendens quod wlgariter 
 dictum est : 
 
 Hunc deus exaudit, qui missam ssepius audit." 
 
 J. De Fordun Scotichronicon, k Ilearne, Ox. 1722, p. 774. 
 
Xliv NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 This passage is found in no other copy of Fordun's Chronicle 
 than one in the Harleian Library. Its suppression in all the 
 rest may be fairly accounted for on the principle which is 
 presumed to have influenced the conduct of the ancient Eng- 
 lish historians. See Note i. 
 
 (23) — " a proclanialiou was published " &'c.'] "The king 
 att last," says the Harleian MS., "sett furth a proclamation to 
 have him apprehended," &c. Grafton, after having told us 
 that he " practised robberyes," &c., adds, " The which beyng 
 certefyed to the king, and he beyng greatly offended there- 
 with, caused his proclamation to be made that whosoever 
 would bryng him quicke or dead, the king would geve him a 
 great summe of money, as by the recordes in the Exchequer 
 is to be scene : But of this promise no man enjoyed any 
 benefite. For the sayd Robert Hood, being afterwardes 
 troubled with sicknesse," &c. (p. 85.) See Note 14. 
 
 (24) '^ At length the mjirmities of old age increasing upon 
 hitn," &'€.'] Thus Grafton : " The sayd Robert Hood, beyng 
 troubled with sicknesse, came to a certain nonry in York- 
 shire called Bircklies [r. Kircklies], where desiryng to be let 
 blood, he was betrayed and bled to death." The Sloane 
 MS. says that " [Being] dystempered with could and age, 
 he had great payne in his lymmes, his bloud being corrupted, 
 therefore to be eased of his payne by letting bloud, he repayred 
 to the priores of Kyrkesly, which some say was his aunt, a 
 woman very skylful in physique «& surgery ; who, percey ving 
 him to be Robyn Hood, & waying howe fel an enimy he 
 was to religious persons, toke reveng of him for her owne 
 howse and all others by letting him bleed to death. It is 
 also sayd that one Sir Roger of Doncaster, bearing grudge to 
 Robyn for some injury, incyted the priores, with whome he 
 was very familiar, in such a maner to dispatch him." See 
 the Lytell Geste of Robyn Hode, ad finem. The Harleian 
 MS., after mentioning the proclamation "sett furth to have 
 him apprehended," adds, " At which time it happened he fell 
 sick at a nunnery in Yorkshire called Birkleys [r, Kirkleys] ; 
 & desiring there to be let blood, hee was betrayed & made 
 bleed to death." 
 
 Kirkleys, Kirklees, or Kirkleghes, formerly Kuthale, in the 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. xlv 
 
 deanery of Pontefract, and archdeaconry of the West Riding of 
 Yorkshire, was a Cistercian, or, as some say, a Benedictine 
 nunnery, founded, in honour of the Virgin Mary and St. 
 James, by Keynerus Flandrensis in the reign of King Henry 
 II. Its revenues at the dissolution were somewhat about 
 £10, and the site was granted (36 Hen. 8.) to Jolin Tasburgh 
 and Henry Savill, from whom it came to one of the ancestors 
 of Sir George Armytage, Bart., the present possessor. The 
 remains of tlie building (if any) are very inconsiderable, and 
 its register has been searched after in vain. See Tanner's 
 Notitia, p. 674. Thoresby's Ducatus Leodiensis, p. 91. 
 Hearne's '* Account of Several Antiquities in and about the 
 University of Oxford," at the end of Leland's Itinerary, vol. 
 ii. p. 128. 
 
 In 1706 was discovered, among the ruins of the nunnery, 
 the monument of Elisabeth de Staynton, prioress ; but it is 
 not certain that this was the lady from whom our hero ex- 
 perienced such kind assistance. See Thoresby and Heame 
 ubi supra. 
 
 "One may wonder," says Dr. Fuller, " how he escaped 
 the hand of justice, dying in his bed, for ought is found to the 
 contrary ; but it was because he was rather a merry than a 
 mischievous thief (complementing passengers out of their 
 purses), never murdering any but deer, and . . . . ' feasting * 
 the vicinage with his vension" (Worthies, p. 320). See the 
 following note. 
 
 (25) " He was interred under some trees at a short distance 
 from the house ; a stone being placed over his grave with an in- 
 scription to his tnemory.^''\ " Kirkley monasterium monialium, 
 ubi Ko: Hood nobilis ille exlex sepultus" (Leland's Collec- 
 tanea, i. 54). " Kirkleys Nunnery, in the Woods, whereof 
 Robin Hood's grave is, is between Halifax and Wakefield 
 upon Calder " (Letter from Jo. Savileto W. Camden, Illus. 
 viro epis. 1691). 
 
 " as Caldor comes along, 
 
 It chanced she in her course on ' Kirkley ' cast her eye, 
 Where merry Robin Hood, that honest thief, doth lie." 
 
 (I'olyolbiou, sung aS.) 
 
 See also Camden's Britannia, 1695, p. 709. 
 
xlvi NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 In the second volume of Dr. Stukeley's Itinerarium Curio- 
 sum is an engraving of " the prospect of Kirkley's abby, where 
 Robin Hood dyed, from the footway leading to Heartishead 
 church, at a quarter of a mile distance. A. The New Hall. 
 B. The Gatehouse of the Nunnery, C. The trees among 
 which Robin Hood was buryed. D. The way up the Hill 
 were this was drawn. E. Bradley wood. F. Almondbury 
 hill. G. Castle field. Drawn by Dr. Johnston among his 
 Yorkshire Antiquitys, p. 54 of the drawings, E, Kirkall, 
 sculp." It makes plate 99 of the above work, but is un- 
 noticed in the letterpress. 
 
 According to the Sloane MS., the prioress, after " letting 
 him bleed to death, buryed him under a great stone by the 
 hy wayes syde ;" which is agreeable to the account in Grafton's 
 Chronicle, where it is said that, after his death, "the prioresse 
 of the same place caused him to be buried by the highway- 
 side, where he had used to rob and spoyle those that passed 
 that way. And vpon his grave the sayde prioresse did lay a 
 very fayre stone, wherein the names of Robert Hood, William 
 of Goldesborough, and others were graven. And the cause 
 why she buryed him there was, for that the common passen- 
 gers and travailers, knowyng and seeyng him there buryed, 
 might more safely and without feare take their jorneys 
 that way, which they durst not do in the life of the sayd 
 outlawes. And at eyther ende of the sayde tombe was 
 erected a crosse of stone, which is to be scene there at this 
 present." 
 
 " Near unto ' Kirklees ' the noted Robin Hood lies buried 
 under a grave-stone that yet remains near the park, but the 
 inscription scarce legible " (Thoresby's Ducatus Leodiensis, 
 fo, 1715, p. 91), In the Appendix, p, 576, is the following 
 note, with a reference to *' page 91 :" — 
 
 " Amongst the papers of the learned Dr. Gale, late dean 
 of Yorke, was found this epitaph of Robin Hood : 
 
 J^ear untrcmeaj Jig lattl gteatt 
 iatj robcrt carl of J^untingtun 
 ttta arcir faer aj ^ie sa geuB 
 ait ptpl iuulo im robin \)m\t 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. xlvU 
 
 sick utia&jj aj f)i an tj mm 
 bil tnglanli iiibr si agm. 
 
 obiit 24 [r. 14] feal lirfttmbris 1247." 
 
 The genuineness of this epitaph has been questioned. Dr. 
 Percy, in the first edition of liis " Reliques of Ancient Eng- 
 lish Poetry" (1765), says "It must be confessed this epi- 
 taph is suspicious, because in the most ancient poems of 
 Robin Hood there is no mention of tliis imaginary earldom." 
 This reason, however, is by no means conclusive, the most 
 ancient poem now extant having no pretension to the anti- 
 quity claimed by the epitaph : and indeed the Doctor himself 
 should seem to have afterward had less confidence in it, as, 
 in both the subsequent editions, those words are omitted, 
 and the learned critic merely observes that the epitaph ap- 
 pears to him suspicious. It will be admitted that the bare 
 suspicion of this ingenious writer, whose knowledge and 
 judgment of ancient poetry are so conspicuous and eminent, 
 ought to have considerable weight. As for the present 
 editor's part, though he does not pretend to say that the lan- 
 guage of this epitaph is that of Henry the Third's time, nor 
 indeed to determine of what age it is, he can perceive nothing 
 in it from whence one should be led to pronounce it spurious, 
 i.e. that it was never inscribed on the grave-stone of Robin 
 Hood. That there actually was some inscription upon it 
 in Thoresby's time, though then scarce legible, is evident 
 from his own words : and it should be remembered as well 
 that the last century was not the era of imposition, as that 
 Dr. Gale was both too good and too learned a man either to 
 be capable of it himself or to be liable to it from others. 
 
 That industrious chronologist and topographer, as well as 
 respectable artist and citizen, master Thomas Gent, of York, 
 in his "List of religious houses," annexed to "The ancient 
 and modem state of" that famous city, 1730, l2mo, p. 234, 
 informs us that he had been told "that his [Robin Hood's] 
 tombstone, having his effigy thereon, was order'd, not many 
 years ago, by a certain knight to be placed as a harth-stone 
 in his great hall. When it was laid overnight, the next morn- 
 ing it was ' surprizingly ' removed [on or to] one side ; and 
 
xlviii NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 so three times it was laid, and as successively turned aside. 
 The knight, thinking he had done wrong to have brouglit it 
 thither, order'd it should be drawn back again ; which was 
 performed by a pair of oxen and four horses, when twice the 
 number could scarce do it before. But as this," adds the 
 sagacious writer, " is a story only, it is left to the reader to 
 judge at pleasure." N.B. — This is the second instance of a 
 miracle wrought in favour of our hero ! 
 
 In Cough's Sepulchral Monuments, p. cviii., is " the figure 
 of the stone over the grave of Robin Hood [in Kirklees park, 
 being a plain stone with a sort of cross fleuree thereon], now 
 broken and much defaced, the inscription illegible. That 
 printed in Thoresby, Ducat. Leod. 576, from Dr. Gale's 
 papers, was never on it.* The late Sir Samuel Armitage 
 owner of the premises, caused the ground under it to be dug 
 a yard deep, and found it had never been disturbed ; so 
 that it was probably brought from some other place, and by 
 vulgar tradition ascribed to Robin Hood " (refers to " Mr. 
 Watson's letter in Antiquary Society minutes"). This is pro- 
 bably the tomb-stone of Elizabeth de Staynton, mentioned in 
 the preceding note. 
 
 The old epitaph is, by some anonymous hand, in a work 
 entitled " Sepulchrorum inscriptiones ; or a curious collection 
 of 900 of the most remarkable epitaphs," Westminster, 1727 
 (vol. ii. p. 73), thus not inelegantly paraphrased : 
 " Here, underneath this little stone, 
 
 Thro' Death's assaults, now lieth one, 
 
 Known by the name of Robin Hood, 
 
 Who was a thief, and archer good ; 
 
 Full thirteen years, and something more, 
 
 He robb'd the rich to feed the poor : 
 
 * That this epitaph had been printed, or was well known, at least, 
 long l>efore the publication of Mr. Thoresby's book, if not before either 
 he or Dr. Gale was born, appears from the " True Tale of Robin Hood " 
 by Martin Parker, written, if not printed, as early as 1631. (See post, 
 p. 126.) That dates, about this period, were frequently by ides and 
 kalends, see Madox's Formulare Anglicanwn (Dissertation), p. xxx. 
 Even Arabic figures are produced in some of still greater antiquity ; see 
 Collectanea de rebus Hibcrnicis, ii. 331. Robert Grosthead, Bishop of 
 Linciiln, makes use of these figures about the year 1240. Astle's Origin 
 of Writing, p. 188. 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. xlix 
 
 Therefore, his grave bedew with tears. 
 And offer for his soul your prayers." * 
 
 (26) — '^various dramatic exhibitions "'\ The earliest of 
 these performances now extant is " The playe of Robyn 
 Hode, very proper to be played in Maye games," whicli is 
 inserted in the Appendix to this work, and may probably be 
 as old as the 15th century. That a different play, however, 
 on the same subject has formerly existed, seems pretty certain 
 from a somewhat curious passage in " Tiie famous chronicle 
 of king Edward the first, sirnamed Edward Longshankes, " 
 &c., by George Peele, printed in 1593. 
 
 " LIuellen weele get the next daie from Brecknocke the booke 
 
 of Robin Hood, the frier he shall instruct us in his cause, and weele 
 even here . . . wander like irregulers up and down the wildernesse, ile 
 be maister of misrule, ile be Robin Hood that once, cousin ' Rice,' thou 
 shalt be little John, and hers frier David, as fit as a die for frier Tucke. 
 Now, my sweet Nel, if you will make up the messe with a good heart 
 for maide Marian, and doe well with LIuellen under the green-woode 
 trees, with as good a wil as in the good townes, why plena est curia. 
 
 {Exeunt. 
 Enter Mortimor, solus. 
 
 Mortimor Maisters, have after gentle Robin Hood, 
 
 You are not so well accompanied I hope, 
 But if a putier come to plaie his part, 
 
 Youle give him stripes or welcome good or worse. {Exit. 
 
 Enter LIuellen, Meredith, frier, Elinor, and their traine. They are all 
 clad in greene, &'c. sing, dr'c. Blyth and bonny, the song ended, 
 LIuellen speaketh. 
 
 Luellen. Why so, I see, my mates of olde, 
 Alt were nor lies that Bedlams [beldams] told ; 
 Of Robin Hood and little John, 
 Frier Tucke and maide Marian." 
 
 Mortimer, as a potter, afterwards fights the frier with 
 " flailes." 
 
 2. " The downfall ofRobertearle of Huntington, afterward 
 
 * In " The Travels of Tom Thumb over England and Wales " [by Mr. 
 Robert Dodsley], p. 106, is another though inferior version : 
 " Here, under this memorial stone. 
 Lies Robert earl of Huntingdon ; 
 As he, no archer e'er was good. 
 And people call'd him Robin Hood : 
 Such outlaws as his men and he 
 Again may England never see." 
 
 g 
 
1 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS, 
 
 called Robin Hood of merrie Sherwodde : with his love to 
 chaste Matilda, the lord Fitzwater's daughter, afterwardes his 
 faire maide Marian. Acted by the right honourable, the earle 
 of Notingham,'lord high admirall of England, his servants. 
 IT Imprinted at London, for William Leake, 1601." 4to, 
 b. 1. 
 
 3. " The death of Robert, earle of Huntington, otherwise 
 called Robin Hood of merrie Sherwodde : with the lament- 
 able tragedie of chaste Matilda, his faire maid Marian, poy- 
 soned at Dunmowe, by kingjohn. Acted, &c. H Imprinted 
 &c. [as above] i6oi." 410, b. 1. 
 
 These two plays, usually called the first and second part 
 of Robin Hood, were always, on the authority of Kirkman, 
 falsely ascribed to Thomas Heywood, till Mr. Malone fortu- 
 nately retrieved the names of the true authors, Anthony 
 Mundy and Henry Chettle.* As they seem partly founded 
 on traditions long since forgotten, and refer occasionally to 
 documents not now to be found ; at any rate, as they are 
 much older than most of the common ballads upon the sub- 
 ject, and contain some curious and possibly authentic parti- 
 culars not elsewhere to be met with, the reader will excuse 
 the particularity of the account and length of the extracts 
 here given. 
 
 The first part, or downfall of Robert earle of Huntington, 
 is supposed to be performed at the court and command of 
 Henry VIII., the poet Skelton being the dramatist, and act- 
 
 * In "a large folio volume of accounts kept by Mr. Philip Henslowe, 
 who appears to have been proprietor of the Rose theatre near the Bank- 
 side in Southwark," he has entered — 
 
 _g The first part of Robin Hood, by Anthony Mundy. 
 
 The second part of the downfall of earl Huntington, sirnamed 
 Robinhood, by Anthony Mundy and Henry Chettle." 
 
 In a subsequent page is the following entry : " Lent unto Robarte 
 Shawe, the 18 of Novemb. 1598, to lend unto Mr. Cheattle, upon the 
 mending of the first part of Robart Hoode, the sum of xs. ;" and afterwards 
 — " For mending of Robin Hood for ihe corte." See Malone's edition 
 of "The Plays and Poems of William Shakespeare," 1790, vol. i. part ii. 
 (Emendations and additions.) 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. li 
 
 ing the part of chorus. The introductory scene commences 
 thus : 
 
 " Enter Sir John Eltam, and knockt at Skelton's tioore. 
 Sir John. Howe, maister Skelton ! what, at studie hard? 
 
 [Opens the doore. 
 Skel. Welcome and wisht for, honest Sir John Eltam, — 
 Twill trouble you after your great affairs, 
 
 [i.e. the surveying of certain maps which his majesty had 
 employed him in ; 
 To take the paine that I intended to intreate you to, 
 About rehearsall of your promis'd play. 
 
 Elt. Nay, master Skelton ; for the kinghimselfe. 
 As wee were parting, bid mee take great heede 
 Wee faile not of our day : therefore I pray 
 Sende for the rest, that now we may rehearse. 
 
 Skel. O they are readie all, and drest to play. 
 What part play you t 
 
 Elt. Why, I play little John, 
 And came of purpose with this greene sute. 
 Skel. Holla, my masters, little John is come. 
 [At every doore all the players runne out ; some crying wherc^ where? 
 others. Welcome, Sir John ." among others the boyes and clovitu. 
 Skel. Faith, little Tracy, you are somewhat forward. 
 What, our maid Marian leaping like a lad ! 
 If you remember, Robin is your love, 
 Sir Thomas Mantle yonder, not Sir John. 
 
 Clo^v. But, master, Sir John is my fellowe, for I am Much the 
 miller's Sonne. Am I not? 
 
 Skel. I know yee are, sir : — 
 And, gentlemen, since you are thus prepar'd, 
 Goe in, and bring your dumbe scene on the stage, 
 And I, as prologue, purpose to expresse 
 The ground whereon our historie is laied. 
 
 {Exeunt, manet Skelton. 
 Trumpets sounde, [i] enter first King Ric/iard with drvm and 
 auneient, giving Ely a purse and sceptre, his mother and brother John, 
 Chester, Lester, Lacie, others at the king's appointment, doing rever- 
 ence. The king goes in : presently Ely ascends the chaire, Chester, 
 John, and the gueene part displeasantly. [2] Enter Robkrt, earle 
 OF HvNTiNGTOS, leading Marian ;/ollowes him H^arman, and after 
 IVarman, the prior; IVarman ever flattering and making curtsie, 
 taking gifts 0/ the prior behinde and his master be/ore. Prince John 
 enters, offereth to take Marian; Queen Elinor enters, offering to pull 
 Robin from her; but they infolde each other, and sit dmvne within the 
 curteints. [3] Warman with the prior. Sit Hugh Lacy, LordSentloe, 
 and Sir Gilbert Broghton folde hands, and drawing the curteins, all 
 (but the prior) enter, and are hindely received by Robin Hoode." 
 
Hi NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 During tlie exhibition of the second part of the dumb show, 
 Skelton instructs the audience as follows : 
 
 " This youth that leads yon virgin by the hand 
 Is our earle Robert, or your Robin Hoode, 
 That in those daies was earle of Huntington ; 
 The ill-fac't miser, brib'd in either hand. 
 Is Warman, once the steward of his house, 
 Who, Judas like, betraies his liberall lord, 
 Into the hands of that relentlesse prior, 
 Calde Gilbert Hoode, uncle to Huntington. 
 Those two that seeke to part these lovely friends, ' 
 
 Are Elenor the queene, and John the prince. 
 She loves earle Robert, he maide Marian, 
 But vainely ; for their deare affect is such. 
 As only death can sunder their true loves. 
 Long had they lov'd, and now it is agreed, 
 This day they must be troth-plight, after wed : 
 At Huntington's faire house a feast is helde. 
 But envie turnes it to a house of teares. 
 For those false guestes, conspiring with the prior ; 
 To whom earle Robert greatly is in debt, 
 Meane at the banquet to betray the earle, 
 Unto a heavie writ of outlawry : 
 The manner and escape you all shall see. 
 
 Looke to your entrance, get you in. Sir John. 
 
 My shift is long, for I play Frier Tucke ; 
 
 Wherein, if Skelton hath but any lucke, 
 
 Heele thanke his hearers oft with many a ducke. 
 
 For many talk of Robin Hood that never shot in his bowe, 
 
 But Skelton writes of Robin Hood what he doth truly knowe." 
 
 After some Skeltonical rimes, and a scene betwixt the 
 prior, the sheriff, and justice Warman, concerning the out- 
 lawry, which appears to be proclaimed, and the taking of 
 Earl Huntington at dinner, " Enter Robin Hoode, little John 
 following him ; Robin having his napkin on his shoulder, as 
 if hee were sodainly raised from dinner." He is in a violent 
 rage at being outlawed, and Little John endeavours to pacify 
 him. Marian being distressed at his apparent disorder, he 
 dissembles with her. After she is gone, John thus addresses 
 him : 
 
 " Now must your honour leave these mourning tunes, 
 And thus by my areede you shall provide ; 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. HH 
 
 Your plate and jewels ' i wil' straight packe up, 
 And toward Notingham convey them hence. 
 At Rowford, Sowtham, Wortley, Hothersfield, 
 Of all your cattell mony shall be made, 
 And I at Mansfield will attend your comming ; 
 Where weele determine which waie's best to take. 
 
 Rob. Well, be it so ; a God's name, let it be ; 
 And if I can, Marian shall come with mee. 
 
 John. Else care will kill her ; therefore if you please. 
 At th' utmost corner of the garden wall, 
 Soone in the evening waite for Marian, 
 And as I goe ile tell her of the place. 
 Your horses at the Bell shall readie bee, 
 1 meane Belsavage,* whence, as citizens 
 That ' meane' to ride for pleasure some small way, 
 You shall set foorth." 
 
 The company now enters, and Robin charges them with 
 the conspiracy, and rates their treacherous proceedings. Little 
 John in attempting to remove the goods is set upon by War- 
 man and the sheriff ; and during the fray " Enter Prince John, 
 Ely and the prior, and others." Little John tells the prince 
 he but defends the box containing his own gettings ; upon 
 which his royal highness observes, 
 
 " You do the fellow wrong ; his goods are his : 
 You only must extend upon the earlcs. 
 
 Prior. That was, my lord, but nowe is Robert Hood, 
 A simple yeoman as his servants were." 
 
 Ely gives the prior his commission, with directions to make 
 speed, lest " in his country-house all his heards be solde ;" 
 and gives Wamian a patent "for the high sheriffewick of 
 Nottingham." After this, " Enter Robin like a citizen ; and 
 then the queen and Marian disguised for each other. Robin 
 takes Marian, and leaves the queen to Prince John, who is 
 
 * That is, the inn so called, upon Ludgate Hill. The modem sign, 
 which, however, seems to have been the same 200 years ago, is a bell and 
 a wild man ; but the original is supposed to have been a beautiful Indian ; 
 and the inscription, La telle sauvage. Some, indeed, assert that the inn 
 once belonged to a Lady Arabella Savage ; and other*, that its name, 
 originally The bell and tava^c, arose (like The George and blue boar) 
 from ihc junction of two inns, with those respective signs. Nou nostrum 
 est tantas componerc liles. 
 
liv NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 so much enraged at the deception that he breaks the head of 
 Ely's messenger. Sir Hugh, brother to Lord Lacy, and stew- 
 ard to Ely, who had been deeply concerned in Huntington's 
 ruin, is killed in a brawl by Prince John, whom Ely orders 
 to be arrested ; but the prince, producing letters from the 
 king revoking Ely's appointment, "lifts up his drawne 
 sworde," and "Exit, cum Lester and Lacy," in triumph. 
 Then " Enter Robin Hoode, Matilda at one doore, little 
 John and Much the Miller's sonne at another doore." After 
 mutual congratulations, Robin asks if it be 
 
 " possible that Warman's spite 
 
 Should stretch so farre, that he doth hunt the lives 
 Of bonnie Scarlet, and his brother Scathlock? 
 Much. O, I, sir. Warman came but yesterday to take charge of the 
 jaile at Notingham, and this dale, he saies, he will hang the two out- 
 lawes. ... 
 
 Rob. Now, by my honour's hope, . . . 
 He is too blame : say, John, where must they die ? 
 
 John. Yonder's their mother's house, and here the tree, 
 Whereon, poore men, they must forgoe their lives ; 
 And yonder comes a lazy lozell frier. 
 That is appointed for their confessor, 
 Who, when we brought your monie to their mother's, 
 Was wishing her to patience for their deaths." 
 
 Here " Enter Frier Tucke ; " some conversation passes, and 
 the frier Skellonizes ; after which he departs, saying, 
 
 " let us goe our way, 
 
 Unto this hanging businesse ; would for mee 
 Some rescue or repreeve might set them free. 
 
 Rob. Heardst thou not, little John, the frier's speach? 
 
 John. He seemes like a good fellow, my good lord. 
 
 Rob. He's a good fellowe, John, upon my word. 
 Lend me thy home, and get thee in to Much, 
 And when I blowe this home, come both and helpe mee. 
 
 John. Take heed, my lord : the villane Waiman knows you, 
 And ten to one he hath a writ against you. 
 
 Rob. Fear not : below the bridge a poor blind man doth dwell, 
 With him I will change my habit, and disguise. 
 Only be readie when I call for yee, 
 For I will save their lives, if it may bee. ... 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Iv 
 
 Enter IVarman, Scarlet and Scathlock bounde. Frier Tuck as their 
 confessor, officers with halberts. 
 
 War. Master frier, be briefe, delay no time. 
 Scarlet and Scatloclc, never hope for life ; 
 Here is the place of execution, 
 And you must answer lawe for what is done. 
 
 Scar. Well, if there be no remedie, we must : 
 Though it ill seemeth, Warman, thou shouldst bee, 
 So bloodie to pursue our lives thus cruellie. 
 
 Scat. Our mother sav'd thee from the gallows, Warman, 
 His father did preferre thee to thy lord : 
 One mother had wee both, and both our fathers 
 To thee and to thy father were kinde friends. . . . 
 
 War. Ye were first outlawes, then ye proved theeves. . . . 
 Both of your fathers were good honest men ; 
 Your mother lives their widowe in good fame : * 
 But you are scapethrifts, unthrifts, villanes, knaves, 
 And as ye liv'd by shifts, shall die with shame." 
 
 To them enters Ralph, the sheriff's man, to acquaint him that 
 the carnifex, or executor of the law, had fallen off his "curtail" 
 and was " cripplefied " and rendered incapable of performing 
 his office ; so that the sheriff was to become his deputy. The 
 sheriff insists that Ralph shall serve the turn, which he refuses. 
 In the midst of the altercation, " Enter Robin Hoode, like an 
 old man," who tells the sheriff that the two outlaws had mur- 
 dered his young son, and undone himself ; so that for revenge- 
 sake he desires they may be delivered to him. They denying 
 the charge, " Robin whispers wi th them, " and with the sheriff's 
 leave, and his man's help, unbinds them : then, sounds his 
 horn ; and " Enter little John, Much . . . Fight ; the frier, 
 making as if he helpt the sheriffe, knockes down his men 
 crying, Keepe the king's peace. Sheriffe [perceiving that it 
 is " the outlawed earle of Huntington "] runnes away, and 
 his men." (See the ballad of " Robin Hood rescuing the 
 widow's sons," part ii. num. xxiii.) 
 
 • She is called the Widow Scarlet ; so that Scathlocke was the elder 
 brother. In fact, however, it was mere ignorance in the author to sup- 
 pose the Scathlocke and Scarlet of the story distinct persons, the latter 
 name being an evident corruption of the former ; Scathlock, Scadlock, 
 Scarlock, Scarlet. 
 
Ivi NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 " Fri. Farewell, earle Robert, as I am true frier, 
 I had rather be thy clarke then serve the prior. 
 
 Rob. A jolly fellowe ! Scarlet, knowest thou him? 
 
 Scar. Hee is of Yorke, and of Saint Maries cloister ; 
 There where your greedie uncle is lord prior. . . . 
 
 Rob. Here is no biding, masters ; get yee in. . . . 
 John, on a sodaine thus I am resolv'd. 
 To keepe in Sherewoodde tille the king's retume. 
 And being outlawed, leade an outlawe's life. . . . 
 
 John. I like your honour's purpose exceeding well. 
 
 Rob. Nay, no more honour, I pray thee, little John ; 
 Henceforth I will be called Robin Hoode, 
 Matilda shall be my maid Marian." 
 
 Then follows a scene betwixt old Fitzwater and Prince 
 John, in the course of which the prince, as a reason to induce 
 Fitzwater to recall his daughter Matilda, tells him that she is 
 living in an adulterous state, for that 
 
 " — Huntington is excommunicate, 
 And till his debts be paid, by Rome's decree. 
 It is agreed, absolv'd he cannot be ; 
 And that can never be. — So never wife," &c. 
 
 Fitzwater, on this, flies into a passion, and accuses the prince 
 of being already married to *' earle Chepstowe's daughter." 
 They " fight ; John falles." Then enter the queen, &c., and 
 John sentences Fitzwater to banishment : after which " Enter 
 Scathlocke and Scarlet, winding their homes at severall 
 doores. To them enter Robin Hoode, Matilda, all in greene 
 . . . Much, little John ; all the men with bowes and arrowes. * 
 
 Rob. Wind once more, jolly huntsmen, all your horns. 
 Whose shrill sound, with the ecchoing wods assist. 
 Shall ring a sad knell for the fearefuU deere, 
 Before our feathered shafts, death's winged darts. 
 Bring sodaine summons for their fatall ends. 
 
 * In " The booke of the inventary of the goods of my lord admeralles 
 men tacken the lo of Marche in the yeare 1598," are the following 
 properties for Robin Hood and his retinue in this identical play ; 
 " Item, . . . . i green gown for Maryan. 
 Item, VI grene cottes for Roben Hoode, and iiii knaves sewtes. 
 Item, i hatte for Robin Hoode, i hobihorse. 
 Item, Roben Hoodes sewtte. 
 Item, the fryers trusse in Roben Hoode." 
 
 Malone's Shak. II. ii. (Emen. & ad.) 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Ivii 
 
 Scar. Its ful seaven years since we were outlawed first, 
 And wealthy Sherewood was our heritage : 
 For all those yeares we raigned uncontrolde. 
 From Barnsdale shrogs to Notingham's red clifTes. 
 At Blithe and Tickhill were we welcome guests : 
 Good George a Greene at Bradford was our friend, 
 And wanton Wakefield's pinner lov'd us well.* 
 At Bamsley dwels a potter, tough and strong, 
 That never brookt we brethren should have wrong. 
 The nunnes of Farnsfield (pretty nunnes they bee) 
 Gave napkins, shirts, and bands to him and mee. 
 Bateman of Kendall gave us Kendall greene ; 
 And Sharpe of Leedes sharpe arrows for us made. 
 At Rotherham dwelt our bowyer, God him blisse^ 
 Jackson he hight, his bowes did never misse. 
 This for our goode, our scathe let Scathlocke tell. 
 In merry Mansfield how it once befell. 
 
 Sca/A. In merry Mansfield, on a wrestling day, 
 Prizes there were, and yeomen came to play. 
 My brother Scarlet and myselfe were twaine ; 
 Many resisted, but it was in vaine. 
 For of them all we wonne the mastery. 
 And the gilt wreathes were given to him and me. 
 There by Sir Doncaster of ' Hothersfield,' 
 We were bewraied, beset, and forst to yield ; 
 And so borne bound from thence to Notingham, 
 Where we lay doom'd to death till Warman came." 
 
 Some cordial expressions pass between Robin and Matilda. 
 He commands all the yeomen to be cheerful ; and orders 
 Little John to read the articles. 
 
 "/oA. First, no man must presume to call our master, 
 By name of earle, lorde, baron, knight, or squire : 
 But simply by the name of Robin Hoode. 
 
 That faire Matilda henceforth change her name, 
 'And' by maid Marian's name be only cald. 
 
 Thirdly, no yeoman following Robin Hoode 
 In Sherewood, shall use widowe, wife, or maid. 
 But by true labour, lustfull thoughts expell. 
 
 Fourthly, no passenger with whom ye meete. 
 Shall yee let passe till hee with Robin feaste : 
 Except a poast, a carrier, or such folke, 
 As use with foode to serve the market townes. 
 
 Fiftly, you never shall the poore man wrong. 
 
 '*' George a Greene and Wakefield's pinner were one and the same 
 penon. The thoemaker of Bradford is anonymous. 
 
Iviii NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Nor spare a priest, a usurer, or a clarke. 
 
 Lastly, you shall defend with all your power 
 Maids, widowes, orphants, and distressed men. 
 
 All. All these we vowe to keepe, as we are men. 
 
 Rob. Then wend ye to the greenewod merrily, 
 And let the light roes bootlesse from yee runne, 
 Marian and I, as soveraigns of your toyles. 
 Will wait, within our bower, your bent bowes spoiles. 
 
 \Exeunt winding their homes." 
 
 In the next scene, we find Frier Tucke feignedly entering 
 into a conspiracy with the prior and Sir Doncaster to serve 
 an execution on Robin in disguise. Jinny, the widow 
 Scarlet's daughter, coming in on her way to Sherwood, is 
 persuaded by the frier to accompany him, "disguised in 
 habit like a pedler's mort." Fitzwater enters like an old man : 
 — sees Robin sleeping on a green bank, Marian strewing 
 flowers on him ; pretends to be blind and hungry, and is 
 regaled by them. In answer to a question why the fair 
 Matilda (Fitzwater's daughter) had changed her name, Robin 
 tells him it is 
 
 " Because she lives a spotlesse maiden life : 
 And shall, till Robin's outlawe life have ende. 
 That he may lawfully take her to wife ; 
 Which, if King Richard come, will not be long." 
 
 " Enter Frier Tucke and Jinny like pedlers singing," and 
 afterward "Sir Doncaster and others weaponed." The frier 
 discovers the plot, and a fray ensues. The scene then changes 
 to the court, where the prior is informed of six of his barns 
 being destroyed by fire, and of the different execrations of all 
 ranks upon him, as the undoer of "the good lord Robert, 
 earle of Huntington ;" that the convent of St. Mary's had 
 elected " Olde father Jerome " prior in his place ; and lastly, 
 a herald brings his sentence of banishment, which is confirmed 
 by the entrance of the prior. Lester brings an account of the 
 imprisonment of his gallant sovereign. King Richard, by the 
 Duke of Austria, and requires his ransom to be sent. He 
 then introduces a description of his matchless valour in the 
 Holy Land. John not only refuses the ransom-money, but 
 usurps the style of king ; upon which Lester grows furious, 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS, lix 
 
 and rates the whole company. The following is part of the 
 dialogue : 
 
 " Joh. [to Lester). Darest thou attempt thus proudly in our sight T 
 Lest. What is't a subject dares, that I dare not f 
 Sals. Dare subjects dare, their soveraigne being by? 
 Lest. O God, that my true soveraigne were ny I 
 Qu. Lester, he is. 
 Lest. Madame, by God, you ly. 
 Chest. Unmanner'd man. 
 Lest. A plague of reverence ! " 
 
 After this, and more on the same subject, the scene returns 
 to the forest, where Ely, being taken by Much, "like a 
 countryman with a basket," is examined and detected by 
 Robin, who promises him protection and service. On their 
 departure : 
 
 "Joh. Skelton, a worde or two beside the play. 
 
 Fri. Now, Sir John Eltam, what ist you would say? 
 
 John. Methinks I see no jeasts of Robin Hoode, 
 No merry morices of Frier Tuck, 
 No pleasant skippings up and downe the wodde, 
 No hunting songs, no coursint; uf the bucke : 
 Pray God this play of ours may have good lucke, 
 And the king's majestie mislike it not ! 
 
 Fri. And if he doe, what can we doe to that T 
 I promis'd him a play of Rubin Huode, 
 His honorable life, in merry Sherewod ; 
 His majestie himselfe survaid the plot, 
 And bad me boldly write it, it was good. 
 For merry jeasts, they have bene showne before 
 As how the frier fell into the well. 
 For love of Jinny, that faire bonny bell : 
 How Greeneleafe rob'd the shrieve of Nottngham, 
 And other mirthful matter, full of game." 
 
 " Enter Warman banished." He laments his fall, and 
 applies to a cousin, on whom he had bestowed large pos- 
 sessions, for relief; but receives nothing, except reproaclies 
 for his treachery to his noble master. The jailor of Notting- 
 ham, who was indebted to him for his place, refuses him 
 even a scrap of his dog's meat, and reviles him in the severest 
 terms. Good-wife Tomson, whose husband he had delivered 
 from death, to his great joy, promises him a caudle, but 
 
IX- NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 fetches him a halter,* in which he is about to hang himself, 
 but is prevented by Fitzwater, and some of Robin Hood's 
 men, who crack a number of jokes upon him ; Robin puts 
 an end to their mockery, and proffers him comfort and 
 favour. Then enters Frier Tucke, with an account of Sir 
 Doncaster and the prior being stripped and wounded in their 
 way to Bawtrey : Robin, out of love to his uncle, hastens to 
 the place. After this " Enter Prince John, solus, in green, 
 bowe and arrowes. 
 
 "John. Why this is somewhat like, now may I sing. 
 As did the Wakefield pinder in his note ; 
 At Michaelmas commeth my covenant out, 
 
 My master gives me my fee : 
 Then Robin He weare thy Kendall greene, 
 
 And wend to the greenewodde with thee." t 
 
 He assumes the name of Woodnet, and is detected by Scath- 
 locke and Frier Tucke. The prince and Scathlocke fight, 
 Scathelocke grows weary, and the frier takes his place. 
 Marion enters, and perceiving the frier, parts the combatants. 
 Robin enters, and John submits to him. Much enters, 
 running, with information of the approach of " the king and 
 twelve and twenty score of horses." Robin places his people 
 in order. The trumpets sound, the king and his train enter, 
 a general pardon ensues, and the king confirms the love of 
 Robin and Matilda. Thus the play concludes, Skelton 
 promising the second part, and acquainting the audience of 
 what it should consist. 
 
 The second part, or death of Robert earle of Huntington, 
 is a pursuit of the same story. The scene, so far as our 
 hero is concerned, lyes in Sherwood. A few extracts may 
 not be unacceptable. 
 
 * Which, by the way, was termed a hempen cmidle. See the Second 
 Part o/K. H. VI., act iv. scene 7. Lord-Chancellor Jeffries, at the revo- 
 lution, was treated much in the same manner. One day, during his con- 
 finement in the Tower, he received a barrel of oysters, upon which he 
 observed to his keeper, " Well, you see, I have yet some friends left : " 
 at the bottom of the barrel, however, he found a halter ; which changed 
 his countenance, and is even thought to have hastened his death. 
 
 t See the ballad of "The Jolly Pinder of Wakefield," part ii. 
 num. iii. 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Ixi 
 
 " Sc. iiii. Winde horues. Enter king, queene, &c. Frier 
 Tuck carrying a stag's head, dauncing," The frier has been 
 sent for to read the following incription upon a copper ring 
 round the stag's neok: 
 
 " When Harold Hare-foote raigned Icing, 
 About my necke he put this ring." 
 
 The king orders " head, ring, and all " to be sent to Nottingham 
 Castle, to be kept for monuments. Fitzwater tells him he 
 has heard " an olde tale," 
 
 "That Harold, being Goodwin's sonne of Kent,* 
 Hunted for pleasure once within this wood, 
 And singled out a faire and stately stagge, 
 Which, foote to foote, the king in running caught; 
 And sure this was the stagge. 
 King. It was no doubt. 
 Chester. But some, my lord, affirme. 
 That Julius Cssar, many years before, 
 Tooke such a stagge, and such a poesic writ."t 
 
 * Fitzwater confounds one man with another ; Harold Harefoot was 
 the son and successor of Canute the great. 
 
 t This tradition is referred to, and the inscription given, in Ray's 
 Itinerarie.s 1760, p. 153 : — " We rode through a bushet or common called 
 Rodwell-hake, two miles from Leeds, where (according to the vulgar 
 tradition) was once found a stag, with a ring of brass about its neck, 
 having this inscription : 
 
 When Julius Cccsar here was king, 
 About my neck he put this ring ; 
 Whosoever doth me take, 
 Let me go for Caesar's sake.** 
 
 In The Midwife, or Old Woman's Magazine (vol. 1. p. 250), Mrs. 
 Midnight, in a letter " To the venerable society of antiquarians," con- 
 taining a description of Caesar's camp on Windsor forest, has the follow- 
 ing pa.ssage : " There have been many extraordinary things discovered 
 about this camp. One thing, I particularly remember, was a deer of 
 
 about sixteen hundred years old This deer it seems was a 
 
 favourite of Caesar's, and on that account he bedecked her neck with a 
 golden collar and an inscription, which I shall by and by take notice of; 
 she had been frequently taken, but when the hunters, the peasants, and 
 poor people saw the golden collar on her neck, they readily let her go 
 agdin. However, as she continually increased in strength and in bulk, 
 as well .-«s in age, after the course of about fifteen or sixteen centuries, 
 the flesh and skin were entirely grown over this collar, so that it could 
 
Ixii NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Upon which his majesty very sagaciously remarks, 
 
 " It should not be in Julius Caesar's time : 
 There was no English used in this land 
 Untill the Saxons came, and this is writ 
 In Saxon characters." 
 
 The next quotation may be of service to Dr. Percy, wlio 
 
 not be discover'd till after she was kill'd, and then to the surprise of the 
 virtuosi it appear'd with this inscription : 
 
 When Julius Csesar reigned here. 
 
 Then was I a little deer; 
 
 If any man should me take, 
 
 Let me go for Csesar's sake. 
 " This collar, which is of pure gold, I am told weighs thirty ounces, 
 and as the blood of the creature still appears fresh upon it, I believe it 
 may be as valuable as any of your gimcracks ; however, there will be no 
 harm in my sending of it to you ; and if I can procure it, you may de- 
 pend on my taking the utmost care of it." As no notice is announced 
 of this wonderful piece of antiquity in the voluminous and important 
 lucubrations of the above learned body, it most probably never came 
 into their possession ; which is very much to be lamented, as it would 
 have been an admirable companion for H ardecnttte s chamber-pot. King 
 Edward the first's finger, and other similar curiosities. 
 
 Juvenal des Ursins gravely relates that in the year 1380 a hart was 
 taken at Senlis with a chain about his neck inscribed " Ceesar hoc me 
 dotiavit."^ 
 
 Upton, to be even with him, supposes a hart to have been taken at 
 Bagshot near Windsor, with a motto on the collar in the French language, 
 which proves the ancient Romans were familiar therewith long before 
 it existed : 
 
 ^'Julius Ctesar, quant jeofus petis, 
 Cest coler siiz vion col ad mys,'' 2 
 
 This dictator perpetuo, in fact, seems to have collared every hart he 
 took. The family of Ponipei in Italy use two harts for their supports s 
 on whose collars were the letters N. M. T., in memory of one on whose 
 collar were these words : ^''^emoM.eTangat, Ctesaris sum." Anstis, 
 ii. 113. 
 
 The original of all these stories is to be found in Pliny, who says : 
 "It is generally held and confessed that the stagge or hind live long; 
 for an hundred yeer after Alexander the great, some were taken with 
 golden collars about their necks, overgrowne now with haire and growne 
 within the skin : which collars the said king had done upon them" 
 (Naturall Historie, by Holland, 1601, B. 8, c. 32). Pausanias, more- 
 over, speaking of one Leocydas, who fought for the Megalopohtans, in 
 
 1 Histoire de Charles VI. 2 Upton de remilitari, p. 119. 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Ixiii 
 
 has been pleased to question our hero's nobility, because 
 " the most ancient poems make no mention of this earldonr.," 
 and the old legend expressly asserts him **to have been a 
 yeoman," It is very true ; and we shall here not only find 
 his title established, but also discover the secret of his not 
 being usually distinguished or designed by it. 
 
 " Enter Robert Hoode. 
 
 King. How now, earle Robert ! 
 
 Fri. A forfet, a forfet, my liege lord. 
 My master's lawes are on record, 
 The court-roll here your grace may see. 
 
 King. I pray thee, frier, read them mee. 
 
 Fri. One shall suffice, and this is hee. 
 No man that commeth in this wod, 
 ' To feast or dwell with Robin Hood, 
 
 Shall call him carle, lord, knight, or squire. 
 He no such titles doth desire. 
 But Robin Hood, plain Robin Hoode, 
 That honest yoeman, stout and good. 
 On paine of forfetting a marke. 
 That must be paid to mee his clarke. 
 My liege, my liege, this lawe you broke. 
 Almost in the last word you spoke ; 
 That crime may not acquitted bee. 
 Till Frier Tuck receive his fee." 
 
 Now, the reason that ** the most ancient poems make no 
 mention of this earldom," and the old legend expressly 
 asserts him *' to have been a yeoman," appears, plainly 
 enough, to be, that as, pursuant to his own injunction, he 
 was never called, either by his followers, or in the vicinity, 
 by any other name than Robin Hood, so particularly the 
 minstrels, who were always, no doubt, welcome to Sherwood,* 
 
 conjunction with Lydiades, against the Lacedxmonians (about the year 
 243 before Christ), says he was reported to be the descendant in the 
 ninth degree of that Arcesilaus, who living in Lycosura saw that slag 
 which is sacred to the goddess Despoine worn out with old age. This 
 stag, he adds, had a collar on its neck with the following inscription : 
 
 Caught young, when Agapenor sail'd for Troy. 
 
 By which, he concludes, it is evident that a stag lives much longer than 
 an elephant (K. 8, c. 10). 
 * Robin, in the old legend, expresses his regard for this order of men 
 
Ixiv NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 and liberally entertained by him and his yeomanry, would 
 talce special care never to offend against the above law : 
 which puts an end to the dispute. — Q. E. D. 
 
 Our hero is, at length, poisoned by a drink which Don- 
 caster and the prior, his uncle, had prepared for him to give 
 to the king. His departing scene and last dying speech are 
 beautiful and pathetic. 
 
 "Rob. Inough, inough, Fitzwater, take your child. 
 My dying frost, which no sunnes heat can thawe. 
 Closes the powers of all my outward parts ; 
 My freezing blood runnes back into my heart, 
 Where it assists death, which it would resist : 
 Only my love a little hinders death, 
 For he beholds her eyes, and cannot smite. 
 
 Mat. O let mee looke for ever in thy eyes, 
 And lay my warme breath to thy bloodlesse lips. 
 If my sight can restraine death's tyrannies, 
 Or keep lives breath within thy bosome lockt." 
 
 He desires to be buried 
 
 "At Wakefield, underneath the abbey-wall ; " 
 directs the manner of his funeral ; and bids his yeomen, 
 
 " For holy dirges, sing ' him' wodmen's songs." 
 The king, upon the earl's death, expresses his sorrow for 
 the tragical event ; ratifies the will ; repeats the directions 
 for the funeral ; and says, 
 
 " Fall to your wod-songs, therefore, yeomen bold. 
 And deck his herse with flowers, that lov'd you deere." 
 
 The whole concludes with the following solemn dirge : 
 " Weepe, weepe, ye wod-men waile. 
 Your hands with sorrow wring ; 
 Your master Robin Hood lies deade, 
 Therefore sigh as you sing. 
 
 (concerning which the reader may consult an ingenious " Essay " in the 
 Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, vol. i., and some "Observations" 
 in a collection of ancient songs, printed in 1790): 
 " Whether he be messengere. 
 Or a man that myrthes can, 
 Or yf he be a pore man. 
 Of my good he shall have some." 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. IxV 
 
 " Here lies his primer, and his beades, 
 His bent bowe, and his arrowes keene, 
 His good sworde and his holy crosse : 
 Nuw cast on flowers fresh and greene. 
 
 " And, as they fall, shed teares and say, 
 Well a, well a day, well a, well a day t 
 Thus cast yee flowers and sing, 
 And on to Wakefield take your way." 
 
 The poet then prosecutes the legend of Matilda, who is 
 finally poisoned, by the procurement of King John, in Dun- 
 mow Priory. 
 
 The story of this lady, whom the author of these plays is 
 supposed to have been the first that converted into the character 
 of Maid Marian, or connected in any shape with the history 
 of Robin Hood, is thus related by Stow, under tlie year 
 1213 : "The chronicle of Dunmow sayth, this discord arose 
 betwixt the king and his barons, because of Mawd called the 
 faire, daughter to Robert Fitzwalter, whome the king loved, 
 but her father would not consent ; and thereupon ensued 
 
 warre throughout England Whilst Mawd the faire 
 
 remayned at Dunmow, there came a messenger unto her 
 from King John about his suite in love, but because she would 
 not agree, the messenger poysoned a boyled or potched egge 
 against she was hungrie, whereof she died" (Annales, 1592). 
 Two of Drayton's heroical epistles pass between King John 
 and Matilda. He has also written her legend. 
 
 4. *' Robin Hood's penn'orths, by VVm. Haughton." * 
 
 5. " Metropolis coronata, the triumphs of ancient drapery : 
 or, rich cloathing of England, in a second yeeres performance. 
 In honour of the advancement of Sir John JoUes, knight, to 
 the high office of lord maior of London, and taking his oath 
 for the same authoritie, on Monday being the 30. day of 
 October, 161 5. Performed in heartie affection to him, and 
 at the bounlifuU charges of his worthy brethren the truely 
 honourable society of drapers, the first that received such 
 dignitie, in this cilie. Devised and written by A. M. 
 
 • This play is entered in Master Henslowe's account-book with the 
 date of December 1600. See Malone's Shakespeare, vol. ii. part ii. 
 (Emen. & ad.) 
 
 / 
 
Ixvi NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS, 
 
 [Anthony Mundy] citizen and draper of London." 1615, 
 4to. 
 
 This is one of the pageants formerly usual on Lord Mayor's 
 day, and of which several are extant, written as well by our 
 author Mundy,* as by Middleton, Dekker, Heywood, and 
 other hackney dramatists of that period. They were thought 
 of such consequence that the City had for some time (though 
 probably not till after the Restoration) a professed laureat for 
 their composition ; an office which expired with Elkanah 
 Settle in 1723-24. They consisted chiefly of machinery, alle- 
 gorical or historical personages, songs and speeches. 
 
 "After all these shewes, thus ordered in their appointed 
 places, followeth another device of huntsmen, all clad in 
 greene, with their bowes, arrowes and bugles, and a new 
 slaine deere, carried among them. It savoureth of earle 
 Robert de la Hude, sometime the noble earle of Huntington, 
 and Sonne in law (by marriage) to old Fitz-Alwine,t raised 
 by the muses all-commanding power, to honour this triumph 
 with his father. During the time of his out-lawed life in 
 the forest of merry Shirwood, and elsewhere, while the cruel 
 oppression of a most unnatural and covetous brother hung 
 heavy upon him, Gilbert de la Hude, lord abbot of Christall 
 [r. Kirkstall] abbey, who had all or most of his lands in 
 mortgage : he was commonly called Robin Hood, and had a 
 gallant company of men (out-lawed in the like manner) that 
 followed his downecast fortunes; as little John, Scathlocke, 
 Much the miller's son. Right-hitting Brand, fryar Tuck, and 
 many more. In which condition of life we make instant use 
 of him, and part of his brave bowmen, fitted with bowes and 
 arrowes, of the like strength and length, as good records 
 
 * " The Triuniphes of Reunited Britannia. A pageant in honour of 
 Sir Leonard Holliday, lord mayor." 1605. 
 
 t Henry Fitz-Alwine Fitz-Liefstane, goldsmith, first mayor of London, 
 was appointed to that office by King Richard I. in 1189, and continued 
 therein till the 15th of King John, 1412, when he "deceased, and was 
 buried in the priorie of the holy trinitie, neare unto Aldgate" (Stow's 
 Survey, 1598, p. 418). His relationship with Robin Hood is merely 
 poetical, and invented by Mundy " for the nonce ; "' though it is by no 
 means improbable that they were acquainted, and that our hero might 
 have occasionally dined at the Mansion-house on a Lord Mayor's day. 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Ixvii 
 
 deliver testimonie, were then used by them in their killing of 
 
 deere 
 
 "Afterward, [viz. after " Fitz-Alwine's speech to the lord 
 niaior at night,"] as occasion best presenteth itselfe, when the 
 heate of all other employments are calmly overpast, earle 
 Robin Hood, with fryer Tuck, and his other brave huntes- 
 men, attending (now at last) to discharge their duty to my 
 lord, which the busie turmoile of the whole day could not 
 before affoord : they shewe themselves to him in this order, 
 and earle Robin himselfe thus speaketh. 
 
 The speech spoken by Earl Robert de la Hude, commonly 
 called Robin Hood. 
 
 Since graves may not their dead containe. 
 
 Nor in their peacefull sleepes remaine. 
 
 But triumphes and great showes must use them, 
 
 And we unable to refuse them ; 
 
 It joyes me that earle Robert Hood, 
 
 Fetcht from the forrest of merrie Shirwood, 
 
 With these my yeomen tight and tall, 
 
 Brave huntsmen and good archers all. 
 
 Must in this joviall day partake. 
 
 Prepared for your honour's sake. 
 
 No sooner was i raysde from rest. 
 
 And of my former state possest 
 
 As while i liv'd, but being alone. 
 
 And of my yeomen seeing not one, 
 
 I with my bugle gave a call, 
 
 Made all the woods to ring withall. 
 
 Immediately came little John, 
 
 And Scathlock followed him anon, 
 
 With Much the honest miller's sonne ; 
 
 And ere ought else could be done. 
 
 The frollicke frier came tripping in. 
 
 His heart upon a merrie pinne. 
 
 Master (quoth he) in yonder brake, 
 
 A deere is hid for Marian's sake. 
 
 Bid Scathlock, Juhn, or honest Brand« 
 
 That hath the happy hitting hand, 
 
 Shoote right and have him : and see, my lord. 
 
 The deed performed with the word. 
 
 For Robin and his bow-men bold. 
 
 Religiously did ever holde. 
 
 Not emptie-handed to be seene, 
 
 Wcrc't but at feasting on a greene ; 
 
Ixviii NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Much more then, when so high a day 
 . Calls our attendance : all we may 
 Is all too little, tis your grace 
 To winke at weakenesse in this case : 
 So, fearing to be over-long, 
 End all with our old hunting song. 
 
 The song of Robin Hood and his huntes-men. 
 
 Now wend we together, my merry men all, 
 
 Unto the forrest side a ; 
 And there to strike a buck or a doae. 
 
 Let our cunning all be tried a. 
 
 Then goe we merrily, merrily on. 
 To the green-wood to take up our stand [a]. 
 
 Where we will lye in waite for our game, 
 With our best bowes all in our hand [a]. 
 
 What life is there like to bold Robin Hood? 
 
 It is so pleasant a thing a : 
 In merry Shirwood he spends his dayes. 
 
 As pleasantly as a king a. 
 
 No man may compare with bold Robin Hood, 
 With Robin Hood, Scathlocke and John [a] : 
 
 Their like was never, nor never will be, 
 If in case that they were gone [a]. 
 
 They will not away from merry Shirwood, 
 
 In any place else to dwell [a] : 
 For there is neither city nor towne. 
 
 That likes them half so well [a]. 
 
 Our lives are wholly given to hunt, 
 
 And haunt the merry greene-wood [a] ; 
 Where our best service is daily spent, 
 
 For our master Robin Hood [a]." 
 
 6. " Robin Hood and his pastoral May games." 1624. 
 
 7. " Robin Hood and his crew of soldiers." 1627, 
 These two titles are inserted among the plays mentioned 
 
 by Chetwood in his British Theatre (p. 67) as written by 
 anonymous authors in the 1 6th century to the Restoration. 
 But neither Langbaine, who mentions both, nor any other 
 person, pretends to have ever seen either of them. The 
 former, indeed, may possibly be " The playe of Robyn 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Ixix 
 
 Hode," already noticed ; and the other is probably a future 
 article. Langbaine, it is to be observed, gives no date to 
 either piece ; so that it may be fairly concluded those above 
 specified are of Chetwood's own invention, which appears to 
 have been abundantly fertile in every species of forgery and 
 imposture. 
 
 8. "The sad shepherd, or a tale of Robin Hood." 
 The story of our renowned archer cannot be said to have 
 been wholly occupied by bards without a name, since, not 
 to mention Mundy or Drayton, the celebrated Ben Jonson 
 intended a pastoral drama on this subject, under the above 
 title; but dying, in the year 1637, before it was finished, 
 little more than the two first acts have descended down to us. 
 His last editor (Mr. Whalley), while he regrets that it is but 
 a fragment, speaks of it in raptures, and, indeed, not without 
 evident reason, many passages being eminently poetical and 
 judicious. 
 
 "The persons of the play," so far as concerns our immediate 
 purpose, are : [l] " Robin Hood, the chief woodman [i.e. 
 forester], master of the feast. [2] Marian, his lady, the 
 mistress. [3] Friar Tuck, the chaplain and steward. [4] 
 Little John, bow-bearer. [5, 6] Scarlet, Scathlocke,* two 
 brothers, huntsmen. [7] George a Green, huisher of the 
 bower. [8] Much, Robin Hood's bailiff or acater." The rest 
 are the guests invited, the witch of Paplewick, her daughter, 
 the swin'ard her son, Puck Hairy or Robin Goodfellow, 
 their hind, and lastly a devout hermit. " The scene, Sher- 
 wood, consisting of a landscape of a forest, hills, valleys, 
 cottages, a castle, a river, pastures, herds, flocks, all full of 
 country simplicity; Robin Hood's bower, his well, &c." 
 "The argument of the first act" is as follows: "Robin 
 Hoo<l, having invited all the shepherds and shepherdesses 
 of the vale of Be'voir to a feast in the forest of Sherwood, 
 and trusting to his mistress. Maid Marian, with her wood- 
 men, to kill him venison against the day ; having left the 
 like charge with Friar Tuck, his chaplain and steward, to 
 command the rest of his merry men to see the bower made 
 
 * Jonson was led into this mutake by the old play uf Robin Hood. 
 See before, p. Iv. 
 
IXX NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 ready, and all things in order for the entertainment : • meets ' 
 with his guests at their entrance into the wood, and conducts 
 them to his bower : where, by the way, he receives the rela- 
 tion of the sad shepherd ^glamour, who is fallen into a deep 
 melancholy for the loss of his beloved Earine, reported to 
 have been drowned in passing over the Trent, some few days 
 before In the meantime Marian is come from hunt- 
 ing Robin Hood inquires if she hunted the deere at 
 
 force, and what sport he made? how long he stood? and 
 what head he bore ? all which is briefly answered, with a re- 
 lation of breaking him up, and the raven, and her bone. The 
 suspect had of that raven to be Maudlin the witch of Paple- 
 wick, whom one of the huntsmen met i' the morning at the 
 rousing of the deer, and is confirmed by her being then in 
 Robin Hood's kitchen, i' the chimney corner, broiling the 
 same bit which was thrown to the raven at the quarry or fall 
 of the deer. Marian, being gone in to shew the deer to some 
 of the shepherdesses, returns discontented ; sends away the 
 venison she had killed to her they call the witch ; quarrels 
 with her love Robin Hood, abuseth him, and his guests the 
 shepherds ; and so departs, leaving them all in wonder and 
 perplexity." 
 
 By " the argument of the second act " it appears that the 
 witch had " taken the shape of Marian to abuse Robin Hood 
 and perplex his guests." However, upon an explanation of 
 the matter with the true Marian, the trick is found out, the 
 venison recovered, and '* Robin Hood dispatches out his 
 woodmen to hunt and take her : which ends the act." The 
 third act was designed to be taken up with the chase of the 
 witch, her various schemes to elude the pursuers, and the 
 discovery of Earine in the swineherd's enchanted oak. No- 
 thing more of the author's design appearing, we have only to 
 regret the imperfect state of a pastoral drama, which, accord- 
 ing to the above learned and ingenious editor, would have 
 done honour to the nation.* 
 
 * This play appears to have been performed upon the stage after the 
 Restoration. The prologue and epilogue (spoken by Mr. Portlock) are 
 to be found in num. loog of the Sloane MSB. It was republished, with 
 a continuation and notes, by Mr. Waldron, of Drury-lane Theatre, in 
 1783- 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Ixxi 
 
 9. " Robin Hood and his crew of souldiers, a comedy 
 acted at Nottingham on the day of his saCRed majesties 
 corronation. Vivat rex. The actors names : Robin Hood, 
 commander ; Little John, William Scadlocke, souldiers ; 
 messenger from the sheriffe. London, printed for James 
 Davis, 1 66 1." 4ta 
 
 This is an interlude, of a few pages and no merit, alluding 
 to the late rebellion, and the subject of the day. The outlaws, 
 convinced by the reasoning of the sheriff's messenger, become 
 loyal subjects. 
 
 10. " Robin Hood. An opera, as it is perform'd at Lee's 
 and Harper's great theatrical booth in Bartholomew-fair." 
 1 730. 8vo. 
 
 11. "Robin Hood." 1751. 8vo. 
 
 This was a ballad-farce, acted at Drury-lane Theatre, in 
 which the following favourite song was originally sung by 
 Mr. Beard, in the character of Robin Hood : 
 
 As blithe as the linnet sings in the green wood, 
 
 So blithe we'll wake the morn ; 
 And through the wide forest of merry Sherwood 
 
 We'll wind the bugle horn. 
 
 The sheriff attempts to take bold Robin Hood, 
 
 Bold Robin disdains to fly ; 
 Let him come when he will, we'll, in merry Sherwood, 
 
 Or vanquish, boys, or die. 
 
 Our hearts they are stout, and our bows they are good. 
 
 As well their masters know ; 
 They're cuU'd in the forest of merry Sherwood, 
 
 And never will spare a foe. 
 
 Our arrows shall drink of the fallow deer's blood, 
 
 We'll hunt them all o'er the plain ! 
 And through the wide forest of merry Sherwood, 
 
 No sliaft shall fly in vain. 
 
 Brave Scarlet, and John, who ne'er were subdu'd. 
 
 Give each his hand so bold ; 
 We'll range through the forest of merry Sherwood, 
 
 What say my hearts of gold t 
 
 12. *' Robin Hood ; or Sherwood forest : a comic opera. 
 As performed at the theatre-royal in Covent-garden. By 
 Leonard Mac Nally, esq." 1784. 8vo. ; 
 
Ixxii NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 This otherwise insignificant performance was embellished 
 with some fine music by Mr. Shield. It has been since re- 
 duced to, and is still frequently acted as, an after-piece. 
 
 A drama on the subject of Robin Hood, under the title of 
 The Foresters, has been long expected from the elegant author 
 of The School for Scandal. The first act, said to have been 
 written many years ago, is, by those who have seen or heard 
 it, spoken of with admiration.* 
 
 (27) — *'innume7 able poems, ritncs, songs and balladsT^ 
 The original and most ancient pieces of this nature have all 
 perished in the lapse of time, during a period of between five 
 and six hundred years' continuance ; and all we now know 
 of them is that such things once existed. In the Vision of 
 Pierce Plowman, an allegorical poem, thought to have been 
 composed soon after the year 1360, and generally ascribed 
 to Robert Langeland, the author introduces an ignorant, idle, 
 and drunken secular priest, the representative, no doubt, of 
 the parochial clergy of that age, in the character of Sloth, 
 who makes the following confession : 
 
 " I cannot parfitii mi paternoster, as the preist it singeth, 
 But I can ryms of Roben Hode, and ' Randolf eri of Chester, 
 But of our lorde or our lady I leriie nothyng at all." t 
 
 * A most stupid pantomime on this subject, under the title of " Merry 
 Sherwood, or Harlequin, forester," was performed in December 1795, 
 at the Theatre-royal, Covent-garden. 
 
 t ist edit. 1550, fo. xxvi. b. (Randolf is misprinted Rand of.) Sub- 
 sequent editions, even of the same year, reading only " Randall of Ches- 
 ter." Mr. Warton (History of English Poetry, ii. 179) makes this 
 genius, whom he calls a frier, say " that he is well acquainted with the 
 rimes of Randall of Chester ; " and these rimes he, whimsically enough, 
 conjectures to be the old Chester Whitsun plays ; which, upon very idle 
 and nonsensical evidence, he supposes to have been written by Randal 
 Higden, the compiler of the Polychronicon. Of course, if this absurd 
 idea were at all well founded, the rimes of Robin Hood must likewise 
 allude to certain Yorkshire or Nottinghamshire plays, written by himself. 
 The " Randolf erl of Chester " here meant is Randal Blundevile, the last 
 earl of that name, who had been in the Holy Land, was a great warrior 
 and patriot, and died in 1231. 
 
 The reading of the original edition is confirmed by a very old manu- 
 script in the Cotton Library (Vespasian, B. XVI.) differing considerably 
 from the printed copies, which gives the passage thus : 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Ixxiu 
 
 Fordun, the Scotish historian, who wrote about 1340, 
 speaking of Robin Hood and Little John, and their accom- 
 plices, says, "of whom the foolish vulgar in comedies and 
 tragedies make lewd entertainment, and are delighted to hear 
 the jesters and minstrels sing them above all other ballads ; "* 
 and Mair (or Major), whose history was published by him- 
 self in 152 1, observes that " The exploits of this Robert are 
 celebrated in songs throughout all Britain." t So, likewise, 
 Maister Johne Bellendene, the translator of " that noble clerk 
 Maister Hector Boece " (Bois or Boethius), having mentioned 
 "that waithman Robert Hode with his fallow litil Johne," 
 adds, " of quhom ar mony fabillis and mery sportis soung 
 amang the vulgar pepyll.":}: Whatever may have been the 
 nature of the compositions alluded to by the above writers, 
 several of the pieces printed in the present collection are un- 
 
 " I can nouzt perfiitli- my pater-noster as a prest it syngeth : 
 I can rymes of Robyn Hood, of Rondolf erl of Chestre, 
 Ac of cure lorde ne of cure ladi the leste that ever was maked." 
 (See also Caligula, A. XI.) 
 The speaker himself could have told Mr. Warton he was no frier : 
 
 " I have ben prieste & person passynge thyrty winter, 
 Yet can I nether solfe, ne singe, ne sayntes lyves read ; 
 But I can find in a fields or in a furlong an hare. 
 Better than in Bcatus vir or in Beat! omnes 
 Construe one clause well, & kenne it to my parishens." 
 
 * " De quibus stolidum wigus hianter in comoediis & tragxdiis pru- 
 rienter festum faciunt, & super ceteras ' romancias mimos & bardanos 
 cantitare delectantur " (Scotichronicon, k Hearne, p. 774). Comedies 
 and tragedies are — not dramatic compositions, but — poems of a comic or 
 serious cast. Romance in Spanish, and romance in French, signify — not 
 a tale of chivalry, but — a Vulgar ballad, at this day. 
 
 t " Rebus hujus Roberti gestis tota Britannia in cantibus utitur " 
 (Majoris Britanniz Historia, Edin. 1740, p. 128). 
 
 t Hystory of Scotland, Edin. 1541, fo. The word "waithman " was 
 probably suggested by Andrew of Wyntown (see before, Note 3). It 
 seems equivalent to the English vagabond, or perhaps outlaw. Waith is 
 waif ; and it is to be remembered that, in the technical language of the 
 English courts, a woman is said to be waived, and not outlawed. " In 
 our auld Scottish langage," says Skene, "ane yotliman is ane out-law, 
 ot a.nefa^iUycfra.lhcXa'tia" {De veri>orum signi/icatiofu, Edin. 1597). 
 It is from ^xt^ntveftarit/ug^are). See Lye's Dictionary. The pa&> 
 sage above quoted does not occur in Boise's original work. 
 
 k 
 
Ixxiv NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 questionably of great antiquity ; not less, that is, than between 
 three and four hundred years old. The Lytell Geste, which 
 is first inserted, is probably the oldest thing upon the sub- 
 ject we now possess ; * but a legend, apparently of the same 
 species, was once extant, of, perhaps, a still earlier date, of 
 which it is some little satisfaction to be able to give even the 
 following fragment, from a single leaf, fortunately preserved 
 in one of the volumes of old printed ballads in the British 
 Museum, in a handwriting as old as Henry the Sixth's time. 
 It exhibits the characters of our hero and hxsjfidus Achates in 
 the noblest point of view. 
 
 " He ^ayd Robyn Hod .... yne the preson, 
 And owght off hit was go«. 
 
 The porter rose a-non certeyn, 
 
 As sone as he hard Johan call ; 
 Lytyll Johan was redy with a sword. 
 
 And bare hym throw to the wall. 
 
 Now will I be jayler, sayd lytyll Johan, 
 
 And toke the keys in hond ; 
 He toke the way to Robyn Hod, 
 
 And sone he hyme unbond. 
 
 He gaffe hym a good swerd in his hond. 
 
 His bed ther-with for to kepe ; 
 And ther as the wallis wer lowest, 
 
 Anon down ther they lepe. 
 
 To Robyn sayd : 
 
 I have done the a god tome for an . . . 
 
 Quit me when thow may ; 
 1 have done the a gode tome, sayd lytyll [Johan], 
 
 Forsothe as I the saye ; 
 
 * Of this poem there have been at least five editions at London or 
 Westminster, and one at Edinburgh. In a list of " bookes printed and 
 . . . sold by Jane Bell, at the east end of Christ-church [1655]," in com- 
 pany with Frier Rush, The frier and the boy, &c., is " a book of Robin 
 Hood and Little John." Captain Cox of Coventry appears to have had 
 a copy of some old edition : see Laneham's Letter from Killingworth, 
 1575- 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. IxxV 
 
 I have browghte the under the gren wod . . . 
 Farewell & have gode dayc. 
 
 Nay, be my trowthe, sayd Robyn, 
 
 So schall it never bee ; 
 I make the master, sayd Robyn, 
 
 Off all my men & me. 
 Nay, be my trowthe, sayd lytyll Johan, 
 
 So schall it never bee." 
 
 This, indeed, may be part of the " story of Robin Hood and 
 Little John," which M. Wilhelm Bedwell found in the 
 ancient MS. lent him by his much honoured good friend 
 M. G. Withers, whence he extracted and published " The 
 Turnament of Tottenham," a poem of thesameage, and which 
 seemed to him to be done (perhaps but transcribed) by Sir 
 Gilbert Pilkington, formerly, as some had thought, parson of 
 that parish.* 
 
 That poems and stories on the subject of our hero and his 
 companions were extraordinarily popular and common before 
 and during the i6th century is evident from the testimony 
 of divers writers. Thus, Alexander Barclay, priest, in his 
 translation of The Shyp of Folys, printed by Pynson in 1508, 
 and by John Cawood in I570,t says : 
 
 " I write no jeste ne tale of Robin Hood." 
 
 Again : 
 
 " For goodlie scripture is not worth an hawe, 
 But tales are loved ground of ribaudry ; 
 And many are so blinded with their foly. 
 That no scriptur thiiike they so true nor gode. 
 As is a foolish jest of Robin Hode." 
 
 Again : 
 
 " And of all fables and jestes of Robin Hood, 
 Or other trifles." 
 
 * " Description of the Town of Tottenhara-high-crosse," &c. London 
 (1631, 4to), 1781, 8vo. The invaluable MS. alluded to has been since 
 discovered ; and the entire poem, of which Mr. Ritson has here given a 
 fragment, will be found in the Apprndix. — Ed. 
 
 f The book, under the same title, printed by Wynken de Worde, io 
 1517, is a different translation in prose. 
 
Ixxvi NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 The same Barclay, in the fourth of his Egloges, subjoined 
 to the last edition of The Ship of Poles, but originally printed 
 soon after 1500, has the following passage : 
 
 " Yet would I gladly heare some mery fit 
 Of maide Marion, or els of Robin Hood, 
 Or Benteleyes ale, which chafeth well the blood. 
 Of Perte of Norwich, or Sauce of Wilberton, 
 Or buckishe Joly * well stuffed as a ton.'' 
 
 Robert Braham, in his epistle to the reader, prefixed to 
 Lydgate's Troy-book, 1555, is of opinion that " Caxton's re- 
 cueil" [of Troy] is " worthye to be numbred amongest the 
 liifeiinge tales and barrayne luerdries of Robyn Hode and 
 Bevysof Hampton." (See Ames's Typographical Antiquities, 
 by Herbert, p. 849.) 
 
 "For one that is sand blynd," says Sir Thomas Chaloner, 
 " would take an asse for a moyle, or another prayse a rime 
 01 Robyn Hode for as excellent a making as Troylus of 
 Chaucer, yet shoulde they not straight-waies be counted 
 madde therefore ? " (Erasmus's Praise of Folye, sig. h.) 
 
 "If good lyfe," observes Bishop Latimer, "do not insue 
 and folowe upon our readinge to the example of other, we 
 myghte as well spende that tyme in reading of prophane 
 hystories, of Canterburye tales, or a fit of Roben Hode " (Ser- 
 mons, sig. A. iiii.) 
 
 The following lines, from a poem in the Hyndford MS. 
 compiled in 1568, afford an additional proof of our hero's 
 popularity in Scotland : 
 
 " Thair is no story that I of heir, 
 Of Johne nor Robene Hude, 
 Nor zit of Wallace wicht but weir, 
 That me thinkes half so gude, 
 As of thre palmaris," &c. 
 
 That the subject was not forgotten in the succeeding age, 
 can be testifyed by Drayton, who is elsewhere quoted, and 
 in his sixth eclogue makes Gorbo thus address "old Winken 
 de Word : " 
 
 * Mr. Warton reads Toby ; and so, perhaps, it may be in former edi- 
 tions. 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Ixxvii 
 
 " Come, sit we down under this hawthorn-tree. 
 The morrow's light shall lend us day enough, 
 And let us tell of Gawen, or Sir Guy, 
 Of Robin Hood, or of old Clem a Clough," 
 
 Richard Johnson, who wrote "The History of Tom 
 Thumbe," in prose (London, 1621, i2mo, b. 1.), thus pre- 
 faces his work : " My merry muse begets no tales of Guy 
 of Warwicke, &c. nor will I trouble my penne with the 
 pleasant glee of Robin Hood, little John, the fryer, and his 
 Marian ; nor will I call to mind the lusty Finder of Wake- 
 field, &c." 
 
 In "The Calidonian Forrest," a sort of allegorical or mystic 
 talc, by John Hepwith, gentleman, printed in 1641, 4to, the 
 author says, 
 
 " Let us talke of Robin Hoode, 
 And little John in mery Shirewoode," &c.* 
 
 Of one very ancient, and undoubtedly once very popular, 
 song this single line is all that is now known to exist : 
 
 * Honest Barnaby, i-e. Richard Brathwayle, who wrote or travelled 
 about 16401 waii well acquainted with our hero's story. 
 
 " Veni Nottingham tyrones 
 Sherwoodenses sunt latrones. 
 Jnstar Robin Hood, & servi 
 Scarlet & Joannis Parvi ; 
 Passim, sparsim, peculantur, 
 Cellis, sylvis deprsedantur." 
 
 ' Thence to Nottingham, where rovers, 
 Highway riders, Sherwood drovers. 
 Like old Robin Hood and Scarlet, 
 Or like Little John his varlet ; 
 Here and there they shew them doughty, 
 In cells and woods to get their booty." 
 
 Whitlock relates that " the [parliament] committee who carried the 
 propositions of peace toOxford, had the king's answer sealed up and sent 
 to them. They, upon advice together, thought it not fit for them to 
 receive an answer in that manner. . . and made an address to his majesty 
 that they might know what his answer was, and have a copy of it : to 
 which his m.ijesty replied, What is that to you, who are but to carry 
 what I send, and if I will send the song of Robin Hood and Little John, 
 you must carry it? To which the commissionuis only said, that the 
 business about which they came was uf some what more coD!>cquence than 
 that liong" {^MtmoriaU, p. 115). 
 
IxXViii NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 •'3Kobtn f^ooli in ISarnsliale stooH." 
 
 However, though but a line, it is of the highest authority in 
 Westminster Hall, where, in order to the decision of a knotty 
 point, it has been repeatedly cited, in the most solemn man- 
 ner, by grave and learned judges, 
 
 M. 6 Jac. B. R. Witham v. Barker, Yelv. 147. Trespass, 
 for breaking plaintif 's close, &c. Plea. Liberum tenementum 
 of Sir John Tyndall, and justification as his servant and by his 
 command. Replication, That it is true it is his freehold, 
 but that long before the time when &c. he leased to plaintif 
 at will, who entered and was possessed until, &c. traversing, 
 that defendant entered, &c by command of Sir John, De- 
 murrer : and adjudged against plaintif, on the ground of the 
 replication being bad, as not setting forth any seisin or pos- 
 session in Sir John, out of which a lease at will could be de- 
 rived. For a title made by the plea or replication should be 
 certain to all intents, because it is traversable. Here, there- 
 for, he should have stated Sir John's seisin, as well as the lease 
 at will ; which is not done here : •' mes tout Utl COtne il USt 
 rtpltc Robin Whood in Barnwood stood, absque hoc q tief. 
 p COmmatxilcmEnt Sir John. Quod nota. Per Fenner, Wil- 
 liams et Crook justices sole «t court, (Et judgment Done 
 accorjjaut. Yelv, p iicf." 
 
 In the case of Bush v. Leake, B, R, Trin. 23 G. 3, Buller, 
 justice, cited the case of Coulthurst v. Coullhurst, C, B. 
 Pasch. 12 G. 3 (an action on bond), and observed, "There 
 a case in Yelverton was alluded to, where the court said, you 
 might as well say, by way of inducement to a traverse, Robin 
 Hood in Barnwood stood." 
 
 It is almost unnecessary to observe, because it will be 
 shortly proved, that Barnwood, in the preceding quotations, 
 ought to be Barnsdale.* With respect to Whood, the reader 
 
 * There is, in fact, such a place as Barnwood forest, in Buckingham- 
 shire ; but no one, except Mr. Hearne, has hitherto supposed that part 
 of the country to have been frequented by our hero. Barnwood, in the 
 case reported by Yelverton, has clearly arisen from a confusion of Barns- 
 dale and green wood. " Robin Hood in the greenwood stood " was like- 
 wise the beginning of an old song now lost (see post, p. 197) : and it is 
 not a little remarkable that Jefferies, serjeant, on the trial of Piikington 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Ixxix 
 
 will see, under Note 19, a remarkable proof of the antiquity 
 of that pronunciation, which actually prevails in the metro- 
 polis at this day. See also the word "whodes" in Note 34. 
 So, likewise, Bale, in his Actes of English Votaries, 1560, 
 says, " the monkes had their cowles, caprones or whodes ; " 
 and in Stow's Survey, 1598, p. 120, have "a fooles whoode." 
 This celebrated and important line occurs as the first of a 
 foolish mock-song, inserted in an old mortality, intitled "A 
 new interlude and a mery of the nature of the iiii elementes," 
 supposed to have been printed by John Rastall about 1520; 
 where it is thus introduced : 
 
 ** HiAv<inyte\ let us some lusty balet syng. 
 
 Yng\norance\ Nay, syr, by the lievyn kyng: 
 For me thynkyth it servyth for no thyng, 
 All suche pevysh prykeryd song. 
 Hu. Pes, man, pryk-song may not be dyspysyd, 
 For therwith God is well plesyd. 
 
 Yng. Is God well pleasyd, trowest thou, therby f 
 Nay, nay, for there is no reason why. 
 For is it not as good to say playnly 
 Gyf me a spade, 
 
 As gyf me a spa ve va ve va ve vade ? 
 But yf thou wylt have a song that is good, 
 I have one of Robyn Hode, 
 The best that ever was made. 
 
 and others, for a riot, in 1683, by a similar confusion, quotes the line in 
 question thus : 
 
 " Robin Hood upon Greendale stood " (State-trials, iiL 634). 
 
 A third corruption has taken place in Parker, p. 131 (King v. Cotton), 
 though expressly cited from Yelverton, viz. 
 
 " Robin Hood in Barnwell stood.*' 
 
 The following most vulgar and indecent rime, current among the pea- 
 santry in the North of England, may have been intended to ridicule the 
 perpetual repetition of " Robin Hood in greenwood stood : " 
 
 Robin Hood 
 
 In green-wood stood. 
 
 With his back against a tree ; 
 He fell flat 
 Into a cow-plat. 
 
 And all besh— n was he 
 
IXXX NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Hu. Then a feleshyp, let us here it. 
 
 Yng. But there is a bordon, thou must bere it, 
 
 Or ellys it wyll not be. 
 Hu. Than begyn, and care not for . . . 
 Downe downe downe, &c. 
 
 Yng. Robyn Hode in Barnysdale stode, 
 
 And lent hym tyl a mapyll thystyll ; 
 
 Than cam our lady & swete saynt Andrewe ; 
 
 Slepyst thou, wakyst thou, Geffrey Coke?* 
 
 A c. wynter the water was depe, 
 I can not tell you how brode ; 
 He toke a gose nek in his hande. 
 And over the water he went. 
 
 He start up to a thystell top. 
 And cut hym downe a holyn clobbe ; 
 He stroke the wren betwene the hornys, 
 That fyre sprange out of the pygges tayle. 
 
 Jak boy is thy bow i-broke, 
 Or hath any man done the wryguldy wrange ? 
 He plukkyd muskyllys out of a wyllowe. 
 And put them in to his sachell. 
 
 Wylkyn was an archer good, 
 And well coude handell a spade ; 
 He toke his bend bowe in his hand, 
 And set him downe by the fyre. 
 
 He toke with hym Ix. bowes and ten, 
 A pese of befe, another of baken. 
 Of all the byrdes in mery Englond, 
 So merely pypys the mery bottel." 
 
 "The lives, stories, and giftes of men which are contained 
 in the bible, they [the papists] read as thinges no more per- 
 taining unto them than a tale of Robin Hood " (Tyndale, 
 Prologue to the prophecy of Jonas, about 1531). 
 
 Gwaher Lynne, printer, in his dedication to Ann, Duchess 
 of Somerset, of " The true beliefe in Christ and his sacra- 
 mentes," 1550, saye, "I woulde wyshe tharfore that al men, 
 
 * It is possible that, amid these absurdities, there may be other lines 
 of the old song of Robin Hood, which is the only reason for reviving 
 them. 
 
 " O sleepst thou, or wakst thou, Jeffery Cooke?" 
 occurs, likewise, in a medley of a similar description, in Pammclia 
 1609. 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Ixxxi 
 
 women, and chyldren, would read it. Not as they haue bene 
 here tofore accustomed to reade the fained storyes of Robin- 
 hode, Clem of the Cloughe, wyth such lyke to passe the tyme 
 wythal," &c. 
 
 In 1562, John Aide had license to print "a ballad of 
 Robyn god," a mistake, it is probable, for Robyn Hod. 
 
 Alexander Hume, minister of Logic, about 1599, says in 
 one of bis "Hymnes or Sacred Songs," printed in that year, 
 that 
 
 -" much to blame are those of carnal brood, 
 
 Who loath to taste of intellectual food, 
 Yet surfeit on old tales of Robin Hood." 
 
 Complaint of Scotland, Edin. 1801, Dissertation, p. 221. 
 
 " Exclude the scriptures, and bid them read the story 
 Of Robin Hood and Guy, which was both tall and stout, 
 And Bevis of Southampton, to seek the matter out. 
 Suffer all slander against God and his truth. 
 And praise the old fashion in king Arthur's days. 
 Of abbays and monasteries hnw it is great ruth 
 To have them plucked down, and so the eldest says ; 
 And how it was merry when Robin Hood's plays 
 Was in every town, the morrice and the fool, 
 The maypole and the drum, to bring the calf from school. 
 With Midge, Madge and Marion, about the pole to dance, 
 And Stephen, that tall stripling, to lead Volans dance. 
 With roguing Gangweeke, a goodly remembrance, 
 With beads in every hand, our prayers stood by tale : 
 This was a merry work, talk among our meany. 
 And then of good eggs ye might have twenty for a penny." 
 
 L. Ramsey's Practice of the Divell, b. 1. 
 
 All the entire poems and songs known to be extant will 
 be found in the following collection ; but many more may 
 be traditionally preserved in different parts of the country 
 which would have added considerably to its value.* That 
 
 * In" HeraclilMs ridens, or a discourse between Jest and Earnest," 
 a periodical paper against the Whigs, published in i68i, and collected 
 and republished in 1713 (No. 34), Jest begins singing : 
 
 " Bills, bows, and axes, quoth Robin Hood, 
 But I have not time to lell ; 
 
 / 
 
Ixxxii NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 some of these identical pieces, or others of the like nature, 
 were great favourites with the common people in the time 
 of Queen Elizabeth, though not much esteemed, it would 
 seem, by the refined critic, may, in addition to the testimonies 
 already cited, be inferred from a passage in Webbe's Discourse 
 
 Yonder's the sheriff and his company, 
 But I hope all will be well. 
 
 Hei, down, derry, derry, down ; " 
 
 and says, "I hope I may sing of old Robin without offending a grand 
 jury, or being presented for disuniting Protestants." 
 
 In The Gentleman's Magazine for December 1790 is the first verse of 
 a song used by the inhabitants of Helston in Cornwall on the celebration 
 of an annual festivity on the 8th of May, called the B'urry-day, sup- 
 posed Flora's day, not, it is imagined, " as many have thought, in remem- 
 brance of some festival instituted in honour of that goddess, but raiher 
 from the garlands commonly worn on that day." (See the same publi- 
 cation for June and October 1790.) This verse was the whole that Mr. 
 Urban's correspondent could then recollect, but he thought he might be 
 afterwards able "to send all that is known of it, for," he says, "it for- 
 merly was very long, but is now much forgotten." The stanza is as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 "Robin Hood and Little John 
 
 They are both gone to fair O ; 
 
 And we will go to the merry green-wood, 
 
 To see what they do there O. 
 With hel an tow, 
 And rum-be-low. 
 
 And chearily we'll get up. 
 
 As soon as any day O, 
 
 All for to bring the summer home. 
 
 The summer and the May O." 
 
 " After which," he adds, " there is something about the grey goose wing ; 
 from all which," he concludes, " the goddess Flora has nothing to say to 
 it." She may have nothing to say to the song, indeed, and yet a good 
 deal to do with the thing. But the fact is, that the first eight days of 
 May, or the first day and the eighth, seem to have been devoted by the 
 Celtic nations to some great religious ceremony. Certain superstitious 
 observances of this period still exist in the Highlands of Scotland, where 
 it is called the Bel-tein ; Beltan, in that country, being a common term 
 for the beginning of May, as " between the Beltans " is a saying signifi- 
 cant of the first and eighth days of that month. The games of Robin Hood, 
 as we shall elsewhere see, were, for whatever reason, always celebrated 
 in May. — N.B. " Hel-an-tow," in the above stanza, should be heave 
 and how. Heave and how, and Rumbelow, was an ordinary chorus to 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Ixxxiii 
 
 of English Poetrie, printed in 1586. "If I lette passe," 
 says he, "the unaccountable rabble of ryniing ballet-makers 
 and compylers of senceiesse sonets, who be most busy to 
 stuffe every stall full of grosse devises and unlearned pam- 
 phlets, I trust I shall with the best sort be held excused. 
 For though many such can frame an alehouse-song of five 
 or sixe score verses, hobbling uppon some tune of a northern 
 jygge, or Robyn Hoode, or La lubber, 5jc. and perhappes 
 observe just number of sillables, eyght in one line, sixe in 
 an other, and therewithall an A to make a jercke in the ende, 
 yet if these might be accounted poets (as it is sayde some of 
 them make meanes to be promoted to the lawrell), surely we 
 shall shortly have whole swarmes of poets ; and every one 
 that can frame a booke in ryme, though, for want of matter, 
 it be but in commendations of copper noses, or bottle ale, 
 wyll catch at the garlande due to poets : whose potticall 
 (poeticall, I should say) heades, I woulde wyshe, at their 
 worshipfull comencements, might, in stecde of lawrell, be 
 gorgiously |;arnished with fayre greene barley, in token of 
 their good affection to our En^lishe malt." The chief object 
 of this satire seems to be William Elderton, the drunken 
 
 old ballads, and is at least as ancient as the reign of Edward II., since 
 it occurs in the stanza of a Scotish song, preserved by some of our old 
 historians, on the bnttle of Bannockbum. 
 
 To lengthen this long note: Among the Harleian MSS. (num. 367) is 
 the fragment of " a tale of Robin Hood dialouge-wise beetweene Watt 
 and Jeffry. The morall is the overthrowe of the abbyes ; the like being 
 attempted by the Puntane, which is the wolfe, and the politician, which 
 is the fox, agaynst the bushops. Robin Hood, bushop; Adam Bell, abbot; 
 Little John, colleagues of the university." This seems to have been a 
 common mode of satirising both the old Church and the reformers. In 
 another MS. of the same collection (N. 307), written about 1532, is a 
 tract entitled "The banckett of John the reve, unto Peirs Ploughman, 
 Laurens Laborer, Thomlyn Tailyor, and Hobbofthe Hille, with others ;" 
 being, as Mr. Wanley says, a dispute concerning tr.insubstantiation by a 
 Roman Catholic. The other, indeed, is much more modern : it alludes 
 to the indolence of the abbots, and their falling off from the original purity 
 in which they were placed by the bishops, whom it inclines to prai>e. 
 The object of its satire seems t» be the Puritans ; but here it is imperfect, 
 though the lines preserved are not wholly destitute of poetical merit. — 
 " Robin Hood and the Duke of Lancaster, a ballad, to the tune of The 
 Abbot of Canterbury," 1727, is a satire on Sir Robert Walpulc. 
 
Ixxxiv NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 ballad -maker, of whose compositions all but one or two have 
 unfortunately perished.* 
 
 Most of the songs inserted in the second half of this volume 
 were common broad-sheet ballads, printed in black letter, 
 with woodcuts, between the Restoration and the Revolution ; 
 though copies of some few have been found of an earlier 
 date. " Who was the author of the collection intitled Robin 
 Hood's Garland, no one," says Sir John Hawkins, "has yet 
 pretended to guess. As some of the songs have in them 
 more of the spirit of poetry than others, it is probable,", he 
 thinks, " it is the work of various hands : that it has from 
 time to time been varied and adapted to the phrase of the 
 times," he says, " is certain." None of these songs, it is be- 
 lieved, were collected into a garland till after the Restoration ; 
 as the earliest that has been met with, a copy of which is in 
 the possession of Francis Douce, Esq., was printed by W. 
 Thackeray, a noted ballad-monger, in 1670. This, however, 
 contains no more than sixteen songs, some of which, very 
 falsely as it seems, are said to have been "never before 
 printed." "The latest edition of any worth," according to 
 Sir John Hawkins, "is that of 1719." None of the old edi- 
 tions of this garland have any sort of preface : that prefixed 
 to the modern ones, of Bow or Aldermary churchyard, being 
 
 * Chatterton, in his " Memoirs of a Sad Dog," represents " Baron 
 Otranto" (meaning the honourable Horace Walpole, now Earl of Orford), 
 when on a visit to " Sir Stentor," as highly pleased with Robin Hood's 
 ramble, " melodiously chaunted by the knight's groom and dairy-maid, to 
 the excellent music of a two-stringed violin and bag-pipe," which tran- 
 sported him back " to the age of his favourite hero, Richard the Third ; " 
 whereas, says he, " the songs of Robin Hood were not in being till the 
 reign of Queen Elizabeth." This, indeed, may be in a great measure true 
 of those which we now have, but there is sufficient evidence of the exis- 
 tence and popularity of such-like songs for ages preceding ; and some of 
 these, no doubt, were occasionally modernised or new-written, though 
 most of them must be allowed to have perished. 
 
 The late Dr. Johnson, in controverting the authenticity of Fingal, a 
 composition in which the author, Mr. Macpherson, has made great use 
 of some unquestionably ancient Irish ballads, said, "He would undertake 
 to write an epick poem on the story of Robin Hood, and half England, 
 to whom the names and places he should mention in it are familiar, would 
 believe and declare they had heard it from their eailiest years" (Bos- 
 well's Journal, p. 486). ^ 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. IxxxV 
 
 taken from the collection of old ballads, 1723, where it is 
 placed at the head of Robin Hood's birth and breeding. The 
 full title of the last London edition of any note is — " Robin 
 Hood's Garland : being a complete history of all the notable 
 and merry exploits performed by him and his men on many 
 occasions : To which is added a preface [i.e. the one already 
 mentioned] giving a more full and particular account of his 
 birth, &c., than any hitherto published. [Cut of archers 
 shooting at a target.] 
 
 I'll send this arrow from my bow, 
 
 And in a wager will be bound 
 To hit the mark aright, although 
 
 It were for fifteen hundred pound. 
 Doubt not I'll make the wager good, 
 Or ne'er believe bold Robin Hood. 
 
 Adorned with twenty-seven neat and curious cuts adapted to 
 the subject of each song. London, Printed and sold by R. 
 Marshall, in Aldermary church-yard. Bow-lane." i2mo. 
 On the back of the title-page is the following Grub-street 
 address : 
 
 " To all gentlemen archers. 
 "This garland has been long out of repair. 
 
 Some songs being wanting, of which we give account ; 
 For now at last, by true industrious care, 
 
 The sixteen songs to twenty-seven we mount ; 
 Which large addition needs must please, I know, 
 
 All the ingenious ' yeomen ' of the bow. 
 To read how Robin Hood and Little John, 
 
 Brave Scarlet, Stutely, valiant, bold and free. 
 Each of them bravely, fairly play'd the man. 
 
 While they did reign beneath the green-wood tree ; 
 Bishops, friars, likewise many more. 
 Parted with their gold, for to increase their store, 
 But never would they rob or wrong the poor." 
 
 The last seven lines are not by the author of the first six, 
 but were added afterwards ; perhaps when the twenty-four 
 songs were increased to twenty-seven.* 
 
 • The following note is inserted in the fourth edition of the Reliques 
 of Ancient English Poetry, published in July 1795 (vol. i. p. xcvii.) : 
 
 "Uf the n songs in what is now called 'Robin Hood's Garland," 
 many are su modern as not to be found in Pepys's collection, completed 
 
Ixxxvi NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 (28) — ^^ has given rise to divers proverbs.^''\ Proverbs, in 
 all countries, are, generally speaking, of very great antiquity ; 
 and tlierefore it will not be contended that those concerning 
 our hero are the oldest we have. It is highly probable, 
 however, that they originated in or near his own time, and 
 of course have existed for upwards of 500 years, which is no 
 modern date. They are here arranged, not, perhaps, accord- 
 ing to their exact chronological order, but by the age of the 
 authorities they are taken from, 
 
 I. " Good even, good Robin Hood." 
 
 The allusion is to civility extorted by fear. It is preserved 
 by Skelton, in that most biting satire against Cardinal 
 Wolsey, "Why come ye not to court?" (Works, 1736, p. 
 147)- 
 
 " He is set so hye, 
 In his hierarchy. 
 
 That in the chambre of stars 
 All matters there he mars ; 
 Clapping his rod on the borde, 
 No man dare spealce a word ; 
 For he hath all the saying, 
 Without any renaying : 
 
 only in 1700. In the [editor's] folio MS. are ancient fragments of thefol- 
 lowing, viz. — Robin Hood and the beggar. — Robin Hood and the butcher. 
 — Robin Hood and fryer Tucke. — Robin Hood and the pindar. — Robin 
 Hood and queen Catharine, in two parts. — Little John and the four beg- 
 gars, and " Robine Hood his death." This last, which is very curious, 
 has no resemblance to any that have yet been published ; [it is probably 
 num. xxviii. of part ii.], and the others are extremely different from 
 the printed copies ; but they unfortunately are in the beginning of the 
 MS. where half of every leaf hath been torn away." 
 
 As this MS. " contains several songs relating to the civil war in the 
 last century," the mere circumstance of its comprising fragments of the 
 above ballads is no proof of a higher antiquity ; any more than its not 
 containing " one that alludes to the Restoration" proves its having been 
 compiled before that period ; or than, because some of these 24 songs are 
 not to be found in Pepys's collection, they are more modern than 1700. 
 If the MS. could be collated, it would probably turn out that many of its 
 contents have been inaccurately and unfaithfully transcribed, by some 
 illiterate persons, from printed copies still extant, and, consequently, that 
 it is, so far, of no authority. See the advertisement prefixed. 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. IxXXvii 
 
 He rolleth !n h!s recordes. 
 
 He saith. How say ye my lordes? 
 
 Is not my reason good ? 
 
 Good even, good Robin Hood." * 
 
 2. " Many men talk of Robin Hood that never shot in his 
 bow." 
 
 "That is, many discourse (or prate rather) of matters 
 wherein they have no skill or experience. This proverb is 
 now extended all over England, though originally of Not- 
 tinghamshire extraction, where Robin Hood did principally 
 reside in Sherwood forest. He was an arch-robber, and 
 withal an excellent archer ; though surely the poet t gives a 
 twang to the loose of his arrow, making him shoot one a 
 cloth-yard long, at full forty score mark, for compass never 
 higher than the breast, and within less than a foot of the 
 mark. But herein our author hath verified the proverb, 
 talking at large of Robin Hood, in whose bow he never shot " 
 (Fuller's Worthies, p. 315). 
 
 " One may justly wonder," adds the facetious writer, 
 "this archer did not at last hit the mark, I mean, come to 
 the gallows for his many robberies." 
 
 The proverb is mentioned, and given as above, by Sir 
 Edward Coke in his 3d Institute, p. 197. See also Note 
 26. It is thus noticed byjonson in "The king's entertain- 
 ment at Welbeck in Nottinghamshire, 1633 : " 
 
 "This is father Fitz-Ale, herald of Derby, &c. 
 
 He can fly o'er hills and dales, 
 And report you more odd tales 
 Of our out law Robin Hood, 
 That revell'd here in Sherewood, 
 And more stories of him show, 
 (Though he ne'er shot in his bow) 
 Than au' men or believe, or know." 
 
 * Mr. Warton has mistaken and misprinted this line so as to make it 
 absolute nonsense. 
 
 " Is nut my reason goo<l ? 
 Good — even guod — Robin Hood." 
 
 (His. En. po. vol. ii.) 
 t Drayton's Polyolbion, song 26, p. 132 (supra, p. vii.) 
 
IxxxVlii NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 We likewise meet with it in Epigrams, &c., 1654 : 
 
 " In Vertutem. 
 " Vertue we praise, but practice not her good, 
 (Athenian-like) we act not what we know ; 
 So many men doe talk of Robin Hood, 
 Who never yet shot arrow in his bow." 
 
 On the back of a ballad in Anthony a Wood's collection 
 he has written, 
 
 •' There be some that prate 
 Of Robin Hood, and of his bow, 
 Which never shot therein, I trow.", 
 
 Ray gives it thus : 
 
 " Many talk of Robin Hood, that never shot in his bow. 
 And many talk of little John, that never did him know : " 
 
 which Kelly has varied, but without authority. 
 
 Camden's printer has separated the lines, as distinct pro- 
 verbs (Remains, 1674) : 
 
 " Many speak of Robin Hood that never shot in his bow. 
 " Many a man talks of little John that never did him know." 
 
 This proverb likewise occurs in The downfall of Robert 
 earle of Huntington, 1600, and is alluded to in a scarce and 
 curious old tract intitled ' ' The contention betwyxte Church- 
 yeard and Camell, upon David Dycer's Dreame," &c. 1560, 
 4to, b. 1. 
 
 " Your sodain stormes and thundre claps, your boasts and braggs so 
 loude : 
 Hath doone no harme thogh Robin Hood spake with you in a cloud. 
 Go learne againe of litell Jhon, to shute in Robyn Hods bowe, 
 Or Dicars dreame shall be unhit, and all his whens, I trowe." *■ 
 
 The Italians appear to have a similar saying : 
 Molti parlan di Orlando 
 Chi non viddero mai suo brando. 
 
 ♦ In Churchyard's " Replication onto Camel's Objections " he tells the 
 latter : 
 
 " Your knowledge is great, your judgement is good, 
 The most of your study hath ben of Robyn Hood ; 
 And Bevys of Hampton, and syr Launcelot de Lake, 
 Hath taught you full oft your verses to make." 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Ixxxix 
 
 3. "To overshoot Robin Hood." 
 
 " And lastly and chiefly, they cry out with open mouth as 
 if they had overshot Robin Hood, that Plato banished ihem 
 [i.e. poets] out of his commonwealth" (Sir P. Sidney's De- 
 fence of Poesie). 
 
 4. " Tales of Robin Hood are good [enough] for fools." 
 This proverb is inserted in Camden's Remains, printed 
 
 originally in 1605 ; but the word in brackets is supplied from 
 Ray. 
 
 5. "To sell Robin Hood's pennyworths." 
 
 "It is spoken of things sold under half their value ; or if 
 you will, half sold, half given. Robin Hood came lightly by 
 his ware, and lightly parted therewith ; so that he could 
 afford the length of his bow for a yard of velvet. Whither- 
 soever he came, he carried a fair along with him ; chapmen 
 crowding to buy his stoUen commodities. But seeing the 
 receiver is as bad as the thief, and such buyers are as bad as 
 receivers, tlie cheap pennyworths of plundered goods may in 
 fine prove dear enough to their consciences" (Fuller's Wor- 
 thies, p. 315). 
 
 This saying is alluded to in the old North-country song of 
 Randal a Bamaby : 
 
 " All men said, it became me we'l. 
 And Robin Hood's pennyworths I did sell." 
 
 6. "Come, turn about, Robin Hood." 
 
 Implying that to challenge or defy our hero must have 
 been the tie plus ultra of courage. It occurs in " Wit and 
 Drollery," 166 1 : 
 
 ** O love, whose power and might. 
 No creature ere withstood, 
 Thou forcest me to wiite, 
 
 Come turn about Robin-hood.'* 
 
 7. " As crook'd as Robin Hood's bow." 
 
 That is, we are to conceive, when bent by himself. The 
 following stanza of a modem Irish song is the only authority 
 for this proverb that has been met with : 
 
 " The next with whom I did engage. 
 It was an old woman worn with rfge, 
 
XC NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Her teeth were like tobacco pegs, 
 
 Besides she had two bandy legs, 
 
 Her back more crook'd than Robin Hood's bow, 
 
 Purblind and decrepid, unable to go ; 
 
 Altho' her years were sixty-three, 
 
 She smil'd at the humours of Soosthe Bue." 
 
 8. " To go round by Robin Hood's barn." 
 
 This saying, which now first appears in print, is used to 
 imply the going of a short distance by a circuitous method, 
 or the farthest way about. 
 
 {29) — " to swear by him, or some of his companions, appears 
 to have been a usual practice "'\ The earliest instance of 
 this practice occurs in a pleasant story among "Certaine 
 merry tales of the mad-men of Gottam," compiled in the 
 reign of Henry VHI. by Dr. Andrew Borde, an eminent 
 physician of that period, which here follows verbatim, as taken 
 from an old edition in black letter, without date (in the 
 Bodleian Library), being the first tale in the book. 
 
 " There was two men of Gottam, and the one of them was 
 going to the market at Nottingham to buy sheepe, and the 
 other came from the market ; and both met together upon 
 Nottingham bridge. Well met, said the one to the other. 
 Whither be yee going? said he that came from Nottingham. 
 Marry, said he that was going thither, I goe to the market to 
 buy sheepe. Buy sheepe ! said the other, and which way 
 wilt thou bring them home ? Marry, said the other, I will 
 bring them over this bridge. By Robin Hood, said he that 
 came from Nottingham, but thou shalt not. By Maid Mar- 
 rion, said he that was going thitherward, but I will. Thou 
 shalt not, said the one. I will, said the other. Ter here ! 
 said the one. Shue there ! said the other. Then they beate 
 their staves against the ground, one against the other, as there 
 had beene an hundred sheepe betwixt them. Hold in, said 
 the one. Beware the leaping over the bridge of my sheepe, 
 said the other. I care not, said the other. They shall not 
 come this way, said the one. But they shall, said the other. 
 Then said the other, & if that thou make much to doe, I will 
 put my finger in thy mouth. A turd thou wilt, said the other. 
 And as they were at that contention, another man of Gottam 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. XCl 
 
 came from the market, with a sacke of meale upon a horse, 
 and seeing and hearing his neighbours at strife for sheepe, 
 and none betwixt them, said, Ah fooles, will you never learn 
 wit ? Helpe me, said he that had the meale, and lay my sack 
 upon my slioulder. They did so ; and he went to the one 
 side of the bridge, and unloosed the mouth of the sacke, and 
 did shake out all his meale into the river. Now, neighbours, 
 said the man, how much meale is there in my sacke now ? 
 Marry, there is none at all, said they. Now, by my faith, 
 said he, even as much wit is in your two heads, to strive for 
 that thing you have not. Which was the wisest of all these 
 three persons, judge you."* 
 
 " By the bare scalp of Robin Hood's fat frier," is an oath 
 put by Shakespeare into the mouth of one of his outlaws in 
 the Two Gentlemen of Verona, act iv. scene I. "Robin 
 Hood's fat frier " is Frier Tuck ; a circumstance of which 
 Doctor Johnson, who set about explaining that author with a 
 very inadequate stock of information, was perfectly ignorant. 
 
 (30) — " his songs have been preferred, not only on the most 
 solemn occasion to the psalms of David, but in fact to the 
 New Testament."] ["On Friday, March 9th, 1733] was 
 executed at Northampton William Alcock for the murder of 
 his wife. He never own'd the fact, nor was at all concern'd 
 at his approaching death, refusing the prayers and assistance 
 of any persons. In the morning he drank more than was 
 sufficient, yet sent and paid for a pint of wine, which being 
 deny'd him, he would not enter the cart before he had his 
 money return'd. On his way to the gallows he sung part of 
 an old song of Robin Hood, with the chorus, Derry, derry, 
 down,t &C., and swore, kick'd and spurn'd at every person 
 
 • See the original story, in which two brothers, of whom one had 
 wished for as many oxen as he saw stars, the other for a pasture as wide 
 as the firmament, kill each other about the pasturage of the oxen (from 
 Camer. oper. subsets, cent, i, c. 92, p. 429), in Wanley's Little World of 
 Man, edition of 1774, p. 426. Camerarius, it seems, had the story from 
 Sc»rAeon\u% de darts civihus Patavinis, whence it is also related in the 
 notes to Upton df studio tnilitari ; and an older, of the like kind, is in ihe 
 Facetiz of Poggius. 
 
 t " Derry down is the burden of the old songs of the Druids sung by 
 their Bards and Vaids, to call the people to their religious as&emblys in 
 
XCU NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 that laid hold of the cart ; and before he was turn'd off, took 
 off his shoes, to avoid a well-known proverb ; and being told 
 by a person in the cart with him, it was more proper for him 
 to read, or hear some body read to him, than so vilely to swear 
 and sing, he struck the book out of the person's hands, and 
 went on damning the spectators, and calling for wine. Whilst 
 psalms and prayers were performing at the tree, he did little 
 but talk to one or other, desiring some to remember him, others 
 to drink to his good journey ; and to the last moment declared 
 the injustice of his case " (Gentleman's Magazine, vol. iii. 
 
 p. 154). 
 
 To this maybe added, that at Edinburgh, in 1565, "Sandy 
 Sfevin menstrall [i.e. musician] was convinced of blasphemy, 
 alledging, That he would give no moir credit to The new 
 testament, then to a tale of Robin Hood, except it wer con- 
 firmed be the doctours of the church " (Knox's Historic of 
 the Reformation in Scotland, Edin. 1732, p. 368). 
 
 William Roy, in a bitter satire against Cardinal Wolsey, 
 intitled, " Rede me and be nott wrothe For I saye nothynge 
 but trothe," printed abroad, about 1525, speaking of the 
 bishops, says : 
 
 "Their frantyke foly is so pevisshe. 
 That they contempne in Englisshe, 
 
 To have the new testament ; 
 But as for tales of Robyn Hode, 
 With wother jestes nether honest nor goode, 
 
 They have none impediment." 
 
 To the same effect is the following passage in another old 
 libel upon the priests, intitled " I playne Piers which can not 
 flatter, a plowe-man men me call," &c. b. 1. n. d. printed in 
 the original as prose : 
 
 " No Christen booke, 
 Maye thou on looke, 
 
 Yf thou be an Englishe strunt, 
 
 the groves. Doire in Irish (the old Punic) is a grove : corrupted into 
 derry. A famous Druid grove and academy at the place since called 
 Londonderry from thence." — MS. note by Dr. .Stukeley, in his copy of 
 Kobin Hood's Garland. "Paul, Paul, thou art beside thyself!" 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. XClll 
 
 Thus dothealyens us loutte, 
 By that ye spreade aboute. 
 
 After that old sorte and wonte. 
 You allowe they saye, 
 Legenda aurea, 
 
 Koben Hoode, Bevys, & Gower, 
 And all bagage be syd. 
 But God's word ye may not abyde, 
 
 These lyese are your churche 'dower.'" 
 
 See also before, p. Ixxii.* 
 
 So in Laurence Ramsey's " Practise of the Divell " (n. d. 
 4to, b. 1.): 
 
 " Exclude the scriptures, and byd them reade the storie 
 Of Robin Hood, and Guye, which was both tall and stout, 
 And Bevis of Southampton, to seeke the matter out." 
 
 (31) ** His service to the Word of God."\ "I came once 
 myselfe," says Bishop Latimer (in his sixth sermon before 
 King Edward VL), "to a place, riding on a jorney homeward 
 from London, and I sent worde over night into the towne 
 that I would preach there in the morning, bicause it was a 
 holy day, and methought it was an holydayes worke. The 
 churche stode in my way ; and I tooke my horse and my 
 company and went thither (I thought I should have found a 
 great companye in the churche), and when I came there, the 
 churche dore was faste locked. I taried there half an hower 
 and more ; at last the keye was founde ; and one of the 
 parishe commes to me, and sayes, Sir, this is a busie day 
 with us, we cannot heare you ; it is Robin Hoodes daye. 
 The parishe are gone abroad to gather for Robin Hoode, I 
 pray you let them not. I was fayne there to geve place to 
 Robin Hoode. I thought my rochet shoulde have bene re- 
 garded, thoughe I were not ; but it woulde not serve, it was 
 fayne to geve place to Robin Hodes men. 
 
 * Mr. Boyd, the famous preacher in Childsdale, finding that several 
 of his hearers went away after the forenoon sermon, had this expression 
 in his afternoon prayers : " Now, Lord, thou seest that many people go 
 away from hearing thy Word ; but had we told them stories of Robin 
 Hood or Davie Lindsay, they had stayed ; and yet none of these are near 
 so good as thy Word that I preach " (Scotch Presbyterian Eloquence, 
 1714, p. 156). 
 
XCIV NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 " It is no laughyng matter, my frendes, it is a weepyng 
 matter, a heavy matter, under the pretence for gatherynge for 
 Robin Hoode, a traytour * and a theefe, to put out a preacher, 
 to have his office lesse esteemed, to preferre Robin Hoode 
 before the ministration of God's worde, and all this hath come 
 of unpreaching prelates. Thys realme hath bene ill provided 
 for, that it hath had suche corrupte judgementes in it, to 
 preferre Robin Hoode to God's worde. If the bishoppes 
 had bene preachers, there shoulde never have bene any such 
 thing," &c. 
 
 (32) — '■^ may be called the patron of archery "^ The bovir 
 and arrow makers, in particular, have always held his memory 
 in the utmost reverence. Thus, in the old ballad of London's 
 Ordinary : 
 
 " The hosiers will dine at the Leg, 
 
 The drapers at the sign of the Brush, 
 The fletchers to Robin Hood will go, 
 And the spendthrift to Beggar's-bush."t 
 
 The picture of our hero is yet a common sign in the country, 
 and, before hanging-signs were abolished in London, must 
 have been still more so in the City ; there being at present 
 no less than a dozen alleys, courts, lanes, &c., to which he or 
 it has given a name. (See Baldwin's New Complete Guide, 
 1770.) The Robin Hood Society, a club or assembly for 
 public debate, or school for oratory, is well known. It was 
 held at a public-house, which had once borne the sign, and 
 Still retained the name of this great man, in Butcher Row, 
 near Temple Bar. 
 
 It is very usual in the North of England for a publican 
 whose name fortunately happens to be John Little to have 
 
 * The Bishop grows scurrilous. "1 never heard, "says Coke, attorney- 
 general, " that Robin Hood was a traitor, they say he was an outlaw." 
 (State Trials, i. 218. — Raleigh had said, " Is it not strange for me to 
 make myself a Robin Hood, a Kett, or a Cade? ") 
 
 t This ballad seems to have been written in imitation of a song in Hey- 
 wood's Rape of Lucrece, 1630, beginning — 
 
 " The gentry to the King's-head, 
 The nobles to the crown," &c. 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTJIATIONS. XCV 
 
 the sign of Robin Hood and his constant attendant, with this 
 quibbling subscription : 
 
 " Vou gentlemen, and yeomen good, 
 Come in and drink with Robin Hood ; 
 If Robin Hood be not at home, 
 Come in and drink with Little John."* 
 
 An honest countryman, admiring the conceit, adopted the 
 lines, with a slight, but, as he thought, necessary alteration, 
 viz. : 
 
 •' If Robin Hood be not at home. 
 Come in and drink with — Simon Webster." 
 
 Drayton, describing the various ensigns or devices of the 
 English counties at the battle of Agincourt, gives to 
 
 •' Old Nottingham, an archer clad in ereen. 
 Under a tree with his drawn bow that stood, 
 Which in a chequer'd flag far off was seen ; 
 It was the picture of old Robin Hood." 
 
 (33) — " the supernatural powers he is, in some parts, 
 supposed to have possessed"\ " In the parish of Halifax is an 
 immense stone or rock, supposed to be a Druidical monument, 
 there called Robin Hood's pennystone, which he is said to 
 have used to pitch with at a mark for his amusement. 
 There is likewise another of these stones, of several tons 
 weight, which the country-people will tell you he threw off 
 an adjoining hill with a spade as he was digging. Every 
 thing of the marvellous kind being here attributed to Robin 
 Hood, as it is in Cornwall to King Arthur" (Watson's History 
 of Halifax, p, 27). 
 
 At Birchover, six miles south of Bakewell, and four from 
 Haddon, in Derbyshire, among several singular groups of 
 rocks, are some stones called Robin Hood's stride, being two 
 
 * In Arnold's Essex Harmony (ii- 98) he gives the inscription, as a 
 catch for three voices, of his own composition, thus : 
 "My beer is stout, my ale is good. 
 Pray stay and drink with Robin Hood ; 
 If Robin Hood abroad is gone, 
 Pray stay and drink with Little John." 
 
XCVl NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 of the highest and most remarkable. The people say Robin 
 Hood lived here. 
 
 (34) — " having a festival allotted to him, and solemn games 
 instituted in honour of his memory" •Sr'fr.] These games, 
 which were of great antiquity and different kinds, appear to 
 have been solemnised on the first and succeeding days of May, 
 and to owe their original establishment to the cultivation and 
 improvement of the manly exercise of archery, which was 
 not, in former times, practised merely for the sake of amuse- 
 ment. 
 
 "I find," says Stow, "that in the moneth of May, the 
 citizens of London, of all estates, lightlie in every parish, or 
 sometimes two or three parishes joyning together, had their 
 severall mayinges, and did fetch in Maypoles, with divers 
 warlike shewes, with good archers, morrice-dancers, and other 
 devices for pastime all the day long : and towards the evening 
 
 they had stage-playes and bonefires in the streetes 
 
 These greate Mayinges and Maygames, made by the gover- 
 nors and masters of this citie, with the triumphant setting up 
 of the greate shafte (a principall Maypole in Cornhill, before 
 the parish church of S. Andrew, therefore called Undershafte) 
 by meane of an insurrection of youthes against alianes on 
 Mayday 1517, the ninth of Henry the Eight, have not beene 
 so freely used as afore" (Survey of London, 1598, p. 72). 
 
 The disuse of these ancient pastimes, and the consequent 
 " neglect of archerie," are thus pathetically lamented by 
 Richard Niccolls, in his London's Artillery, 1616 : 
 
 " How is it that our London hath laid downe 
 This worthy practise, which was once the crowne 
 Of all her pastime, when her Robin Hood 
 Had wont each yeare, when May did clad the wood, 
 With lustie greene, to lead his yong men out. 
 Whose brave demeanour, oft when they did shoot, 
 Invited royall princes from their courts. 
 Into the wilde woods to behold their sports ! 
 
 Who thought it then a manly sight and trim, A description 
 
 To see a youth of cleane compacted lim, of one drawing 
 
 Who, with a comely grace, in his left hand a bow. 
 
 Holding his bow, did take his stedfast stand, 
 Setting his left leg somewhat foorth before. 
 His arrow with his right hand nocking sure. 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. XCVU 
 
 ■ Not stooping, nor yet standing streight upright, 
 Then, with his left hand little 'bove his sight. 
 Stretching his arm out, with an easie strength. 
 To draw an arrow of a yard in length." * 
 
 The lines, 
 
 " Invited royall princes from their courts 
 Into the wild woods to behold their sports," 
 
 may be reasonably supposed to allude to Henry VIII., who 
 appears to have been particularly attached, as well to the 
 exercise of archery as to the observance of May. Some 
 short time after his coronation, says Hall, he "came to 
 Westminster with the quene, and all their traine : and on a 
 tyme being there, his grace therles of Essex, Wilshire, and 
 other noble menne, to the numbre of twelve, came sodainly 
 in a mornyng into the quenes chambre, all appareled in 
 short cotes of Kentish Kendal, with hodes on their heddes, 
 and hosen of the same, every one of them his bowe and 
 arrowes, and a sworde and a bucklar, like outlawes, or 
 ' Robyn' Hodes men ; whereof the quene, the ladies, and al 
 other there were abashed, aswell for the straunge sight, as 
 also for their sodain commyng : and after certayn daunces 
 and pastime made thei departed" (Hen. VIII. fo, 6, b). 
 The same author gives the following curious account of " A 
 maiynge" in the 7th year of this monarch (1516) : "The 
 kyng & the quene, accompanied with many lordes & ladies, 
 roade to the high grounde on Shoters hil to take the open 
 ayre, and as they passed by the way they espied a company 
 of tall yomen, clothed all in grene, with grene whodes & 
 bowes and arrowes, to the number of ii. C. Then one of 
 them whiche called hymselfe Robyn Hood, came to the 
 kyng, desyring hym to se his men shote, & the kyng was 
 content. Then he whisteled, and all the ii. C. archers shot 
 & losed at once ; and then he whisteled again, and they 
 likewyse shot agayne ; their arrowes whisteled by craft of the 
 
 '' This description is finely illustrated by an excellent woodcut at the 
 head of one of Anthony a Wood's old ballads in the Asbmoleian Museum. 
 The frontispiece to Gervas Markham't Archerie, 1634, U bkewiM a man 
 drawing a bow. 
 
 H 
 
XCVm NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 head, so that the noyes was straunge and great, and muche 
 pleased the kyng, the quene, and all the company. All 
 these archers were of the kynges garde, and had thus appa- 
 reled themselves to make solace to the kynge. Then Robyn 
 Hood desyred the kyng and quene to come into the grene 
 wood, and to se how the outlawes lyve. The kyng de- 
 maunded of the quene and her ladyes, if they durst adven- 
 ture to go into the wood with so many outlawes. Then the 
 quene said, if it pleased hym, she was content. Then the 
 homes blewe tyll they came to the wood under Shoters-hill, 
 and there was an arber made of bowes, with a hal, and a 
 great chamber, and an inner chamber, very well made and 
 covered with floures and swete herbes, which the kyng muche 
 praised. Then sayd Robyn Hood, Sir, outlawes brekefastes 
 is venyson, and therefore you must be content with such fare 
 as we use. Then the kyng and quene sate doune, and were 
 served with venyson and vyne by Robyn Hood and his men, 
 to their great contentacion. Then the kyng departed and 
 his company, and Robyn Hood and his men them con- 
 duicted : and as they were returnyng, there met with them 
 two ladyes in a ryche cliariot drawen with v. horses, and every 
 horse had his name on his head, and on every horse sat a 
 lady with her name written .... and in the chayre sate the 
 lady May, accompanied with lady Flora, richely appareled ; 
 and they saluted the kyng with diverse goodly songes, and so 
 brought hym to Grenewyche. At this maiyng was a greate 
 number of people to beholde, to their great solace and 
 confort" (fo. Ivi. b). 
 
 That this sort of May-games was not peculiar to London 
 appears from a passage in Richard Robinson's " Third asser- 
 tion Englishe historicall, frendly in favour and furtherance 
 of English archery : " * 
 
 * See " The auncient order societie and unitie laudable of prince 
 Arthure and his knightly armory of the round table . . . Translated and 
 collected by R. R. London, Imprinted by John Wolfe dwelling in Dis- 
 taflfe-lane neere the signe of the Castle, 1583." 410, b. 1. It appears 
 from this publication that on the revival of London archery in Queen 
 Elizabeth's time, " the worshipfull socyety of archers," instead ofcalling 
 themselves after Robin Hood and his companions, took the names of 
 " the magnificent prince Arthure and his knightly traine of the round 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS XCIX 
 
 " And, heare because of archery I do by penne explane, 
 The use, the proflfet, and the praise, to England by the same, 
 Myselfe remembreth of a childe in contreye native mine, ('553) 
 
 A May-game was of Robyn Hood, and of his traine that time, (7. E. 6.) 
 To traine up young men, stripplings, and eche other younger childe, 
 In shooting, yearely this with solempne feast was by the guylde 
 Or brotherhood of townsmen don, with sport, with joy, and love. 
 To proffet which in present tyme, and afterward did prove." 
 
 The games of Robin Hood seem to have been occasionally 
 of a dramatic cast. Sir John Paston, in the time of King 
 Edward IV., complaining of the ingratitude of his servants, 
 mentions one who had promised never to desert him, 
 "and ther uppon," says he, "I have kepyd hym thys iii yer 
 to pleye seynt Jorge, and Robyn Hod and the sheryf off 
 Notyngham,* and now when I wolde have good horse he is 
 goon into Bernysdale, and I withowt a keeper." 
 
 In some old accounts of the churchwardens of St. Helen's 
 at Abingdon, Berks, for the year 1556, there is an entry For 
 setting up Robin Hoodes Bower; I suppose, says War- 
 table." It is, probably, to one of the annual meetings of this identical 
 society that Master Shallow alludes in the Second Part of King Henry 
 IV, "I remember," says he, "at Mile-end Green [tlieir usual place of 
 exercise], — I was then Sir Dagonet in Arthur's shew," &c. (See also 
 Steevens's Shakespeare, 1793, ix. 14?.) The successors of the above 
 "friendly and frank fellowship" assumed the ridiculous appellations of 
 Duke of Shoreditch, Marquis of Clerkenwell, Earl of Pankridge, &c. 
 See Wood's Bowman's Glory, 1682. 
 
 * Meaning that his sole or chief employment had been in Christmas 
 or May games, Whitsun-ales, and such like idle diversions. See Ori- 
 ginal Letters, &c , ii. 134. 
 
 In an old circular woodcut, preserved on the title of Robin Hood's 
 Garland, 1670, as well as on that of Adam Bell, &c., printed at New- 
 castle in 1772, is the apparent representation of a May-game, consisting 
 of the following personages: i. A bishop. 2. Robin Hood. 3. The 
 potter (or beggar). 4. Little John. 5. Frier Tuck. 6. Maid Marian. 
 Figures 2 and 4 are distinguished by their bows and different size. The 
 frier holds out a cross ; and Marian has flowing hair, and wears a sort 
 of coronet. But the execution of the whole is too rude to merit a copy. 
 
 At Lord Fiizwilliams's at Richmond theie is, or lately was, a curious 
 painting by Vinckenbooms. representing old Richmond palace, with a 
 group of morris-dancers. It has been badly engraved by Gudirey, who 
 re.luced the figures to too small a scale. Mr. Douce has a tracing Irom 
 the original picture with all the fignres distinctly marked. See a poem 
 at the end of Hall's Downfall of May-games, 1661, 410. 
 
C NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 ton, for a parish interlude. (See History of English Poetry, 
 ii. 175.)* 
 
 * The precise purpose or meaning of setting up Robin Hood's bower 
 has not been satisfactorily ascertained. Mr. Hearne, in an attempt to 
 derive the name of "The Chiltern country" (ciitejin, Saxon) from 
 silex, a flint, has the following words: "Certe Siicestriam, &c. i.e. 
 Certainly Silchester, in Hampshire, signifies nothing but the city of 
 flints (that is, a city composed or built of flint-stones). And what is 
 more, in that very Chiltern country you may frequently see houses built 
 of flints, in erecting which, in ancient times, I suppose that many per- 
 sons involved themselves deeply in debt, and that, in order to extricate 
 themselves, they took up money at interest of I know not what great 
 men, which so far disturbed their minds that they would become thieves 
 and do many things in no wise agreeable to the English government. 
 Hence, the nobility ordered that large woods in the Chiltern country 
 should in a great measure be cut down, lest they should conceal any 
 considerable body of robbers, who were wont to convert the same into 
 lurking places. It concerns this matter to call to mind that of this sort 
 of robbers was that Robin or Robert Hood, of whom the vulgar dayly 
 sing so many wonderful things. He (being now made an outlaw) 
 before he retired into the north parts, frequently robbing in the Chiltern 
 country, lurked in the thickets thereof on purpose that he should not be 
 taken. Thence it was that to us boys (exhilarating, according 10 cus- 
 t m, the mind with sports) certain countrymen, with whom we had 
 accidentally some conversation, shewed us that sort of den or retreat 
 (vulgarly called Robin Hood's bower) in Maydenhead-thicket ; which 
 thicket is the same that Leland in his Itinerary called Frith, by which 
 name the Anglo-Saxons themselves spoke of thickets. For although 
 pniS in reality signifies peace, yet since numerous groves with them 
 (as well as before with the Britons) were deemed sacred, it is by no 
 means to be wondered at that a great wood (because manifestly an 
 asylum) should, in the judgment of the Anglo-Saxons, be called by no 
 other name than pji ^et" : ^.nd that Maydenhead-thicket was esteemed 
 among the greater woods Leland himself is a witness. Rightly therefore 
 did Robin Hood (as rpi^-bena) reckon him-^elf to abide there in 
 security" (Chronicon de Dunstaple, p. 387). What he means by all 
 this is, doubtless, sufficiently obscure : the mere name, however, of 
 Robin Hood's bower seems a very feeble authority for concluding that 
 gallant outlaw to have robbed or skulked in the Chiltern hundreds. 
 
 It may seem, perhaps, from a passage in Browne's Britannia s Pasto- 
 rals (Song 4). that Robin Hood's bower was prepared for the reception 
 of himself and his Marian, as king and queen ol May. The lines are 
 
 these : 
 
 " As I have seene the lady of the May 
 Set in an arbour, on a holy-day. 
 Built by the May-pole, where the jocund swains. 
 Dance with the maidens to the bagpipe's strains." 
 
NOTES AKD illustrations. CI 
 
 In some places, at least, these games were nothing more, 
 in effect, than a morris-dance, in which Robin Hood, Little 
 John, Maid Marian, and Frier Tuck were the principal per- 
 sonages ; the others being a clown or fool, the hobby-horse 
 (which appears, for some reason or other, to have been fre- 
 quently forgot *), the laborer, and the dancers, who were more 
 or less numerous. Thus Warner : 
 
 " At Paslce began our morrise, and erepcnticost our May, 
 The Robeii Hood, Hell John, frier Tuck, and Marian deftly play, 
 And lard and ladie gang tiil kirke with lads and lasses gay."t 
 
 Perhaps the clearest idea of these last-mentioned games, 
 about the beginning of the i6h century, will be derived 
 from some curious extracts given by Mr. Lysons in his valu- 
 able work intitled " The Environs of London " (vol. i. 1792, 
 p. 226), from the contemporary accounts of the "church- 
 wardens of the parish of Kingston upon Thames." 
 
 " Robin Hood and May-game. 
 
 "23 Hen. 7. To the menstorell upon May-day 004 
 
 For paynting of the mores garments and for 
 
 sarten gret leveres + 024 
 
 " See Steevens's Shakespeare, 1793, x. i86. 
 
 t Albion's England, 1602, p. ui. It is part of the " Northerne man's 
 speech against the friers." He adds : 
 
 " At Baptis-day with ale and cakes bout bonfires neighbours stood, 
 At Martle masse wa turnd a crabbe, thiike told of Koben Hood, 
 Till after long time myrke. when blest were windowes, dares and lights, 
 And pails were fild, and halhes were swept, gain-^t fairie elves and sprits : 
 Hock and plow Mondaies gams . . . with saint-feasts and kirk-lightit." 
 
 A very learned and ingenious gentleman conceives that the enumera- 
 tion of characters in the passage quoted in the text belongs solely to the 
 May, and has no relation whatever to the morrise. That the two games, 
 however, though essentially distinct in their origin, got somehow or 
 other blended together appears unquestionable. 
 
 " As fit as a morris for May-day " is one of the clown's similes in A/^s 
 ivell thtit tnds well (act ii. scene 2). 
 
 t " The word livery was formerly used to signify anything deliverrd ; 
 see the Northumberland Household Book, p. 60. If it ever bore such 
 
o 
 
 3 
 
 o 
 
 lO 
 
 2 
 
 II 
 
 O 
 
 lO 
 
 O 
 
 8 
 
 O 
 
 12 
 
 8 
 
 O 
 
 o 
 
 7 
 
 I 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 o 
 
 Cll NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 For paynting of a bannar for Robin Hode o 
 
 For 2 M. & J pynnys O 
 
 For 4 plyts and J of laun for the mores gar- 
 ments o 
 
 For orseden * for the same o 
 
 For a goun for the lady o 
 
 For bellys for the dawnsars O 
 
 24 Hen. 7. For little John's cote o 
 
 I Hen. 8. For silver paper for the mores 
 
 dawnsars O 
 
 For Kendall for Robyn Hode's cote . . . O 
 
 For 3 yerds of white for the frere's + cote . o 
 
 an acceptation at that time, one might be induced to suppose, from the 
 following entries, that it here meant a badge, or something of that kind : 
 
 IS C. of leveres for Robin Hode 050 
 
 For leveres, paper and sateyn o o 20 
 
 For pynnes and leveres 065 
 
 For 13 C. of leverys 044 
 
 For 24 great lyvereys 004 
 
 We are told that formerly, in the celebration of May-games, the youth 
 divided themselves into two troops, the one in winter livery, the other 
 in the habit of the spring. See Brand's Popular Antiquities, p. 261." 
 This quotation is misapplied. Liveries, in the present instance, are 
 pieces of paper or sateyn with some device thereon, which were distri- 
 buted for money among the spectators. So in a passage which will be 
 shortly quoted from Jack Drum's Entertainment : " Well said, my boyes, 
 I must have my lord's livory ; what is't? a May-pole ? " See also Stubb.i's 
 Anatomie of Abuses, 1583, sig. M. 2 b, and Skelton's Don Quixote, part 
 ii. chap. 22. 
 
 * " Though it varies considerably from that word, this may be a cor- 
 ruption of orpiment, which was much in use for colouring the morris 
 garments." How orseden can be a corruption of orpiment is not very 
 easy to conceive : it may as well be supposed to mean worsted or buck- 
 ram. Mr. Steevens thinks that this ori^rt'«» is the ^r-j«-(//«« of old Joan 
 Trash, in Jonson's Bartholomew Fair, and means. Jiame-coloured paint, 
 used to hobby-horses. The four giants for the revived Midsummer shew 
 at Chester, m 1668, were "to be cuUered tinsiUe arsedine" (MSS. 
 Har. 2150, fo. 373, b.) 
 
 t "The friar's coat was generally of russet, as it appears by the fol- 
 lowing extracts . . . ." The coat of this mock frier would, doubtless, 
 be made of the same stuff as that of a real one. 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. CUI 
 
 For 4 yards of kendall for mayde Marian's * 
 
 huket 034 
 
 For saten of sypers for the same huke ..006 
 
 For 2 payre of glovys for Robin Hode and 
 
 mayde Maryan 003 
 
 For 6 brode arovys 006 
 
 To mayde Maryan for her labour for two 
 
 years 020 
 
 To Fygge the laborer 060 
 
 Rec^ for Robyn Hod's gaderyng 4 marks X 
 
 * "Marian was the assumed name of the beloved mistress of Robert, 
 Earl of Huntingdon, whilst he was in a state of outlawry, as Robin 
 Hood was his. See Mr. Steevens's note to a passage in Shakespeare's 
 Henry IV. This character in the morris-dances was generally repre- 
 sented by a boy. See Strutt's View of Customs and Manners, vol. iii. 
 p. 150. It appears by one of the extr.icts, given above, that at Kings- 
 ton it was performed by a woman, who was paid a shilling each year 
 for her trouble." 
 
 t "Mr. Steevens suggests, ivith great probability, that this word 
 may have the same meaning as howve or houve, used by Chaucer fi.r 
 a head-dress ; Maid Marian's head-dress was always very fine: indeed 
 some persons have derived her name from the Italian word morione, a 
 headdress." Mr. Steevens was never less happy than he is in this very 
 probable conjecture. The word howve or houve, in Chaucer, is a mere 
 variation of hood : and Maid Marian's head-dress mUst, to be sure, have 
 been " very fine " when made of four yards of broad cloth ! A huke is a 
 woman's gown or habit. (Huke, palla, toga, palium Belgicis feminis 
 usitatum. — S^in.) Skelton mentions it in his Elinour Rumming : 
 
 " Her A«i^ of Lyncole.grene." 
 
 "All women in generall," says Moryson, speaking of the Netherlands, 
 " when they goe out of the house, put on a hnyke or vaile, which covers 
 their heads, and hangs downe vpon their backs to their legges," &c. 
 (Itinerary, 1617, part 3, p. 169). 
 
 Sir John Culliim seems to have mistaken Rose Sparkes' " best hook " 
 for a " hook worn at the bottom of the stays, to regulate the sitting of 
 the apron " (History of Hawsted, p. 25). Morione, in Italian, signifies 
 a murrion or scull-cap ; and though the derivation alluded to appears to 
 have the sanction of Blount's Glosographia, nothing can be more com- 
 pletely absurd. Marian is Mary. 
 
 "And Marian's nose looks rede and raw." 
 
 t "It appears that this, as well as other games, was made a parish 
 concern." 
 
CIV NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 5 Hen. 8. Rec"* for Robin Hood's gaderyng at 
 
 Croydon .....094 
 
 1 1 Hen. 8. Paid for three broad yerds of rosett 
 
 for maykng the frer's cote 036 
 
 Shoes for the mores daunsars, the frere and 
 
 mayde Maryan at 7<i a pay re ....054 
 13 Hen. 8. Eight yerds of fustyan for the mores 
 
 daunsars coats . o 16 o 
 
 A dosyn of gold skynnes for the morres * . . . o o 10 
 
 15 Hen. 8. Hire of hats for Robynhode . . . o o 16 
 Paid for the hat that was lost . . . . 0010 
 
 16 Hen. 8. Rec^ at the church-ale and Robyn- 
 
 hode all things deducted 3 10 6 
 
 Paid for 6 yerds J of satyn for Robyn 
 
 Hode's coyts o 12 6 
 
 For makyng the same 020 
 
 For 3 ells of locram t 016 
 
 21 Hen. 8. For spunging and brushing Robyn- 
 
 hode's cotys 002 
 
 28 Hen. 8. Five hats and 4 porses for the daunsars 004^ 
 
 4 yerds of cloth for the fole's cote ...020 
 
 2 ells of worstede for mayde Maryans 
 
 kyrtle 068 
 
 For 6 payre of double sollyd showne ..046 
 
 To the mynstrele o 10 8 
 
 To the fryer and the piper for to go to 
 
 Croydon 008 
 
 29 Hen. 8. Mem. Lefte in the keping of the 
 
 wardens nowe beinge. 
 A fryers cote of russet and a kyrtele of worstyde weltyd with 
 red cloth, a mowrens + cote of buckram, and 4 morres 
 
 • " Probably gilt leather, the pliability of which was particularly 
 accommodated to the motion of the dancers." 
 
 t " A sort of coarse linen." 
 
 t " Probably a Moor's coat ; the word Morion is sometimes used to 
 express a Moor. — The morris dance is by some supposed to have been 
 originally derived from Moorish-dance. Black buckram appears to have 
 been much used for the dresses of the ancient mummers. One of the 
 figures in Mr. Toilet's window is supposed to be a morisco." 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. CV 
 
 daunsars cotes of white fustian spangelyd and two gryne 
 saten cotes and a dysardd's * cote of cotton and 6 payre of 
 garters with bells." 
 
 These games appear to have been discontinued at King- 
 ston, as a parochial undertaking at least, after the above 
 period, as the industrious inquirer found no further entries 
 relating to them. 
 
 Some of the principal characters of the morris seem to 
 have gradually disappeared, so that at length it consisted only 
 of the dancers, the piper, and the fool. In Mr. Toilet's win- 
 dow we find neither Robin Hood nor Little John, though 
 Marian and the frier are still distinguished performers.t But 
 in the scene of one, introduced in the old play of Jacke 
 Drum's Entertainment, first printed in 1601, there is not the 
 least symptom of any of the four.t "The taber and pipe 
 strike up a morrice. A shoute within : A lord, a lord, a lord, 
 who!§ 
 
 Ed. Oh, a morrice is come, observe our country sports, 
 "Tis Wkitsoti tyde, \ and we must frolick it. 
 
 * " DIsard is an old word for a fool." 
 
 t In Ben Jonson's Masque of the Metamorphosed Gipsies, presented 
 to King James in 1621 (the very date, by the way, which appears on 
 Mr. Toilet's window, we have the following dialogue between Cockret 
 and Clod: 
 
 " Coc. Oh the lord ! what be these? . . . 
 
 Clo. They should be morris-dancers by their gingle, but they have no 
 napkins. 
 
 C<w. No, nor a hobby-horse. 
 
 do. Oh, he's often forgotten, that's no rule ; but there is no maid 
 Marian nor friar amongst them, which is tlie surer mark. 
 
 Coc. Nor A/ool that I see." — {Toilet's Memoir.) 
 
 X Neither is any notice taken of them, where the characters of the 
 miirris-dance are mentioned, in Tkt Ttvo NoiU KtMsmen, by Shake- 
 speare and Fletcher. 
 
 8 This was a usual cry on occasions of mirth and jollity. Thus, in the 
 celebration of St. Stephen's day in the Inner-Temple hall, as we find it 
 described in Dugdale's Origines Juridiciales : " Supper ended, the con- 
 stable-marshall 'presenteth' himself with drums afore him, mounted 
 upon a scaffold, bom by four men ; and goeth three times round about 
 the harthe, crying out aloud, A lord, a lord, &C. Then he descendeth 
 and goeth to dance," &c. (p. 156). 
 
 II " 'Tis meet we all go forth. 
 
 To view the sick amd feeble parts of Fiance : 
 
 
 
CVl NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Enter the morrice. 
 The song. 
 Skip it, and trip it, nimbly, nimbly. 
 Tickle it, tickle it lustily, 
 Strike up the taber, for the wenches favour. 
 Tickle it, tickle it lustily. 
 Let us be seen, on Hygate greene. 
 
 To dance for the honour of HoUoway. 
 Since we are come hither, let's spare for no leather, 
 To dance for the honour of Hoiloway. 
 Ed. Well said, my boyes, I must have my lord's livory : what is't? a 
 maypole? Troth, 'twere a good body for a courtier's impreza, if it had 
 but this life, Frustra florescit. Hold, cousin, hold. 
 
 \_He gives the fool inoney. 
 Foole. Thankes, cousin, when the lord my father's audit comes, wee'l 
 repay you againe. Your benevolence too, sir. 
 Mam. What I a lord's sonne become a begger ! 
 
 Foole. Why not? when beggers are become lord's sons. Come, 'tis 
 but a trifle. 
 Mam. Oh, sir, many a small make a great. 
 
 Foole. No, sir, a few great make a many small. Come, my lords, 
 poore and neede hath no law. 
 
 .S". Ed. Nor necessitie no right. Drum, downe with them into the 
 celler. Rest content, rest content ; one bout more, and then away. 
 Foole. ' Spoke' like a true heart : I kisse thy foote, sweet knight. 
 The morrice sing and dance and exeunt." 
 
 It is therefore highly probable, as hath been already sug- 
 gested, that the May-game of Robin Hood and the morris- 
 dance had originally no sort of connection ; that the performers 
 had united their forces, because their joint efforts proved 
 more successful, lucrative, or agreeable ; and that, in fine, 
 the latter gradually shook off companions from whose associa- 
 tion they no longer derived any advantage.* 
 
 An old writer, describing a country bridal show exhibited 
 before Queen Elizabeth at Kenilworth Castle in 1575, men- 
 
 And let us do it with no show of fear ; 
 
 No, with no more, that if we heard that England 
 
 Were busied with a IVhitsun morris-dance. " 
 
 Shak. /C. Hen. V., act ii. scene 4. 
 * Perhaps also, Robin Hood and his party had never appeared in 
 company with the morris-dancers but at one particular period, in the 
 beginning of May, whereas we find that Whitsuntide was no less de- 
 voted to the latter. 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. CVJl 
 
 tions "a lively moris dauns, according too the auncient 
 manner, six daunsers, mawd Marion, and the fool." 
 
 Stubbs's chapter, upon " Lords of mis-rule " (Anatomic of 
 Abuses, 1583) contains a singular description of a grand 
 parochial morris-dance, which is worthy of perusal. 
 
 It is observable that, in the sham second part of Hudibras, 
 published 1663, this place is said to be 
 
 " Highly famed for HocktitU garnet." 
 
 (Grey's edition of Hudibras, ii, 90. ) Of what nature these 
 were (at Kingston) we are not informed. See Plot's Natural 
 History of Oxfordshire ; Leland's Collectanea, v. Roas. 
 
 Hocktide or Hock-day was the Tuesday fortnight after 
 Easter, Two falsehoods are asserted of this festival : one, 
 that its celebration was owing to the general joy excited by 
 the death of Hardecnute, which in fact took place on the 
 8th of June : the other, that it was the anniversary of the 
 general slaughter of the Danes in 1042 ; which Henry of 
 Huntingdon and others expressly fix on St. Brice's day, being 
 the 1 3th of November. 
 
 It plainly appears, by these extracts, that Robyn Hode, 
 Little John, the frere, and mayde Maryan were fitted out at 
 the same time with the mores daunsars, and, consequently, 
 it would seem, united with them in one and the same exhi- 
 bition.* 
 
 "Also it was said, that the ladie hir selfe, the same daie 
 hir husband and she should be crowned, said that she feared 
 they should prove but as a summer king and queene, such as 
 in countrie townes the yoong folks choose for short to danse 
 about maipoles " (Holinshed, at the year 1306). 
 
 As to the original institution of May-poles, or king and 
 queen of May, — in a word, of the primitive purpose and 
 celebration of a popular festival at that season, — nothing 
 
 * It must be confessed that no other direct authority has been met 
 with for constituting Roiin Hood and Little John integral characters 
 of the morris-dance. That Maid Marian, however, and the Fritr, 
 were almost constantly such, is proved beyond the possibility of a doubt ; 
 and why or how they should become so, without Robin Hood, at least, 
 is unaccoiuitable. 
 
CVIH NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 satisfactory or consequential can be discovered. The curious 
 reader, at the same time, may consult Spelman's Glossary, 
 voce Maiuma, and Ducange, vv. Majuma, Maius. 
 
 In an old manuscript music-book given lately by Mr. 
 Dalziel to the Advocates' Library are the following scraps of 
 songs about Robin Hood : 
 
 " First when Robin good bow bare, 
 Was never bairne so bold, 
 Doune, doune, berrie, doune, doune." 
 
 " Now will ye hear a jollie jest, 
 How Robin Hood was pope of Rome, 
 And Wallace king of France." 
 
 " Jolly Robin goe to the green wood to thy lemman." 
 
 " The nock is out of Johnes bow, Joly, \o\y" &c. 
 
 Much curious matter on the subject of the morris-dance is 
 to be found in " Mr. Toilet's opinion concerning the Morris- 
 dancers upon his Window." (See Steevens's Shakespeare, v. 
 425, edition 1778, or viii. 596, edition 1793. See also 
 Mr. Waldron's notes upon the Sad Shepherd, 1783, p. 255. 
 Morris-dancers are said to be yet annually seen in Norfolk,* 
 and make their constant appearance in Lancashire.f 
 
 In Scotland, "The game of Robin Hood was celebrated 
 in the month of May. The populace assembled previous to 
 
 * This county would seem to have been famous for their exertions a 
 couple of centuries ago. Wi.l Kemp the player was a celebrated morris- 
 dancer ; and in the Bodleian Library is the following scarce and curious 
 tract by him ; " Kemp's nine dales wonder performed in a daunce from 
 London to Norwich. Containing the pleasure, paines and kind enter- 
 tainment of William Kemp between London and that city in his late 
 morrice. Wherein is somewhat set downe worth note ; to reproove the 
 slaunders spred of him, many things merry, nothing hurtfull. Written 
 by himself to satisfie his friends. London, printed by E. A. for Nicholas 
 Ling, 1600 " 4to, b. 1. On the title-page is a woodcut figure of Kemp 
 as a morrice-dancer, preceded by a fellow with a pipe and drum, whom 
 he, in the book, calls Thomas Slye his taberer. — See, in Richard Brath- 
 wayte's Remains after Death, i6i8, some lines " upon Kempe and his 
 morice, with his epitaph." 
 
 t " On Monday [July 30] the morris-dancers of Pendleton paid their 
 annual visit in Salford. They were adorned with all the variety of 
 colours that a profusion of ribbons could give them, and had a very 
 showy garland." — Star, Aug. 9, 1792. 
 
NOTES AND- ILLUSTRATIONS. CIX 
 
 the celebration of this festival, and chose some respectable* 
 member of the corporation to officiate in the character of 
 Robin Hood, and another in that of Little John his squire. 
 Upon the day appointed, which was a Sunday or holyday, 
 the people assembled in military array, and went to some ad- 
 joining field, where, either as actors or spectators, the whole 
 inhabitants of the respective towns were convened. In this 
 field they probably amused themselves with a representation 
 of Robin Hood's predatory exploits, or of his encounters with 
 the officers of justice [rather, perhaps, in feats of archery or 
 military exercises]. 
 
 "As numerous meetings for disorderly mirth are apt to 
 engender tumult, when the minds of the people came to 
 be agitated with religious controversy, it was found neces- 
 sary to repress the game + of Robin Hood by public statute. 
 The populace were by no means willing to relinquish their 
 favourite amusement. Year after year the magistrates of 
 Edinburgh were obliged to exert their authority J in repress- 
 ing this game; often inefTectually. In the year 1561, the 
 mob were so enraged at being disappointed in making a 
 Robin Hood, that they rose in mutiny, seized on the city 
 gates, committed robberies upon strangers ; and one of the 
 
 • "Council Register, v. i, p. 30." 
 
 t "Mary, parliament 6, c. 61, a.d. 1555." " Anentis Robert Hude, 
 and abbot of Unreason. Item, It is statute and ordained, that in all 
 times cumming, na maner of person be chosen Robert Hude, nor Little 
 John, abbot of unreason, queenis of Maij, nor utherwise, nouther in 
 burgh, nor to landwart, in onie time to cum : and gif ony proves), 
 baillies, councell, and communitie, chuse sik ane personage as Robert 
 Hude, Little John, abbotis of unreason, or queenis of Maij, within burgh, 
 the chusers of sik sail tine their freedome for the space of five zeires ; 
 and utherwise salbe punished at the queenis grace will ; and the 
 acceptar of sik like office sail be banished foorth of the realme ; and gif 
 ony sik prrsones .... beis chosen out-with burgh, and uthers landward 
 townes, the chusers sail pay to our soveraine Udie ten poundes, and 
 their persones [be] put in waird there to remaine during the queenis 
 grace pleasure." Abbot of unreason is the character better known in 
 England by the title of abbot or lord of misrule, " who," says Percy, 
 " in the houses of our nobility presided i>ver the Christmas gambols, and 
 promoted mirth and jollity at that festive season " (Northumberland 
 Household Hook, notes, p. 441). 
 
 ; " Council Register, v. 4, p. 4, 30." 
 
ex NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 ringleaders being condemned by the magistrates to be hanged, 
 the mob forced open the jail, set at liberty the criminal and 
 all the prisoners, and broke in pieces the gibbet erected at 
 the cross for executing the malefactor. They next assaulted 
 the magistrates, who were * sitting in the council -chamber, 
 and who fled to the Tolbooth for shelter, where the mob 
 attacked them, battering the doors, and pouring stones through 
 the windows. Application was made to the deacons of the 
 corporations to appease the tumult. Remaining, however, 
 unconcerned spectators, they made this answer : ' They will 
 be magistrates alone ; let them rule the people alone.' The 
 magistrates were kept in confinement till they made procla- 
 mation be published, offering indemnity to the rioters upon 
 laying down their arms. Still, however, so late as the year 
 1592, we find the General Assembly complaining of the pro- 
 fanation of the sabbath, by making f of Robin Hood plays " 
 (Arnot's History of Edinburgh, p. 77). 
 
 Notwithstanding the above representation, it is certain that 
 these amusements were considerably upon the decline before 
 the year 1568. This appears from a poem by Alexander 
 Scot, preserved in the Hyndford MS. (in the Advocates' 
 Library, compiled and written in that identical year), and 
 inaccurately printed in The Evergreen : 
 
 " In May quhen men zeid everichone 
 With Robene Hoid and Littill Johne, 
 To bring in bowis and birkin bobbynis : 
 Now all sic game is fastlingis gone, 
 But gif it be amangis clovin Robbynis." 
 
 (35) — "His bow, and one of his arrows, his chair, his 
 cap, and one of his slippers were preserved till within the 
 present ceniury.'"'\ "We omitted," says Ray, "the sight of 
 Fountain's Abbey, where Robin Hood's bow is kept" (Iti- 
 neraries, 1760, p. 161). 
 
 " Having pleased ourselves with the antiquities of ' Not- 
 ingham,' we took horse and went to visit the well and 
 
 * " Knox's History, p. 270." 
 
 t " Book of Universal Kirk, p. 414." See also Keith's History of 
 Scotland, p. 216. 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. CXI 
 
 ancient chair of Robin Hood, which is not far from hence, 
 within the forest of Sherwood. Being placed in the chair, 
 we had a cap, which they say was his, very formally put 
 upon our heads, and having performed the usual ceremonies 
 befitting so great a solemnity, we receiv'd the freedom of the 
 chair, and were incorporated into the society of that re- 
 nowned brotherhood " (Brome's Travels over England, &c., 
 1700, p, 85). 
 
 "On one side of this forest [sci. of Sherwood] towards 
 Nottingham," says the author of " The Travels of Tom Thumb 
 over England and Wales" (i.e. Robert Dodsley), "I was 
 shewn a chair, a bow, and arrow, all said to have been his 
 [Robin Hood's] property " (p. 82). 
 
 " I was pleased with a slipper, belonging to the famous 
 Robin Hood, shewn me, fifty years ago, at St. Ann's well, 
 near Nottingham, a place upon the borders of Sherwood 
 forest, to which he resorted " (Journey from Birmuigham to 
 London, by W. Hutton, Bir. 1785, p. 174), 
 
 (36) — " Not only places which afforded him security or 
 amusement, but even the well at which he quenched his 
 thirst, still retain his name."] Robin Hood's Bay is both a 
 bay and a village on the coast of Yorkshire, between Whitby 
 and Scarborough. It is mentioned by Leland as " a fischer 
 tounlet of 20. bootes caullid Robyn Huddes bay, a dole or 
 bosom of a mile yn length " (Itinerary, i. 53). "When his 
 robberies," says Master Charlton, "became so numerous, 
 and the outcries against him so loud, as almost to alarm the 
 whole nation, parties of soldiers were sent down from London 
 to apprehend him : and then it was, that fearing for his 
 safety, he found it necessary to desert his usual haunts, and, 
 retreating northward, to cross the moors that surrounded 
 Whitby [one side whereof happens, a little unfortunately, 
 to lie open to the sea], where, gaining the sea-coast, he 
 always had in readiness near at hand some small fishing 
 vessels, to which he could have refuge, if he found himself 
 pursued ; for in these, putting off to sea, he looked upon 
 himself as quite secure, and held the whole power of the 
 English nation at defiance. The chief place of his resort 
 
CXU NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 at these times, where his boats were generally laid up, was 
 about six miles from Whitby, to which he communicated 
 his name, and which is still called Robin Hood's Bay. There 
 he frequently went a fishing in the summer season, even 
 when no enemy appeared to annoy him, and not far from 
 that place he had buts or marks set up, where he used to 
 exercise his men in shooting with the long-bow." * 
 
 Near Gloucester is "a famous hill " called " Robin Hood's 
 hill," concerning which there is a very foolish modern son<^. 
 Another hill of the same name exists in the neighbourhood 
 of Castleton, Derbyshire. 
 
 " Over a spring call'd Robin Hoods well (3 or 4 miles 
 [on] this side [i.e. north] of Doncaster, and but a quarter 
 of a mile only from 2 towns call'd Skelbrough and Bour- 
 mallis) is a very handsome stone arch, erected by the Lord 
 Carlisle, where passengers from the coach frequently drink 
 of the fair water, and give their charity to two people who 
 attend there" (Gent's History of York. York, 1730, p. 234). f 
 
 * History of Whitby, York, 1779, p. 146. " It was always believed," 
 adds the worthy pedagogue, " that these butts had been erected by him 
 for that very purpose, till the year 1771, when this popular notion was 
 discovered to be a mistake ; they being no more than the barrows or 
 tumuli thrown up by our pagan predecessors on interring their leaders 
 or the other persons of distinction amongst them. However, notwith- 
 standing this discovery, there is no doubt but Robin Hood made use of 
 those houes or butts when he was disposed to exercise his men, and 
 wanted to train them up in hitting a mark." Be that as it may, there 
 are a few hillocks of a similar nature not far from Guisbrough, which 
 likewise bear the name of Robin Hood's butts ; and others, it is ima- 
 gined, may be met with in other parts, 
 t Epigram on Robin Hood's well, " a fine spring on the road, orna- 
 mented by Sir John Vanbrugh ; " by Roger Gale, Esq. ^Bib. 
 Topo. Britan. No. II. part iii. p. 427). 
 
 " Nympha fui quondam latronibus hospita sylvae 
 Heu nimium sociis nota, Robine, tuis. 
 Me pudet innocuos latices fudisse scelestis, 
 
 Jamque viatori pocula tuta fero. 
 En pietatis honos ! Comes banc mihi Carliolensis 
 iEdem sacravit qua bibis, hospes, aquas." 
 
 The same author (Gent), in his "long and pathetick prologue," set- 
 ting forth "the contingencies, vicissitudes or changes of this transitory 
 life," " spoken, for the most part, on Wednesday and Friday the i8th 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. CXIU 
 
 Tlioiigh there is no attendance at present, nor is the water 
 altogether so fair as it might and should be, the case was 
 otherwise in the days of honest Barnaby. 
 " Veni Doncaster, &c. 
 
 Nescit sitis artem modi, 
 
 Puteum Robert! Hoodi 
 
 Veni, & liquente vena 
 
 Vincto * catino catena, 
 
 Tollens sitim, parcum odi, 
 
 Solvens oboium custodi." 
 
 " Thence to Doncaster, &c. 
 Thirst Icnowes neither meane nor measure, 
 Robin Hood's well was my treasure ; 
 In a t common dish enchained, 
 I my furious thirst restrained : 
 And because I drunk the deeper, 
 I paid two farthings to the keeper." 
 
 and 2oth of Febsuary 1761, at the deep tragedy of beautiful, eloquent, 
 
 tender-hearted, but unfortunate Jane Shore uttered and performed 
 
 at his benefit" . . . (being then xtatis 70, and far declined into the vale 
 of sorrow,!) has very artfully contrived to introduce our hero and his 
 famous well. 
 
 " The concave hall, 'mongst sources never view'd, 
 Nor heard the goddesses, in merry mood. 
 At their choice viands sing bold Robin Hood :2 
 Whose tomb at Kirkley's nunnery display 'd, 
 A false, hard-hearted, irreligious maid, 
 Who bled, and to cold death that earl betray'd. 
 But fame still lasts, while country folks display 
 His limpid fountain, and loud-.surging bay." 
 • " Vivenles vena;, spine, catinusque catense, 
 
 Sunt Robin Hoodi nota trophxa sui." 
 t " A well, thorne, dish, hung in an iron chaine. 
 
 For monuments of Robin Hood remaine." , 
 
 1 He died in 1778, aged 87. 
 2 " Omnes agnovere deam ; Ixtique receptant 
 Alcxum musx comitem, ponuntur Ificchi 
 Crateres ; flaventque scyphis Cerealia vina : 
 Accedunt vultus hilares ; festique lepores, 
 Et jocus, et risus: dulci testudine Naias 
 Pulchra modos variat; furtisque insignis et arcu 
 Hodi latronis, fluvios bene nota per istos, 
 Ludicra gesta canit : resonant laquearia plausu." 
 
CXIV NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 He mentions it again : 
 
 " Nunc longinquos locus odi, 
 Vale fons Robert! Hoodi." 
 
 " Now I hate all foreign places, 
 
 Robin Hood's well, and his chaces." 
 
 A different well, sacred either to Robin Hood or to St. 
 Ann, has been already mentioned. 
 
 " Not far [off Bitham, in Lincolnshire] is Kobyn Huddes 
 cros, a limes of the shires" (Leland's Itinerary, i. 25). 
 
 (37) — ''^conferred as a singular distinction upon the prime 
 minister to the king of Madagascar."^ The natives of this 
 island, who have dealings with our people, pride themselves, 
 it seems, in English names, which are bestowed upon them at 
 the di.-cretion or caprice of the sailors : and thus a venerable 
 minister of state, who should have been called Sir Robert 
 Walpole or Cardinal Fleury, acquired the name of Robin 
 Hood. Mr. Ives, by whom he is frequently mentioned, re- 
 lates the following anecdote : — 
 
 " The reader will excuse my giving him another instance 
 .... which still more strikingly displays the extreme sen- 
 sibility of these islanders, in respect to their king's dignity. 
 Robin Hood (who seemed to act as prime minister, and nego- 
 tiate most of the king's concerns with our agent-victualler) 
 was one day transacting business with another gentleman of 
 the squadron, and they happened to differ so much about the 
 value of a certain commodity, that high words arose, and at 
 length Robin Hood in the greatest agitation started from the 
 ground where he was sitting, and swore that he would imme- 
 diately acquaint the king of Baba with what, had passed. 
 Our English gentleman, too much heated with this threat, and 
 the violent altercation which had preceded it, unguardedly 
 replied, * D — n the king of Baba.' The eyes of Robin 
 Hood flashed like lightning, and in the most violent wrath he 
 retorted, ' D — n King George.' At the same instant he left 
 the spot, hurrying away towards the Madagascarian cottages. 
 Our countryman was soon struck with the impropriety of his 
 behaviour, followed and overtook the disputant, and having 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. CXV 
 
 made all proper concessions, the affair was happiiy termi- 
 nated." * 
 
 (38) " After his death his company ~vas dispersed."'\ Tliey 
 and their successors, disciples, or followers are supposed to 
 have been afterward distinguished, from the name of their 
 gallant leader, by the title of Roberdsmen, Lord Coke, who 
 is somewhat singular in accusing him of living " by robbery, 
 burning of houses, felony, waste and spoil, and principally by 
 and with vagabonds, idle wanderers, night-walkers, and draw- 
 latches," says that "albeit he lived in Yorkshire, yet men of 
 his quality took their denomination of him, and were called 
 Roberdsmen throughout all England. Against these men," 
 continues he, " was the statute of Winchester made in 13 E. 
 I. [c. 14], for preventing of robbery, murders, burning of 
 houses, &c. Also tlie statute of 5 E. 3. [c. 14], which 're- 
 cites'- the statute of Winchester, and that there had been 
 divers manslaughters, felonies, and robberies done in times 
 past, by people that be called Roberdsmen, wasters and draw- 
 latches ; and remedy [is] provided by that act for the arrest- 
 ing of them. At the parliament holden 50 E. 3.," he adds, 
 " it was petitioned to the king that ribauds and sturdy beg- 
 gars might be banished out of every town. The answer of 
 the king in parliament was, touching ribauds : The statute of 
 Winchester and the declaration of the same with other statutes 
 of Roberdsmen, and for such as make themselves gentlemen, 
 and men of armes, and archers, if they cannot so prove their- 
 selves, let them be driven to their occupation or service, or to 
 the place from wlience they came." He likewise notices the 
 statute of 7 R. 2. [c. 5], by which it is provided " that the 
 statutes of Roberdsmen and draw-latches be firmly holden 
 and kept" (3' Inst. 197). 
 
 These Roberdsmen are mentioned in Pierce the Plough- 
 man's Crede, written about 1400 : 
 
 " And right as Robartesmen raken aboute." t 
 
 * Voyage from England to India, 1773, p. 8. In a subsequent page 
 this great man is employed in acommerce of a more delicatft, indeed, but, 
 according to European notions, less hunourable nature, which he nuuiages 
 with consummate address. 
 
 t They likcwi:;e seem alluded to in the Vision, fo. i, b : 
 " And rysc wyth ribaudy as Rebertes knaves." 
 
CXVl NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Mr. Warton, who had once thought that the friers Robertines 
 were here meant, observes that "the expression of Robin 
 Hoode's men, in Bishop Latimer's sermon, is not without an 
 allusion to the bad sense of Roberdsmen " (H. E. P. ii. 
 additions, sig. d. 4). It does not, however, appear that the 
 latter word has been ever used in a good one ; nor is there, 
 after all, sufficient ground for concluding that these people 
 were so named after Robin Hood. 
 
 (39) — '■^ the honour of Little John^s death and burial is 
 contended for by rival nations. "\ I. By England.— At the 
 village of Hathersage, about six miles from Castleton, in 
 Derbyshire, is Little John's grave. A few years ago some 
 curious person caused it to be opened, when there were found 
 several bones of an uncommon size, which he preserved ; bur, 
 meeting afterwards with many unlucky accidents, he carefully 
 replaced them ; partly at the intercession of the sexton, who 
 had taken them up for him, and who had in like manner been 
 visited with misfortunes : upon restoring the bones all these 
 troubles ceased. Such is the tradition at Castleton. E. Har- 
 grove, in his "Anecdotes of Archery," York, 1792, asserts 
 that "the grave is distinguished by a large stone placed at 
 the head, and another at the feet, on each of which are yet 
 some remains of the letters L L." (p. 26).* IL By Scotland. — 
 " In Murray land," according to that most veracious historian 
 Maister Hector Bois, " is the kirke of Pette, quhare the banis 
 of lytill Johne remanis in gret admiratioun of pepill. He hes 
 bene fourtene fut of hycht t with square membris effering 
 thairto. Vi. zeris," continues he, "afore the cumyng of this 
 
 * " On a loose paper, in Mr. Ashmole's handwriting, in the museum 
 at Oxford, is the fallowing little anecdote : — 
 
 '■The famous Little John (Robin Hood's companion) lyes buried in 
 Fethersedge churchyard, in the peak of Derbyshire, one stone at his 
 head, another at his feet, and part of his bow hangs up in the chancell. 
 Anno 1652." H. E[llis]. European Magazine, October 1794, p. 295. 
 
 t This seems the established size of an ancient hero. The grave of 
 Gawin, King Arthur's nephew, discovered in the time of William the 
 Conqueror, was, according to Malmesbury, " guatuor decim pedes 
 to)i£Utn" (Tie ge?,th regum, 1. 3). Bois, from the above circumstance, 
 conceives our " Litil Jhon " to have been so called "per ironiarii." .See 
 his original work, fo. ix. 
 
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. CXVIl 
 
 werk to lycht we saw his hanche-bane, als mekill as the haill 
 bane of ane man : for we schot our arme in llie mouth thairof. 
 Be quhilk apperis how sirang and square pepill grew in our 
 reijioun afore thay were effeminat with lust and intemperance 
 of mouth."* III. By Ireland. — " There standeth," as Stani- 
 hurst relates, " in Ostmantowne greene an hillocke, named 
 little John his shot. The occasion," he says, " proceeded of 
 this. 
 
 " In the yeare one thousand one hundred foure score and 
 nine, there ranged three robbers and outlaws in England, 
 among which Robert Hood and Little John weere cheefeteins, 
 of all theeves doubtlesse the most courteous. Robert Hood 
 being betrayed at a nunrie in Scotland called Bricklies, the 
 remnant of the crue was scattered, and everie man forced to 
 shift for himselfe. Whereupon Little John was faine to flee 
 the realme by sailing into Ireland, where he sojornied for a 
 few daies at Dublin. The citizens being doone to understand 
 the wandering outcast to be an excellent archer, requested 
 him hartilie to trie how far he could shoot at random ; who 
 yeelding to their behest, stood on the bridge of Dublin, and 
 shot to that mole hill, leaving behind him a monument, 
 rather by his posteritie to be woondered, than possiblie by 
 anie man living to be counterscored. But as the repaire of 
 so notorious a champion to anie countrie would soone be 
 published, so his abode could not be long concealed : and 
 therefore to eschew the danger of [the] lawes, he fled into 
 Scotland, where he died at a towne or village called Mo- 
 ravie." t Thus Stanihurst, who is quoted by Dr. Hanmer in 
 his Chronicle of Ireland, p. 179, but Mr. Walker, after ob- 
 serving that " poor Little John's great practical skill in archery 
 could not save him from an ignominious fate," says, "it 
 appeared, from some records in the Southwell family, that 
 
 * Historic of Scotland, translatit be Maister Johiie Bellenden, Edin. 
 1541, fo. The luxury of his countrymen will appear a strange complaint 
 in the mouth of a Sco:ishman of the i6th century, to such as believe, 
 with the late Dr. Johnson, that they learned to plant kail from Crom- 
 well's soldiers, and that " when they had not kail they probably had 
 nothing" (Journey to the Western Islands, p. 55). 
 
 t Description of Ireland, in Hulinshed's Chronicle, isS?- 
 
CXVlll 
 
 NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 he was publicly executed for robbery on Arbor Hill, 
 Dublin." * 
 
 (40) — '^ some of his descendants of the name of Nailor," 
 &'c.'] See the preface to the History of George a Green. 
 As surnames were by no means in general use at the close of 
 the twelfth century, Little John may have obtained that of 
 Nailor from his original profession. 
 
 (" Ye boasted worthies of the knuckle, 
 To Maggs and to the Nailor truckle.") 
 
 But however this, or the fact itself may be, a bow, said to 
 have belonged to Little John, with the name of Naylor upon 
 it, is now, as the editor is informed, in the possession of a 
 gentleman in the West Riding of Yorkshire. 
 
 The quotation about whetstones is from the Sloane MS. 
 Those, indeed, who recollect the equivocal meaning of the 
 word may think that this production has not been altogether 
 confined to the grave of Little John. 
 
 * Historical Essay, &c., p. 129. This allegation demands what the 
 lawyers call a.prq/eri in curiam. It is, however, certain that there have 
 been persons who usurped the name of Little John. In the year 1502, 
 " about mydsomer, was taken a felow whyche had renued many of 
 Robyn Hodts pagentes, which named him.selfe Grenelef" (Fabyan's 
 Chronicle, 1559). Therefore, beware of countcrfeiis ! 
 
ROBIN HOOD. 
 
 iPatt I. 
 
ROBIN HOOD. 
 
 Part 5. 
 
 A LYTELL GESTE OF ROBYN HODE. 
 
 This ancient legend is printed from the copy of an edition, in 4to 
 and black letter, by Wynken de Worde, preserved in the public 
 library at Cambridge ; compared with, and, in some places, 
 corrected by, another impression (apparently from the former), 
 likewise in 4to and black letter, by William Copland, a copy 
 of which is among the late Mr. Garrick's old plays, now in the 
 British Museum. The full title of the first edition is as follows : 
 " Here beginncth a mery geste of Robyn Hode and his meyne, 
 
 A 
 
2 A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 and of the proude sheryfe of Notyngham ;" and the printer's 
 colophon runs thus : "Explycit. Kynge Edwarde and Robyn 
 hode and Lytell Johan Enprented at London in Flete strete at 
 the sygne of the sone By Wynken de Worde." To Copland's 
 edition is added "a newe playe for to be played in Maye games 
 very plesaunte and full of pastyme ; " which will be found at 
 large in another place. No other copy of either edition is known 
 to be extant; but, by the favour of the Reverend Dr. Farmer, 
 the editor had in his hands and gave to Mr. Douce a few leaves 
 of an old 4to black letter impression by the above Wynken de 
 
 V Worde, probably in 1489, and totally unknown to Ames and 
 Herbert. Another edition was printed at Edinburgh by Andrew 
 
 ^Myllar and Walter Chapman in 1508, a fragment whereof is in 
 the Advocates' Library there. This is probably the edition noticed 
 among the tales enumerated in Wedderburn's Complainte of 
 Scotland, printed at St. Andrews in 1549, under the title of 
 ' ' Robene Hude and litil Jhone. " Among the Doctor's numerous 
 literary curiosities was likewise another edition, " printed," after 
 Copland's, "for Edward White" (4to, black letter, no date, 
 but entered in the Stationers' books 13 May 1594), which hath 
 been collated, and every variation worthy of notice either adopted 
 or remarked in the margin. The only deviation from all the copies 
 (except in necessary corrections) is the division of stanzas, the 
 indenting of the lines, the addition of points, the disuse of abbre- 
 viations, and the occasional introduction or rejection of a capital 
 letter ; liberties, if they may be so called, which have been taken 
 with most of the other poems in this collection. 
 
 ■Lithe and lysten, gentylmen, 
 That be of frebore blode ; 
 
 I shall you tell of a good yemkn, 
 His name was Robyn Hode. 
 
OF ROBYN HODE. 3 
 
 Robyn was a proude outlawe, 
 Whyles he walked on grounde, 
 
 So curteyse an outlawe as he was one 
 Was never none yfounde. 
 
 Robyn stode in Bemysdale, 
 
 And lened hym to a tree, 
 And by hym stode Lytell Johan, 
 
 A good yeman was he ; 
 
 And also dyde good Scathelock, 
 
 And Much the millers sone ; 
 There was no ynche of his body, 
 
 But it was worthe a grome. 
 
 Than bespake hym Lytell Johan 
 
 All unto Robyn Hode, 
 Mayster, yf ye wolde dyne betyme, 
 
 It wolde do you moch good. 
 
 Then bespake good Robyn, 
 
 To dyne I have no lust, 
 Tyll I have some bolde baron. 
 
 Or some unketh gest, 
 
 [Or els some byshop or abbotj ' 
 
 That may paye for the best ; 
 Or some knyght or some squyere 
 
 That dwelleth here by west. 
 
 ' The irregularity or defect of the versification, in this and 
 similar passages, is probably owing to the loss of a line. 
 
A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 A good maner than had Robyn, 
 
 In londe where that he were, 
 Every daye or he woulde dyne 
 
 Thre messes wolde he here : 
 
 The one in the worshyp of the fader, 
 
 The other of the holy goost, 
 The thyrde was of our dere lady. 
 
 That he loved of all other moste. 
 
 I 
 
 Robyn loved our dere lady, 
 
 For doute of dedely synne ; 
 Wolde he never do company harme 
 
 That only woman was ynne, 
 
 Mayster, than sayd Lytell Johan, 
 And we our borde shall sprede, 
 
 Tell us whether we shall gone, 
 And what lyfe we shall lede ; 
 
 Where we shall take, where we shall leve. 
 Where we shall abide behynde, 
 
 Where we shall robbe, where we shall reve, 
 Where we shall bete and bynde. 
 
 Ther of no fors, sayd Robyn, 
 
 We shall do well ynough ; 
 But loke ye do no housbonde harme 
 
 That tylleth with his plough ; 
 
OF ROBYN HODE. 5 
 
 No more ye shall no good yemkn, 
 That walketh by grene wode shawe, 
 
 Ne no knyght, ne no squyir, 
 That wolde be a good felawe. 
 
 These bysshoppes, and thyse archebysshoppes, 
 
 Ye shall them bete and bynde ; 
 The hye sheryfe of Notynghame, 
 
 Hym holde in your mynde. 
 
 This worde shall be holde, sayd Lytyll Johan, 
 
 And this lesson shall we lere ; 
 It is ferre dayes, god sende us a gest, 
 
 That we were at our dynere. 
 
 Take thy good bowe in thy hande, said Robyn, 
 
 Let Moche wende with the, 
 And so shall Wyllyam Scathelocke, 
 
 And no man abyde with me ; 
 
 And walke up to the Sayles, 
 
 And so to Watlynge-strete,^ 
 And wayte after some unketh gest, 
 
 Up-chaunce ye mowe them mete. 
 
 • Tliis seems to have been, and, in many parts, is still, the 
 name generally used by the vulgar for Erming Street. The course 
 of the real Watling Street was from Dover to Chester. 
 
 The Sayles appears to be some place in the neighbourhood of 
 Barnsdale, but no mention of it has elsewhere occurred : though, 
 it is believed, there is a field so called not far from Doncastcr. 
 
A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 Be he erle or ony baron, 
 
 Abbot or ony knyght, 
 Brynge hym to lodge to me, 
 
 Hys dyner shall be dyght. 
 
 They wente unto the Sayles, 
 
 These yemen all thre, 
 They loked est, they loked west, 
 
 They myght no man see. 
 
 But as they loked in Barnysdale, 
 
 By a derne strete, 
 Then came there a knyght rydynge, 
 
 Full sone they gan hym mete. 
 
 All dreri then was his ^ semblaunte, 
 
 And lytell was hys pryde, 
 Hys one fote in the sterope stode, 
 
 That other waved besyde. 
 
 Hys hode hangynge over hys eyen two, 
 
 He rode in symple aray ; 
 A soryer man than he was one 
 
 Rode never in somers-day. 
 
 Lytell Johan was curteyse, 
 
 And set hym on his kne : 
 Welcome be ye, gentyll knyght, 
 
 Welcome are you to me. 
 
 V 
 
 lAUhis.PCC. 
 
COURTESY OF LITTLE JOHN. 
 
OF ROBYN HODE. 7 
 
 Welcome be thou to grene wood, 
 
 Hende knyght and fre ; 
 My mayster hath abyden you fastynge, 
 
 Syr, all these oures thre. 
 
 Who is your mayster ? sayd the knyght. 
 
 Johan sayde, Robyn Hode. 
 He is a good yeman, sayd the knyght. 
 
 Of hym I have herde moch good. 
 
 I graunte, he sayd, with you to wende, 
 
 My brethren all in-fere ; ^ 
 My purpose was to have deyned to day 
 
 At Blythe or Dankastere. 
 
 Forthe than went this ^ gentyll knyght, 
 
 With a carefuU chere. 
 The teres out of his eyen ran, 
 
 And fell downe by his lere.^ 
 
 They brought hym unto the lodge dore, 
 
 When Robyn gan hym se, 
 Full curteysly dyde of his hode. 
 
 And set hym on his kne. 
 
 Welcome, syr knyght, then said Robyn, 
 
 Welcome thou arte to me, 
 I haue abyde you fastynge, syr. 
 
 All these houres thre. 
 
 • So R. [R.-istall.] all thre. W. C. [de Worde iind Copland.] 
 •-' This. R. that. W. C. > Ere. R. 
 
A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 Then answered the gentyll knyght, 
 
 With wordes fayre and fre, 
 God the save, good Robyn, 
 
 And all thy fayre meync. 
 
 They washed togyder and wyped bothe, 
 
 And set tyll theyr dynere ; 
 Brede and wyne they had ynough, 
 
 And nombles of the dere ; 
 
 Swannes and fesauntes they had full good, 
 
 And foules of the revere ; 
 There fayled never so lytell a byrde, 
 
 That ever was bred on brere. 
 
 Do gladly, syr knyght, sayd Robyn. 
 
 Gramercy, syr, sayd he, 
 Suche a dyner had I not 
 
 Of all these wekes thre ; 
 
 If I come agayne, Robyn, 
 
 Here by this country, 
 As good a dyner I shall the make, 
 
 As thou hast made to me. 
 
 Gramercy, knyght, sayd Robyn, 
 
 My dyner whan I have, 
 I was never so gredy, by dere worthy god. 
 
 My dyner for to crave. 
 
OF ROBYN HODE. 9 
 
 But pay or ye wende, sayd Robyn, 
 
 Me thynketh it is good ryght ; 
 It was never the maner, by dere worthy god, 
 
 A yeman to pay ^ for a knyght. 
 
 I have nought in my cofers, sayd the knyght, 
 
 That I may profer for shame. 
 Lytell Johan, go loke, sayd Robyn,^ 
 
 Ne let not for no blame. 
 
 Tell me trouth, sayd Robyn, 
 So god hath parte of the. 
 I have no more but ten shillings, sayd the knyght, 
 So god hath parte of me. 
 
 Yf thou have no more, sayd Robyn, 
 
 I wyll not one peny ; 
 And yf thou have nede of ony more, 
 
 More shall I len the. 
 
 Go now forth, Lytell Johan, 
 
 The trouthe tell thou me, 
 Yf there be no more but ten shillings, 
 
 Not one peny that I se. 
 
 Lytell Johan spred downe his manti;ll 
 
 Full fayre upon the grounde. 
 And there he founde in the knyghtes cofer 
 
 But even halfe a pounde. 
 
 1 To pay. R. pay. W. C. 
 a Robyn. R. Robyn Hoode. W. C 
 
A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 Lytyll Johan let it lye full styll, 
 And went to his mayster full lowe. 
 
 What tydynge Johan ? sayd Robyn. 
 " Syr, the knyght is trewe inough." 
 
 Fyll of the best wyne, sayd Robyn, 
 
 The knyght shall begynne ; 
 Moch wonder thynketh me 
 
 Thy clothynge is so thynne. 
 
 Tell me one worde, sayd Robyn, 
 
 And counsell shall it be ; 
 I trowe thou were made a knyght of forse, 
 
 Or elles of yemanry ; 
 
 Or elles thou hast ben a sory housband. 
 And leved in stroke and stryfe ; 
 
 An okerer, or elles a lechoure, sayd Robyn, 
 With wronge hast thou lede thy lyfe. 
 
 I am none of them, sayd the knyght, 
 
 By god that made me ; 
 An hondreth wynter here before, 
 
 Myne aunsetters knyghtes have be. 
 
 But ofte it hath befal, Robyn, 
 
 A man hath be dysgrate ; 
 But god that syteth in heven above 
 
 May amend his state. 
 
OF ROBYN HODE. II 
 
 Within two or thre yere,^ Robyn, he sayd, 
 
 My neyghbores well it ' kende,' ^ 
 Foure hondreth pounde of good money 
 
 Full wel than myght I spende. 
 
 Now have I no good, sayd the knyght, 
 
 But my chyldren and my wyfe ; 
 God hath shapen such an ende, 
 
 Tyll god ' may amende ^ my lyfe.' 
 
 In what maner, sayd Robyn, 
 
 Hast thou lore thy rych^s ? 
 For my grete foly, he sayd, 
 
 And for my kindenesse. 
 
 I had a sone, for soth, Robyn, 
 
 That sholde have ben my eyre, 
 When he was twenty wynter olde, 
 
 In felde wolde juste full feyre ; 
 
 He slewe a knyght of Lancastshyre,* 
 
 And a squyre bolde ; 
 For to save hym in his ryght 
 
 My goodes beth sette and solde ; 
 
 My londes beth set to wedde, Robyn, 
 
 Untyll a certayne daye, 
 To a ryche abbot here besyde, 
 
 Of Saynt Mary abbay. 
 
 » Two yere. R. « Knowe. OCC. 
 
 ' It may amende. OCC. * LAncasesshyre. R. 
 
12 A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 What is the somme ? sayd Robyn, 
 
 Trouthe than tell thou me. 
 Syr, he sayd, foure hondred pounde, 
 
 The abbot tolde it to me. 
 
 Now, and thou lese thy londe, sayd Robyn, 
 
 What shall fall of the ? 
 Hastely I wyll me buske, sayd the knyght, 
 
 Over the sake see. 
 
 And se where Cryst was quycke and deed. 
 
 On the mounte of Caluar^. 
 Fare well, frende, and have good daye, 
 
 It may noo ^ better be 
 
 Teeres fell out of his eyen two, 
 He woLle haue gone his waye — 
 
 Farewell, frendes, and have good day, 
 I ne have more to pay. 
 
 Where be ^ thy friendes ? sayd Robyn. 
 
 " Syr, never one wyll me know ; ^ 
 Whyle I was ryche inow at home \ 
 
 Crete bost then wolde they blowe, 
 
 And now they renne awaye fro me, 
 
 As bestes on a rowe ; 
 They take no more heed of me 
 
 Then they me never sawe."* 
 
 1 Not. W. C. 2 By, W. C. 
 
 ' So R. knowe me. W. C. 
 
 < The fragment of Rastall's edition ends here. 
 
OF RODYN HODE. 1 3 
 
 For ruthe then wepte Lytell Johan, 
 Scathelocke and Much ' in fere,' ^ 
 
 Fyll of the best wyne,^ sayd Robyn, 
 For here is a symple chere. 
 
 Hast thou ony frendes, sayd Robyn, 
 
 Thy borowes that wyll be ? 
 I have none, then sayd the knyght, 
 
 But god that dyed on a tree. 
 
 Do waye thy japes, sayd Robyn, 
 
 Therof wyll I right none ; 
 Wenest thou I wyll have god to borowe ? 
 
 Peter, Poule or Johan? 
 
 Nay, by hym that me made. 
 
 And shope both sonne and mone, 
 
 Fynde a better borowe, sayd Robyn, 
 Or mony getest thou none. 
 
 I have none other, sayd the knyght, 
 
 The sothe for to say, 
 But yf it be our dere lady, 
 
 She fayled me never or this day. 
 
 By dere worthy god, sayd Robyn, 
 
 To seche all Englond thorowe. 
 Yet founde 1 never to my pay, 
 
 A moch better borowe. 
 
 » Also. PCC. ' Wymc PCC. 
 
14 A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 Come now forthe, Lytell Johan, 
 
 And goo to my tresourfe, 
 And brynge me foure hondred pounde, 
 
 And loke that it well tolde be. 
 
 Forthe then wente Lytell Johan, 
 
 And Scathelocke went before, 
 He tolde out foure houndred pounde, 
 
 By eyghtene score.^ 
 
 Is this well tolde ? sayd lytell Much. 
 
 Johan sayd. What greveth the ? 
 It is almes to helpe a gentyll knyght 
 
 That is fall in poverty 
 
 Mayster, than sayd Lytell Johan, 
 
 His clothynge is full thynne, 
 Ye must gyve the knyght a lyveray, 
 
 To ' lappe' 2 his body ther in. 
 
 For ye have scarlet and grene, mayster, 
 
 And many a ryche aray, 
 There is no marchaunt in mery Englonde 
 
 So ryche, I dare well saye. 
 
 Take hym thre yerdes of every coloure, 
 
 And loke that well mete it be. 
 Lytell Johan toke none other mesure 
 
 But his bowe tre, 
 
 1 i.e. by so many score to the hundred, or three hundred 
 for one. It is certainly a very hyperbolical expression : but he 
 measures the cloth in the same way. 
 
 2 Helpe, W. wrappe. C. 
 
LITTLE JOHN AND THE KNIGHT, 
 
LITTLE JOHN AND THE KNIGHT. 
 
OF ROBYN HODE. 1$ 
 
 And of every handfull that he met 
 
 He lept ouer fotes thre. 
 What devilkyns draper, sayd litell Much, 
 
 Thynkyst thou to be ? 
 
 Scathelocke stoode full styll and lough, 
 
 And sayd, By god allmyght, 
 Johan may gyve hym the better mesure, 
 
 By god, it cost him but lyght. 
 
 Mayster, sayd Lytell Johan, 
 
 All unto Robyn Hode, 
 Ye must gyve that knight an hors, 
 
 To lede home al this good. 
 
 Take hym a gray courser, sayd Robyn, 
 
 And a sadell newe ; 
 He is our ladyes messengere, 
 
 God lene ^ that he be true. 
 
 And a good palfraye, sayd lytell Moch, 
 
 To mayntayne hym in his ryght. 
 And a payre of botes, sayd Scathelocke, 
 
 For he is a gentyll knyght. 
 
 What shalt thou gyve hym, Lytel Johan ? sayd 
 Syr, a payre of gylte spores clene, [Robyn. 
 
 To pray for all this company : 
 God brynge hym out of tene I 
 
 1 Leue. W. lende. C, 
 
I 6 A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 Whan shall my daye be, sayd the knyght, 
 
 Syr, and your wyll be ? 
 This daye twelve moneth, sayd Robyn, 
 
 Under this grene wode tre. 
 
 It were grete shame, sayd Robyn, 
 
 A knyght alone to ryde. 
 Without squyer, yeman or page, 
 
 To walke by hys syde. 
 
 I shall the lene Lytyll Johan my man. 
 
 For he shall be thy knave ; 
 In a yemans steed he may the stonde, 
 
 Yf thou grete nede have. 
 
 THE SECONDE FYTTE. 
 
 NOWE is the knyght went on this way. 
 This game he thought full good, 
 
 When he loked on Bernysdale, 
 He blyssed Robyn Hode; 
 
 And whan he thought on Bernysdale, 
 On Scathelock, Much, and Johan, 
 
 He blyssed them for the best company 
 That ever he in come. 
 
OF ROBYN HODE. 17 
 
 Then spake that gentyll knyght, 
 
 To Lytel Johan gan he saye, 
 To morowe I must to Yorke toune, 
 
 To Saynt Mary abbay ; 
 
 And to the abbot of that place 
 
 Foure hondred pounde I must pay : 
 
 And but I be there upon this nyght 
 My londe is lost for ay. 
 
 The abbot sayd to his covent, 
 
 There he stode on grounde, 
 This day twelfe moneth came there a knyght 
 
 And borowed foure hondred pounde. 
 
 [He borowed foure hondred pounde,] 
 
 Upon all his londe fre, 
 But he come this ylke day 
 
 Dysherytye shall he be. 
 
 It is full erely, sayd the pryoure/ 
 
 The day is not yet ferre gone, 
 I had lever to pay an hondred pounde, 
 
 And lay it downe a none. 
 
 The knyght is ferre be yonde the see, 
 
 In Englonde is his ryght, 
 And suffreth honger and colde 
 
 And many a sory nyght ; 
 
 ' The prior, in an abbey, was the officer immediately under the 
 abbot ; in priories and conventual cathedrals he was the superior. 
 
 C 
 
A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 It were grete pyth, sayd the pryoure, 
 
 So to have his londe, 
 And ye be so lyght of your conseyence 
 
 Ye do to him moch wronge. 
 
 Thou arte euer in my berde, sayd the abbot, 
 
 By god and saynt Rycharde.^ 
 With that cam in a fat-heded monke, 
 
 The heygh selerer ; 
 
 He is dede or hanged, sayd the monke, 
 
 By god that bought me dere, 
 And we shall have to spende in this place 
 
 Foure hondred pounde by yere. 
 
 The abbot and the hy selerer, 
 
 Sterte forthe full bolde, 
 The high justyce of Englonde 
 
 The abbot there dyde holde. 
 
 1 This was a "S. Richard, king and confessour, sonne to 
 Lotharius king of Kent, who, for the love of Christ, taking upon 
 him a long peregrination, went to Rome for devotion to that sea, 
 and in his way homward, died at Luca, about the year of Christ, 
 seaven hundred and fifty, where his body is kept untill this day 
 with great veneration, in the oratory and chappell of S. Frigidian, 
 and adorned with an epitaph both in verse and prose " (English 
 Martyrologe, 1608). 
 
 There were other saints of the same name, as Richard de la 
 Wich, bishop of Chichester, canonised in 1262 ; and Richard, 
 bishop of St. Andrews in Calabria. See Drayton's Polyolbion, 
 song 24. 
 
OF ROBYN HODE. 1 9 
 
 The hye justyce and many mo 
 
 Had take into their honde 
 Holy all the knyghtes det, 
 
 To put that knyght to wronge. 
 
 They demed the knyght wonder sore, 
 
 The abbot and hys meyn^ : 
 " But he come this ylke day 
 
 Dysheryte shall he be." 
 
 He wyll not come yet, sayd the justyce, 
 
 I dare well undertake. 
 But in sorowe tyme for them all 
 
 The knyght came to the gate. 
 
 Than bespake that gentyll knyght 
 
 Untyll hys meyn^. 
 Now put on your symple wedes 
 
 That ye brought fro the see. 
 
 [They put on their symple wedes,] 
 
 And came to the gates anone, 
 The porter was redy hymselfe, 
 
 And welcomed them everychone. 
 
 Welcome, syr knyght, sayd the porter, 
 
 My lorde to mete is he. 
 And so is many a gentyll man. 
 
 For the love of the. 
 
A LYTELL GESl'E 
 
 The porter swore a full grete othe, 
 
 By god that made me, 
 Here be the best coresed hors 
 
 That ever yet sawe I me. 
 
 Lede them into the stable, he sayd. 
 
 That eased myght they be. 
 They shall not come therin, sayd the knyght, 
 
 By god that dyed on a tre. 
 
 Lordes were to mete isette 
 
 In that abbotes hall. 
 The knyght went forth and kneled downe, 
 
 And salved them grete and small. 
 
 Do gladly, syr abbot, sayd the knyght, 
 
 I am come to holde my day. 
 The fyrst word the abbot spake, 
 
 Hast thou brought my pay ? 
 
 Not one peny, sayd the knyght, 
 
 By god that maked me. 
 Thou art a shrewed dettour, sayd the abbot : 
 
 Syr justyce, drynke to me. 
 
 What doost thou here, sayd the abbot. 
 But thou haddest brought thy pay ? 
 
 For god, than sayd the knyght, 
 To pray of a lenger daye. 
 
OF ROBYN HODE. 
 
 Thy daye is broke, sayd the justyce, 
 
 Londe getest thou none. 
 " Now, good syr justyce, be my frende, 
 
 And fende me of my fone." 
 
 I am holde with the abbot, sayd the justyce, 
 
 Bothe with cloth and fee. 
 " Now, good syr sheryf, be my frende." 
 
 Nay for god, sayd he. 
 
 *' Now, good syr abbot, be my frende, 
 
 For thy curteysfe, 
 And holde my londes in thy honde 
 
 Tyll I have made the gree ; 
 
 And I wyll be thy true servaunte, 
 
 And trewely serve the, 
 Tyl ye have foure hondred pounde 
 
 Of money good and free." 
 
 The abbot sware a full grete othe, 
 
 By god that dyed on a tree. 
 Get the londe where thou may, 
 
 For thou getest none of me. 
 
 .By dere worthy god, then sayd the knyght, 
 
 That all this worlde wrought. 
 But I have my londe agayne 
 Full dere it shall be bought ; 
 
A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 God, that was of a mayden borne 
 
 Lene us ^ well to spede ! 
 For it is good to assay a frende 
 
 Or that a man have nede. 
 
 The abbot lothely on hym gan loke 
 And vylaynesly hym gan ' call ; ' ^ 
 
 Out, he sayd, thou false knyght, 
 Spede the out of my hall ! 
 
 Thou lyest, then sayd the gentyll knyght. 
 
 Abbot in thy hal ; 
 False knyght was I never, 
 
 By god that made us all. 
 
 Up then stode that gentyll knyght, 
 
 To the abbot sayd he. 
 To suffre a knyght to knele so longe, 
 
 Thou canst no curteysye ; 
 
 In joustes and in tournement 
 
 Full ferre than have I be. 
 And put myselfe as ferre in prees 
 
 As ony that ever I se. 
 
 What wyll ye gyve more ? sayd the justyce. 
 And the knyght shall make a releyse ; 
 
 And elles dare I safly swere 
 
 Ye holde never your londe in pees. 
 
 1 Leue. W. Sende us. C. 2 Loke. W. C. 
 
OF ROBYN HODE. ^3 
 
 An hondred pounde, sayd the abbot. 
 
 The justyce said, Gyve him two. 
 Nay, be god, sayd the knyght, 
 
 Yet gete ^ ye it not soo : 
 
 Though ye wolde jgyve a thousande more, 
 
 Yet were ' ye ' ^ never the nere : 
 Shall there never be myn eyre. 
 
 Abbot, justyse, ne frere. 
 
 He sterte hym to a borde anone, 
 
 Tyll a table rounde. 
 And there he shoke out of a bagge 
 
 Even foure hondred pounde. 
 
 Have here thy golde, syr abbot, sayd the knyght, 
 
 Which that thou lentest me ; 
 Haddest thou ben curteys at my comynge, 
 
 Rewarde sholdest thou have be. 
 
 The abbot sat styll, and ete no more. 
 
 For all his ryall chere, 
 He caste his hede on his shold^r, 
 
 And fast began to stare. 
 
 Take me my golde agayne, sayd the abbot, 
 
 Syr justyce, that I toke the. 
 Not a peny, sayd the justyce, 
 
 By god, that dyed on a tree. 
 
 > Crete. W. get. C. " Thou. PCC. 
 
24 A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 " Syr abbot, and ye men of lawe, 
 
 Now have I holde my daye, 
 Now shall I have my londe agayne, 
 
 For ought that you can saye." 
 
 The knyght stert out of the dore, 
 
 Awaye was all his care, 
 And on he put his good clothynge, 
 
 The other he lefte there. 
 
 He wente hym forthe full mery syngynge, 
 
 As men have tolde in tale, 
 His lady met hym at the gate, 
 
 At home in ' Wierysdale.' ^ 
 
 Welcome, my lorde, sayd his lady ; 
 
 Syr, lost is all your good ? 
 Be mery, dame, sayd the knyght, 
 
 And praye for Robyn Hode, 
 
 That ever his soule be in blysse. 
 
 He holpe me out of my tene ; 
 Ne had not be his kyndenesse, 
 
 Beggers had we ben. 
 
 The abbot and I acordyd ben, 
 
 He is served of his pay. 
 The good yeman lent it me, 
 
 As I came by the way. 
 
 1 Uterysdale. O. CC. Wierysdale is the name of a forest in 
 Lancashire : though it appears, in a subsequent part of this poem, 
 that the knight's castle was in Nottinghamshire. 
 
OF ROBYN HODE. 25 
 
 This knyght than dwelled fayre at home. 
 
 The soth for to say, 
 Tyll he had got foure hondreth pounde 
 
 All redy for too paye. 
 
 He purveyed hym an hondred bowes, 
 
 The strenges [were] welle dyght, 
 An hondred shefe of arowes good, 
 
 The hedes burnyshed full bryght. 
 
 And every arowe an elle longe, 
 
 With pecocke well ydyght, 
 I nocked all with whyte sylv^r, 
 
 It was a semly syght. 
 
 He purveyed hym an hondreth men, 
 
 Well hameysed in that stede, 
 And hymselfe in that same sete,* 
 
 And clothed in whyte and rede. 
 
 He bare a launsgay in his honde. 
 
 And a man ledde his male. 
 And reden with a lyght songe, 
 
 Unto Bernysdale. 
 
 As he went at a brydge ther was a wrastelyng, 
 
 And there taryed was he, 
 And there was all the best yem^n, 
 
 Of all the west countree. 
 
 J Sule. C. 
 
26 A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 A full fayre game there was upset, 
 
 A whyte bull up ipyght ; ^ 
 A grete courser with sadle and brydil, 
 
 With golde burneyshed full bryght ; 
 
 A payre of gloves, a rede golde rynge, 
 A pype of wyne, in good fay : 
 
 What man bereth him best, I wys, 
 The pryce shall here away. 
 
 There was a yeman in that place, 
 
 And best worthy was he, 
 And for he was ferre and frend bestad, 
 
 Islayne he sholde have be. 
 
 The knyght had reuth of this yemkn, 
 In place where that he stode, 
 
 He said that yoman sholde have no harme, 
 For love of Robyn Hode. 
 
 The knyght presed into the place, 
 An hondred folowed hym ' fre,' ^ 
 
 With bowes bent, and arowes sharpe, 
 For to shende that company. 
 
 They sholdred all, and made hym rome. 
 
 To wete that he wolde say, 
 He toke the yeman by the honde. 
 
 And gave hym all the playe ; 
 
 1 I up pyght. W. up ypyght. C. 
 '•* Fere. W. in fere. C. 
 
OF ROBYN HODE. 2^ 
 
 He gave hym fyve marke for his wyne, 
 
 There it laye on the molde, 
 And bad it sholde be sette a broche, 
 
 Drynke who so wolde. 
 
 Thus longe tarjed this gentyll knyght, 
 
 Tyll that playe was done, 
 So longe abode Robyn fastynge, 
 
 Thre houres after the none. 
 
 THE THYRDE FYTTE. 
 
 Lyth and lysten, gentyll men, 
 
 All that now be here. 
 Of Lytell Johan, that was the knyghtes man, 
 
 Good myrthe ye shall here. 
 
 It was upon a mery day. 
 
 That yonge men wolde go shete,^ 
 
 Lytell Johan fet his bowe anone, 
 And sayd he wolde them mete. 
 
 Thre tymes Lytell Johan shot about, 
 
 And alway cleft ^ the wande. 
 The proude sheryf of Notyngham 
 
 By the markes gan stande. 
 
 > Shote. W. » He sleste (sliced ? ) W. 
 
28 A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 The sheryf swore a full grete othe, 
 By hym that dyed on a tree, 
 
 This man is the best archere 
 That yet sawe I me. 
 
 Say me now, wyght yonge man. 
 What is now thy name ? 
 
 In what countre were thou i born. 
 And where is thy wonnynge wan ? 
 
 "In Holdernesse I was bore, 
 
 I wys all of my dame. 
 Men call me Reynolde Grenelefe, 
 
 Whan I am at hame." 
 
 " Say me, Reynaud Grenelefe, 
 Wolte thou dwell with me ? 
 
 And every yere I wyll the gyve 
 Twenty marke to thy fee." 
 
 I have a mayster, sayd Lytell Johan, 
 
 A curteys knyght is he, 
 May ye gete leve of hym. 
 
 The better may it bee. 
 
 The sheryfe gate Lytell Johan 
 Twelve monethes of the knyght, 
 
 Therfore he gave him ryght anone 
 A good hors and a wyght. 
 
 1 Thou wasl. C. wast thou. Wh. 
 
OF ROBYN HODE. 29 
 
 Now is Lytel Johan the sheryffes man, 
 
 He gyve us well to spede, 
 But alway thought Lytell Johan 
 
 To quyte hym well his mede. 
 
 Now so god 1 me helpe, sayd Lytel Johan, 
 
 And be my trewe lewtd, 
 I shall be the worste servaunte to hym 
 
 That ever yet had he. 
 
 It befell upon a Wednesday, 
 
 The sheryfe on hontynge was gone, 
 
 And Lytel Johan lay in his bed, 
 And was foryete at home. 
 
 Therfore he was fastynge 
 
 Tyl it was past the none, 
 Good syr stuard, I pray the, 
 
 Geve me to dyne, sayd Lytel Johan, 
 
 It is to long for Grenelefe, 
 
 Fastynge so long to be ; 
 Therfore I pray the, stuarde, 
 
 My dyner gyve thou me. 
 
 Shalt thou never ete ne drynke, sayd the stuarde, 
 
 Tyll my lord be come to towne. 
 I make myn avowe to god, sayd Lytell Johan, 
 
 I had lever to cracke thy crowne. 
 
 » Ge. W. f. God. 
 
30 A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 The butler was ful uncurteys, 
 
 There he stode on flore, 
 He sterte to the buttery, 
 
 And shet fast the dore. 
 
 Lytell Johan gave the buteler such a rap, 
 
 His backe yede nygh on two, 
 Tho he lyved an hundreth wynter, 
 
 The wors he sholde go. 
 
 He sporned the dore with his fote, 
 
 It went up wel and fyne. 
 And there he made a large lyveray 
 
 Both of ale and v/yne. 
 
 Syth ye wyl not dyne, sayd Lytel Johan, 
 
 I shall gyve you to drynke, 
 And though ye lyve an hondred wynter, 
 
 On Lytell Johan ye shall thynk. 
 
 Lytell Johan etc, and Lytell [Johan] dronke. 
 
 The whyle that he wolde. 
 The sheryfe had in his kechyn a coke, 
 
 A stoute man and a bolde. 
 
 I make myn avowe to god, sayd the coke, 
 
 Thou arte a shrewde hynde. 
 In an housholde to dwel, 
 
 For to ask thus to dyne. 
 
OF ROBVN HODE. 3 1 
 
 And there he lent Lytel Johan, 
 
 Good strokes thre. 
 I make myn avowe, sayd Lytell Johan, 
 
 These strokes lyketh well me. 
 
 Thou arte a bolde man and an hardy, 
 
 And so thynketh me ; 
 And or I passe fro this place, 
 
 Asayed better shalt thou be. 
 
 Lytell Johan drewe a good swerde, 
 The coke toke another in honde ; 
 
 They thought nothynge for to fie, 
 But styfly for to stonde. 
 
 There they fought sore togyder. 
 
 Two myle way and more,^ 
 Myght neyther other harme done, 
 
 The mountenaunce of an houre. 
 
 I make myn avowe to god, sayd Lytell Johan, 
 
 And be my trewe lewt&, 
 Thou art one of the best swerdemen, 
 
 That ever yet sawe I me. 
 
 Coowdest thou shote as well in a bowe, 
 To grene wood thou sholdest with me. 
 
 And two tymes in the yere thy clothynge 
 Ichaunged sholde be ; 
 
 ' i.e. while a man might have walked two miles and upward. 
 
32 A I.YTELL GESTE 
 
 And every yere of Robyn Hode 
 Twenty marke to thy fee. 
 
 Put up thy swerde, sayd the coke, 
 And felowes wyll we be. 
 
 Then he fette to Lytell Johan 
 
 The numbles of a doo, 
 Good brede and full good wyne, 
 
 They ete and dranke therto. 
 
 And whan they had dronken well, 
 Ther trouthes togyder they plyght, 
 
 That they wolde be with Robyn 
 That ylke same day at nyght. 
 
 The dyde ^ them to the tresure hous, 
 As fast as they myght gone. 
 
 The lockes that were of good stele 
 They brake them everychone ; 
 
 They toke away the sylver vessell, 
 And all that they myght get, 
 
 Feces, masars, and spones, 
 Wolde they non forgete ; 
 
 Also they toke the good pence, 
 Thre hondred pounde and three ; 
 
 And dyde them stray t to Robyn Hode, 
 Under the grene wode tre. 
 
 1 Hyed, C. 
 
OF ROBYN MODE. 33 
 
 " God the save, my dare mayst^r, 
 
 And Cryst the save and se." 
 And than sayd Robyn to Lytell Johan, 
 
 Welcome myght thou be ; 
 
 And also be that fayre yemkn 
 
 Thou bryngest there with the. 
 What tydynges fro Notyngham ? 
 
 Lytell Johan, tell thou me. 
 
 " Well the greteth the proude sheryfe, 
 
 And sende the here by me 
 His coke and his sylver vessell. 
 
 And thre hondred pounde and thre." 
 
 I make myn avow to god, sayd Robyn, 
 
 And to the trenytd, 
 It was never by his good wyll, 
 
 This good is come to me. 
 
 Lytell Johan hym there bethought, 
 
 On a shrewed wyle,^ 
 Fyve myle in the forest he ran, 
 
 Hym happed at his wyll ; 
 
 Than he met the proud sheryf, 
 Huntynge with hounde and home, 
 
 Lytell Johan coud his curteysye. 
 And kneled hym beforne : 
 
 » Whyle. W. 
 
34 A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 " God the save, my dere mayst&r, 
 And Cryst the save and see." 
 
 Raynolde Grenelefe, sayd the sheryfe, 
 Where hast thou nowe be ? 
 
 " I have be in this forest, 
 
 A fayre syght can I se. 
 It was one of the fayrest syghtes ^ 
 
 That ever yet sawe I me ; 
 
 Yonder I se a ryght fayre hart. 
 
 His coloure is of grene. 
 Seven score of dere upon an herde 
 
 Be with hym all bedene ; 
 
 His tynde are so sharp, mayst^r, 
 
 Of sexty and well mo, 
 That I durst not shote for drede 
 
 Lest they wolde me sloo." 
 
 I make myn avowe to god, sayd the sheryf. 
 
 That syght wolde I fayn se. 
 " Buske you thyderwarde, my dere mayst^r, 
 
 Anone, and wende with me." 
 
 The sheryfe rode, and Lytell Johan 
 
 Of fote he was full smarte. 
 And whan they came afore Robyn : 
 
 " Lo, here is the mayster harte ! " 
 
 1 Syght. W. sightes. C. 
 
OF ROBYN MODE. 35 
 
 Styll stode the proude sheryf, 
 
 A sory man was he : 
 " Wo worthe the,i Raynolde Grenelefe ! 
 
 Thou hast now betrayed me." 
 
 I make myn avowe to god, sayd Lytell Johan, 
 
 Mayster, ye be to blame, 
 I was mysserved of my dynere, 
 
 When I was with you at hame. 
 
 Soone he was to super sette. 
 
 And served with sylver whyte ; 
 And whan the sheryf se his vessell, 
 
 For sorowe he myght not ete. 
 
 Make good chere, sayd Robyn Hode, 
 
 Sheryfe, for charyt^, 
 And for the love of Lytell Johan, 
 
 Thy lyfe is graunted to the. 
 
 When they had supped well, 
 
 The day was all agone, 
 Robyn commaunded Lytell Johan 
 
 To drawe of his hosen and his shone, 
 
 His kyrtell and his cote a pye, 
 
 That was furred well fyne. 
 And take him a grene mant^U, 
 
 To lappe his body therin. 
 
 1 Wo the worth. W. 
 
3 6 A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 Robyn commaunded his wyght yong men, 
 
 Under the grene wood tre, 
 They shall lay in that same sorte ; 
 
 That the sheryf myght them se. 
 
 All nyght laye that proud sheryf, 
 In his breche and in his sherte, 
 
 No wonder it was in grene wode, 
 Tho his sydes do smerte. 
 
 Make glad chere, sayd Robyn Hode, 
 
 Sheryfe, for charytfe. 
 For this is our order I wys, 
 
 Under the grene wood tre. 
 
 This is harder order, sayd the sheryfe, 
 
 Than ony anker or frere ; 
 For al the golde in mery Englonde 
 
 I wolde not longe dwell here. 
 
 All these twelve monethes, sayd Robyn, 
 
 Thou shake dwell with me ; 
 I shall the teche, proud sheryfe, 
 
 An outlawe for to be. 
 
 Or I here another nyght lye, sayd the sheryfe, 
 
 Robyn, nowe I praye the, 
 Smyte of my hede rather to-morne, 
 
 And I forgyve it the. 
 
OF ROBYN HODE. 37 
 
 Lete me go, then sayd the sheryf, 
 
 For saynt Charyt6, 
 And I wyll be thy best frende 
 
 That ever yet had the. 
 
 Thou shake swere me an othe, sayd Robyn, 
 
 On my bryght bronde. 
 Thou shalt never awayte me scathe, 
 
 By water ne by londe ; 
 
 And if thou fynde ony of my men. 
 
 By nyght or by day, 
 Upon thyne othe thou shalt swere, 
 
 To helpe them that thou may. 
 
 Now have the sheryf is wore his othe, 
 
 And home he began to gone. 
 He was as full of grene wode 
 
 As ever was hepe of stone. 
 
 THE FOURTH FYTTE. 
 
 The sheryf dwelled in Notynghame, 
 He was fayne that he was gone. 
 
 And Robyn and his mery men 
 Went to wode anone. 
 
38 A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 Go we to dyner, sayd Lytell Johan. 
 
 Robyn Hode sayd, Nay ; 
 For I drede our lady be wroth with me, 
 
 For she sent me not my pay. 
 
 Have no dout, mayster, sayd Lytell Johan, 
 
 Yet is not the sonne at rest. 
 For I dare saye, and saufly swere. 
 
 The knyght is trewe and trust. 
 
 Take thy bo we in thy hande, sayd Robyn, 
 
 Let Moch wende with the, 
 And so shall Wyllyam Scathelock, 
 
 And no man abyde with me, 
 
 And walke up into the Sayles, 
 
 And to Watlynge-strete, 
 And wayte after ' some ' ^ unketh gest, 
 
 Up-chaunce ye may them mete. 
 
 Whether he be messengere, 
 
 Or a man that myrthes can. 
 Or yf he be a pore man. 
 
 Of my good he shall have some. 
 
 Forth then stert Lytel Johan, 
 
 Half in tray and tene. 
 And gyrde hym with a full good swerde. 
 
 Under a mantel of grene. 
 
 1 Such. W. 
 
OF ROBYN MODE. 39 
 
 They went up to the Sayles, 
 
 These yemen all thre ; 
 They loked est, they loked west, 
 
 They myght no man se. 
 
 But as ' they '^ loked in Bemysdale, 
 
 By the hye waye, 
 Than were they ware of two blacke monkes, 
 
 Eche on a good palferay. 
 
 Then bespake Lytell Johan, 
 
 To Much he gan say, 
 I dare lay my lyfe to wedde, 
 
 That these monkes have brought our pay. 
 
 Make glad chere, sayd Lytell Johan, 
 
 And frese our bowes of ewe, 
 And loke your hertes be seker and sad, 
 
 Your strynges trusty and trewe. 
 
 The monke hath fifty two men. 
 
 And seven somers full stronge. 
 There rydeth no bysshop in this londe 
 
 So ryally, I understond. 
 
 Brethem, sayd Lytell Johan, 
 
 Here are no more but we thre : 
 But we brynge them to dyner. 
 
 Our mayster dare we not se. 
 
 • He. Old copies. 
 
40 A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 Bende your bowes, sayd Lytell Johan, 
 
 Make all yon ^ prese to stonde, 
 The formost monke, his lyfe and his deth 
 
 Is closed in my honde. 
 
 Abyde, chorle monke, sayd Lytell Johan, 
 
 No ferther that thou gone ; 
 Yf thou doost, by dere worthy god. 
 
 Thy death is in my honde. 
 
 And evyll thryfte on thy hede, sayd Lytell Johan, 
 
 Ryght under thy hattes bonde, 
 For thou hast made our mayster wroth. 
 
 He is fastynge so longe. 
 
 Who is your mayster ? sayd the monke. 
 
 Lytell Johan sayd, Robyn Hode. 
 He is a stronge thefe, sayd the monke, 
 
 Of hym herd I never good. 
 
 Thou lyest, than sayd Lytell Johan, 
 
 And that shall rewe the ; 
 He is a yeman of the forest, 
 
 To dyne he hath bode the. 
 
 Much was redy with a bolte. 
 
 Redly and a none. 
 He set 2 the monke to fore the brest, 
 
 To the grounde that he can gone. 
 
 1 You. W. Make you yonder preste. C. 
 . ^ Set. ' shot ' ? 
 
OF ROBYN HODE. 4I 
 
 Of fyfty two wyght yonge men,^ 
 
 There abode not one, 
 Saf a lytell page, and a grome 
 
 To lede the somers with Johan.^ 
 
 They brought the monke to the lodge dore, 
 
 Whether he were loth or lefe, 
 For to speke with Robyn Hode, 
 
 Maugre in theyr tethe. 
 
 Robyn dyde adowne his hode, 
 
 The monke whan that he se ; 
 The monke was not so curteyse, 
 
 His hode then let he be. 
 
 He is a chorle, mayster, by dere worthy god, 
 
 Than said Lytell Johan. 
 Thereof no force, sayd Robyn, 
 
 For curteysy can he none. 
 
 How many men, sayd Robyn, 
 
 Had this monke, Johan ? 
 " Fyfty and two whan that we met, 
 
 But many of them be gone." 
 
 Let blowe a home, sayd Robin, 
 
 That felaushyp may us knowe ; 
 Seven score of wyght yemen. 
 
 Came pryckynge on a rowe, 
 
 > Yemen. C. Lytell Johan, O. CC. 
 
 r 
 
42 A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 And everych of them a good mantell 
 
 Of scarlet and of raye, 
 All they came to good Robyn, 
 
 To wyte what he wolde say. 
 
 They made the monke to wasshe and wype, 
 
 And syt at his denere, 
 Robyn Hode and Lytel Johan 
 
 They served ' him ' ^ bothe in fere. 
 
 Do gladly, monke, sayd Robyn. 
 
 Gramercy, syr, said he. 
 " Where is your abbay, whan ye are at home, 
 
 And who is your avow^ ? " 
 
 Saynt Mary abbay, sayd the monke. 
 
 Though I be symple here. 
 In what offyce ? sayd Robyn. 
 
 " Syr, the hye selerer." 
 
 Ye be the more welcome, sayd Robyn, 
 
 So ever mote I the. 
 Fyll of the best wyne, sayd Robyn, 
 
 This monke shall drynke to me. 
 
 But I have grete mervayle, sayd Robyn, 
 
 Of all this longe day, 
 I drede our lady be wroth with me. 
 
 She sent me not my pay. 
 
 1 Them. O. CC. 
 
OF ROBYN MODE. 43 
 
 Have no doute, mayster, sayd Lytell Johan, 
 
 Ye have no nede I saye, 
 This monke it hath brought, I dare well swere, 
 
 For he is of her abbay. 
 
 And she was a borowe, sayd Robyn, 
 
 Betwene a knyght and me, 
 Of a lytell money that I hym lent. 
 
 Under the grene wode tree ; 
 
 And yf thou hast that sylver ibroughte, 
 
 I praye the let me se. 
 And I shall helpe the eftsones, 
 
 Yf thou have nede of 1 me. 
 
 The monke swore a full grete othe. 
 
 With a sory chere. 
 Of the borowehode thou spekest to me, 
 
 Herde I never ere. 
 
 I make myn avowe to god, sayd Robyn, 
 
 Monke, thou arte to blame. 
 For god is holde a ryghtwys man. 
 
 And so is his dame. 
 
 Thou toldest with thyn owne tonge, 
 
 Thou may not say nay. 
 How thou arte her servaunt, 
 
 And servest her every day : 
 
 J To. W. 
 
44 A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 And thou art made ^ her messengere, 
 
 My money for to pay, 
 Therfore I cun the more thanke, 
 
 Thou arte come at thy day. 
 
 What is in your cofers ? sayd Robyn, 
 
 Trewe than tell thou me. 
 Syr, he sayd, twenty marke, 
 
 Al so mote I the. 
 
 Yf there be no more, sayd Robyn, 
 
 I wyll not one peny ; 
 Yf thou hast myster of ony more, 
 
 Syr, more I shall lende to the ; 
 
 And yf I fynde more, sayd Robyn, 
 I wys thou shalte it forgone ; 
 
 For of thy spendynge sylver, monk, 
 Therof wyll I ryght none. 
 
 Go nowe forthe, Lytell Johan, 
 And the trouth tell thou me ; 
 
 If there be no more but twenty marke. 
 No peny that I se. 
 
 Lytell Johan spred his mantell downe, 
 
 As he had done before. 
 And he tolde out of the monkes male, 
 
 Eyght hundreth pounde ^ and more, 
 
 1 Nade. W. not in C. 2 Eyght pounde. W, 
 
OK ROBYN HODE. 45 
 
 Lytell Johan let it lye full styll, 
 
 And went to his mayster in hast ; 
 Syr, he sayd, the monke is trewe ynowe, 
 
 Our lady hath doubled your cost 
 
 I make myn avowe to god, sayd Robyn, 
 
 Monke, what tolde I the ? 
 Our lady is the trewest womkn, 
 
 That ever yet founde I me. 
 
 By dere worthy god, sayd Robyn, 
 
 To seche all Englond thorowe, 
 Yet founde I never to my pay 
 
 A moche better borowe. 
 
 Fyll of the best wy ne, do hym drynke, sayd Robyn ; 
 
 And grete well thy lady hende. 
 And yf she have nede of ^ Robyn Hode, 
 
 A frende she shall hym fynde ; 
 
 And yf she nedeth ony more sylv^r, 
 
 Come thou agayne to me. 
 And, by this token she hath me sent, 
 
 She shall have such thre. 
 
 The monke was going to London ward. 
 
 There to holde grete mote. 
 The knyght that rode so hye on hors, 
 
 To brynge hym under fote. 
 
 > To. W. 
 
46 A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 Whether be ye away ? sayd Robyn. 
 
 " Syr, to maners in this londe, 
 Too reken with our reves, 
 
 That have done moch wronge." 
 
 " Come now forth, Lytell Johan, 
 
 And harken to my tale, 
 A better yeman I knowe none 
 
 To seke a monkes male." 
 
 How moch is in yonder other 'cofer?'^ sayd 
 The soth must we see. [Robyn, 
 
 By our lady, than sayd the monke. 
 That were no curteysye. 
 
 To bydde a man to dyner, ' 
 
 And syth hym bete and bynde. 
 It is our olde maner, sayd Robyn, 
 
 To leve but lytell behynde. 
 
 The monke toke the hors with spore, 
 
 No lenger wolde he abyde. 
 Aske to drynke, than sayd Robyn, 
 
 Or that ye forther ryde. 
 
 Nay, for god, than sayd the monke. 
 
 Me reweth I cam so nere, 
 For better chepe I myght have dyned. 
 
 In Blythe or in Dankestere. 
 
 1 Corser. W. courser. C. 
 
OF ROBYN HODE. 47 
 
 Crete well your abbot, sayd Robyn, 
 
 And your pryour, I you pray, 
 And byd hym send me such a monke. 
 
 To dyner every day. 
 
 Now lete we that monke be styll, 
 
 And speke we of that knyght, 
 Yet he came to holde his day 
 
 Whyle that it was lyght. 
 
 He dyde hym streyt to Bemysdale, 
 
 Under the grene wode tre. 
 And he founde there Robyn Hode, 
 
 And all his mery meyn^. 
 
 The knyght lyght downe of his good palfrky, 
 
 Robyn whan he gan see. 
 So curteysly he dyde adoune his hode, 
 
 And set hym on his knee. 
 
 " God the save, good Robyn Hode, 
 
 And al this company." 
 " Welcome be thou, gentyll knyght, 
 
 And ryght welcome to me." 
 
 Than bespake hym Robyn Hode, 
 
 To that knyght so fre, 
 What nede dryveth the to grene wode ? 
 
 I pray the, syr knyght, tell me. 
 
48 A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 And welcome be thou, gentyl knyght, 
 
 Why hast thou be so longe ? 
 " For the abbot and the hye justyce 
 
 Wolde have had my londe." 
 
 Hast thou thy lond agayne ? ^ sayd Robyn, 
 
 Treuth than tell thou me. 
 Ye, for god, sayd the knyght. 
 
 And that thanke I god and the. 
 
 But take not a grefe, I have be so longe ;2 
 
 I came by a wrastelynge 
 And there I dyd holpe a pore yemkn, 
 
 "With wronge was put behynde. 
 
 Nay, for god, sayd Robyn, 
 
 Syr knyght, that thanke I the ; 
 What man that helpeth a good yemkn. 
 
 His frende than wyll I be. 
 
 Have here foure hondred pounde, than sayd the 
 The whiche ye lent to me ; [knyght, 
 
 And here is also twenty marke 
 For your curteysy. 
 
 Nay, for god, than sayd Robyn, 
 
 Thou broke it well for ay. 
 For our lady, by her selerer. 
 
 Hath sent to me my pay ; 
 
 ^ Gayne. W. 
 
 2 But take not a grefe, sayd the knyght, 
 
 That I have be so longe. O. CC. 
 
OF ROBYN HODE. 49 
 
 And yf I toke it twyse,^ 
 
 A shame it were to me : 
 But trewely, gentyll knyght, 
 
 Welcom arte thou to me. 
 
 Whan Robyn had tolde his tale, 
 
 He leugh and had good chere. 
 By my trouthe, then sayd the knyght, 
 
 Your money is redy here. 
 
 Broke it well, sayd Robyn, 
 
 Thou gentyll knyght so fre ; 
 And welcome be thou, gentill knyght. 
 
 Under my trystell ^ tree. 
 
 But what shall these bowes do ? sayd Robyn, 
 
 And these arowes ifedered fre ? 
 By god, than sayd the knyght, 
 
 A pore present to the. 
 
 " Come now forth, Lytell Johan, 
 
 And go to my treasure. 
 And brynge me there foure hondred pounde. 
 
 The monke over-tolde it me. 
 
 Have here foure hondred pounde, 
 
 Thou gentyll knyght and trewe, 
 And bye hors and hames good. 
 
 And gylte thy spores all newe : 
 
 » I twyse. W. » Thi trusty. C. 
 
 G 
 
5© A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 And yf thou fayle ony spendynge, 
 
 Com to Robyn Hode, 
 And by my trouth thou shalt none fayle 
 
 The whyles I have any good. 
 
 And broke well thy four hundred pound, 
 
 Whiche I lent to the, 
 And make thy selfe no more so bare, 
 
 By the counsell of me." 
 
 Thus than holpe hym good Robyn, 
 The knyght all of his care. ^ 
 
 God, that sytteth ^ in heven hye, 
 Graunte us well to fare. 
 
 THE FYFTH FYTTE. 
 
 Now hath the knyght his leve itake, 
 And wente hym on his way ; 
 
 Robyn Hode and his mery men 
 Dwelled styll full many a day. 
 
 Lyth and lysten, gentil men, 
 And herken what I shall say, 
 
 How the proud sheryfe of Notyngham 
 Dyde crye a full fayre play ; 
 
 1 This care. W. 2 Syt. W. 
 
OF ROBYN HODE. 51 
 
 That all the best archers of the north 
 
 Sholde come upon a day, 
 And <he' that shoteth 'alder' best^ 
 
 The game shall here away. 
 
 " He that shoteth * alder' 2 best 
 
 Furthest fayre and lowe, 
 At a payre of fynly buttes, 
 
 Under the grene wode shawe, 
 
 A ryght good arowe he shall have, 
 
 The shaft of sylver whyte, 
 The heade and the feders of ryche red golde, 
 
 In Englond is none lyke." 
 
 This then herde good Robyn, 
 
 Under his trystell tre : 
 " Make you redy, ye wyght yonge men, 
 
 That shotynge wyll I se. 
 
 Buske you, my mery yonge men, 
 
 Ye shall go with me ; 
 And I wyll wete the shryves fayth, 
 
 Tre we and yf he be." 
 
 Whan they had theyr bowes ibent, 
 
 Theyr takles fedred fre. 
 Seven score of wyght yonge men 
 
 Stode by Robyns kne. 
 
 » And that shoteth al ther best. W. 
 
 And they that shote al of the best. C. 
 » Al theyre. W. al of the. C. 
 
52 A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 Whan they cam to Notyngham, 
 The buttes were fayre and longe, 
 ' Many was the bolde arch ere 
 
 That shoted with bowes stronge. 
 
 " There shall but syx shote with me, 
 The other shal kepe my hede, 
 
 And stande with good bowes bent 
 That I be not desceyved." 
 
 The fourth outlawe his bowe gan bende, 
 And that was Robyn Hode, 
 
 And that behelde the proude sheryfe, 
 All by the but he stode. 
 
 Thryes Robyn shot about, 
 
 And alway he slist ^ the wand. 
 
 And so dyde good Gylberte, 
 With the whyte hande. 
 
 Lytell Johan and good Scatheloke 
 Were archers good and fre ; 
 
 Lytell Much and good Reynolde, 
 The worste wolde they not be. 
 
 Whan they had shot aboute. 
 These archours fayre and good, 
 
 Evermore was the best, 
 Forsoth, Robyn Hode. 
 
 1 They slist. W. he clefte. C. 
 
OF ROBYN HODE. 53 
 
 Hym was delyvered the goode arow, 
 
 For best worthy was he ; 
 He toke the yeft so curteysly, 
 
 To grene wode wolde he. 
 
 They cryed out on Robyn Hode, 
 And great homes gan they blowe. 
 
 Wo worth the, treason ! sayd Robyn, 
 Full evyl thou art to knowe. 
 
 And wo be thou, thou proud sheryf, 
 
 Thus gladdynge thy gest. 
 Other wyse thou behote me 
 
 In yonder wylde forest ; 
 
 But had I the in grene wode, 
 
 Under my trystell tre, 
 Thou sholdest leve me a better wedde 
 
 Than thy trewe lewt^. 
 
 Full many a bowe there was bent. 
 
 And arowes let they glyde, 
 Many a kyrtell there was rent. 
 
 And hurt many a syde. 
 
 The outlawes shot was so stronge, 
 
 That no man myght them dryve, 
 And the proud sheryfes men 
 
 They fled away full blyve.^ 
 
 1 Belyve. C. 
 
54 A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 Robyn sawe the busshement to-broke, 
 In grene wode he wolde have be, 
 
 Many an arowe there was shot 
 Amonge that company. 
 
 Lytell Johan was hurte full sore, 
 With an arowe in his kne, 
 
 That he myght neyther go nor ryde ; 
 It was full grete pyte. 
 
 Mayster, then sayd Lytell Johan, 
 
 If ever thou lovest me, 
 And for that ylke lordes love, 
 
 That dyed upon a tre. 
 
 And for the medes of my servyce 
 
 That I have served the, 
 Lete never the proude sheryf 
 
 Alyve now fynde me ; 
 
 But take out thy browne swerde, 
 And smyte all of my hede, 
 
 And gyve me woundes dede and wyde, 
 No lyfe on me be lefte.* 
 
 I wolde not that, sayd Robyn, 
 Johan, that thou were slawe. 
 
 For all the golde in mery Englond, 
 Though it lay now on a rawe 
 
 1 That I after eate no bread. C. 
 
OF ROBYN MODE. 55 
 
 God forbede, sayd lytell Much, 
 
 That dyed on a tre, 
 That thou sholdest, Lytell Johan, 
 
 Parte our company. 
 
 Up he toke him on his backe, 
 
 And bare hym well a myle, 
 Many a tyme he layd hym downe 
 
 And shot another whyle. 
 
 Then was there a fayre cast611, 
 
 A lytell within the wode, 
 Double-dyched it was about, 
 
 And walled, by the rode ; 
 
 And there dwelled that gentyll knyght, 
 
 Syr Rychard at the Lee, 
 That Robyn had lent his good. 
 
 Under the grene wode tree. 
 
 In he toke good Robyn, 
 
 And all his company : 
 " Welcome be thou, Robyn Hode, 
 
 Welcome arte thou [to] me ; 
 
 And moche [I] thanke the of thy comfort, 
 
 And of thy curteysye. 
 And of thy grete kyndenesse, 
 
 Under the grene wode tre ; 
 
5 6 A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 I love no man in all this worlde 
 
 So moch as I do the ; 
 For all the proud sheryf of Notyngham, 
 
 Ryght here shalt thou be. 
 
 Shyt the gates, and drawe the bridge, 
 
 And let no man com in ; 
 And arme you well, and make you redy, 
 
 And to the walle ye wynne. 
 
 For one thyng, Robyn, I the behote, 
 
 I swere by saynt Quyntyn, 
 These twelve dayes thou wonest with me, 
 
 To suppe, ete, and dyne." 
 
 Bordes were layed, and clothes spred, 
 
 Reddely and anone ; 
 Robyn Hode and his mery men 
 
 To mete gan they gone. 
 
 THE SYXTE FYTTE. 
 
 Lythe and lysten, gentylmen. 
 And herken unto your songe ; 
 
 How the proude sheryfe of Notyngham, 
 And men of armes stronge. 
 
OF ROBYN HODE. 57 
 
 Full faste came to the hye sheryfe, 
 
 The countre up to rout, 
 And they beset the knyghts castfell, 
 
 The walles all about. 
 
 The proude sheryf loude gan crye, 
 
 And sayd, Thou traytour knyght, 
 Thou kepeste here the kynges enemye, 
 
 Agayne the lawes and ryght. 
 
 " Syr, I wyll avowe that I have done. 
 
 The dedes that here ^ be dyght, 
 Upon all the londes that I have, 
 
 As I am a trewe knyght. 
 
 Wende forthe, syrs, on your waye, 
 
 And doth no more to me, 
 Tyll ye wytte our kynges wyll 
 
 What he woll say to the." 
 
 The sheref thus had his answere, 
 
 With out ony leasynge, 
 Forthe he yode to London toune, 
 
 All for to tel our kynge. 
 
 There he tolde him of that knyght. 
 
 And eke of Robyn Hode, 
 And also of the bolde archeres, 
 
 That noble were and good. 
 
 » Thou. W. 
 
58 A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 " He wolde avowe that he had done, 
 To mayntayne the outlawes stronge, 
 
 He wolde be lorde, and set you at nought, 
 In all the north londe." 
 
 I woU be at Notyngham, sayd the kynge, 
 
 Within this fourtynyght, 
 And take I wyll Robyn Hode, 
 
 And so I wyll that knyght. 
 
 Go home, thou proud sheryf, 
 
 And do as I bydde the,^ 
 And ordayne good archeres inowe, 
 
 Of all the wyde countree. 
 
 The sheryf had his leve itake, 
 
 And went hym on his way : 
 And Robyn Hode to grene wode [went] 
 
 Upon a certayn day ; 
 
 And Lytell Johan was hole of the arowe. 
 
 That shote was in his kne, 
 And dyde hym strayte to Robyn Hode, 
 
 Under the grene wode tre. 
 
 Robyn Hode walked in the foreste. 
 
 Under the leves grene. 
 The proude sheryfe of Notyngham, 
 
 Therfore he had grete tene. 
 
 1 The bydde. OCC. 
 
ROBIN HOOD AND THE LADY. 
 
ROBIN HOOD AND THE LADY. 
 
OF ROBYN HODE. 59 
 
 The sheryf there fayled of Robyn Hode, 
 
 He myght not have his pray, 
 Then he awayted that gentyll knyght, 
 
 Bothe by nyght and by daye. 
 
 Ever he awayted that gentyll knyght, 
 
 Syr Rychard at the Lee ; 
 As he went on haukynge by the ryver syde, 
 
 And let his haukes flee, 
 
 Toke he there this gentyll knyght, 
 
 With men of armes stronge, 
 And lad hym home to Notyngham warde, 
 
 Ibonde both fote and honde.' 
 
 The sheryf swore a full grete othe, 
 
 By hym that dyed on a tre, 
 He had lever than an hondrede pounde, 
 
 That Robyn Hode had he.2 
 
 Then the lady, the knyghtes wyfe, 
 
 A fayre lady and fre, 
 She set her on a gode palfrky, 
 
 To grene wode anon rode she. 
 
 When she came to the forest, 
 
 Under the grene wode tre, 
 Founde she there Robyn Hode, 
 
 And all his fayre meyn6. 
 
 ' Honde and fote. W. foote and hande. C". 
 » That he had Robyn Hode. W, 
 
6o A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 " God the save, good Robyn Hode,^ 
 
 And all thy company ; 
 For our dere ladyes ^ love, 
 
 A bone graunte thou me. 
 
 Let ^ thou never my wedded lorde 
 
 Shamfully slayne to be ; * 
 He is fast ibounde to Notyngham w^arde, 
 
 For the love of the." 
 
 Anone then sayd good Robyn, 
 
 To that lady fre. 
 What man hath your lorde itake ? 
 
 The proude shirife, than sayd she.^ 
 
 [The proude sheryfe hath hym itake] 
 
 Forsoth as I the say ; 
 He is not yet thre myles. 
 
 Passed on ' his'^ waye. 
 
 Up then sterte good Robyn, 
 As a man that had be wode : 
 
 " Buske you, my mery younge men, 
 For hym that dyed on a rode ; 
 
 1 God the good Robyn. W. 2 Lady. W. 3 Late. 
 
 4 Sliamly I slayne be. W. ^ Yot soth as I the say, W. 
 
 8 Your. W. You may them over take. C. 
 
OF ROBYN MODE. 6l 
 
 And he that this sorowe forsaketh, 
 
 By hym that dyed on a tre, 
 And by him that al thinges maketh, 
 
 No lenger shall dwell with me." ^ 
 
 Sone there were good bowes ibent, 
 
 Mo than seven score, 
 Hedge ne dyche spared they none, 
 
 That was them before. 
 
 I make myn avowe to god, sayd Robyn, 
 
 The knyght wolde I fayn se, 
 And yf I may hym take, 
 
 Iquyt than shall he''' bee. 
 
 And whan they came to Notyngham, 
 
 They walked in the strete. 
 And with the proud sheryfi I wys, 
 
 Sone gan they mete. 
 
 Abyde, thou proud sheryf, he sayd, 
 
 Abyde and speake with me, 
 Of some tydynges of our kynge, 
 
 I wolde fayne here of the. 
 
 This seven yere, by dere worthy god, 
 
 Ne yede I so fast on fote, 
 I make myn avowe to god, thou proud sheryfe, 
 
 • It ' 3 is not for thy good. 
 
 * Shall he never in grene wode be Nor longer dwell with me. W. 
 ■' It. W. » At. W. That. C— good] boote. Wh. 
 
62 A LVTELL GESTE 
 
 Robyn bent a good bowe, 
 
 An arrowe he drewe at his vvyll, 
 
 He hyt so the proud sheryf, 
 
 Upon the grounde he lay full styll ; 
 
 And or he myght up aryse, 
 
 On his fete to stonde, 
 He smote of the sheryves hede, 
 
 With his bryght bronde. 
 
 ' ' Lye thou there, thou proud sheryf, 
 
 Evyll mote thou thryve ; 
 There myght no man to the trust, 
 
 The whyles thou were alyve." 
 
 His men drewe out theyr bryght swerdes, 
 That were so sharpe and kene, 
 
 And layde on the sheryves men, 
 And dryved them downe bydene. 
 
 Robyn stert to that knyght, 
 
 And cut a two his bonde,^ 
 And toke hym in his hand a bowe. 
 
 And bade hym by hym stonde. 
 
 " Leve thy hors the behynde. 
 
 And lerne for to renne ; 
 Thou shalt with me to grene wode, 
 
 Through myre, mosse and fenne ; 
 
 1 Hoode. W. bande. C. 
 
OF ROBYN HODE. 63 
 
 Thou shalt with me to grene wocle, 
 
 Without ony leasynge, 
 Tyll that I have gete us grace, 
 
 Of Edwarde our comly kynge," 
 
 THE SEVENTH FYTTE 
 
 The kynge came to Notynghame, 
 With knyghtes in grete araye, 
 
 For to take that gentyll knyght, 
 And Robyn Hood, yf ' he may. 
 
 He asked men of that country, 
 
 After Robyn Hode, 
 And after that gentyll knyght, 
 
 That was so bolde and stout. 
 
 Whan they had tolde hym the case. 
 Our kynge understonde ther tale. 
 
 And seased in his honde 
 The knyghtes londes all, 
 
 All the passe of Lancasshyre, 
 He went both ferre and nere, 
 
 Tyll he came to Plomton parke, 
 He faylyd many of his dere 
 
 » And yf. W. 
 
64 A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 There our kynge was wont to se 
 
 Herdes many one, 
 He coud unneth fynde one dere, 
 
 That bare ony good home. 
 
 The kynge was wonder wroth withall, 
 
 And swore by the trynyt^, 
 " I wolde I had Robyn Hode, 
 
 With eyen I myght hym se ; 
 
 And he that wolde smyte of the knyghtes hede 
 
 And brynge it to me, 
 He shall have the knyghtes londes, 
 
 Syr Rycharde at the Le ; 
 
 I gyve it hym with my charter, 
 
 And sele it with my honde. 
 To have and holde for ever-more, 
 
 In all mery Englonde." 
 
 Than bespake a fayre olde knyght, 
 
 That was treue in his fay, 
 A, my lege lorde the kynge, 
 
 One worde I shall you say ; 
 
 There is no man in this countrfe 
 May have the knyghtes londes, 
 
 Whyle Robyn Hode may ryde or gone. 
 And bere a bowe in his hondes ; 
 
OF ROBYN HODE. 65 
 
 That he ne shall lese his hede, 
 That is the best ball in his hode : 
 
 Give it no man, my lorde the kynge, 
 That ye wyll any good. 
 
 Half a yere dwelled our comly kynge, 
 
 In Notyngham, and well more, 
 Coude he not here of Robyn Hode, 
 
 In what countre that he were ; 
 
 But alway went good Robyn 
 . By halke and eke by hyll, 
 And alway slewe the kynges dere, 
 And welt them at his wyll. 
 
 Than bespake a proude fostere. 
 
 That stode by our kynges kne, 
 If ye wyll se good Robyn, 
 
 Ye must do after me ; 
 
 Take fyve of the best knyghtes 
 
 That be in your lede. 
 And walke downe by ' yon ' ^ abbay, 
 
 And gete you monkes wede. 
 
 And I wyll be your ledes man, 
 
 And lede you the way, 
 And or ye come to Notyngham, 
 
 Myn hede then dare I lay, 
 
 » Your. OCC. 
 
66 A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 That ye shall mete with good Robyn, 
 
 On lyve yf that he be, 
 Or ye come to Notyngham, 
 
 With eyen ye shall hym se. 
 
 Full hastly our kynge was dyght, 
 So were his knyghtes fyve, 
 
 Everych of them in monkes wede, 
 And hasted them thyder blyth. 
 
 Our kynge was grete above his cole, 
 A brode hat on his crown e, 
 
 Ryght as he were abbot-lyke, 
 They rode up in-to the towne. 
 
 Styf botes our kynge had on, 
 
 Forsoth as I you say. 
 He rode syngynge to grene wode. 
 
 The covent was clothed in graye, 
 
 His male hors, and his grete som^rs, 
 Folowed our kynge behynde, 
 
 Tyll they came to grene wode, 
 A myle under the lynde, 
 
 There they met with good Robyn, 
 Stondynge on the waye. 
 
 And so dyde many a bolde archere, 
 For soth as I you say. 
 
OF ROBYN MODE. ■67 
 
 Robyn toke the kynges hors, 
 
 Hastely in that stede, 
 And sayd, Syr abbot, by your leve, 
 
 A whyle ye must abyde ; 
 
 We be yemen of this foreste, 
 
 Under the grene wode tre, , 
 
 We lyve by our kynges dere, 
 
 Other shyft have not we ; ^ 
 
 And ye have chyrches and rentes both, 
 
 And gold full grete plent^ ; 
 Gyve us some of your spendynge, 
 
 For saynt Charyt^.^ 
 
 Than bespake our cumly kynge, 
 
 Anone than sayd he, 
 I brought no more to grene wode, 
 
 But forty pounde with me ; 
 
 1 Under the grene wode tre. W, 
 
 ' This saint is also mentioned by Chaucer in the Sompnour's 
 tale ; by Spenser, in his 5th eclogue ; in the Downfall of Robert 
 Earl of Huntington, 1601 ; and in one of Ophelia's songs in 
 Hamlet. (See a note upon this last passage in the edition of 
 1793, vol. XV. p. 163.) Mr. Steevens's assertion that "Saint 
 Charity is a known saint among the Roman Catholics," may be 
 supported by infallible authority. " We read, " says Dr. Douglas- 
 "in the Martyrology on the first of August— Romae passio 
 sanctarum virginum, Fidei, Sp)ei, et Charitatis, quae sub Hadriano 
 principe martyris coronam adeptae sunt " (Criterion, p. 68). 
 Pierre Nadal, commonly called Petrus de Natalibus, in his 
 Catalogus Sanctorum, has given the history of the saints Faith, 
 Hope, and Charity, the daughters of St. Sophia (or Wisdom). 
 Nothing can be too absurd fur superstition. 
 
68 A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 I have layne at Notyngham, 
 
 This fourtynyght with our kynge, 
 
 And spent I have full moche good, 
 On many a grete lordynge ; 
 
 And I have but forty pounde, 
 
 No more than have I me, 
 But yf I had an hondred pounde, 
 
 I would geve it to the.i 
 
 Robyn toke the forty pounde. 
 And departed it in two partye, 
 
 Halfendell he gave his mery men, 
 And bad them mery to be. 
 
 Full curteysly Robyn gan say, 
 Syr, have this for your spendyng, 
 
 We shall mete a nother day. 
 
 Gramercy, than sayd our kynge ; 
 
 But well the greteth Edwarde our kynge. 
 
 And sent to the his scale, 
 And byddeth the com to Notyngham, 
 
 Both to mete and mele. 
 
 He toke out the brode tarpe,^ 
 
 And sone he lete hym se ; 
 Robyn coud his courteysy. 
 
 And set hym on his kne : 
 
 1 I vouche it halfe on the. W. ^ Scale. C. 
 
OF ROBYN HODE. 69 
 
 " I love no man in all the worlde 
 
 So well as I do my kynge, 
 Welcome is my lordes seale ; 
 
 And, monke, for thy tydynge, 
 
 Syr abbot, for thy tydynges, 
 
 To day thou shalt dyne with me, 
 
 For the love of my kynge, 
 Under my trystell tre." 
 
 Forth he lad our comly kynge. 
 
 Full fayre by the honde, 
 Many a dere there was slayne. 
 
 And full fast dyghtande. 
 
 Robyn toke a full grete home, 
 
 And loude he can blowe, 
 Seven score of wyght yonge men. 
 
 Came redy on a rowe, 
 
 All they kneeled on theyr kne, 
 
 Full fayre before Robyn. 
 The kygne sayd hymselfe untyll, 
 
 And swore by saynt Austyn, 
 
 Here is a wonder semely syght, 
 Me thynketh, by goddes pyne ; 
 
 His men are more at his byddynge, 
 Then my men be at myn. 
 
70 A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 Full hastly was theyr dyner idyght, 
 
 And therto gan they gone, 
 They served our kynge with al theyr myght, 
 
 Both Robyn and Lytell Johan. 
 
 Anone before our kynge was set 
 
 The fatte venyson, 
 The good whyte brede, the good red wyne, 
 
 And therto the fyne ale browne.^ 
 
 Make good chere, sayd Robyn, 
 
 Abbot, for charytfe ; 
 And for this ylke tydynge, 
 
 Blyssed mote thou be. 
 
 Now shake thou se what lyfe we lede. 
 
 Or thou hens wende, 
 Than thou may enfourme our kynge, 
 
 Whan ye togyder lende. 
 
 Up they sterte all in hast, 
 
 Theyr bowes were smartly bent, 
 
 Our kynge was never so sore agast, 
 He wende to have be shente. 
 
 Two yerdes there were up set, 
 
 There to gan they gange ; 
 By fifty pase, our kynge sayd, 
 
 The merkes were to longe. 
 
 1 And browne. W. 
 
OF ROBYN HODE. 7 1 
 
 On every syde a rose garlonde, 
 
 They shot under the lyne. 
 Who so fayleth of the rose garlonde, sayd Robyn, 
 
 His takyll he shall tyne, 
 
 And yelde it to his mayster, 
 
 Be it never so fyne, 
 For no man wyll I spare, 
 
 So drynke I ale or wyne. 
 
 And here a buffet on his hede 
 
 I wys ^ ryght all bare. 
 And all that fell in Robyns lote, 
 
 He smote them wonder sare. 
 
 Twyse Robyn shot aboute, 
 
 And ever he cleved the wande, — 
 And so dyde good Gylberte, 
 
 With the whyte^ hand. 
 
 Lytell Johan and good Scathelocke, 
 
 For nothyng wolde they spare, 
 When they fayled of the garlonde, 
 
 Robyn smote them full sare. 
 
 At the last shot that Robyn shot, 
 
 For all his frendes fare, 
 Yet he fayled of the garlonde, 
 
 Thre fyngers and mare. 
 
 > A wys. W. For that shall be his fyne. C. 
 • Good whyte. W. lilly white. C. 
 
72 A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 Than bespake good Gylberte, 
 
 And thus he gan say : 
 Mayster, he sayd, your takyll is lost, 
 
 Stand forth and take your pay. 
 
 If it be so, sayd Robyn, 
 
 That may no better be ; 
 Syr abbot, I delyver the myn arowe, 
 
 I pray the, syr, serve thou me. 
 
 It falleth not for myn order, sayd our kynge, 
 
 Robyn, by thy leve. 
 For to smyte no good yemkn, 
 
 For doute I sholde hym greve. 
 
 Smyte on boldely, sayd Robyn, 
 
 I give the large leve. 
 Anone our kynge, with that worde, 
 
 He folde up his sieve, 
 
 And sych a buffet he gave Robyn, 
 To grounde he yede full nere. 
 
 I make myn avowe to god, sayd Robyn, 
 Thou arte a stalworthe frere ; 
 
 There is pith in thyn arme, sayd Robyn, 
 
 I trowe thou canst well shote. 
 Thus our kynge and Robyn Hode 
 
 Togeder than they met. 
 
OF ROBYN HODE. 73 
 
 Robyn behelde our comly kynge 
 
 Wystly in the face, 
 So (lyde syr Richarde at the Le, 
 
 And kneled downe in that place ; 
 
 And so dyde all the wy4de outlawes, 
 
 Whan they se them knele. 
 " My lorde the kynge of Englonde, 
 
 Now I knowe you well." 
 
 Mercy, then Robyn sayd to our kynge, 
 
 Under your trystyll tre, 
 Of thy goodnesse and thy grace, 
 
 For my men and me ! 
 
 Yes, for god, sayd Robyn, 
 
 And also god me save ; 
 I aske mercy, my lorde the kyn;je, 
 
 And for my men I crave. 
 
 Yes, for god, than sayd our kynge. 
 
 Thy peticion I graunt the, 
 With that thou leve the grene wode. 
 
 And all thy company : 
 
 And come home, syr, to my courte. 
 
 And there dwell with me.^ 
 I make myn avowe to god, sayd Robyn, 
 
 And ryght so shall it be ; 
 
 1 And therto sent I me. W. 
 
74 A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 I wyll come to your courte, 
 Your servyse for to se, 
 
 And brynge with me of my men 
 Seven score and thre. 
 
 But me lyke well your servyse, 
 I come agayne full soone, 
 
 And shote at the donne dere, 
 As I am wonte to done. 
 
 THE EIGHTH FYTTE. 
 
 Haste thou ony grene cloth, sayd our kynge, 
 That thou wylte sell nowe to me ? 
 
 Ye, for god, sayd Robyn, 
 Thyrty yerdes and thre. 
 
 Robyn, sayd our kynge. 
 
 Now pray I the. 
 To sell me some of that cloth, 
 
 To me and my meyne. 
 
 Yes, for god,^ then sayd Robyn, 
 
 Or elles I were a fole ; 
 Another day ye wyll me clothe, : 
 
 I trowe, ayenst the Yole. 
 
 1 Good. OCC. 
 
OF ROBYN H0D£. 75 
 
 The kynge kest of his cote then, 
 
 A grene garment he dyde on, 
 And every knyght had so, I wys, 
 
 They clothed them full soone.^ 
 
 Whan they were clothed in Lyncolne grene, 
 
 They kest away theyr graye. 
 Now we shall to Notyngham, 
 
 All thus our kynge gan say. 
 
 Theyr bowes bente and forth they went, 
 
 Shotynge all in-fere, 
 Towarde the towne of Notyngham, 
 
 Outlawes as they were. 
 
 Our kynge and Robyn rode togyder. 
 
 For soth as I you say. 
 And they shote plucke-buffet. 
 
 As they went by the way ; 
 
 And many a buffet our kynge wan 
 
 Of Robyn Hode that day ; 
 And nothynge spared good Robyn 
 
 Our kynge in his pay. 
 
 So god me helpe, sayd our kynge, 
 
 Thy game is nought to lere, 
 I sholde not get a shote of the, 
 
 Though I shote all this yere. 
 
 > Another had full sone. W. 
 
76 A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 All the people of Notyngham 
 
 They stode and behelde, 
 They sawe nothynge but mantels of grene 
 
 That covered all the felde ; 
 
 Than every man to other gan say, 
 
 I drede our kynge be slone ; 
 Come Robyn Hode to the towne, I wys, 
 
 On lyve he leveth not one.^ 
 
 Full hastly they began to fle, 
 
 Both yemen and knaves, 
 And olde wyves that myght evyll goo, 
 
 They hypped on theyr staves. 
 
 The kynge loughe ^ full fast, 
 
 And commanded theym agayne ; 
 
 When they se our comly kynge, 
 I wys they were full fayne. 
 
 They ete and dranke, and made them glad, 
 
 And sange with notes hye. 
 Than bespake our comly kynge 
 
 To syr Rycharde at the Lee : 
 
 He gave hym there his londe agayne, 
 
 A good man he bad hym be. 
 Robyn thanked our comly kynge. 
 
 And set hym on his kne. 
 
 1 Lefte never one. W. ^ Lughe. W. 
 
OF ROBYN HODE. 77 
 
 Had Robyn dwelled in the kynges courte 
 
 But twelve monethes and thre, 
 That he had spent an hondred pounde, 
 
 And all his mennes fe. 
 
 In every place where Robyn came, 
 
 Ever more he layde downe, 
 Both for knyghtes and for squyres, 
 
 To gete hym grete renowne. 
 
 By than the yere was all agone, 
 
 He had no man but twayne, 
 Lytell Johan and good Scathelocke, 
 
 Wyth hym all for to gone. 
 
 Robyn sawe yonge men shote, 
 
 Full fayre ' upon a day, 
 Alas ! than sayd good Robyn, 
 
 My welthe is went away. 
 
 Somtyme I was an archere good, 
 
 A styffe and eke a stronge, 
 I was commytted 2 the best archere, 
 
 That was in mery Englonde. 
 
 Alas ! then sayd good Robyn, 
 
 Alas and well a woo ! 
 Yf I dwele lenger with the kynge, 
 
 Sorowe wyll me sloo. 
 
 ^ Ferre. W. ^ Commended for. C. 
 
78 A LYTELL GESTE 
 
 Forth than went Robyn Hode, 
 Tyll he came to our kynge : 
 
 " My lorde the kynge of Englonde, 
 Graunte me myn askynge. 
 
 I made a chapell in Bernysdale, 
 
 That semely is to se, 
 It is of Mary Magdalene, 
 
 And thereto wolde I be ; 
 
 I myght never in this seven nyght, 
 No tyme to slepe ne wynke, 
 
 N other all these seven dayes, 
 Nother ete ne drynke. 
 
 Me longeth sore to Bernysdale, 
 
 I may not be therfro, 
 Barefote and wolwarde I have hyght 
 
 Thyder for to go." 
 
 Yf it be so, than sayd our kynge. 
 
 It may no better be ; 
 Seven nyght I gyve the leve, 
 
 No lengre, to dwell fro me. 
 
 Gramercy, lorde, then sayd Robyn, 
 And set hym on his kne ; 
 
 He toke his leve full courteysly, 
 To grene wode then went he. 
 
OF ROBYN HODE. 79 
 
 Whan he came to grene wode, 
 
 In a mery mornynge, 
 There he herde the notes small 
 
 Of byrdes mery syngynge. 
 
 It is ferre gone, sayd Robyn, 
 
 That I was last here, 
 Me lyste a lytell for to shote 
 
 At the donne dere. 
 
 Robyn slewe a full grete harte. 
 
 His home than gan he blow. 
 That all the outlawes of that forest. 
 
 That home coud they knowe, 
 
 And gadred them togyder. 
 
 In a lytell throwe, 
 Seven score of wight yonge men, 
 
 Came redy on a rowe ; 
 
 And fayre dyde of theyr hodes. 
 
 And set them on theyr kne : 
 Welcome, they sayd, our mayst^r, 
 
 Under this grene wode tre. 
 
 Robyn dwelled in grene wode, 
 
 Twenty yere and two. 
 For all drede of Edwarde our kynge 
 
 Agayne wolde he not goo. 
 
8o A LYTELL GESTE OF ROBYN HODE. 
 
 Yet he was begyled, I wys, 
 
 Through a wycked womkn, 
 The pryoresse of Kyrkesly, 
 
 That nye was of his kynne, 
 
 For the love of a knyght, 
 
 Syr Roger of Donkest^r,^ 
 That was her owne speciall, 
 
 Full evyll mote they ' fare.' ^ 
 
 They toke togyder theyr counsell 
 
 Robyn Hode for to sle, 
 And how they myght best do that dede, 
 
 His banis for to be. 
 
 Than bespake good Robyn, 
 
 In place where as he stode, 
 To morow I muste to Kyrkesley, 
 
 Craftely to be leten blode. 
 
 Sir Roger of Donkestere, 
 
 By the pryoresse he lay, 
 And there they betrayed good Robyn Hode 
 
 Through theyr false playe. 
 
 Cryst have mercy on his soule, 
 
 That dyed on the rode ! 
 For he was a good outlawe, 
 
 And dyde pore men moch god. 
 
 1 Donkesley. W. 2 The. OCC. 
 
II. 
 
 ROBYN HODE [AND THE POTTER]. 
 
 This curious, and hitherto unpublished, and even unheard of, 
 old piece is given from a manuscript among Bisliop More's col- 
 lections, in the public library of the University of Cambridge 
 (Ee. 4. 35). The writing, which is evidently that of a vulgar 
 and illiterate person, appears to be of the age of Henry the V 
 Seventh, that is, about the year 1500 ; but the composition (which 
 he has irremediably corrupted) is probably of an earlier period, 
 and much older, no doubt, than "The Play of Robyn Hode," 
 which seems allusive to the same story. At the end of the 
 original is "Expleycyt Robyn Hode." 
 
82 ROBYN HODE 
 
 In schomer, when the leves spryng, 
 The bloschems on every bowe, 
 
 So merey doyt the berdys syng, 
 Yn wodys merey now. 
 
 Herkens, god yemen, 
 
 Comley, cortessey, and god, 
 On of the best that yever bar bou, 
 
 Hes name was Roben Hode. 
 
 Roben Hood was the yemans name, 
 That was boyt corteys and fre ; 
 
 For the lofife of owr ladey, 
 All wemen werschep ' he.' ^ 
 
 Bot as the god yeman stod on a day, 
 
 Among hes mery man^y, 
 He was war of a prowd potter, 
 
 Cam dryfyng owyr the ' ley.' ^ 
 
 Yonder comet a prod potter, seyde ^ Roben, 
 That long hayt hantyd this wey, 
 
 He was never so corteys a man 
 On peney of pawage to pay. 
 
 1 Ye. 2 Lefe, ^ Syde. 
 
[and the potter]. 83 
 
 Y met hem hot at Wentbreg, seyde^ Lytyll John, 
 And therfor yeffell mot he the, 
 
 Seche thre strokes he me gafe, 
 Yet they cleffe by my seydys. 
 
 Y ley forty shillings, seyde Lytyll John, 
 To pay het thes same day, 
 
 Ther ys nat a man among hus 2 all 
 A wed schall make hem ley.^ 
 
 Her ys forty shillings, seyde Rob^n, 
 
 Mor, and thow dar say, 
 That y schall make that prowde potter, 
 
 A wed to me schall he ley. 
 
 Ther thes money they leyde. 
 
 They toke het a yeman to kepe ; 
 Roben befor the potter he breyde, 
 
 ' And up to hem can lepe.' * 
 
 Handys apon hes horse he leyde, 
 And bad ' hem ' ^ stonde foil stell. 
 
 The potter schorteley to hem seyde, 
 Felow, what ys they well ? 
 
 All thes thre yer, and mor, potter, he seyde, 
 
 Thow hast hantyd thes wey, 
 Yet wer tow never so cortys a man 
 
 One peney of pauage to pay. 
 
 » Syde. « Hys. » I^ffe. 
 
 « A bad hem stond stell. • The potter. 
 
ROBYN HODE 
 
 What ys they name, seyde the potter, 
 For pauage thow aske of me ? 
 
 " Roben Hod ys mey name, 
 A wed schall thow leffe me." 
 
 Wed well y non leffe, seyde the potter. 
 Nor pavag well y non pay ; 
 
 Awey they honde fro mey horse, 
 Y well the tene eyls, be mey fay. 
 
 The potter to hes cart he went, 
 
 He was not to seke, 
 A god to-hande staffe therowt he hent, 
 
 Befor Roben he ' lepe.' ^ 
 
 Roben howt with a swerd bent, 
 A bokeler on hes honde [therto] ; 
 
 The potter to Roben he went. 
 
 And seyde, Felow, let mey horse go. 
 
 Togeder then went thes two yemen, 
 
 Het was a god seyt to se ; 
 Therof low Robyn hes men, 
 
 Ther they stod onder a tre. 
 
 Leytell John to hes felowhes ^ seyde, 
 Yend potter welle steffeley stonde. 
 
 The potter, with a caward stroke, 
 Smot the bokeler owt of hes honde ; 
 
 1 Leppyd. ^ Felow he. 
 
[and the poiter]. 85 
 
 And 1 ar Roben meyt get hen agen, 
 
 Hes bokeler at has fette, 
 The potter yn the neke hem toke, 
 
 To the gronde sone he yede. 
 
 That saw Roben hes men, 
 
 As thay stode ender a bow ; 
 Let us helpe owr master, seyed Lytell John, 
 
 Yonder potter els well ^ hem sclo. 
 
 These yemen went ^ with a breyde. 
 
 To ' ther ' * master they cam. 
 Leytell John to hes master seyde, 
 
 Ho haet the wager won ? 
 
 Schall y haff yowr forty shillings, seyde Lytel ^ 
 Or ye, master, schall haffe myne ? [John, 
 
 Yeff they wer a hundred, seyde Rob^n, 
 Y feythe, they ben all theyne. 
 
 Het ys fol leytell cortesey, seyde the potter, 
 As y haffe harde weyse men saye, 
 
 Yeff a por yeman com drywyng ower the wey. 
 To let hem of hes gorney. 
 
 Be mey trowet, thow seys soyt, seyde Roben, 
 
 Thow seys god yemenrey ; ^ 
 And thow dreyffe forthe yevery day, 
 
 Thow schalt never be let for me. 
 
 ^ A. 2 Seyde hels. • Went yemen. 
 
 * Thes. Lytl. • Yemerey. 
 
86 ROBYN HODE 
 
 Y well prey the, god potter, 
 
 A felischepe well thow haffe ? 
 Geffe me they clothyng, and thow schalt hafe 
 Y well go to Notynggam. [myne ; 
 
 Y grant ^ therto, seyde the potter, 
 Thow schalt feynde me a felow gode ; 
 
 Bot thow can sell mey pottes well, 
 Com ayen as thow yode.^ 
 
 Nay, be mey trowt, seyde Roben, 
 
 And then y bescro mey hede, 
 Yefife y bryng eney pottes ayen, 
 
 And eney weyfife well hem chepe. 
 
 Than spake Leytell John, 
 
 And all hes felowhes heynd. 
 Master, be well war of the screffe of Notynggam, 
 
 For he ys leytell howr frende. 
 
 Thorow the helpe of howr ladey, 
 
 Felowhes, let me alone ; 
 Heyt war howte, seyde Roben, 
 
 To Notynggam well y gon. 
 
 Robyn went to Notynggam, 
 
 Thes pottes for to sell ; 
 The potter abode with Robens men, 
 
 Ther he fered not eylle.^ 
 
 1 Grat. 2 Yede. 
 
 3 This stanza is misplaced in the MS., coming after the first 
 verse at top of page. 
 
[and the potter]. 87 
 
 Tho Roben droffe on hes wey, 
 
 So merey ower the londe. 
 Heres mor and affter ys to saye, 
 
 The best ys beheynde. 
 
 [THE SECOND FIT.] 
 
 When Roben cam to Notynggam, 
 The soyt yef y scholde saye, 
 
 He set op hes horse anon, 
 
 And gaffe hem hotys and haye. 
 
 Yn the medys of the towne, 
 
 Ther he schowed hes war, 
 Pottys ! pottys ! he gan crey foil sone, 
 
 Haffe hansell for the mar. 
 
 Foil effen agenest the screffeys gate, 
 
 Schowed he hes chaffar ; 
 Weyffes and wedowes abowt hem drow, 
 
 And chepyd fast of hes war. 
 
 Yet, Pottys, gret chepe ! creyed Robyn, 
 Y loffe yeffell thes to stonde. 
 
 And all that saw ^ hem sell, 
 
 Seyde he had be no potter long. 
 
 » Say. 
 
ROBYN HODE 
 
 The pottys that vver werthe pens feyffe, 
 
 He solde tham for pens thre : 
 Preveley seyde man and weyffe, 
 
 Ywnder potter schall never the. 
 
 Thos Roben solde foil fast, 
 
 Tell he had pottys hot feyffe ; 
 Op he hem toke; of his car, 
 
 And sende hem to the screffeys weyfife. 
 
 Therof sche was foil fayne, 
 
 Gereamarsey, sir, than seyde sche,^ 
 
 When ye com to thes contre ayen, 
 
 Y schall bey of 'they' ^ pottys, so mot y the. 
 
 Ye schall haffe of the best, seyde Roben, 
 
 And swar be the treneytfe. 
 Foil corteysley ' she' ^ gan hem call. 
 
 Come deyne with the screfe and me. 
 
 Godamarsey, seyde Roben, 
 
 Yowr bedyng schall be doyn. 
 A mayden yn the pottys gan ber, 
 
 Roben and the screfife weyffe folowed anon. 
 
 Whan Roben ynto the hall cam. 
 
 The screffe sone he met. 
 The potter cowed of corteysey, 
 
 And sone the screffe he gret. 
 
 1 Seyde sche s' than. ^ xhe. 3 He. 
 
THE BANQUET, 
 
AhTwvtKk 
 
 THE BANQUET, 
 
90 ROBYN HODE 
 
 Stell then stod the prowde potter, 
 
 Thos than seyde he, 
 And y had a bow, be the rode, 
 
 On schot scholde yow se. 
 
 Thow schall haffe a bow, seyde the screffe, 
 The best that thow well cheys of thre : 
 
 Thow semyst * a stalward and a stronge, 
 Asay schall thow be. 
 
 The screffe comandyd a yeman that stod hem bey 
 
 Affter bowhes to wende ; 
 The best bow that the yeman browthe 
 
 Roben set on a stryng. 
 
 " Now schall y wet and thow be god, 
 
 And polle het op to they ner." 
 So god me helpe, seyde the prowde pott&r, 
 
 Thys ys bot rygzt weke ger. 
 
 To a quequer Roben went, 
 
 A god bolt owthe he toke, 
 So ney on to the marke he went, 
 
 He fayled not a fothe. 
 
 All they schot abowthe agen. 
 
 The screffes men and he, 
 Off the marke he welde not fayle, 
 
 He cleffed the preke on thre. 
 
 1 Senyst. 
 
[and the potier]. 91 
 
 The screffes men thowt gret schame, 
 
 The potter the mastry wan ; 
 The screffe lowe and made god game, 
 
 And seyde, Potter, thow art a man ; 
 Thow art worthey to ber a bowe, 
 
 Yn what plas that thow ' gang.' * 
 
 Yn mey cart y haffe a bowe, 
 
 Forsoyt, he seyde, and that a godde ; 
 
 Yn mey cart ys the bow 
 
 That ' I had of Robyn Hode.'2 
 
 Knowest thow Robyn Hode ? seyde the screffe, 
 
 Potter, y prey the tell thou me. 
 "A hundred tome y haffe schot with hem, 
 
 Under hes tortyll tre." 
 
 Y had lever nar a hundred ponde, seyde the 
 And swar be the trenit^, [screffe, 
 
 [Y had lever nar a hundred ponde, he seyde,] 
 That the fals owtelawe stod be me. 
 
 And ye well do afftyr mey red, seyde the potter, 
 
 And boldeley go with me. 
 And to morow, or we het bred, 
 
 Roben Hode wel we se. 
 
 ^ Goe. ■ That Robyng gaife inc. 
 
ROBYN HODE 
 
 Y well queyt the, kod the screffe, 
 And swere be god of meythe.^ 
 
 Schetyng thay left, and horn they went, 
 Her scoper was redey deythe. 
 
 Upon the morow, when het was day, 
 He boskyd hem forthe to reyde ; 
 
 The potter hes carte forthe gan ray, 
 And wolde not [be] leffe beheynde. 
 
 He toke leffe of the screffys wyffe. 
 And thankyd her of all thyng : 
 
 " Dam, for mey loffe, and ye well thys wer, 
 Y gaffe yow her a golde ryng." 
 
 Gramarsey, seyde the weyffe, 
 
 Sir, god eylde het the. 
 The screffes hart was never so leythe, 
 
 The feyr forest to se. 
 
 And when he cam ynto the foreyst, . 
 
 Yonder the leffes grene, 
 Berdys ther sange on bowhes prest, 
 
 Het was gret goy to sene. 
 
 Her het ys merey to be,^ seyde Roben, 
 For a man that had hawt to spende : 
 
 Be mey home ' we ' ^ schal awet 
 Yeff Roben Hode be ' ner hande.' 
 
 1 Mey they. - Se. 3 He. 
 
[and the potter]. 93 
 
 Roben set hes home to hes ^ mowthe, 
 And blow a blast that was foil god, 
 
 That herde hes men that ther stode, 
 Fer 2 downe yn the wodde. 
 
 I her mey master, seyde Leytyll John : 
 They ran as thay wer wode. 
 
 Whan thay to thar master cam, 
 
 Leytell John wold not spar : 
 " Master, how haffe yow far yn Notynggam ? 
 
 Haffe 3 yow solde yowr war ? " 
 
 " Ye, be mey trowthe, Leytyll * John, 
 
 Loke thow take no car ; 
 Y haffe browt the screffe of Notynggam, 
 
 For all howr chaffar." 
 
 He ys foil wellcom, seyde Lytyll John, 
 
 Thes tydyng ys foil godde. 
 The screffe had lever nar a hundred ponde 
 
 [He had never sene Roben Hode]. 
 
 " Had I west ^ that beforen, 
 
 At Notynggam when we wer, 
 Thow scholde not com yn feyr forest 
 
 Of all thes thowsande eyr." 
 
 1 Her. a For. » How haffe. 
 
 * I Icyty. * Ho had west. 
 
94 ROBYN HODE ' 
 
 That wot y well, seyde Roben, 
 
 Y thanke god that y be ^ her ; 
 
 Therfor schall ye leffe yowr horse with hos, ' 
 And all your bother ger. 
 
 That fend I godys forbode, kod the screffe, 
 
 So to lese mey godde. 
 " H ether ye ^ cam on horse foil hey, 
 
 And horn schall ye go on fote ; 
 And gret well they weyffe at home, 
 
 The woman ys foil godde. 
 
 Y schall her sende a wheyt palffrey,^ 
 
 Het hambellet as the weynde ; 
 Ner for the loffe of yowr weyffe, 
 
 Off mor sorow scholde yow seyng." 
 
 Thes parted Robyn Hode and the screffe. 
 To Notynggam he toke the waye ; 
 
 Hes weyffe feyr welcomed hem hom, 
 And to hem gan sche saye : 
 
 Seyr, how haffe yow fared yn grene foreyst ? 
 
 Haffe ye browt Roben hom ? 
 " Dam, the deyell spede hem, bothe bodey and 
 
 Y haffe hade a foil grete skorne. [bon, 
 
 1 That ye be. 2 y, 
 
 3 The MS. repeats this line after the following : Het ambellet 
 be mey sey. 
 
[and the potter]. 95 
 
 Of all the god that y haffe lade to grene wod, 
 
 He hayt take het fro me, 
 All bot this feyr palflfrey, 
 
 That he hayt sende to the." 
 
 With that sche toke op a lowde lawhyng, 
 And swhar be hem that deyed on tre : 
 
 " Now haffe you payed for all the pottys 
 That Roben gaffe to me. 
 
 Now ye be com horn to Notynggam, 
 
 Ye schall haffe god ynowe." 
 Now speke we of Roben Hode, 
 
 And of the pottyr onder the grene bowhe.^ 
 
 " Potter, what was they pottys worthe 
 To Notynggam that y ledde with me ? " 
 
 They wer worth two nobellys, seyd he, 
 So mot y treyffe or the ; 
 
 So cowde y had for tham, 
 And y had ther be.^ 
 
 Thow schalt hafe ten ponde, seyde Roben, 
 
 Of money feyr and fre : 
 And yever whan thow comest to grene wod, 
 
 Wellcom, potter, to me. 
 
 > Bowhes. » Be fhsr. 
 
96 ROBYN HODE [aND THE POTTER]. 
 
 Thes partyd Robyn, the screffe, and the potter, 
 
 Ondernethe the grene wod tre. 
 God haffe mersey on Roben Hodys solle, 
 
 And safFe all god yemanrey ! 
 
,,„, »■ tt-VMXv^^'ii^' 
 
 III. 
 
 ROBIN HOOD AND THE BEGGAR. 
 
 This poem, a North-country (or perhaps Scotish) composition 
 of some antiquity, is given from a modern copy printed at New- 
 castle, where it was accidentally picked up : no other edition 
 having been ever seen or heard of. The corruptions of the press 
 being equally numerous and minute, some of the most trifling 
 have been corrected without notice. But it may be proper to 
 mention that each line of the printed copy is here thrown into 
 two : a step which, though absolutely necessary from the narrow- 
 ness of the page, is sufficiently justified by the frequent recurrence 
 of the double rime. The division of stanzas was conceived to be 
 a still further improvement. — The original title is, "A Pretty 
 Dialogue betwixt Robin Hood and a Beggar." 
 
 A similar story ("Comment un moine se ddharasse des 
 voleurs ") may be found in " Le Moyen de Parvenir," i. 304 (edit. 
 
 1739). 
 
 N 
 
98 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 Lyth and listen, gentlemen, 
 That be of high born blood, 
 
 I'll tell you of a brave booting 
 That befell Robin Hood. 
 
 Robin Hood upon a day, 
 He went forth him alone. 
 
 And as he came from Barnsdale 
 Into fair evening, 
 
 He met a beggar on the way. 
 Who sturdily could gang ; 
 
 He had a pike-staff in his hand 
 That was both stark and Strang ; 
 
 A clouted clock about him was, 
 That held him frae the cold, 
 
 The thinnest bit of it, I guess. 
 Was more than twenty fold. 
 
 His meal poke hang about his neck, 
 
 Into a leathern whang. 
 Well fasten 'd to a broad bucle, 
 
 That was both stark and ' Strang.' 
 
 He had three hats upon his head, 
 
 Together sticked fast. 
 He car'd neither for wind nor wet, 
 
 In lands where'er ^ he past. 
 
 1 Where. 
 
AND THE BKCGAR. 99 
 
 Good Robin cast him in the way, 
 
 To see what he might be, 
 If any beggar had mon5y, 
 
 He thought some part had he. 
 
 Tarry, tarry, good Robin says, 
 
 Tarry, and speak with me. 
 He heard him as he heard him not, 
 
 And fast on his way can hy. 
 
 'Tis be not so, says [good] Robin, 
 ' Nay, thou must tarry stilL 
 By my troth, said the bold beggJir, 
 Of that I have no will. 
 
 It is far to my lodging house. 
 
 And it is growing late. 
 If they have supt e'er I come in 
 
 I will look wondrous blate. 
 
 Now, by my truth, says good Robin, 
 
 I see well by thy fare, 
 If thou shares well to thy supper, 
 
 Of mine thou dost not care. 
 
 Who wants my dinner all this day 
 
 And wots not where to ly, 
 And would I to the tavern go, 
 
 I want money to buy. 
 
ROBIN HOOD 
 
 Sir, you must lend me some mon^y 
 
 Till we meet again. 
 The beggar answer'd cankardly, 
 
 I have no money to lend : 
 
 Thou art a young man as I, 
 And seems to be as sweer ; 
 
 If thou fast till thou get from me, 
 Thou shalt eat none this year. 
 
 Now, by my truth, says [good] Robin, 
 Since we are assembled so, 
 
 If thou hast but a small farthing, 
 I'll have it e'er thou go. 
 
 Come, lay down thy clouted cloak, 
 
 And do no longer stand, 
 And loose the strings of all thy pokes, 
 
 I'll ripe them with my hand. 
 
 And now to thee I make a vow, 
 
 If 'thou' make any din, 
 I shall see a broad arrow, 
 
 Can pierce a beggar's skin. 
 
 The beggar smil'd, and answer made. 
 
 Far better let me be ; 
 Think not that I will be afraid. 
 
 For thy nip crooked tree ; 
 
AND THE BEGGAR. lOI 
 
 Or that I fear thee any whit, 
 
 For thy cum nips of sticks, 
 I know no use for them so meet 
 
 As to be puding-pricks. 
 
 Here I defy thee to do me ill, 
 
 For all thy boisterous fair, 
 Thou's get nothing from me but ill, 
 
 Would'st thou seek evermair. 
 
 Good Robin bent his noble bow, 
 
 He was an angery man, 
 And in it set a broad arrow ; 
 
 Lo 1 e'er 'twas drawn a span. 
 
 The beggar, with his noble tree, 
 
 Reach'd him so round a rout, 
 That his bow and his broad arr6w 
 
 In flinders flew about. 
 
 Good Robin bound him to his brand, 
 
 But that prov'd likewise vain, 
 The beggar lighted on his hand 
 
 With his pike-staff again : 
 
 [I] wot he might not draw a sword 
 
 For forty days and main 
 Good Robin could not speak a word. 
 
 His heart was ne'er so sair. 
 
•I02 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 He could not fight, he could not flee, 
 
 He wist not what to do ; 
 The beggar with his noble tree 
 
 Laid lusty slaps him to. 
 
 He paid good Robin back and side, 
 
 And baist him up and down. 
 And with his pyke-staff laid on loud. 
 
 Till he fell in a swoon. 
 
 Stand up, man, the beggar said, 
 
 'Tis shame to go to rest ; 
 Stay till thou get thy money told, 
 
 I think it were the best : 
 
 And syne go to the tavern house, 
 
 And buy both wine and ale ; 
 Hereat thy friends will crack full crouse, 
 
 Thou hast been at the dale. 
 
 Good Robin answer'd ne'er a word. 
 
 But lay still as a stane ; 
 His cheeks were pale as any clay. 
 
 And closed ^ were his een. 
 
 The beggar thought him dead but fail. 
 
 And boldly bound his way. — 
 I would ye had been at the dale. 
 
 And gotten part of the play. 
 
 1 Closd. We might read -. And clos'd were [baith] his een. 
 
AND THE BEGGAR. IO3 
 
 THE SECOND PART. 
 
 Now three of Robin's men, by chance, 
 
 Came walking by the way, 
 And found their master in a trance, 
 
 On ground where that he lay. 
 
 Up have they taken good Robin, 
 
 Making a piteous bear. 
 Yet saw they no man there at whom 
 
 They might the matter spear. 
 
 They looked him all round about, 
 But wound on him saw ' nane,' 
 
 Yet at his mouth came bocking out 
 The blood of a good vain. 
 
 Cold water they have gotten syne, 
 
 And cast unto his face ; 
 Then he began to hitch his ear. 
 
 And speak within short space. 
 
 Tell us, dear master, said his men, 
 How with you stands the case. 
 
 Good Robin sigh'd e'er he began 
 To tell of his disgrace. 
 
I04 
 
 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 " I have been watchman in this wood 
 Near hand this twenty year, 
 
 Yet I was never so hard bestead 
 As ye have found me here ; 
 
 A beggar with a clouted clock, 
 
 Of whom I fear'd no ill 
 Hath with his pyke-staff cla'd my back, 
 
 I fear 'twill never be well. 
 
 See, where he goes o'er yon hill, 
 
 With hat upon his head ; 
 If e'er ye lov'd your master well, 
 
 Go now revenge this deed ; 
 
 And bring him back again to me, 
 
 If it lie in your might. 
 That I may see, before I die, 
 
 Him punish'd in my sight : 
 
 And if you may not bring him back, 
 
 Let him not go loose on ; 
 For to us all it were great shame 
 
 If he escape again," 
 
 " One of us shall with you remain, 
 
 Because you're ill at ease. 
 The other two shall bring him back, 
 
 To use him as you please." 
 
AND THE BEGGAR. I05 
 
 Now, by my truth, says good Robin, 
 
 I true there's enough said ; 
 And he get scouth to wield his tree, 
 
 I fear you'll both be paid. 
 
 " Be not fear'd, our master, 
 
 That we two can be dung 
 With any bluter base beggkr, 
 
 That has nought but a rung. 
 
 His staff shall stand him in no stead, 
 
 That you shall shortly see, 
 But back again he shall be led, 
 
 And fast bound shall he be, 
 To see if ye will have him slain, 
 
 Or hanged on a tree." 
 
 " But cast you sliely in his way. 
 
 Before he be aware. 
 And on his pyke-staff first hands lay, 
 
 Ye'll speed the better far." 
 
 Now leave we Robin with this man. 
 
 Again to play the child, 
 And learn himself to stand and gang 
 
 By halds, for all his eild. 
 
 Now pass we to the bold beggkr. 
 
 That raked o'er the hill, 
 Who never mended his pace more. 
 
 Then he had done no ill. 
 
 O 
 
I06 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 And they have taken another way,i 
 Was nearer by miles three. 
 
 They stoutly ran with all their might, 
 
 Spared neither dub ' nor ' mire, 
 They started at neither how nor height, 
 
 No travel made them tire, 
 
 Till they before the beggar wan, 
 
 And cast them in his way ; 
 A little wood lay in a glen, 
 
 And there they both did stay ; 
 
 They stood up closely by a tree. 
 
 In each side of the gate, 
 Untill the beggar came them nigh. 
 
 That thought of no such late : 
 
 And as he was betwixt them past. 
 
 They leapt upon him baith ; 
 The one his pyke staff gripped fast, 
 
 They feared for its skaith. 
 
 The other he held in his sight 
 
 A drawen durk to his breast, 
 And said. False ' carel,' quit thy staff. 
 
 Or I shall be thy priest. 
 
 ^ The preceding lines of this stanza are wanting in the original. 
 
AND THE BEGGAR. 107 
 
 His pyke-staflf they have taken him frae, 
 
 And stuck it in the green, 
 He was full loath to let it gae, 
 
 An better might it been. 
 
 The beggar was the feardest man 
 
 Of any that e'er might be, 
 To win away no way he can, 
 
 Nor help him with his tree. 
 
 Nor wist he wherefore he was ta'en, 
 
 Nor how many was there ; 
 He thought his life days had been gane, 
 
 He grew into dispair. 
 
 Grant me my life, the beggar said, 
 
 For him that dy'd on the tree. 
 And hold away that ugly knife, 
 
 Or else for fear I'll die. 
 
 I griev'd you never in all my life, 
 
 Neither by late or air, 
 You have great sin if you would slay 
 
 A silly poor beggkr. 
 
 Thou lies, false lown, they said again. 
 
 For all that may be sworn ; 
 Thou hast ' near ' slain the gentlest man 
 
 Of one that e'er was born ; 
 
Io8 ROI3IN HOOD 
 
 And back again thou shall be led, 
 And fast bound shalt thou be, 
 
 To see if he will have thee slain, 
 Or hanged on a tree. 
 
 The beggar then thought all was wrong, 
 They were set for his wrack, 
 
 He saw nothing appearing then 
 But ill upon warse back. 
 
 Were he out of their hands, he thought, 
 
 And had again his tree, 
 He should not be led back for nought, 
 
 With such as he did see. 
 
 Then he bethought him on a wile. 
 
 If it could take effect. 
 How he might the young men beguile, 
 
 And give them a begeck.^ 
 
 Thus to do them shame for ill 
 His beastly breast was bent. 
 
 He found the wind blew something shrill, 
 To further his intent. 
 
 He said. Brave gentlemen, be good. 
 
 And let a poor man be : 
 When ye have taken a beggar's blood. 
 
 It helps you not a flee. 
 
 1 Gave, begack. 
 
AND THE BEGGAR. lOp 
 
 It was but in my own defence, 
 
 If he has gotten skaith ; 
 But I will make a recompence 
 
 Is better for you baith. 
 
 If ye will set me fair and free, 
 
 And do me no more dear, 
 An hundred pounds I will you give, 
 
 And much more odd silv6r, 
 
 That I have gather'd this many years, 
 
 Under this clouted cloak, 
 And hid up wonder privately, 
 
 In bottom of my poke. 
 
 The young men to the council yeed,' 
 
 And let the beggar gae ; 
 They wist full well he had no speed 
 
 From them to run away. 
 
 They thought they would the money take, 
 
 Come after what so may ; 
 And yet they would not take him back, 
 
 But in that place him slay. 
 
 By that good Robin would not know 
 
 That they had gotten coin, 
 It would content him [well] to sliow 
 
 That there they had him slain, 
 
 » Yeen. 
 
ROBIN HOOD 
 
 They said, False carel, soon have done, 
 
 And tell forth thy monfey. 
 For the ill turn that thou hast done 
 
 It's but a simple plee. 
 
 And yet we will not have thee back, 
 
 Come after what so may. 
 If thou will do that which thou spak,^ 
 
 And make us present pay. 
 
 then he loosed his clouted clock, 
 And spread it on the ground. 
 
 And thereon lay he many a poke, 
 Betwixt them and the wind. 
 
 He took a great bag from his hals,^ 
 
 It was near full of meal. 
 Two pecks in it at least there was, 
 
 And more, I wot full well. 
 
 Upon this cloak he set it down, 
 
 The mouth he opened wide, 
 To turn the same he made him bown,^ 
 
 The young men ready spy'd ; 
 
 In every hand he took a nook 
 Of that great leathren ' mail,' * 
 
 And with a fling the meal he shook 
 Into their face all hail : 
 
 1 Spok. 2 Half. 3 Round. ■• Bag. 
 
AND THE BEGGAR. 
 
 Wherewith he blinded them so close, 
 A stime they could not see ; 
 
 And then in heart he did rejoice, 
 And clap'd his lusty tree. 
 
 He thought if he had done them wrong, 
 In mealing of their cloaths,' 
 
 For to strike off the meal again 
 With his pyke-staff he goes. 
 
 E'er any of them could red their een, 
 
 Or a glimmring might see, 
 like one of them a dozen had. 
 
 Well laid on with his tree. 
 
 The young men were right swift of foot, 
 
 And boldly bound away. 
 The beggar could them no more hit. 
 
 For all the haste he may. 
 
 What's all this haste ? the beggar said, 
 
 May not you ^ tarry still, 
 Untill your money be received ? 
 
 I'll pay you with good will. 
 
 The shaking of my pokes, I fear, 
 
 Hath blown into your een ; 
 But I have a good pyke-staff here 
 
 Can ripe them out full clean. 
 
 » Cloath. 2 Tuou. 
 
ROBIN HOOD 
 
 The young men answered never a word, 
 
 They were dum as a stane ; 
 In the thick wood the beggar fled, 
 
 E'er they riped their een : 
 
 And syne the night became so late, 
 
 To seek him was in vain : 
 But judge ye if they looked blate 
 
 When they cam home again. 
 
 Good Robin speer'd how they had sped.* 
 
 They answered him, Full ill. 
 That can not be, good Robin says, 
 
 Ye have been at the mill. 
 
 The mill it is a meat-rife part, 
 They may lick what they please, 
 
 Most like ye have been at the art. 
 Who would look at your ' claiths.' ^ 
 
 They hang'd their heads, they drooped down, 
 
 A word they could not speak. 
 Robin said, Because I fell a-sound, 
 
 I think ye'U do the like. 
 
 Tell on the matter, less or more, 
 
 And tell me what and how 
 Ye have done with the bold beggkr 
 
 I sent you for right now. 
 
 ' Speed. 2 Cloaths. 
 
AND THE BEGGAR. II3 
 
 And when they told him to an end, 
 
 As i have said before, 
 How that the beggar did them blind. 
 
 What ' mister ' presses more ? 
 
 And how in the thick woods he fled, 
 E'er they a stime could see ; 
 
 And how they scarcely could win home, 
 Their bones were baste so sore ; 
 
 Good Robin cr^d, Fy ! out ! for shame ! 
 We're sham'd for evermore. 
 
 Altho good Robin would full fain 
 
 Of his wrath revenged be, 
 He smil'd to see his merry young men 
 
 Had gotten a taste of the tree. 
 
IV. 
 
 ROBIN HOOD AND GUY OF GISBORNE, 
 
 is reprinted from the " Reliques of Ancient English Poetry," 
 published by Dr. Percy (vol. i. p. 8i), who there gives it from 
 his "folio MS." as " never before printed, and 'carrying' marks 
 of much greater antiquity than any of the common popular songs 
 on this subject." 
 
 As for Guy of Gisborne, the only further memorial which has 
 occurred concerning him is in an old satirical piece by William 
 Dunbar, a celebrated Scotish poet of the 15th century, on one 
 "Schir Thomas Nory" (MS. Maitland, p. 3; MSS. More, LI. 
 5, 10), where he is named along with our hero, Adam Bell, and 
 other worthies, it is conjectured, of a similar stamp, but whose 
 merits have not, less fortunately, come to the knowledge of 
 posterity. 
 
ROBIN HOOD, ETC. II5 
 
 " Was nevir weild Robeine under bewch. 
 Nor yitt Roger of Clekkinslewch, 
 
 So bauld a bairne as he ; 
 Gy of Gysburne, na Allane Bell, 
 Na Simones sones of Quhynsell, 
 
 Off thocht war nevir so slie." 
 
 Gisborne is a market-town in the West Riding of the county of 
 York, on the borders of Lancashire. 
 
 In the fourth edition of the publication above referred fo, which 
 appeared in July 1795, it is acknowleged that "some liberties 
 were, by the editor, taken with this ballad, which in this edition 
 hath been brought nearer to the folio MS." The new readings 
 have therefore been introduced into the present text. 
 
 Whan shaws beene sheene, and shraddes ^ full 
 And leaves both large and longe, [fayre, 
 
 Itt's merrye walkyng in the fayre forrist 
 To heare the small birdes son-;e. 
 
 The woodweele sang, and wold not cease, 
 
 Sitting upon the spraye, 
 Soe lowde, he wakened Robin Hood, 
 
 In the greenwood where he lay. 
 
 Now, by my faye, sayd jollye Robin, 
 
 A sweaven I had this night ; 
 I dreamt me of tow wighty yem5n. 
 
 That fast with me can fight. 
 
 ' "It should perhaps be swards, i.e. the surface of the ground, 
 viz. 'when the fields are in their beauty.'" — Percy. Rather 
 shrobbes (shrubs). The plural of sward was never used by any 
 writer whatever. For shaws the MS. has shales. 
 
Il6 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 Methought they did me beate and binde, 
 And tooke my bowe me froe ; 
 
 Iff I be Robin alive in this lande, 
 He be wroken on them towe. 
 
 Sweavens are swift, master, quoth John, 
 As the wind that blowes ore a hill ; 
 
 For iff itt be never so loude this night, 
 To-morrow it may be still 
 
 " Buske yee, bowne yee, my merry men all, 
 And John shall goe with mee, 
 
 For He goe seeke yond wighty yeomen, 
 In greenwood where they bee." 
 
 Then they cast on theyr gownes of grene. 
 And tooke theyr bowes each one ; 
 
 And they away to the greene forr^st 
 A shooting forth are gone ; 
 
 Untill they came to the merry greenwood, 
 Where they had gladdest to bee, 
 
 There they were ware of a wight yeoman. 
 His body leaned to a tree. 
 
 A sword and a dagger he wore by his side, 
 
 Of manye a man the bane ; 
 And he was clad in his capull hyde, 
 
 Topp and tayll and mayne. 
 
AND GUY OF GISBORNE. II7 
 
 Stand you still, master, quoth Little John, 
 
 Under this tree so grene, 
 And I will go to yond wight yeomJin, 
 
 To know what he doth meane. 
 
 " Ah ! John, by me thou settest noe store, 
 
 And that I farley finde : 
 How offt send I my men before. 
 
 And tarry my selfe behinde ? 
 
 It is no cunning a knave to ken, 
 And a man but heare him speake ; 
 
 And it were not for bursting of my bowe, 
 John, I thy head wold breake." 
 
 As often wordes they breeden bale, 
 
 So they parted Robin and John : 
 And John is gone to Barnesdale ; 
 
 The gates he knoweth eche one. 
 
 But when he came to Barnesdale, 
 
 Great heavinesse there he hadd, 
 For he found tow of his own fellowes, 
 
 Were slaine both in a slade. 
 
 And Scarlette he was flying a-foote 
 
 Fast over stocke and stone, 
 For the proud shcritfe with seven score men 
 
 Fast after him is gone. 
 
J*8 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 One shoote now I will shoote, quoth John, 
 With Christ his might and mayne ; 
 
 He make yond sheriffe that flyes soe fast, 
 To stopp he shall be fayne. 
 
 Then John bent up his long bende-bowe. 
 
 And fetteled him to shoote : 
 The bow was made of tender boughe. 
 
 And fell downe at his foote. 
 
 " Woe worth, woe worth thee, wicked wood, 
 That ever thou grew on a tree ! 
 
 For now this day thou art my bale. 
 My boote when thou shold bee." 
 
 His shoote it was but loosely shott. 
 Yet flewe not the arrowe in vaine. 
 
 For itt mett one of the sheriffes men, 
 Good William a Trent was slaine. 
 
 It had bene better of William a Trent 
 To have bene abed with sorrowe. 
 
 Than to be that day in the greenwood slade 
 To meet with Little Johns arrowe. 
 
 But as it is said, when men be mett 
 Fyve can doe more than three, 
 
 The sheriffe. hath taken Little John, 
 And bound him fast to a tree. 
 
AND GUY OF GISBORNE. II9 
 
 *' Thou shalt be drawen by dale and downe, 
 
 And hanged hye on a hill." 
 But thou mayst fayle of thy purpose, quoth John, 
 
 If it be Christ his will. 
 
 Lett us leave talking of Little John, 
 And thinke of Robin Hood, 
 
 How he is gone to the wight yeomin, 
 Where under the leaves he stood. 
 
 Good morrowe, good fellowe, sayd Robin so fayre, 
 Good morrowe, good fellow, quo' he : ^ 
 
 Methinkes by this bowe thou beares in thy hande, 
 A good archere thou sholdst bee. 
 
 I am wilfulle of my waye, quo' the yemkn, 
 
 And of my morning tyde. 
 He lead thee through the wood, sayd Robin ; 
 
 Good fellow, He be thy guide. 
 
 I seeke an outlawe, the straunger sayd, 
 
 Men call him Robin Hood ; 
 Rather Hd meet with that proud outlkwe 
 
 Than fortye pound soe good. 
 
 » Dr. Percy, by the marks he has bestowed on this line, seems 
 to consider it as the yeoman's reply ; but it seems rather a 
 repetition of Robin's complimentary address. 
 
ROBIN HOOD 
 
 " Now come with me, thou wighty yemh.n 
 And Robin thou soone shalt see ; 
 
 But first let us some pastime find 
 Under the greenwood tree. 
 
 First let us some masterye make 
 
 Among the woods so even, 
 We may chance to meet with Robin Hood 
 
 Here at some unsett Steven," 
 
 They cutt them down two summer shroggs, 
 That grew both under a breere, 
 
 And sett them threescore rood in twaine, 
 To shoote the prickes y-fere. 
 
 Leade on, good fellowe, quoth Robin Hood, 
 
 Leade on, I do bidd thee. 
 Nay, by my faith, good fellowe, hee sayd, 
 
 My leader thou shalt bee. 
 
 The first time Robin shot at the pricke, 
 
 He mist but an inch it fro : 
 The yeoman he was an archer good. 
 
 But he cold never shoote soe. 
 
 The second shoote had the wightye yem^n, 
 
 He shot within the garlknd : 
 But Robin he shott far better than hee, 
 
 For he clave the good pricke-wande. 
 
AND GUY OF GISBORNE, 121 
 
 A blessing upon thy heart, he sayd ; 
 
 Good fellowe, thy shooting is goode ; 
 For an thy hart be as good as thy hand, 
 
 Thou wert better than Robin Hoode. 
 
 Now tell me thy name, good fellowe, sayd he, 
 
 Under the leaves of lyne. 
 Nay, by my faith, quoth bold Robin, 
 
 Till thou have told me thine. 
 
 I dwell by dale and downe, quoth hee, 
 
 And Robin to take Ime swome ; 
 And when I am called by my right name 
 
 I am Guy of good Gisb6rne. 
 
 My dwelling is in this wood, sayes Robin, 
 
 By thee I set right nought : 
 I am Robin Hood of Barn^sdale, 
 
 Whom thou so long hast sought. 
 
 He that had neyther beene kythe nor kin. 
 Might have seen a full fay re fight, 
 
 To see how together these yeomen went 
 With blades both browne and bright. 
 
 To see how these yeomen together they fought 
 
 Two howres of a summers day : 
 Yett neither Robin Hood nor sir Guy 
 
 Them fettled to flye away. 
 
 Q 
 
122 ROBIN HOOU 
 
 Robin was reachles on a roote 
 And stumbled at that tyde ; 
 
 And Guy was quicke and nimble withall, 
 And hitt him ore the left syde. 
 
 Ah, deere ladye, sayd Robin Hood the, 
 Thou art both ^ mother and may, 
 
 I think it was never mans destinye 
 To dye before his day. 
 
 Robin thought on our ladye deere, 
 
 And soone leapt up againe, 
 And strait he came with a[n] awkwarde ^ stroke. 
 
 And he sir Guy ^ hath slayne. • 
 
 He took sir Guys head by the hayre. 
 And sticked itt upon his bowes end : 
 
 " Thou hast beene a traytor all thy life. 
 Which thing must have an end." 
 
 1 This in the three former editions of the ' ' Reliques "is impro- 
 perly altered to ' but.' 
 
 2 So, according to Percy, reads his MS. He has altered it to 
 ' backward. ' 
 
 3 The title of Sir, Dr. Percy says, was not formerly peculiar 
 to knights ; it was given to priests, and sometimes to very inferior 
 personages. If the text did not seem to be in favour of the 
 latter part of this assertion, one might reasonably question its 
 truth. Another instance, at least, it is believed, admitting this 
 to be one, which is by no means certain, cannot be produced. 
 
AND GUY OF GISBORNE. I 23 
 
 Robin pulled forth an Irish knife, 
 
 And nicked sir Guy in the face, 
 That he was never on woman bom 
 
 Cold tell whose head it was. 
 
 Sayes, Lye there, lye there, now sir Guye, 
 
 And with me be not wrothe ; 
 Iff thou have had the worst strokes at my hand, 
 
 Thou shalt have the better clothe. 
 
 Robin did off his gown of greene, 
 
 And on sir Guy did it throwe, 
 And he put on that capull hyde, 
 
 That cladd him topp to toe. 
 
 " The bowe, the arrowes, and little home, 
 
 Now with me I will beare ; 
 For I will away to Bam^sdale, 
 
 To see how my men doe fare." 
 
 Robin Hood sett Guyes home to his mouth, 
 And a loude blast in it did blow : 
 
 That beheard the sheriffe of Nottingham, 
 As he leaned under a lowe. 
 
 Hearken, hearken, sayd the sheriffe, 
 
 I heare nowe tydings good. 
 For yonder I heare sir Guyes home blow, 
 
 And he hath slaine Robin Hoode. 
 
124 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 Yonder I heare sir Guyes home blowe, 
 
 Itt blowes soe well in tyde, 
 And yonder comes that wightye yeomkn, 
 
 Cladd in his capull hyde. 
 
 Come hyther, come hyther, thou good sir Guy, 
 
 Aske what thou wilt of mee, 
 O I will none of thy gold, sayd Robin, 
 
 Nor I will none of thy fee : 
 
 But now I have slaine the master, he sayes, 
 
 Let me goe strike the knave ; 
 For this is all the meede I aske ; 
 
 Nor no other will I have. 
 
 Thou art a madman, sayd the sheriffe, 
 Thou sholdst have had a knightes fee : 
 
 But seeing thy asking hath beene soe bad. 
 Well granted it shal bee. 
 
 When Little John heard his master speake, 
 Well knewe he it was his steven : 
 
 Now shall I be looset, quoth Little John, 
 With Christ his might in heaven. 
 
 Fast Robin hee hyed him to Little John, 
 He thought to loose him belive ; 
 
 The sheriffe and all his companye 
 Fast after him did drive. 
 
AND GUY OF GISBORNE. 1 25 
 
 Stand abacke, stand abacke, sayd Robin ; 
 
 Why draw you mee so neere ? 
 It was never the use in our country^, 
 
 Ones shrift another shold heere. 
 
 But Robin pulled forth an Irish knife, 
 
 And losed John hand and foote, 
 And gave him sir Guyes bow into his hand, 
 
 And bade it be his boote. 
 
 Then John he took Guyes bow in his hand, 
 His boltes and arrowes eche one : 
 
 When the sheriffe saw Little John bend his bow, 
 He fettled him to be gone^ 
 
 Towards his house in Nottingham towne, 
 
 He fled full fast away ; 
 And soe did all the companye : 
 
 Not one behind wold stay. 
 
 But he cold neither runne soe fast. 
 
 Nor away soe fast cold ryde, 
 But Little John with an arrowe soe broad, 
 
 He shott him into the ' backe '-syde.^ 
 
 1 Sic PC. querc the MS. 
 
V. 
 
 A TRUE TALE OF ROBIN HOOD 
 
 A briefe touch of the life and death of that re- 
 nowned outlaw Robert earl of Huntingdon, vulgarly 
 called Robin Hood, who lived and dyed in A. D. 
 1 198,^ being the 9th year of king Richard the first, 
 commonly called Richard Coeur de Lyon. 
 
 Carefully collected out of the truest writers of our 
 English Chronicles : and published for the satisfactioiv, 
 of those who desire truth from falshood. 
 
 BY MARTIN PARKER. 
 
 1 An absurd mistake, scarcely worth notice in this place, and 
 which the reader will have it in his own power to correct. 
 
ROBIN HOOD. 127 
 
 This poem, given from an edition in black letter printed for 
 I. Clarke, W. Thackeray, and T. Passinger, 1686, remaining in 
 the curious library left by Anthony a Wood, appears to have 
 been first entered on the hall-book of the Stationers' Company 
 the 29th of February 1631. 
 
 Martin Parker was a great writer of ballads, several of which, 
 with his initials subjoined, are still extant in the Pepysian and 
 other collections. (See "Ancient Songs," 1829, ii. p. 263.) 
 Dr. Percy mentions a little miscellany intitled, " The garland 
 of withered roses, by Martin Parker, 1656." The editor has, 
 likewise, seen "The nightingale warbling forth her own disas- 
 ter, or the rape of Philomela : newly written in English verse 
 by Martin Parker, 1632;" and, on the 24th of November 
 1640, Mr. Oulton enters at Stationers' Hall "a book called 
 The true story of Guy earle of Warwicke, in prose, by Martyn 
 Parker." 
 
 At the end of this poem the author adds " The epitaph which 
 the prioress of the monastry of Kirkslay in Yorkshire set over 
 Robin Hood, which," he says, " (as is before mentioned) was 
 to be read within these hundred years, though in old broken 
 English, much to the same sence and meaning." He gives it 
 thus: 
 
 "Decembris quarto die, 1198. anno regni Richard! primi 9. 
 
 " Robert earl of Huntington 
 
 " Lies under this little stone, 
 
 " No archer was like him so good ; 
 
 " His wildness named him Robin Hood ; 
 
 " Full thirteen years, and somethitig more, 
 
 " These northern parts he vexed sore ; 
 
 " Such outlaws as he and his men 
 
 " May England never know again." 
 
 "Some other superstitious words," he adds, "were in, which 
 I," says he, " thought fit to leave out." Now, under this precise 
 gentleman's favour, one would be glad to know what these same 
 " superstitious words " were ; there not being anything of the 
 
128 A TRUE TALE 
 
 kind in Dr. Gale's copy, which seems to be the original, and 
 which is shorter by two lines than the above. Thirteen should 
 be thirty. 
 
 Both gentlemen, and yeomen bold, 
 
 Or whatsoever you are. 
 To have a stately story told 
 
 Attention now prepare : 
 
 It is a tale of Robin Hood, 
 
 Which i to you will tell ; 
 Which, being rightly understood, 
 
 I know will please you well. 
 
 This Robin (so much talked on) 
 
 Was once a man of fame. 
 Instiled earl of Huntington, 
 
 Lord Robin Hood by name. 
 
 In courtship and magnificence 
 His carriage won him praise. 
 
 And greater favour with his prince 
 Than any in ' those ' ' days. 
 
 In bounteous liberality 
 
 He too much did excell, 
 And loved men of quality 
 
 More than exceeding well. 
 
 1 Our. 
 
OF ROBIN HOOD. I29 
 
 His great revenues all he sold 
 
 For wine and costly chear ; 
 He kept three hundred bow-men bold, 
 
 He shooting lov'd so dear. 
 
 No archer living in his time 
 
 With him might well compare ; 
 He practis'd all his youthful prime 
 
 That exercise most rare. 
 
 At last, by his profuse expence, 
 
 He had consum'd his wealth ; 
 And, being outlaw'd by his prince, 
 
 In woods he liv'd by stealth. 
 
 The abbot of Saint Maries rich, 
 
 To whom he money ought, 
 His hatred to the earl was such 
 
 That he his downfal wrought. 
 
 So being outlaw'd (as 'tis told) 
 
 He with a crew went forth 
 Of lusty cutters stout and bold. 
 
 And robbed in the North. 
 
 Among the rest one Little John, 
 
 A yeoman bold and free, 
 Who could (if it stood him upon) 
 
 With ease encounter three. 
 
130 A TRUE TALE 
 
 One hundred men in all he got, 
 With whom (the story says) 
 
 Three hundred common men durst not 
 Hold combat any waies. 
 
 They Yorkshire woods frequented much, 
 
 And Lancashire also. 
 Wherein their practises were such 
 
 That they wrought muckle woe. 
 
 None rich durst travel to and fro, 
 Though ne'r so strongly arm'd, 
 
 But by these thieves (so strong in show) 
 They still were rob'd and harm'd. 
 
 His chiefest spight to th' clergy was, 
 That liv'd in monstrous pride : 
 
 No one of them he would let pass 
 Along the highway side, 
 
 But first they must to dinner go, 
 
 And afterwards to shrift : 
 Full many a one he served so, 
 
 Thus while he liv'd by theft. 
 
 No monks nor fryers he would let go 
 Without paying their fees : 
 
 If they thought much to be used so. 
 Their stones he made them lese. 
 
OF ROBIN HOOD. I3I 
 
 For such as they the country fiU'd 
 
 With bastards in those days : 
 Which to prevent, these sparks did geld 
 
 All that came in their ways.^ 
 
 But Robin Hood so gentle was, 
 And bore so brave a mind, 
 
 If any in distress did pass. 
 To them he was so kind, 
 
 That he would give and lend to them. 
 To help them in their need ; 
 
 This made all poor men pray for him, 
 And wish he well might speed. 
 
 The widow and the fatherless 
 He would send means unto ; 
 
 And those whom famine did oppress 
 Found him a friendly foe. 
 
 1 There is no authority for imputing this execrable practice 
 to our hero or his companions, in any one single instance. If, 
 however, the lex talionis were at all justifiable, they certainly 
 had sufficient provocation to exercise it — not, indeed, upon the 
 clergy, in particular, but upon the king, his ministers, judges, 
 and nobles. "The ancient punishment for killing the king's 
 deer," says Dr. Percy, "was loss of eyes and castration: a 
 punishment far worse than death !" 
 
132 A TRUE TALE 
 
 Nor would he do a woman wrong, 
 But see her safe convey'd : 
 
 He would protect with power strong 
 All those who crav'd his aid. 
 
 The abbot of Saint Maries then, 
 
 Who him undid before, 
 Was riding with two hundred men, 
 
 And gold and silver store : 
 
 But Robin Hood upon him set. 
 With his couragious sparks. 
 
 And all the coyn perforce did get. 
 Which was twelve thousand marks. 
 
 He bound the abbot to a tree, 
 And would not let him pass. 
 
 Before that to his men and he 
 His lordship had said mass : 
 
 Which being done, upon his horse 
 
 He set him fast astride. 
 And with his face towkrds his a — 
 
 He forced him to ride. 
 
 His men were forced to be his guide, 
 For he rode backward home : 
 
 The abbot, being thus villify'd. 
 Did sorely chafe and fume. 
 
ROBIN HOOD AND THE ABBOT, 
 
.D ANw liii', Ati'tiCi. 
 
OF ROBIN HOOD. T33 
 
 Thus Robin Hood did vindicate 
 
 His former wrongs receiv'd : 
 For 'twas this covetous prelate 
 
 That him of land bereav'd. 
 
 The abbot he rode to the king, 
 
 With all the haste he could ; 
 And to his grace he every thing 
 
 Exactly did unfold : 
 
 And said that if no course were ta'n, 
 
 By force or stratagem, 
 To take this rebel and his train, 
 
 No man should pass for them. 
 
 The king protested by and by 
 
 Unto the abbot then, 
 That Robin Hood with speed should dye. 
 
 With all his merry men. 
 
 But e're the king did any send, 
 
 He did another feat, 
 Which did his grace much more offend, 
 
 The fact indeed was great : 
 
 For in a short time after that 
 
 The kings receivers went 
 Towards London with the coyn they got 
 
 For's highness northern rent : 
 
134 
 
 A TRUE TALE 
 
 Bold Robin Hood and Little John, 
 
 With the rest of their train, 
 Not dreading law, set them upon. 
 
 And did their gold obtain. 
 
 The king much moved at the same, 
 
 And the abbots talk also, 
 In this his anger did proclaim, 
 
 And sent word to and fro, 
 
 That whosoever alive or dead 
 Could bring bold Robin Hood, 
 
 Should have one thousand marks well paid 
 In gold and silver good. 
 
 This promise of the king did make 
 
 Full many yeomen bold 
 Attempt stout Robin Hood to take 
 
 With all the force they could. 
 
 But still when any came to him 
 
 Within the gay green wood. 
 He entertainment gave to them 
 
 With venison fat and good ; 
 
 And shew'd to them such martial sport 
 With his long bow and arrow. 
 
 That they of him did give report, 
 How that it was great sorow 
 
OF ROBIN HOOD. 1 35 
 
 That such ti worthy man as he 
 
 Should thus be put to shift, 
 Being a late lord of high degree, 
 
 Of living quite bereft. 
 
 The king to take him more and more 
 
 Sent men of mickle might ; 
 But he and his still beat them sore, 
 
 And conquered them in fight : 
 
 Or else with love and courtesie, 
 
 To him he won their hearts. 
 Thus still he liv'd by robbery 
 
 Throughout the northern parts ; 
 
 And all the country stood in dread 
 
 Of Robin Hood and's men : 
 For stouter lads ne'r liv'd by bread 
 
 In those days, nor since then. 
 
 The abbot, which before i nam'd, 
 
 Sought all the means he could 
 To have by force this rebel ta'n, 
 
 And his adherents bold. 
 
 Therefore he arm'd five hundred men, 
 
 With furniture compleat ; 
 But the outlaws slew half of them. 
 
 And made the rest retreat, 
 
136 A TRUE TALE 
 
 The long bow and the arrow keen 
 
 They were so us'd unto 
 That still he kept the forrest green 
 
 In spight o' th' proudest foe. 
 
 Twelve of the abbots men he took, 
 Who came to have him ta'n, 
 
 When all the rest the field forsook, 
 These he did entertain 
 
 With banqueting and merriment, 
 And, having us'd them well, 
 
 He to their lord them safely sent, 
 And will'd them him to tell. 
 
 That if he would be pleas'd at last 
 To beg of our good king, 
 
 That he might pardon what was past, 
 And him to favour bring, 
 
 He would surrender back again 
 
 The mony which before 
 Was taken by him ' and his ' men 
 
 From him and many more. 
 
 Poor men might safely pass by him, 
 And some that way would chuse. 
 
 For well they knew that to help them 
 He evermore did use. 
 
OF ROBIN HOOD. 137 
 
 But where he knew a miser rich 
 
 That did the poor oppress, 
 To feel his coyn his hands did itch, 
 
 He'd have it, more or less : 
 
 And sometimes, when the high-way fail'd, 
 
 Then he his courage rouzes, 
 He and his men have oft assaild 
 
 Such rich men in their houses : 
 
 So that, through dread of Robin then, 
 
 And his adventurous crew, 
 The misers kept great store of men, 
 
 Which else maintain'd but few. 
 
 King Richard, of that name the first, 
 
 Simamed Cceur de Lyon, 
 Went to defeat the Pagans curst, • 
 
 Who kept the coasts of Sion. 
 
 The bishop of Ely, chancellor. 
 
 Was left a vice-roy here. 
 Who, like a potent emperor. 
 
 Did proudly domineer. 
 
 Our chronicles of him report, 
 
 That commonly he rode 
 With a thousand horse from court to court, 
 
 Where he would make abode. 
 
 S 
 
138 A TRUE TALE 
 
 He, riding down towards the north, 
 
 With his aforesaid train, 
 Robin and his men did issue forth, 
 
 Them all to entertain ; 
 
 And with the gallant gray-goose wing 
 They shew'd to them such play 
 
 That made their horses kick and fling, 
 And down their riders lay, 
 
 Full glad and fain the bishop was, 
 For all his thousand men, 
 
 So seek what means he could to pass 
 From out of Robins ken. 
 
 Two hundred of his men were kill'd, 
 And fourscore horses good. 
 
 Thirty, who did as captives yield, 
 Were carried to the green wood ; 
 
 Which afterwards were ransomed. 
 For twenty marks a man : 
 
 The rest set spurs to horse and fled 
 To th' town of W^arrington. 
 
 The bishop, sore inraged, then 
 Did, in king Richards name. 
 
 Muster up a power of northern men, 
 These outlaws bold to tame. 
 
OF ROBIN HOOD. 1 39 
 
 But Robin with his courtesie 
 
 So won the meaner sort, 
 That they were loath on him to try 
 
 What rigour did import. 
 
 So that bold Robin and his train 
 
 Did live unhurt of them, 
 Until king Richard came again 
 
 From fair Jerusalem : 
 
 And then the talk of Robin Hood 
 
 His royal ears did fill ; 
 His grace admir'd that i' th' green wood 
 
 He was continued still. 
 
 So that the country far and near 
 
 Did give him great applause ; 
 For none of them need stand in fear, 
 
 But such as broke the laws. 
 
 He wished well unto the king. 
 
 And prayed still for his health, 
 And never practis'd any thing 
 
 Against the common-wealth. 
 
 Only, because he was undone 
 
 By th' cruel clergy then, 
 All means that he could think upon 
 
 To vex such kind of men, 
 
I40 A TRUE TALE 
 
 He enterpriz'd with hateful spleen; 
 
 For which he was to blame, 
 For fault of some to wreak his teen 
 
 On all that by him came. 
 
 With wealth that he by roguery got 
 Eight alms-houses he built, 
 
 Thinking thereby to purge the blot 
 Of blood which he had spilt. 
 
 Such was their blind devotion then, 
 Depending on their works ; 
 
 Which if 'twere true, we Christian men 
 Inferiour were to Turks. 
 
 But, to speak true of Robin Hood, 
 And wrong him not a jot. 
 
 He never would shed any mans blood 
 That him invaded not. 
 
 Nor would he injure husbandmen, 
 That toil at cart and plough ; 
 
 For well he knew wer't not for them 
 To live no man knew how. 
 
 The king in person, with some lords, 
 
 To Nottingham did ride. 
 To try what strength and skill affords 
 
 To crush this outlaws pride. 
 
OF ROBIN HOOD. I4I 
 
 And, as he once before had done, 
 
 He did again proclaim, 
 That whosoever would take upon 
 
 To bring to Nottingham, 
 
 Or any place within the land, 
 
 Rebellious Robin Hood, 
 Should be preferr'd in place to stand 
 
 With those of noble blood. 
 
 When Robin Hood heard of the same, 
 
 Within a little space. 
 Into the town of Nottingham 
 
 A letter to his grace 
 
 He shot upon an arrow head, 
 
 One evening cunningly ; 
 Which was brought to the king, and read 
 
 Before his majesty. 
 
 The tenour of this letter was 
 
 That Robin would submit. 
 And be true liegeman to his grace 
 
 In any thing that's fit, 
 
 So that his highness would forgive 
 
 Him and his merry men all ; 
 If not, he must i' th' green wood live. 
 
 And take what chance did fall 
 
142 A TRUE TALE 
 
 The king would feign have pardoned him,. 
 
 But that some lords did say, 
 This president will much condemn 
 
 Your grace another day. 
 
 While that the king and lords did stay 
 
 Debating on this thing, 
 Some of these outlaws fled away 
 
 Unto the Scottish king. 
 
 For they suppos'd, if he were ta'n 
 
 Or to the king did yield, 
 By th' commons all the rest of 's train 
 
 Full quickly would be quell'd. 
 
 Of more than full an hundred men, 
 
 But forty tarried still, 
 Who were resolv'd to stick to him, 
 
 Let Fortune work her will. 
 
 If none had fled, all for his sake 
 
 Had got their pardon free ; 
 The king to favour meant to take 
 
 His merry men and he. 
 
 But e're the pardon to him came 
 
 This famous archer dy'd : 
 His death and manner of the same 
 
 rie presently describe. 
 
OF ROBIN HOOD. 143 
 
 For, being vext to think upon 
 
 His followers revolt, 
 In melancholy passibn 
 
 He did recount his fault. 
 
 Perfidious traytors ! said he then. 
 
 In all your dangers past 
 Have i you guarded as my men, 
 
 To leave me thus at last ! 
 
 This sad perplexity did cause 
 
 A feaver, as some say. 
 Which him unto confusion draws, 
 
 Though by a stranger way. 
 
 This deadly danger to prevent. 
 
 He hie'd him with all speed 
 Unto a nunnery, with intent 
 
 For his healths-sake to bleed. 
 
 A faithless fryer did pretend 
 
 In love to let him blood. 
 But he by falshood wrought the end 
 
 Of famous Robin Hood. 
 
 The fryer, as some say, did this 
 
 To vindicate the wrong 
 Which to the clergy he and his 
 
 Had done by power strong. 
 
144 -'^ TRUE TALE 
 
 Thus dyed he by treachery, 
 That could not die by force ; 
 
 Had he Uv'd longer, certainly 
 King Richard, in remorse. 
 
 Had unto favour him receiv'd, 
 ' His ' brave men elevated : 
 
 'Tis pitty he was of life bereav'd 
 By one which he so hated. 
 
 A treacherous leach this fryer was, 
 To let him bleed to death ; 
 
 And Robin was, methinks, an ass 
 To trust him with his breath. 
 
 His corps the prioress of the place, 
 The next day that he d/d. 
 
 Caused to be buried, in mean case, 
 Close by the high-way side. 
 
 And over him she caused a stone 
 To be fixt on the ground. 
 
 An epitaph was set thereon, 
 Wherein his name was found ; 
 
 The date o' th' year and day also, 
 
 She made to be set there : 
 That all, who by the way did go, 
 » Might see it plain appear. 
 
OF ROBIN HOOD. 1 45 
 
 That such a man as Robin Hood 
 
 Was buried in that place ; 
 And how he Hved in the green wood 
 
 And robbed for a space. 
 
 It seems that though the clergy he 
 
 Had put to mickle woe, 
 He should not quite forgotten be 
 
 Although he was their foe. 
 
 This woman, though she did him hate. 
 
 Yet loved his memory ; 
 And thought it wondrous pitty that 
 
 His fame should with him dye. 
 
 This epitaph, as records tell, 
 
 Within this hundred years, 
 By many was discerned well. 
 
 But time all things out-wears. 
 
 His followers, when he was dead. 
 
 Were some repriev'd to grace ; 
 The rest to foreign countries fled, 
 
 And left their native place. 
 
 Although his funeral was but mean, 
 
 This woman had in mind, 
 Least his fame should be buried clean 
 
 From those that came behind. 
 
 T 
 
146 A TRUE TALE 
 
 For certainly, before nor since, 
 
 No man e're understood, 
 Under the reign of any prince, 
 
 Of one like Robin Hood. 
 
 Full thirteen years, and something more, 
 
 These outlaws lived thus ; 
 Feared of the rich, loved of the poor : 
 
 A thing most marvellous. 
 
 A thing impossible to us 
 
 This story seems to be ; 
 None dares be now so venturous, 
 
 But times are chang'd we see. 
 
 We that live in these later days 
 
 Of civil government. 
 If need be, have an hundred ways 
 
 Such outlaws to prevent. 
 
 In those days men more barbarous were, 
 
 And lived less in awe ; 
 Now (god be thanked) people fear 
 
 More to offend the law. 
 
 No waring guns were then in use, 
 They dreamt of no such thing ; 
 
 Our Englishmen in fight did use 
 The gallant gray-goose wing ; 
 
OF ROBIN HOOD. I47 
 
 In which activity these men, 
 
 Through practise, were so good, 
 That in those days none equal'd them, 
 
 Especially Robin Hood. 
 
 So that, it seems, keeping in caves. 
 
 In woods and forests thick, 
 They'd beat a multitude with staves, 
 
 Their arrows did so prick : 
 
 And none durst neer unto them come. 
 
 Unless in courtesie ; 
 All such he bravely would send home 
 
 With mirth and jollity : 
 
 Which courtesie won him such love, 
 
 As i before have told, 
 'Twas the chief cause that he did prove 
 
 More prosperous than he could. ^ 
 
 Let us be thankful for these times 
 
 Of plenty, truth and peace ; 
 And leave our great and horrid crimes, 
 
 Least they cause this to cease. 
 
 I know there's many feigned tales 
 
 Of Robin Hood and 's crew ; 
 But chronicles, which seldome fails. 
 
 Reports this to be true. 
 
 1 i.e. than he could otherwise have been. 
 
148 A TRUE TALE OF ROBIN HOOD. 
 
 Let none then think this is a lye, 
 For, if 'twere put to th' worst. 
 
 They may the truth of all descry 
 I' th' reign of Richard the first. 
 
 If any reader please to try, 
 
 As i direction show. 
 The truth of this brave history, 
 
 He'l find it true I know. 
 
 And i shall think my labour well 
 Bestow'd to purpose good, 
 
 When't shall be said that i did tell 
 True tales of Robin Hood. 
 
ROBIN HOOD. 
 Part M. 
 
 I. 
 
 ROBIN HOOD'S BIRTH, BREEDING, 
 VALOUR, AND MARRIAGE. 
 
 From a black letter copy in the large and valuable collection of 
 old ballads late belonging to Thomas Pearson, Esq., and now in 
 the possession of the Duke of Roxburghe. This is the collection 
 mentioned in the Harleian Catalogue, and would seem to be the 
 greater part of that originally made by old Bagford (see Hearne's 
 Appendix to Hemingi Chartularium, p. 662), another volume or 
 two having come, with the rest of his typographical collections, 
 to the British Museum. The three vols, which went to Osborne 
 were probably bought of him by Mr. West, at whose sale they 
 
150 ROBIN hood's 
 
 were purchased by Major Pearson, by whom the collection was 
 new-arranged, ornamented, and improved. 
 
 In reading this song, we are admonished by the editor of the 
 collection of old ballads printed in 1723 (who thinks it "the 
 most beautiful and one of the oldest extant, written on that 
 subject") to observe one thing, "and that is, between some 
 of the stanzas we must suppose a considerable time to pass. 
 Clorinda," he says, "might be [thought] a very forward girl, if 
 between Robin Hood's question and her answer we did not 
 suppose two or three hours to have been spent in courtship ; 
 and between Robin Hood's being entertained at Gamwell-hall 
 and his having ninety-three bowmen in Sherwood, we must allow 
 some years." 
 
 With respect to its antiquity. Dr. Percy, in the new edition of 
 his " Reliques of Ancient English Poetry " (vol. i. p. xcvii.), 
 expresses a very different opinion ; since, according to him, it 
 " seems of much later date than most of the others, and can 
 scarce be older than the reign of King Charles I. ; for, "says he, 
 " King James I. had no issue after his accession to the throne 
 of England : " an observation which, if any way to the purpose, 
 is certainly NOT truk. " It may even," he continues, " have 
 been written since the Restoration, and only express the wishes of 
 the nation for issue on the marriage of their favourite King Charles 
 II. on his marriage (sic) with the infanta of Portugal." However 
 this may be, the writer's having deviated from "all the old 
 traditions concerning this celebrated outlaw," is no proof that he 
 was "ignorant" of them ; and that Dr. Percy chooses to " think 
 it is not found in the Pepys Collection " only shows conjecture to 
 be easier than investigation. {S" In the second volume of that 
 collection, any person disposed to the search will find at least 
 TWO COPIES of it, both in black letter. 
 
 The full title of the original is : "A new ballad of bold Robin 
 Hood ; shewing his birth, breeding, valour, and marriage at 
 'I'itbury Bull-running. Calculated for the meridian of Stafford- 
 shire, but may serve for Derbyshire or Kent." 
 
BIRTH, BREEDING, ETC. 15 1 
 
 Kind gentlemen, will you be patient awhile ? 
 
 Ay, and then you shall hear anon 
 A very good ballad of bold Robin Hood, 
 
 And of his man brave Little John. 
 
 In Locksly town, in merry Nottinghamshire, 
 
 In merry sweet Locksly town, 
 There bold Robin Hood he was bom and was bred, 
 
 Bold Robin of famous renown. 
 
 The father of Robin a forrester was, 
 
 And he shot in a lusty strong bow 
 Two north-country miles and an inch at a shot, 
 
 As the Pinder of Wakefield does know. 
 
 For he brought Adam Bell, and Clim of the Clugh, 
 
 And William of ' Clowdesle,' ^ 
 To shoot with our forrester for forty mark, 
 
 And the forrester beat them all three. 
 
 His mother was neece to the Coventry knight, 
 Which Warwickshire men call sir Guy ; 
 
 For he slew the blue bore that hangs up at the gate. 
 Or mine host of the Bull tells a lie. 
 
 1 Clowdel le. For an account of these worthies the reader 
 may consult their old metrical legend in Percy's *' Reliques," 
 vol. i., or "Ancient Popular Poetry," 1791. 
 
152 ROBIN HOODS 
 
 Her brother was Gamwel, of Great Gamwel hall, 
 
 A noble house-keeper was he, 
 Ay, as ever broke bread in sweet Nottinghamshire, 
 
 And a 'squire of famous degree. 
 
 The mother of Robin said to her husbhnd, 
 
 My honey, my love, and my dear. 
 Let Robin and I ride this morning to Gamwel, 
 
 To taste of my brother's good cheer. 
 
 And he said, I grant thee thy boon, gentle Joan, 
 
 Take one of my horses, I pray : 
 The sun is arising, and therefore make haste. 
 
 For to-morrow is Christmas-day. 
 
 Then Robin Hood's father's grey gelding was brought. 
 
 And sadled and bridled was he ; 
 God-wot a blue bonnet, his new suit of cloaths, 
 
 And a cloak that did reach to his knee. 
 
 She got on her holyday kirtle and gown. 
 
 They were of a light Lincoln green ; 
 The cloath was homespun, but for colour and make 
 
 It might ' have beseemed '^ our queen. 
 
 And then Robin got on his basket-hilt sword, 
 
 And his dagger on his tother side ; 
 And said. My dear mother, let's haste to be gone. 
 
 We have forty long miles to ride. 
 
 + A beseem'd. 
 
BIRTH, BREEDING, ETC. 1 53 
 
 When Robin had mounted his gelding so grey, 
 
 His father, without any trouble, 
 Set her up behind him, and bad her not fear, 
 
 For his gelding ' had ' oft carried double. 
 
 And when she was ^ settled, they rode to their neigh- 
 And drank and shook hands with them all ; [bours, 
 
 And then Robin gallopt, and never gave o're. 
 Till they lighted at Gamwel-hall. 
 
 And now you may think the right worshipful squire 
 
 Was joyful his sister to see ; 
 For he kist her, and kist her, and swore a great oath. 
 
 Thou art welcome, kind sister, to me. 
 
 To-morrow, when mass had been said at the chappel, 
 
 Six tables were covered in the hall, 
 And in comes the squire, and makes a short speech, 
 
 It was. Neighbours, you're welcome alL 
 
 But not a man here shall taste my March beer, 
 
 Till a Christmas carrol he does sing. 
 Then all clapt their hands, and theys houted and sung. 
 
 Till the hall and the parlour did ring. 
 
 Now mustard and brawn, roast beef and plumb pies 
 
 Were set upon every table ; 
 And noble George Gamwel said, Eat and be merry. 
 
 And drink too as long as you're able. 
 
 > Has. 
 
154 ROBIN hood's 
 
 When dinner was ended, his chaplain said grace, 
 And, Be merry, my friends, said the squire ; 
 
 It rains and it blows, but call for more ale, 
 And lay some more wood on the fire. 
 
 And now call ye Little John hither to me, 
 
 For Little John is a fine lad. 
 At gambols and juggling, and twenty such tricks, 
 
 As shall make you both merry and glad. 
 
 When Little John came, to gambols they went. 
 Both gentlemen, yeomen, and clown ; 
 
 And what do you think ? Why, as true as I live. 
 Bold Robin Hood put them all down. 
 
 And now you may think the right worshipful squire 
 
 Was joyful this sight for to see ; 
 For he said, Cousin Robin, thou'st go no more home. 
 
 But tarry and dwell here with me. : 
 
 Thou shalt have my land when I die, and till then, 
 
 Thou shalt be the staff of my age. 
 Then grant me my boon, dear uncle, said Robin, 
 
 That Little John may be my page. 
 
 And he said. Kind cousin, I grant thee thy boon ; 
 
 With all my heart, so let it be. 
 Then come hither, Little John, said Robin Hood, 
 
 Come hither my page unto me : 
 
BIRTH, BREEDING, ETC. 1 55 
 
 Go fetch me my bow, my longest long bow, 
 And broad arrows, one, two, or three. 
 
 For when 'tis fair weather we'll into Sherwood, 
 Some merry pastime to see. 
 
 When Robin Hood came into merry Sherwood, 
 
 He winded his bugle so clear ; 
 And twice five and twenty good yeomen and bold, 
 
 Before Robin Hood did appear. 
 
 Where are your companions all ? said Robin Hood, 
 
 For still I want forty and three. 
 Then said a bold yeoman, Lo, yonder they stand. 
 
 All under the ^ green wood tree. 
 
 As that word was spoke, Clorinda came by, 
 The queen of the shepherds was she ; 
 
 And her gown was of velvet as green as the grass. 
 And her buskin did reach to her knee. 
 
 Her gate it was graceful, her body was straight, 
 And her countenance free from pride ; 
 
 A bow in her hand, and a quiver of arrows 
 Hung dangling by her sweet side. 
 
 Her eye-brows were black, ay, and so was her hair, 
 And her skin was as smooth as glass ; 
 
 Her visage spoke wisdom, ana modesty too : 
 Sets with Robin Hood such a lass ! 
 
 » A. 
 
156 ROBIN hood's 
 
 Said Robin Hood, Lady fair, whither away ? 
 
 whither, fair lady, away ? 
 
 And she made him answer. To kill a fat buck ; 
 For to-morrow is Titbury day. 
 
 Said Robin Hood, Lady fair, wander with me 
 
 A little to yonder green bower ; 
 There set down to rest you, and you shall be sure 
 
 Of a brace or a ' leash ' ^ in an hour. 
 
 And as we were going towkrds the green bower. 
 
 Two hundred good bucks we espy'd ; 
 She chose 2 out the fattest that was in the herd, 
 
 And she shot him through side and side. 
 
 By the faith of my body, said bold Robin Hood, 
 
 1 never saw woman like thee ; 
 
 And com'st thou from east, or com'st thou from west, 
 Thou needst not beg venison of me. 
 
 However, along to my bower you shall go. 
 
 And taste of a forrester's meat : 
 And when we came thither we found as good cheer 
 
 As any man needs for to eat. 
 
 For there was hot venison, and warden pies cold, 
 Cream clouted, and honey-combs plenty ; 
 
 And the servitors they were, besides Little John, 
 Good yeomen, at least four and twenty. 
 
 1 Lease. ■ - Choose. 
 
BIRTH, BREEDING, ETC. 157 
 
 Clorinda said. Tell me your name, gentle sir : 
 
 And he said, 'Tis bold Robin Hood : 
 Squire Gamwel's my uncle, but all my delight 
 
 Is to dwell in the merry Sherwood ; 
 
 For 'tis a fine life, and 'tis void of all strife. 
 
 So 'tis, sir, Clorinda reply'd. 
 But oh ! said bold Robin, how sweet would it be, 
 
 If Clorinda would be my bride I 
 
 She blusht at the motion ; yet, after a pause, 
 
 Said, Yes, sir, and with all my heart. 
 Then let us send for a priest, said Robin Hood, 
 
 And be married before we do part. 
 
 But she said, It may not be so, gentle sir, 
 
 For I must be at Titbury feast ; 
 And if Robin Hood will go thither with me, 
 
 I'll make him the most welcome guest. 
 
 Said Robin Hood, Reach me that buck, Little John, 
 
 For I'll go along with my dear ; 
 And bid my yeomen kill six brace of bucks, 
 
 And meet me to-morrow just here. 
 
 Before he had ridden five Staffordshire miles. 
 
 Eight yeomen, that were too bold, 
 Bid Robin Hood stand, and deliver his buck : 
 
 A truer tale never was told. 
 
158 ROBIN hood's 
 
 I will not, faith, said bold Robin ; come, John, 
 
 Stand by me, and we'll beat 'em all 
 Then both drew their swords, and so cut 'em, and 
 
 That five out of them did fall. [slasht 'em, 
 
 The three that remain'd call'd to Robin for quarter, 
 
 And pitiful John begg'd their lives : 
 When John's boon was granted, he gave them good 
 
 And sent them all home to their wives, [counsel. 
 
 This battle was fought near to Titbury town, 
 
 When the bagpipes baited the bull ; 
 I'm the king of the fidlers, and I swear 'tis truth, 
 
 And I call him that doubts it a gull : 1 
 
 For I saw them fighting, and fiddled the while j 
 And Clorinda sung " Hey derry down ! 
 
 The bumkins are beaten, put up thy sword, Bob, 
 And now let's dance into the town." 
 
 Before we came in we heard a great shouting, 
 
 And all that were in it look'd madly ; 
 For some were on bull- back, some dancing a morris. 
 
 And some singing Arthur-a-Bradley.'^ 
 
 ^ For an account of Tutbury bull-running, and the character 
 of king of the nninstrels there, see Dr. Plott's " Natural History 
 of Staffordshire," chap. x. § 69 ; Sir J. Hawkins's " History of 
 Music," vol. ii. p. 64; and Blount's "Ancient Tenures," by Beck- 
 with, p. 303, 8vo edit. 
 
 2 See this old and popular ballad in the Appendix. 
 
BIRTH, BREEDING, ETC. 1 59 
 
 And there we see Thomas, our justices clerk, 
 
 And Mary, to whom he was kind ; 
 For Tom rode before her, and call'd Mary madam, 
 
 And kiss'd her full sweetly behind : 
 
 And so may your worships. But we went to dinner, 
 
 With Thomas and Mary, and Nan ; 
 They all drank a health to Clorinda, and told her, 
 
 Bold Robin Hood was a fine man. 
 
 When dinner was ended, sir Roger, the parson 
 
 Of Dubbridge, was sent for in haste : 
 He brought his mass-book, and he bad them take 
 
 And joyn'd them in marriage full fast. [hands, 
 
 And then, as bold Robin Hood and his sweet bride 
 Went hand in hand to the green bower. 
 
 The birds sung with pleasure in merry Sherwood, 
 And 'twas a most joyful hour. 
 
 And when Robin came in sight of the bower. 
 
 Where are my yeomen ? said he : 
 And Little John answer'd, Lo, yonder they stand, 
 
 All under the green- wood-tree. 
 
 Then a garland they brought her by two and by two, 
 And plac'd them all on the bride's head : 
 
 The music struck up, and we all fell to dance, 
 'Till the bride and bridegroom were a-bed. 
 
l6o ROBIN hood's birth, BREEDING, ETC. 
 
 And what they did there must be counsel to me, 
 Because they lay long the next day ; 
 
 And I had haste home, but I got a good piece 
 Of bride-cake, and so came away. 
 
 Now, out, alas ! I had forgotten to tell ye. 
 That marry'd they were with a ring ; 
 
 And so will Nan Knight, or be buried a maiden : 
 And now let us pray for the king ; 
 
 That he may get children, and they may get more, 
 
 To govern and do us some good : 
 And then I'll make ballads in Robin Hood's bower 
 
 And sing 'em in merry Sherwood. 
 
II. 
 
 ROBIN HOOD'S PROGRESS TO NOTTINGHAM. 
 
 From an old black letter copy in the collection of Anthony a 
 Wood. It is there said to go " To the tune of Bold Robin 
 Hood ; " and the chorus is repeated in every stanza. To the 
 above title are added the following doggerel lines : 
 
 Where hee met with fifteen forresters all on a row, 
 And hee desired of them some news for to know, 
 But with crosse grain'd words they did him thwart. 
 For which at last hee made them smart. 
 
 Robin Hood he was and a tall young man, 
 Deny derry down, 
 And fifteen winters old ; 
 And Robin Hood he was a proper young man, 
 Of courage stout and bold. 
 
 Hey down, derry derry down. 
 
 X 
 
 I 
 
1 62 ROBIN hood's 
 
 Robin hee ^ would and to fair Nottingham, 
 
 With the general for to dine ; 
 There was hee aware of fifteen forrest^rs, 
 
 And a drinking bear, ale, and wine. 
 
 What news ? What news ? said bold Robin Hood. 
 
 " What news fain wouldest thou know ? " 
 Our king hath provided a shooting match, 
 
 And I'm ready with my bow. 
 
 We hold it in scorn, said the forrest^rs, 
 
 That ever a boy so young 
 Should bear a bow before our king, 
 
 That's not able to draw one string. , 
 
 rie hold you twenty marks, said bold Robin Hood, 
 
 By the leave of our lady. 
 That I'le hit a mark a hundred rod, 
 
 And I'le cause a hart to dye. 
 
 We'l hold you twenty mark, then said the forresters, 
 
 By the leave of our lady. 
 Thou hit'st not the marke a hundred rod, 
 
 Nor causest a hart to dye. 
 
 Robin he ^ bent up a noble bow. 
 
 And a broad arrow he let flye. 
 He hit the mark a hundred rod. 
 
 And he caused a hart to dye. 
 
 1 Robin Hood. 
 
PROGRESS TO NOTTINGHAM. 1 63 
 
 Some say hee brake ribs one or two, 
 
 And some say hee brake three ; 
 The arrow within the hart would not abide, 
 
 But it glanced in two or three. 
 
 The hart did skip, and the hart did leap, 
 
 And the hart lay on the ground ; 
 The wager is mine, said bold Robin Hood, 
 
 Ift were for a thousand pound. 
 
 The wager's none of thine, then said the forrest^rs. 
 
 Although thou beest in haste ; 
 Take up thy bow, and get thee hence. 
 
 Lest wee thy sides do baste. 
 
 Robin Hood hee took up his noble bow, 
 
 And his broad arrows all amain ; 
 And Robin he ^ laught, and begun [forj to smile, 
 
 As hee went over the plain. 
 
 Then Robin he ^ bent his noble bow. 
 
 And his broad arrows he let flye. 
 Till fourteen of these fifteen forrest^rs 
 
 Upon the ground did lye. 
 
 He that did this quarrel first begin 
 
 Went tripping over the plain ; 
 But Robin he * bent his noble bow, 
 
 And hee fetcht him back again. 
 
 I Robin Hood. 
 
164 ROBIN hood's 
 
 You said I was no archer, said Robin Hood, 
 
 But say so now again : 
 With that he sent another arrow, 
 
 That spht his head in twain. 
 
 You have found mee an archer, saith Robin Hood, 
 Which will make your wives for to wring, 
 
 And wish that you had never spoke the word. 
 That I could not draw one string. 
 
 The people that lived in fair Nottinghkm 
 
 Came running out amain. 
 Supposing to have taken bold Robin Hood, 
 
 With the forresters that were slain. 
 
 Some lost legs, and some lost arms. 
 
 And some did lose their blood ; 
 But Robin hee took up his noble bow, 
 
 And is gone to the merry green wood. 
 
 They carried these forresters into fair Nottinghkm, 
 
 As many there did know ; 
 They dig'd them graves in their church-yard. 
 
 And they buried them all a-row. 
 
 *^* The paragraph of which the following is an extract ap- 
 peared in the evening paper intitled " The Star," April 23, 1796 : 
 " A few days ago as some labourers were digging in a garden 
 at Fox-lane, near Nottingham, they discovered six human 
 skeletons entire, deposited in regular order side by side, supposed 
 
PROGRESS TO NOTTINGHAM. 
 
 165 
 
 to be part of the fifteen foresters that were killed by Robin Hood. 
 Near the above place anciently stood a church, built in the early 
 ages of Christianity, dedicated to St. Michael, which was totally 
 demolished at the Reformation, . . . No doubt but the bones in 
 question were projaerly buried in St. Michael's churchyard. The 
 proprietors of the garden humanely ordered the pit where the 
 bones were found to be filled up, being unwilling to disturb the 
 relics of humanity and the ashes of the dead." 
 
 iiiP^" 
 
III. 
 
 THE JOLLY PINDER OF WAKEFIELD, WITH 
 ROBIN HOOD, SCARLET, AND JOHN. 
 
 From an old black letter copy in Anthony a Wood's collec- 
 tion, compared with two others in the British Museum, one in 
 black letter. It should be sung "To an excellent tune," which 
 has not been recovered. 
 
 Several lines of this ballad are quoted in the two old plays of 
 the " Downfall " and " Death of Robert, Earle of Huntington," 
 i6or, 4to, b. 1., but acted many years before. It is also alluded 
 to in Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor, act i. scene i, and 
 again in his Second Part of King Henry IV., act v. scene 3. 
 
 In 1557 certain "ballets" are entered on the books of the 
 Stationers' Company "to John Wailye and Mrs. Toye," one of 
 which is entitled " Of wakefylde and a grene : " meaning ap- 
 parently the ballad here reprinted. 
 
PINDER OF WAKEFIELD. 1 67 
 
 In Wakefield there lives a jolly pind^r, 
 In Wakefield all on a green, 
 In Wakefield all on a green : 
 
 There is neither knight nor squire, said the pind^r, 
 
 Nor baron that is so bold, 
 
 Nor baron that is so bold, 
 Dare make a trespciss to the town of Wakefield, 
 
 But his pledge goes to the pinfold, &c. 
 
 All this beheard three witty young men, 
 'Twas Robin Hood, Scarlet, and John ; 
 
 With that they espy'd the jolly pind^r, 
 As he sat under a thorn. 
 
 Now turn again, turn again, said the pind^r, 
 For a wrong way you have gone ; 
 
 For you have forsaken the kings highway. 
 And made a path over the com. 
 
 O that were a shame, said jolly Robin, 
 We being three, and thou but one. 
 
 The pinder leapt back then thirty good foot, 
 'Twas thirty good foot and one. 
 
 He leaned his back fast unto a thorn, 
 And his foot against a stone, 
 
1 68 PINDER OF WAKEFIELD. 
 
 And there he fought a long summers day, 
 
 A summers day so long, 
 Till that their swords on their broad buckl&rs 
 
 Were broke fast into their hands. ^ 
 
 Hold thy hand, hold thy hand, said bold Robin 
 And my merry men every one ; [Hood, 
 
 For this is one of the best pind^rs, 
 That ever I tryed with sword. 
 
 And wilt thou forsake thy pinders craft, 
 And live in the green-wood with me ? 
 
 " At Michaelmas next my cov'nant comes out, 
 When every man gathers his fee ; 
 
 Then I'le take my blew blade all in my hand, 
 And plod to the green-wood with thee." 
 
 Hast thou either meat or drink, said Robin Hood, 
 For my merry men and me ? 
 
 I have both bread and beef, said the pind^r, 
 
 And good ale of the best. 
 And that is meat good enough, said Robin Hood, 
 
 For such unbidden 'guests.' 
 
 1 The editor thinks it his duty to retain, in some instances, 
 even the manifest corruptions of the old copies ; in hopes that 
 earlier and better authorities may one day enable him to remove 
 them. 
 
ROBIN HOOD AND THE FINDER, 
 
ROBIN HOOD AI 
 
 INDER. 
 
PINDER OF WAKEFIELD. 
 
 " O wilt thou forsake the pinder his craft, 
 And go to the green-wood with me ? 
 
 Thou shalt have a livery twice in the year, 
 The one green, the other brown." 
 
 " If Michaelmas day was come and gone. 
 And my master had paid me my fee. 
 
 Then would I set as little by him, 
 As my master doth by me." 
 
 169 
 
IV. 
 
 ROBIN HOOD AND THE BISHOP, 
 
 ' ' Shewing how Robin Hood went to an old woman's house 
 and changed cloaths with her to scape from the bishop ; and how 
 he robbed the bishop of all his gold, and made him sing a mass. 
 To the tune of Robin Hood and the Stranger." From an old 
 black letter copy in the collection of Anthony a Wood. 
 
 Come, gentlemen all, and listen awhile, 
 Hey down, down^^an a down. 
 
 And a story ile to you unfold ; 
 He tell you how Robin Hdoo served the bishop, 
 
 When he robbed him of his gold. 
 
ROBIN HOOD AND THE BISHOP. lyi 
 
 As it fell out on a sun-shining day, 
 
 When Phoebus was in ' his ' prime, 
 Then Robin Hood, that archer good, 
 
 In mirth would spend some time. 
 
 And as he walk'd the forrest along, 
 
 Some pastime for to spy. 
 There was he aware of a proud bishop, 
 
 And all his company. 
 
 O what shall I do, said Robin Hood th^, 
 
 If the bishop he doth take me ? 
 No mercy he'l show unto me, I know, 
 
 But hanged I shall be. 
 
 Then Robin was stout, and turned him about. 
 And a little house there he did spy ; 
 
 And to an old wife, for to save his life. 
 He loud began for to cry. 
 
 Why, who art thou ? said the old womkn, 
 
 Come tell to me for good. 
 "I am an out- law, as many do know. 
 
 My name it is Robin Hood ; 
 
 I 
 
 And yonder's the bishop and all his men. 
 
 And if that I taken be. 
 Then day and night he'l work my spight, 
 
 And hanged I shall be." 
 
172 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 If thou be Robin Hood, said the old wife, 
 
 As thou * dost' seem to be, 
 rie for thee provide, and thee I will hide, 
 
 From the bishop and his company. 
 
 For I remember, ' one ' Saturday night, 
 Thou brought me both shoos and hose ; 
 
 Therefore Tie provide thy person to hide, 
 And keep thee from thy foes. 
 
 " Then give me soon thy coat of gray, 
 And take thou my mantle of green ; 
 
 Thy spindle and twine unto me resign, 
 And take thou my arrows so keen." 
 
 And when Robin Hood was so araid. 
 
 He went straight to his company. 
 With his spindle and twine, he oft lookt behind, 
 
 For the bishop and his company. 
 
 O who is yonder, quoth little John, 
 
 That now comes over the lee ? 
 An arrow I will at her let flie. 
 
 So like an old witch looks she. 
 
 hold thy hand, hold thy hand, said Robin Hood 
 And shoot not thy arrows so keen ; [then, 
 
 1 am Robin Hood, thy master good, 
 
 And quickly it shall be seen. 
 
AND THE BISHOP, 1 73 
 
 The bishop he came to the old womans house, 
 
 And called, with furious mood. 
 Come let me soon see, and bring unto me 
 
 That traitor Robin Hood. 
 
 The old woman he set on a milk-white steed, 
 
 Himselfe on a dapple gray ; 
 And for joy he had got Robin Hood, 
 
 He went laughing all the way. 
 
 But as they were riding the forrest along, 
 
 The bishop he ' chanc'd ' for to see 
 A hundred brave bowmen bold. 
 
 Stand under the green-wood tree. 
 
 O who is yonder, the bishop then said. 
 That's ranging within yonder wood ? 
 
 Marry, says the old woman, I think it to be 
 A man call'd Robin Hood. 
 
 Why, who art thou, the bishop he said. 
 
 Which I have here with me ? 
 " Why, I am an old woman, thou cuckoldly bishop. 
 
 Lift up my leg and see." 
 
 Then woe is me, the bishop he said. 
 
 That ever I saw this day ! 
 He turn'd him about, but Robin stout 
 
 Call'd him, and bid him stay. 
 
174 ROBIN HOOD AND THE BISHOP. 
 
 Then Robin took hold of the bishop's horse, 
 
 And ty'd him fast to a tree ; 
 Then Little John smil'd his master upon, 
 
 For joy of that company. 
 
 Robin Hood took his mantle from's back, 
 
 And spread it upon the ground, 
 And out of the bishops portmantle he 
 
 Soon told five hundred pound. 
 
 Now let him go, said Robin Hood. 
 
 Said little John, That may not be ; 
 For I vow and protest he shall sing us a mass, 
 
 Before that he goe from me. 
 
 Then Robin Hood took the bishop by the hand, 
 
 And bound him fast to a tree, 
 And made him sing a mass, god wot, 
 
 To him and his yeomandree. 
 
 And then they brought him through the wood, 
 
 And set him on his dapple gray. 
 And gave him the tail within his hand. 
 
 And bade him for Robin Hood pray. 
 
ROBIN HOOD AND THE BUTCHER. 
 
 From an old black letter copy in the collection of Anthony 
 Wood. The tune is *' Robin Hood and the Begger." 
 
 Come, all you brave gallants, listen awhile, 
 lVt//t hey down, down, an a down. 
 
 That are ' this bower ' ^ within ; 
 For of Robin Hood, that archer good, 
 
 A song I intend for to sing. 
 
 Upon a time it chanced so, 
 
 Bold Robin in [the] forrest did 'spy 
 
 A jolly butcher, with a bonny fine mare. 
 With his flesh to the market did hye. 
 
 1 In the bowers. 
 
176 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 Good morrow, good fellow, said jolly Robin, 
 What food hast [thou], tell unto me ? 
 
 Thy trade to me tell, and where thou dost dwell, 
 For I like well thy company. 
 
 The butcher he answer'd jolly Robin, 
 
 No matter where I dwell ; 
 For a butcher I am, and to Nottingham 
 
 I am going, my flesh to sell. 
 
 What is [the] price of thy flesh ? said jolly Robin, 
 
 Come tell it soon unto me ; 
 And the price of thy mare, be she never so dear, 
 
 For a butcher fain would I be. 
 
 The price of my flesh, the butcher repli'd, 
 
 I soon will tell unto thee ; 
 With my bonny mare, and they are not too dear. 
 
 Four mark thou must give unto me. 
 
 Four mark I will give me, saith jolly Robin, 
 
 Four mark it shall be thy fee ; 
 The mony come count, and let me mount. 
 
 For a butcher I fain would be. 
 
 Now Robin he is to Nottingham gone, 
 
 His butchers trade to begin ; 
 With good intent to the sheriff he went, 
 
 And there he took up his inn. 
 
AND THE BUTCHER. 1 77 
 
 When other butchers they opened their meat, 
 
 Bold Robin he then begun ; 
 But how for to sell he knew not well, 
 
 For a butcher he was but young. 
 
 When other butchers no meat could sell, 
 
 Robin got both gold and fee ; 
 For he sold more meat for one peny 
 
 Then others could do for three. 
 
 But when he sold his meat so fast. 
 
 No butcher by him could thrive ; 
 For he sold more meat for one peny 
 
 Than others could do for five. 
 
 Which made the butchers of Nottingham 
 
 To study as they did stand, 
 Saying, Surely he ' is ' some prodigal, 
 
 That hath sold his fathers land. 
 
 The butchers stepped to jolly Robin, 
 
 Acquainted with him for to be ; 
 Come, brother, one said, we be all of one trade. 
 
 Come, will you go dine with me ? 
 
 Accurst of his heart, said jolly Robin, 
 
 That a butcher doth deny ; 
 I will go with you, my brethren true, 
 
 As fast as I can hie. 
 
178 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 But when to the sheriffs house they came. 
 
 To dinner they hied apace, 
 And Robin Hood he the man must be 
 
 Before them all to say grace. 
 
 Pray god bless us all, said jolly Robin, 
 And our meat within this place ; 
 
 A cup of sack so good will nourish our blood 
 And so I do end my grace. 
 
 Come fill us more wine, said jolly Robin, 
 Let us be merry while we do stay ; 
 
 For wine and good cheer, be it never so dear, 
 I vow I the reckning will pay. 
 
 Come, ' brothers,' be merry, said jolly Robin, 
 Let us drink, and never give ore ; 
 
 For the shot I will pay, ere I go my way, 
 If it cost me five pounds and more. 
 
 This is a mad blade, the butchers then said. 
 
 Sales the sheriff, He is some prodigal, 
 That some land has sold for silver and gold, 
 
 And now he doth mean to spend all. 
 
 Hast thou any horn beasts, the sheriff repli'd, 
 
 Good fellow, to sell unto me ? 
 " Yes, that I have, good master sheriff, 
 
 I have hundreds two or three. 
 
AND THE BUTCHER. I 79 
 
 And a hundred aker of good free land, 
 
 If you please it to see : 
 And He make you as good assurance of it, 
 
 As ever my father made me." 
 
 The sheriff he saddled his good palfrey, 
 And, with three hundred pound in gold. 
 
 Away he went with bold Robin Hood, 
 His homed beasts to behold. 
 
 Away then the sheriff and Robin did ride, 
 
 To the forrest of merry Sherwood, 
 Then the sheriff did say, God bless us this day. 
 
 From a man they call Robin Hood ! 
 
 But when a little farther they came, 
 
 Bold Robin he chanced to spy 
 A hundred head of good red deer, 
 
 Come tripping the sheriff full nigh. 
 
 " How like you my horn'd beasts, good master sheriff.-' 
 
 They be fat and fair for to see." 
 " I tell thee, good fellow, I would I were gone, 
 
 For I like not thy company." 
 
 Then Robin set his horn to his mouth. 
 
 And blew but blasts three ; 
 Then quickly anon there came Little John, 
 
 And all his company. 
 
i8o 
 
 ROBIN HOOD AND THE BUTCHER. 
 
 What is your will, master ? then said Little John, 
 
 Good master, come tell unto me. 
 " I have brought hither the sheriff of Nottingham 
 
 This day to dine with thee." 
 
 He is welcome to me, then said Little John, 
 
 I hope he will honestly pay ; 
 I know he has gold, if it be but well told, 
 
 Will serve us to drink a whole day. 
 
 Then Robin took his mantle from his back, 
 
 And laid it upon the ground ; 
 And out of the sheriffs portmantle 
 
 He told three hundred pound. 
 
 Then Robin he brought him thorow the wood. 
 
 And set him on his dapple gray ; 
 " O have me commended to your wife at home :" 
 
 So Robin went laughing away. 
 
 .■^S.-;'«l 
 
VI. " 
 ROBIN HOOD AND THE TANNER; 
 
 OR, 
 
 ROBIN HOOD MET WITH HIS MATCH : 
 
 "A merry and pleasant song relating the gallant and fierce 
 combat fought between Arthur Bland, a tanner of Nottingham, 
 and Robin Hood, thegreatest and most noblest archerof England. 
 Tune is, Robin Hood and the Stranger." From an old black 
 letter copy in the collection of Anthony a Wood. 
 
 In Nottingham there lives a jolly tanner, 
 
 IVii/i a hey downy down, a down^ down, 
 
 His name is Arthur-a- Bland ; 
 There is nere a squire in Nottinghamshire 
 
 Dare bid bold Arthur stand. 
 
r82 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 With a long pike-staff upon his shoulder, 
 
 So well he can clear his way ; 
 By two and by three he makes them to flee, 
 
 For he hath no list to stay. 
 
 And as he went forth, in a summers morning. 
 Into the ' forrest of merry ' Sherwood, 
 
 To view the red deer, that range here and there. 
 There met he with bold Robin Hood. 
 
 As soon as bold Robin ' he did 'i espy, 
 He thought some sport he would make. 
 
 Therefore out of hand he bid him to stand, 
 And thus to him * he ' spake : 
 
 Why, what art thou, thou bold fellow. 
 
 That ranges so boldly here ? 
 In sooth, to be brief, thou lookst like a thief. 
 
 That comes to steal our kings deer. 
 
 For I am a keeper in this forrest, 
 
 The king puts me in trust 
 To look to his deer, that range here and there ; 
 
 Therefore stay thee I must. 
 
 "If thou beest a keeper in this forrest. 
 
 And hast such a great command, 
 ' Yet ' thou must have more partakers in store, 
 
 Before thou make me to stand." 
 
 1 Did him. 
 
AND THE TANNER. 183 
 
 " Nay, I have no more partakers in store, 
 
 Or any that I do not need ; 
 But I have a staff of another oke graff, 
 
 I know it will do the deed. 
 
 For thy sword and thy bow I care not a straw, 
 
 Nor all thine arrows to boot ; 
 If I get a knop upon the bare scop, 
 
 Thou can'St as well sh — e as shoote." 
 
 Speak cleanly, good fellow, said jolly Robin, 
 
 And give better terms to me ; 
 Else He thee correct for thy neglect, 
 
 And make thee more mannerly. 
 
 Marry gep with a wenion ! quod Arthur-a-Bland, 
 
 Art thou such a goodly man ? 
 I care not a fig for thy looking so big. 
 
 Mend thou thyself where thou can. 
 
 Then Robin Hood he unbuckled his belt, 
 
 And laid down his bow so long ; 
 He took up a staff of another oke graff, 
 
 That was both stiff and strong. 
 
 He yield to thy weapon, said jolly Robin, 
 
 Since thou wilt not yield to mine ; 
 For I have a staff of another oke graff, 
 
 Not half a foot longer then thine. 
 
184 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 But let me measure, said jolly Robin, 
 
 Before we begin our fray ; 
 For I'le not have mine to be longer then thine, 
 
 For that will be counted foul play. 
 
 I pass not for length, bold Arthur reply'd, 
 
 My staflf is of oke so free ; 
 Eight foot and a half, it will knock down a calf, 
 
 And I hope it will knock down thee. 
 
 Then Robin could no longer forbear, 
 
 He gave him such a knock. 
 Quickly and soon the blood came down. 
 
 Before it was ten a clock. 
 
 Then Arthur he soon recovered himself. 
 And gave him such a knock on the crown, 
 
 That from every side of bold Robin Hoods head. 
 The blood came trickling down. 
 
 Then Robin raged like a wild boar, 
 As soon as he saw his own blood : 
 
 Then Bland was in hast he laid on so fast. 
 As though he had been cleaving of wood. 
 
 And about, and about, and about they went. 
 
 Like two wild bores in a chase. 
 Striving to aim each other to maim, 
 
 Leg, arm, or any other place. 
 
AND THE TANNER. 1 85 
 
 And knock for knock they lustily dealt, 
 
 Which held for two hours and more ; 
 That all the wood rang at every bang, 
 
 They ply'd their work so sore. 
 
 Hold thy hand, hold thy hand, said Robin Hood, 
 
 And let thy quarrel fall ; 
 For here we may thrash our bones all to mesh, 
 
 And get no coyn at all : 
 
 And in the forrest of merry Sherwood 
 
 Heareafter thou shalt be free. 
 " God a mercy for ' nought,' my freedom I bought, 
 
 I may thank my staff, and not thee." 
 
 What tradesman art thou ? said jolly Robin, 
 
 Good fellow, I prithee me show ; 
 And also me tell, in what place thou dost dwel : 
 
 For both of these fain would I know. 
 
 I am a tanner, bold Arthur reply'd, 
 In Nottingham long have I wrought ; 
 
 And if thou'lt come there, I vow and swear, 
 I will tan thy hide for 'nought' 
 
 God-a-mercy, good fellow, said jolly Robin, 
 
 Since thou art so kind and free ; 
 And if thou wilt tan my hide for * nought,' 
 
 I will do as much for thee. 
 
 2 A 
 
I 86 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 And if thou'lt forsake thy tanners trade, 
 And live in the green wood with me, 
 
 My name's Robin Hood, I swear by the ' rood,' 
 I will give thee both gold and fee. 
 
 If thou be Robin Hood, bold Arthur reply'd. 
 
 As I think well thou art. 
 Then here's my hand, my name's Arthur-a-Bland, 
 
 We two will never depart. 
 
 But tell me, O tell me, where is Little John ? 
 
 Of him fain would I hear ; 
 For we are alide by the mothers side. 
 
 And he is my kinsman dear. 
 
 Then Robin Hood blew on the beugle horn. 
 
 He blew full lowd and shrill ; 
 But quickly anon appear'd Little John, 
 
 Come tripping down a green hill ; 
 
 O what is the matter ? then said Little John, 
 
 Master, I pray you tell : 
 Why do you stand with your staff in your hand ? 
 
 I fear all is not well. 
 
 " O man I do stand, and he makes me to stand. 
 The tanner that stands thee beside ; 
 
 He is a bonny blade, and master of his trade. 
 For soundly he hath tan'd my hide." 
 
AND THE TANNER. 187 
 
 He is to be commended, then said Little John, 
 
 If such a feat he can do ; 
 If he be so stout, we will have a bout, 
 
 And he shall tan my hide too. 
 
 Hold thy hand, hold thy hand, said Robin Hood, 
 
 For as I do understand, 
 He's a yeoman good, of thine own blood, 
 
 For his name is Arthur-a- Bland. 
 
 Then Little John threw his staff away, 
 
 As far as he could it fling, 
 And ran out of hand to Arthur-a-Bland, 
 
 And about his neck did cling. 
 
 With loving respect, there was no neglect, 
 
 They were neither ' nice ' nor coy, 
 Each other did face with a lovely grace, 
 
 And both did weep for joy. 
 
 Then Robin Hood took « them both ' by the hands, 
 And danc'd round about the oke tree : 
 
 " For three merry men, and three merry men, 
 And three merry men we be : 
 
 And ever hereafter as long as we live, 
 
 We three will be * as ' one ; 
 The wood it shall ring, and the old wife sing, 
 
 Of Robin Hood, Arthur, and Johri." 
 
1 88 ROBIN HOOD AND THE TANNER. 
 
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VII. 
 ROBIN HOOD AND THE TINKER. 
 
 From an old black letter copy in the library of Anthony a 
 Wood. The full title is— 
 
 " A new song to drive away col4 winter, 
 Between Robin Hood and the jovial tinker : 
 How Robin by a wile 
 The Tinker he did cheat ; 
 But at the length as you shall hear 
 The Tinker did him beat ; 
 Whereby the same they did then so agree, 
 They after liv'd in love and unity. 
 
 To the tune of, In summer time." 
 
 In summer time, when leaves grow green, 
 Down, a down, a down. 
 And birds sing on every tree, 
 
 Hey down, a down, a down. 
 
199 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 Robin Hood went to Nottingham, 
 Down, a down, a down. 
 As fast as hee could dree. 
 
 Hey down, a down, a down. 
 
 And as hee came to Nottingham, 
 
 A tinker he did meet. 
 And seeing him a lusty blade, 
 
 He did him kindly greet 
 
 Where dost thou live ? quoth Robin Hood, 
 
 I pray thee now mee tell : 
 Sad news I hear there is abroad, 
 
 I fear all is not well. 
 
 What is that news ? the tinker said. 
 
 Tell mee without delay : 
 I am a tinker by my trade. 
 
 And do live at Banbura. 
 
 As for the news, quoth Robin Hood, 
 
 It is but as I hear. 
 Two tinkers were set ith' stocks. 
 
 For drinking ale and ' beer.' 
 
 If that be all, the tinker he said, 
 
 As I may say to you, 
 Your news is not worth a f — t, 
 
 Since that they all bee true. 
 
AND THE TINKER. IQI 
 
 For drinking good ale and ' beer,' 
 
 You will not lose your part. 
 No, by my faith, quoth Robin Hood, 
 
 I love it with all my heart. 
 
 What news abroad ? quoth Robin Hood, 
 
 Tell me what thou dost hear : 
 Seeing thou goest from town to town, 
 
 Some news thou need not fear. 
 
 All the news I have, the tinker said, 
 
 I hear it is for good. 
 It is to seek a bold outlh,w, 
 
 Which they call Robin Hood. 
 
 I have a warrand from the king. 
 
 To take him where I can ; 
 If you can tell me where hee is, 
 
 I will make you a man. 
 
 The king would give a hundred pound 
 
 That he could but him see ; 
 And if wee can but now him get, 
 
 It will serve thee and mee. 
 
 Let me see that warrant, said Robin Hood, 
 
 He see if it bee right ; 
 And I will do the best I can 
 
 For to take him this night. 
 
192 • ROBTN HOOD 
 
 That will I not, the tinker said, 
 None with it I will trust ; 
 
 And where hee is if you'll not tell, 
 Take him by force I must. 
 
 But Robin Hood perceiving well 
 How then the game would go, 
 
 " If you would go to Nottinghnm, 
 We shall find him I know." 
 
 The tinker had a crab-tree staff, 
 Which was both good and strong, 
 
 Robin hee had a good strong blade ; 
 So they went both along. 
 
 And when they came to Nottingham, 
 There they both tooke their inn ; 
 
 And they called for ale and wine, 
 To drink it was no sin. 
 
 But ale and wine they drank so fast. 
 That the tinker hee forgot 
 
 What thing he was about to do ; 
 It fell so to his lot. 
 
 That, while the tinker fell asleep, 
 * Robin ' made haste ^ away. 
 
 And left the tinker in the lurch, 
 For the great shot to pay. 
 
 1 Made then. 
 
AND THE TINKER. 193 
 
 But when the tinker wakened, 
 
 And saw that he was gone, 
 He call'd then even for his host, 
 
 And thus hee made his moan : 
 
 I had a warrant from the king, 
 Which might have done me good, 
 
 That is to take a bold outlh.w. 
 Some call him Robin Hood : 
 
 But now my warrant and mony's gone, 
 
 Nothing I have to pay ; 
 And he that promis'd to be my friend, 
 
 He is gone and fled away. 
 
 That friend you tell on, said the host. 
 
 They call him Robin Hood ; 
 And when that first hee met with you, 
 
 He ment you little good. 
 
 " Had I but known it had been hee, 
 
 When that I had him here, 
 Th' one of us should have tri'd our might 
 
 Which should have paid full dear. 
 
 In the mean time I will away. 
 
 No longer here He bide. 
 But I will go and seek him out. 
 
 Whatever do me betide. 
 
 2 B 
 
194 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 But one thing I would gladly know, 
 What here I have to pay." 
 
 Ten shillings just, then said the host. 
 "He pay without delay ; 
 
 Or elce take here my working-bag, 
 And my good hammer too ; 
 
 And if that I light but on the knave, 
 I will then soon pay you." 
 
 The onely way, then said the host. 
 
 And not to stand in fear. 
 Is to seek him among the parks. 
 
 Killing of the kings deer. 
 
 The tinker hee then went with speed. 
 
 And made then no delay, 
 Till he had found ' bold ' Robin Hood, 
 
 That they might have a fray. 
 
 At last hee spy'd him in a park, 
 
 Hunting then of the deer. 
 What knave is that, quoth Robin Hood, 
 
 That doth come mee so near ? 
 
 No knave, no knave, the tinker said. 
 And that you soon shall know ; 
 
 Whether of us hath done any wrong, 
 My crab-tree staff shall show. 
 
AND THE TINKER. 195 
 
 Then Robin drew his gallant blade, 
 
 Made then of trusty steel : 
 But the tinker he laid on so fast, 
 
 That he made Robin reel. 
 
 Then Robins anger did arise, 
 
 He fought right manfully, 
 Until he had made the tinker 
 
 Almost then fit to fly. 
 
 With that they had a bout again, 
 
 They ply'd their weapons fast ; 
 The tinker threshed his bones so sore, 
 
 He made him yeeld at last. 
 
 A boon, a boon, Robin hee cryes, 
 
 If thou wilt grant it mee. 
 Before I do it, the tinker said, 
 
 He hang thee on this tree. 
 
 But the tinker looking him about, 
 
 Robin his horn did blow ; 
 Then came unto him Little John, 
 
 And William Scadlock too. 
 
 What is the matter, quoth Little John, 
 
 You sit on th' highway side ? 
 " Here is a tinker that stands by, 
 
 That hath paid well my hide." 
 
196 ROBIN HOOD AND THE TINKER. 
 
 That tinker then, said Little John, 
 Fain that blade I would see, 
 
 And I would try what I could do, 
 If hee'l do as much for me. 
 
 But Robin hee then wish'd them both 
 They should the quarrel cease, 
 
 "That henceforth wee may bee as one, 
 And ever live in peace. 
 
 And for the jovial tinkers part, 
 A hundred pounds He give 
 
 In th' year [for] to maintain him on, 
 As long as he doth live. 
 
 In manhood he is a mettled man, 
 And a mettle man by trade ; 
 
 Never thought I that any man 
 Should have made mee so afraid. 
 
 And if hee will bee one of us. 
 Wee will take all one fare ; 
 
 And whatsoever wee do get 
 He shall have his full share." 
 
 So the tinker was content 
 
 With them to go along, 
 And with them a part to take : 
 
 And so I end my song. 
 
VIII. 
 
 ROBIN HOOD AND ALLIN 'A' DALE: 
 
 " Ora pleasant relation how a young gentleman, being in love 
 with a young damsel, 'she' was taken from him to be an old 
 knight's bride : and how Robin Hood, pittying the young man's 
 case, took her from the old knight, when they were going to be 
 marryed, and restored her to her own love again. To a pleasent 
 northern tune, Robin Hood in the green-wood stood. 
 
 Bold Robin Hood he did the young man right, 
 And took the damsel from the doting knight." 
 
 From an old black letter copy in Major Pearson's collection. 
 
 Come listen to me, you gallants so free, 
 All you that love mirth for to hear. 
 
 And I will tell you of a bold outl5.w. 
 That lived in Nottinghamshire. 
 
198 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 As Robin Hood in the forest stood, 
 All under the green wood tree, 
 
 There he was aware of a brave young man, 
 As fine as fine might be. 
 
 The youngster was cloathed in scarlet red, 
 
 In scarlet fine and gay ; 
 And he did frisk it over the plain, 
 
 And chanted a round-de-lay. 
 
 As Robin Hood next morning stood 
 
 Amongst the leaves so gay, 
 There did [he] espy the same young man 
 
 Come drooping along the way. 
 
 The scarlet he wore the day before 
 
 It was clean cast away ; 
 And at every step he fetcht a sigh, 
 
 " Alack and a well a day ; " 
 
 Then stepped forth brave Little John, 
 And ' Midge' ^ the millers son, 
 
 Which made the young man bend his bow, 
 When as he see them come. 
 
 Stand off, stand off, the young man said. 
 
 What is your will with me ? 
 " You must come before our master straight, 
 
 Under yon green wood tree." 
 
 1 Nicke. 
 
AND ALLTN A DALE, 199 
 
 And when he came bold Robin before, 
 
 Robin askt him courteously, 
 O, hast thou any money to spare 
 
 For my merry men and me ? 
 
 I have no money, the young man said, 
 
 But five shillings and a ring ; 
 And that I have kept this seven long years, 
 
 To have it at my wedding. 
 
 Yesterday I should have married a maid, 
 
 But she from ' me was tane, 
 And chosen to be an old knights delight. 
 
 Whereby my poor heart is slain. 
 
 What is thy name ? then said Robin Hood, 
 
 Come tell me, without any fail. 
 By the faith of my body, then said the young man. 
 
 My name it is AUin a Dale. 
 
 What will thou give me, said Robin Hood, 
 
 In ready gold or fee, 
 To help thee to thy true love again. 
 
 And deliver her unto thee ? 
 
 I have no money, then quoth the young man, 
 
 No ready gold nor fee. 
 But I will swear upon a book 
 
 Thy true servant for to be. 
 
 1 Soon from. 
 
30 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 " How many miles is it to thy true love ? 
 
 Come tell me without guile." 
 By the faith of my body, then said the young man, 
 
 It is but five little mile. 
 
 Then Robin he hasted over the plain. 
 
 He did neither stint nor lin, 
 Until he came unto the church, 
 
 Where AUin should keep his wedding. 
 
 What hast thou here ? the bishop then said, 
 
 I prithee now tell unto me. 
 I am a bold harper, quoth Robin Hood, 
 
 And the best in the north country. 
 
 O welcome, O welcome, the bishop he said, 
 
 That musick best pleaseth me. 
 You shall have no musick, quoth Robin Hood, 
 
 Till the bride and the bridegroom I see. 
 
 With that came in a wealthy knight, 
 
 Which was both grave and old. 
 And after him a finikin lass. 
 
 Did shine like the glistering gold. 
 
 This is not a fit match, quod bold Robin Hood, . 
 
 That you do seem to make here, 
 For since we are come into the church. 
 
 The bride shall chuse her own dear. 
 
AND ALLIN A DALE. : 
 
 Then Robin Hood put his horn to his mouth, 
 
 And blew blasts two or three ; 
 When four and twenty bowmen bold 
 
 Came leaping over the lee. 
 
 And when they came into the church-yard, 
 
 Marching all on a row, 
 The first man was Allin a Dale, 
 
 To give bold Robin his bow. 
 
 This is thy true love, Robin he said, 
 
 Young Allin, as I hear say. 
 And you shall be married at ' this * same time, 
 
 Before we depart away. 
 
 That shall not be, the bishop he said, 
 
 For thy word shall not stand ; 
 They shall be three times askt in the church, 
 
 As the law is of our land. 
 
 Robin Hood puU'd off the bishops coat. 
 
 And put it upon Little John ; 
 By the faith of my body, then Robin said. 
 
 This ' cloth ' does make thee a man. 
 
 When Little John went into the quire. 
 
 The people began to laugh ; 
 He askt them seven times in the church. 
 
 Lest three times should not be enough. 
 
 2 c 
 
202 
 
 ROBIN HOOD AND ALLIN A DALE. 
 
 Who gives me this maid ? said Little John. 
 
 Quoth Robin Hood, That do I ; 
 And he that takes her from AUin a Dale, 
 
 Full dearly he shall her buy. 
 
 And thus having ended this merry wedding. 
 
 The bride lookt like a queen ; 
 And so they return'd to the merry green-wood, 
 
 Amongst the leaves so green. 
 
IX. 
 
 ROBIN HOOD AND THE SHEPHERD. 
 
 " Shewing how Robin Hood, Little John, and the Shepherd 
 fought a sore combate. 
 
 The shepherd fought for twenty pound, and Robin for bottle 
 
 and bag, 
 But the shepherd stout, gave them the rout, so sore they could 
 
 not wag. 
 Tune is, Robin Hood and Queen Katherine." 
 
 From two old black letter copies, one of them in the collection 
 of Anthony a Wood, the other in that of Thomas Pearson, Esq. 
 At the head of the former is a fine cut of Robin Hood. 
 
 All gentlemen, and yeomen good, 
 
 Down, a down, a down, a down, 
 I wish you to draw near ; 
 For a story of gallant bold Robin Hood 
 Unto you I will declare. 
 Down a, ^c. 
 
204 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 As Robin Hood walkt the forrest along, 
 
 Some pastime for to spie, 
 There he was aware of a jolly sheph&rd, 
 
 That on the ground did lie. 
 
 Arise, arise, cried jolly Robin, 
 
 And now come let me see 
 What's in thy bag and bottle ; I say, 
 
 Come tell it unto me. 
 
 " What's that to thee ? thou proud fellow, 
 
 Tell me as I do stand : 
 What hast thou to do with by bag and bottle ? 
 
 Let me see thy command." 
 
 " My sword, which hangeth by my side, 
 
 Is my command I know; 
 Come, and let me taste of thy bottle, 
 
 Or it may breed thy woe." 
 
 " The devil a drop, thou proud fellow. 
 
 Of my bottle thou shalt see, 
 Until thy valour here be tried. 
 
 Whether thou wilt fight or flee.'' 
 
 What shall we fight for.? cries Robin Hood, 
 
 Come tell it soon to me ; 
 Here is twenty pound in good red gold. 
 
 Win it and take it thee. 
 
^: 
 
 AND THE SHEPHERD. 205 
 
 The shepherd stood all in a maze, 
 
 And knew not what to say : 
 " I have no money, thou proud fellbw, 
 
 But bag and bottle ile lay." 
 
 " I am content, thou shepherd swain, 
 Fling them down on the ground ; 
 
 But it will breed thee mickle pain. 
 To win my twenty pound." 
 
 " Come draw thy sword, thou proud fell6w, 
 
 Thou standest too long to prate ; 
 This hook of mine shall let thee know, 
 
 A coward I do hate." 
 
 So they fell to it, full hardy and sore, 
 
 It was on a summers day, 
 From ten till four in the afternoon 
 
 The shepherd held him play. 
 
 Robins buckler prov'd his 'chief ^ defence. 
 
 And saved him many a bang. 
 For every blow the shepherd gave 
 
 Made Robins sword cry twang. 
 
 Many a sturdie blow the shepherd gave, 
 
 And that bold Robin found, 
 Till the blood ran trickling from his head, 
 
 Then he fell to the ground. 
 
 » Chiefest. 
 
206 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 "Arise, arise, thou proud fellow, 
 
 And thou shalt have fair play. 
 If thou wilt yield before thou go, 
 
 That I have won the day." 
 
 A boon, a boon, cry'd bold Robin, 
 
 If that a man thou be. 
 Then let me have my beugle horn, 
 
 And blow but blasts three. 
 
 Then said the shepherd to bold Robin, 
 
 To that I will agree ; " 
 ' For ' if thou shouldst blow till to-morrow morn, 
 
 I scorn one foot to flee. 
 
 Then Robin he set his horn to his mouth, 
 
 And he blew with mickle main, 
 Until he espied Little John 
 
 Come tripping over the plain. 
 
 " O who is yonder, thou proud fellow. 
 
 That comes down yonder hill ? " 
 " Yonder is John, bold Robin Hoods man, 
 
 Shall fight with thee thy fill." 
 
 What is the matter ? saies Little John, 
 
 Master, come tell to me. 
 My case is bad, cries Robin Hood, 
 
 For the shepherd hath conquered me. 
 
AND THE SHEPHERD. 207 
 
 I am glad of that, cries Little John : 
 
 Shepherd, turn thou to me ; 
 For a bout with thee I mean to have, 
 
 Either come fight or flee. 
 
 " With all my lieart, thou proud fell6w, 
 
 For it never shall be said 
 That a shepherds hook of thy sturdy look 
 
 Will one jot be dismaied." 
 
 So they fell to it, full hardy and sore. 
 
 Striving for victorie. 
 He know, says John, ere we give o'er, 
 
 Whether thou wilt fight or flee. 
 
 The shepherd gave John a sturdie blow, 
 
 With his hook under the chin. 
 Beshrew thy heart, said little John, 
 
 Thou basely dost begin. 
 
 Nay, that is nothing, said the shepherd, 
 
 Either yield to me the daie, 
 Or I will bang thy back and sides, 
 
 Before thou goest thy way. 
 
 What ! dost thou think, thou proud fellow, 
 
 That thou canst conquer me .•* 
 Nay, thou shall know, bcfoic ihou go, 
 
 lie fight before ile flee. 
 
2o8 
 
 ROBIN HOOD AND THE SHEPHERD. 
 
 Again the shepherd laid on him, 
 
 'Just as he first begun.' 
 Hold thy hand, cry'd bold Robin, 
 
 I will yield the wager won. 
 
 With all my heart, said Little John, 
 
 To that I will agree ; 
 For he is the flower of shepherd swains, 
 
 The like I did never see. 
 
 Thus have you heard of Robin Hood, 
 
 Also of Little John • 
 How a shepherd swain did conquer them 
 
 The like was never known. 
 
X 
 
 ROBIN HOOD AND THE CURTALL FRYER. 
 
 From an old black letter copy in the collection of Anthony a 
 Wood ; corrected by a much earlier one in the Pepysian Library, 
 printed by H. Gosson, about the year i6io ; compared with a 
 later one in the same collection. The full title is : "The famous 
 battell betweene Robin Hood and the curtail fryer. To a New 
 Northerne tune." 
 
 "The curtail fryer," Dr. Stukeley says, " is a cordelier, from 
 the cord or rope which they wore round their wast, to whip 
 themselves with. They were, " adds he, " of the Franciscan order. " 
 Our fryer, however, is undoubtedly so called from his ' ' curtail 
 dogs," or curs, as we now say (Courtalt, F.) In fact, he is 
 no fryer at all, but a monk of Fountains Abbey, which was of 
 the Cistercian order. 
 
 2 D 
 
lO ROBIN HOOD 
 
 In summer time, when leaves grow green, 
 
 And flowers are fresh and gay, 
 Robin Hood and his merry men 
 
 [They] were disposed to play. 
 
 Then some would leape, and some would runne, 
 
 And some would use artillery : 
 " Which of you can a good bow draw, 
 
 A good archer for to be ? 
 
 Which of you can kill a bucke, 
 
 Or who can kill a doe ; 
 Or who can kill a hart of Greece 
 
 Five hundreth foot him fro ? " 
 
 Will Scadlocke he kild a bucke 
 
 And Midge he kild a doe ; 
 And Little John kild a hart of Greece, 
 
 Five hundreth foot him fro. 
 
 Gods blessing on thy heart, said Robin Hood, 
 
 That hath such a shot for me ; 
 I would ride my horse a hundred miles, 
 
 To find one could match thee. 
 
 That caused Will Scadlocke to laugh, 
 
 He laught full heartily : 
 " There lives a curtail fryer in Fountaines-Abbey 
 
 Will beate both him and thee. 
 
AND THE CURTALL FRYER. 
 
 The curtail fryer in Fountaines- Abbey 
 Well can a strong bow draw, 
 
 He will beat you and your yeom&n, 
 Set them all on a row." 
 
 Robin Hood he tooke a solemne oath, 
 
 It was by Mary free, 
 That he would neither eate nor drinke, 
 
 Till the fryer he did see. 
 
 Robin Hood put on his harnesse good, 
 
 On his head a cap of steel, 
 Broad sword and buckler by his side. 
 
 And they became him weele. 
 
 He tooke his b;>w into his hand, 
 It was made of a trusty tree. 
 
 With a sheafe of arrowes at his belt, 
 And to Fountaine-Dale went he. 
 
 And comming unto Fountaine-Dale, 
 
 No farther he would ride ; 
 There he was aware of the curtail fryer. 
 
 Walking by the water side. 
 
 The fryer had on a harnesse good, 
 On his head a cap of steel. 
 
 Broad sword and buckler by his side, 
 And they became him weele. 
 
212 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 Robin Hood lighted off his horse, 
 
 And tyed him to a thorne : 
 " Carry me over the water, thou curtail fryer, 
 
 Or else thy life's forlorne." 
 
 The fryer tooke Robin Hood on his backe, 
 
 Deepe water he did bestride, 
 And spake neither good word nor bad. 
 
 Till he came at the other side. 
 
 Lightly leapt Robin offe the fryers backe ; 
 
 The fryer said to him againe. 
 Carry me over this water, [thou] fine fellow, 
 
 Or it shall breed thy paine. 
 
 Robin Hood took the fryer on his backe, 
 
 Deepe water he did bestride. 
 And spake neither good word nor bad, 
 
 Till he came at the other side. 
 
 Lightly leapt the fryer off Robin 'Hoods backe, 
 Robin Hood said to him againe. 
 
 Carry me over this water, thou curtail fryer, 
 Or it shall breede thy pain. 
 
 The fryer tooke Robin on's backe againe. 
 
 And stept in to the knee. 
 Till he came at the middle streame, 
 
 Neither good nor bad spake he, 
 
AND THE CURTALL FRYER. 213 
 
 And comming to the middle streame, 
 
 There he threw Robin in : 
 "And chuse thee, chuse thee, fine fellow, 
 
 Whether thou wilt sink or swim." 
 
 Robin Hood swam to a bush of broome, 
 
 The fryer to a wigger-wand ; 
 Bold Robin Hood is gone to shore, 
 
 And took his bow in his hand. 
 
 One of his best arrowes under his belt 
 
 To the fryer he let fly ; 
 The curtail fryer, with his Steele buckler. 
 
 Did put that arrow by. 
 
 " Shoot on, shoot on, thou fine fellow, 
 
 Shoot as thou hast begun. 
 If thou shoot here a summers day, 
 
 Thy marke I will not shun." 
 
 Robin Hood shot passing well, 
 
 Till his arrows all were ganc ; 
 They tooke their swords and Steele bucklers, 
 
 They fought with might and maine, 
 
 From ten o'th' clock that [very] day, 
 
 Till four i' th' afternoon ; 
 Then Robin Hood came to his knees, 
 
 Of the fryer to beg a boonc. 
 
214 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 " A boone, a boone, thou curtail fryer, 
 
 I beg it on my knee ; 
 Give me leave to set my borne to my mouth, 
 
 And to blow blasts three,'' 
 
 That I will do, said the curtail fryer, 
 Of my blasts I have no doubt ; 
 
 I hope thoult blow so passing well, 
 Till both thy eyes fall out. 
 
 Robin Hood set his home to his mouth, 
 
 He blew out blasts three ; 
 Halfe a hundreth yeomen, with bowes bent, 
 
 Came raking over the lee. 
 
 Whose men are these, said the fryer. 
 
 That come so hastily ? 
 These men are mine, said Robin Hood ; 
 
 Fryer, what is that to thee.'' 
 
 A boone, a boone, said the curtail fryer. 
 
 The like I gave to thee ; 
 Give me leave to set my fist to my mouth. 
 
 And to whute whues three. 
 
 That will I doe, said Robin Hood, 
 
 Or else I were to blame ; 
 Three whues in a fryers fist 
 
 Would make me glad and faine. 
 
AND THE CURTALL FRYER. 215 
 
 The fryer set his fist to his mouth, 
 
 And whuted whues three : 
 Haifa hundred good band-dogs 
 
 Came running over the lee. 
 
 " Here's for every man a dog, 
 
 And I myselfe for thee." 
 Nay, by my faith, said Robin Hood, 
 
 Fryer, that may not be. 
 
 Two dogs at once to Robin Hood did goe, 
 The one behind, the other before, 
 
 Robin Hoods mantle of Lincolne greene 
 Off from his backe they tore. 
 
 And whether his men shot east or west, 
 
 Or they shot north or south. 
 The curtail dogs, so taught they were, 
 
 They kept ' the ' arrows in their mouth. 
 
 Take up thy dogs, said Little John, 
 
 Fryer, at my bidding be. 
 Whose man art thou, said the curtail fryer, 
 
 Comes here to prate with me ? 
 
 " I am Little John, Robin Hoods man, 
 
 Fryer, I will not lie ; 
 If thou take not up thy dogs soone, 
 
 rie take up them and thee." 
 
2l6 ROBIN HOOD AND THE CURTALL FRYER. 
 
 Little John had a bow in his hand, 
 
 He shot with might and main ; 
 Soon halfe a score of the fryers dogs 
 
 Lay dead upon the plain. 
 
 Hold thy hand, good fellow, said the curtail fryer, 
 
 Thy master and I will agree ; 
 And we will have new orders taken, 
 
 With all the hast may be. 
 
 " If thou wilt forsake fair Fountaines-dale, 
 
 And Fountaines-Abbey free, 
 Every sunday throwout the yeere, 
 
 A noble shall be thy fee : 
 
 And every hoUiday through the yeere, 
 
 Changed shall thy garment be. 
 If thou wilt goe to faire Nottingham, 
 
 And there remaine with me." 
 
 This curtail fryer had kept Fountaines-dale 
 
 Seven long yeeres and more, 
 There was neither knight, lord, nor earle, 
 
 Could make him yeeld before. 
 
XI. 
 
 ROBIN HOOD AND THE STRANGER. 
 
 From an old black letter copy in the collection of Anthony a 
 Wood. The title now given to this ballad is that which it seems 
 to have originally borne, having been foolishly altered to ' ' Robin 
 Hood newly revived." The circumstances attending the second 
 part will be explained in a note. 
 
 The tune is already inserted, at the end of " Rood Hood and 
 the Tanner." 
 
 Come listen awhile, you gentlemen all, 
 
 With a hey down, down, a down, down, 
 That are this bower within, 
 For a story of gallant bold Robin Hood, 
 I purpose now to begin. 
 
 3 £ 
 
2l8 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 What time of day ? quod Robin Hood then. 
 
 Quoth Little John, 'Tis in the prime. 
 " Why then we will to the green wood gang, 
 
 For we have no vittles to dine." 
 
 As Robin Hood walkt the forrest along, 
 
 It was in the mid of the day, 
 There he was met of a deft young man. 
 
 As ever walkt on the way. 
 
 His doublet was of silk ' 'tis ' said. 
 His stockings like scarlet shone ; 
 
 And he walked on along the way. 
 To Robin Hood then unknown. 
 
 A herd of deer was in the bend, 
 
 All feeding before his face : 
 " Now the best of you ile have to my dinner. 
 
 And that in a little space." 
 
 Now the stranger he made no mickle adoe. 
 But he bends and a right good bow, 
 
 And the best of all the herd he slew, 
 Forty good yards him froe.^ 
 
 Well shot, well shot, quod Robin Hood then, 
 
 That shot it was shot in time ; 
 And if thou wilt accept of the place, 
 
 Thou shalt be a bold yeoman of mine. 
 
 1 Full froe. 
 
AND THE STRANGER. 219 
 
 Go play the chiven, the stranger said, 
 
 Make haste and quickly go, 
 Or with my fist, be sure of this, 
 
 He give thee bufifets sto'. 
 
 Thou had'st not best buffet me, quod Robin Hood, 
 
 For though I seem forlorn, 
 Yet I have those will take my part. 
 
 If I but blow my horn. 
 
 Thou wast not best wind thy horn, the stranger said, 
 
 Beest thou never so much in haste. 
 For I can draw out a good broad sword, 
 
 And quickly cut the blast. 
 
 Then Robin Hood bent a very good bow, 
 
 To shoot, and that he would fain ; 
 The stranger he bent a very good bow, 
 
 To shoot at bold Robin again. 
 
 Hold thy hand, hold thy hand, quod Robin Hood, 
 
 To shoot it would be in vain ; 
 For if we should shoot the one at, the other, ■ 
 
 The one of us may be slain. 
 
 But let's take our swords and our broad bucklers. 
 
 And gang under yonder tree, 
 As I hope to be sav'd, the stranger he said, 
 
 One foot I will not fice. 
 
220 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 Then Robin Hood lent the stranger a blow, 
 
 'Most scar'd him out of his wit : 
 Thou never felt blow, the stranger he said, 
 
 That shall be better quit. 
 
 The stranger he drew out a good broad sword. 
 
 And hit Robin on the crown, 
 That from every haire of bold Robins head 
 
 The blood ran trickling down. 
 
 God a mercy, good fellow ! quod Robin Hood then. 
 
 And for this that thou hast done, 
 Tell me, good fellow, what thou art. 
 
 Tell me where thou doest won. 
 
 The stranger then answered bold Robin Hood, 
 
 He tell thee where I do dwell ; 
 In Maxwell town I was bred and born, 
 
 My name is young Gamwell. 
 
 For killing of my own fathers steward, 
 
 I am forc'd to this English wood, 
 And for to seek an uncle of mine, 
 
 Some call him Robin Hood. 
 
 " But ' art thou ' a cousin of Robin Hood then ? 
 
 The sooner we should have done." 
 As I hope to be sav'd, the stranger then said, 
 
 I am his own sisters son. 
 
AND THE STRANGER. 221 
 
 But, lord ! what kissing and courting was there, 
 
 When these two cousins did greet ! 
 And they went all that summers day, 
 
 And Little John did [not] meet. 
 
 But when they met with Little John, 
 He * unto them ' did say, 
 
 master, pray where have you been, 
 You have tarried so long away ? 
 
 1 met with a stranger, quod Robin Hood, 
 
 Full sore he hath beaten me. 
 Then I'le have a bout with him, quod Little John, 
 And try if he can beat me. 
 
 Oh [no], oh no, quoth Robin Hood then. 
 
 Little John, it may [not] be so ; 
 For he is my own dear sisters son, 
 
 And cousins I have no mo. 
 
 But he shall be a bold yeoman of mine, 
 
 My chief man next to thee ; 
 And I Robin Hood, and thou Little John, 
 
 And * Scadlock ' he shall be. 
 
 And weel be three of the bi avest outlkws 
 
 That live in the north country, 
 If ' you will' hear more of bold Robin Hood, 
 
 In 'the' second part it will be. 
 
222 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 [PART THE SECOND.i] 
 
 Now Robin Hood, Will Scadlock, and Little 
 Are walking over the plain, [Jolin> 
 
 With a good fat buck, which Will Scadlock 
 With his strong bow had slain. 
 
 1 This (from an old black letter copy in Major Pearson's col- 
 lection) is evidently the genuine second part of the present ballad, 
 although constantly printed as an independent article, under the 
 title of " Robin Hood, Will Scadlock, and Little John : Or, a 
 narrative of their victories obtained against the prince of Aragon 
 and the two giants ; and how Will Scadlock married the princess. 
 Tune of Robin Hood ; or, Hey down, down, a down :" Instead 
 of which, in all former editions, are given the following incoherent 
 stanzas, which have all the appearance of being the fragment of 
 a quite different ballad : — 
 
 Then bold Robin Hood to the north he would go, 
 
 With valour and mickle might. 
 With sword by his side, which oft had been tri'd, 
 
 To fight and recover his right. 
 
 The first that he met was a bonny bold Scot, 
 
 His servant he said he would be. 
 No, quoth Robin Hood, it cannot be good, 
 
 For thou wilt prove false unto me ; 
 
 Thou hast not been true to sire nor cuz. 
 
 Nay, marry, the Scot he said. 
 As true as your heart, He never part, 
 
 Gude maste^, be not afraid. 
 
AND THE STRANGER. 223 
 
 Jog on, jog on, cries Robin Hood, 
 
 The day it runs full fast ; 
 For tho' my nephew me a breakfast gave, 
 
 I have not yet broke my fast 
 
 Tlien to yonder lodge let us take our way, 
 
 I think it wondrous good, 
 Where my nephew by my bold yeoman 
 
 Shall be welcom'd unto the green-wood. 
 
 Then Robin turned his face to the east, 
 
 Figlit on, my merry men stout : 
 Our cause is good, quod brave Robin Hood, 
 
 And we shall not be beaten out. 
 
 The battel grows hot on every side, 
 
 The Scotchman made great moan ; 
 Quoth Jockey, Gude faith, they fight on each side. 
 
 Would I were with my wife Joan I 
 
 The enemy compast brave Robin about, 
 
 'Tis long ere the battel ends ; 
 Ther's neither will yield, nor give up the field. 
 
 For both are supplied with friends. 
 
 This song it was made in Robin Hoods dayes : 
 
 Let's pray unto Jove above, 
 To give us true peace, that mischief may cease, 
 
 And war may give place unto love. 
 
224 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 With that he took ' his ' bugle-horn, 
 
 Full well he could it blow ; 
 Slreight from the woods came marching down 
 
 One hundred tall fellows and mo. 
 
 Stand, stand to your arms, says Will Scadlbck, 
 Lo ! the enemies are within ken. 
 
 With that Robin Hood he laugh'd aloud, 
 Crying, They are my bold yeomfen. 
 
 Who, when they arriv'd, and Robin espy'd, 
 Cry'd, Master, what is your will ? 
 
 We thought you had in danger been. 
 Your horn did sound so shrill. 
 
 Nay nay, now nay, quoth Robin Hood, 
 
 The danger is past and gone ; 
 I would have you welcome my nephew here, 
 
 That has paid me two for one. 
 
 In feasting and sporting they passed the day, 
 Till Phoebus sunk into the deep ; 
 
 Then each one to his quarters hy'd. 
 His guard there for to keep. 
 
 Long had they not walked within the green-wood, 
 
 But Robin he soon espy'd, 
 A ^ beautiful damsel all alone. 
 
 That on a black palfrey did ride. 
 
 1 Ofa. 
 
AND THE STRANGER. 225 
 
 Her riding-suit was of a sable hew black, 
 
 Cypress over her face, 
 Through which her rose-like cheeks did blush, 
 
 All with a comely grace. 
 
 Come tell me the cause, thou pretty one. 
 
 Quoth Robin, and tell me aright, 
 From whence thou comest, and whither thou 
 
 All in this mournful plight ? [goest. 
 
 From London I came, the damsel reply'd, 
 
 From London upon the Thames, 
 Which circled is, O grief to tell ! 
 
 Besieg'd with foreign arms, 
 
 By the proud prince of Arragon, 
 
 Who swears by his martial hand 
 To have the princess to his spouse, 
 
 Or else to waste this land ; 
 
 Except such champions can be found, 
 
 That dare fight three to three. 
 Against the prince, and giants twain. 
 
 Most horrid for to see ; 
 
 Whose grisly looks, and eyes like brands. 
 
 Strike terrour where they come, 
 With serpents hissing on their helms, 
 
 Instead of feathered plume. 
 
 2 r 
 
226 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 The princess shall be the victor's prize, 
 
 The king hath vow'd and said, 
 And he that shall the conquest win, 
 
 Shall have her to his bride. 
 
 Now we are four damsels sent abroad, 
 To the east, west, north, and south. 
 
 To try whose fortune is so good 
 To find these champions 'out.'^ 
 
 But all in vain we have sought about, 
 
 For none so bold there are 
 That dare adventure life and blood, 
 
 To free a lady fair. 
 
 When is the day ? quoth Robin Hood, 
 
 Tell me this and no more. 
 On Midsummer next, the dam'sel said. 
 
 Which is June the twenty-four. 
 
 With that the tears trickled down her cheeks, 
 
 And silent was her tongue ; 
 With sighs and sobs she took her leave, 
 
 Away her palfrey sprung. 
 
 The news struck Robin to the heart, 
 
 He fell down on the grass, 
 His actions and his troubled mind 
 
 Shew'd he perplexed was. 
 
 1 Forth. 
 
AND THE STRANGER. 227 
 
 Where lies your grief? quoth Will ' Scadlbck,' 
 
 O, master, tell to me : 
 If the damsels eyes have pierc'd your heart, 
 
 I'll fetch her back to thee. 
 
 Now nay, now nay, quoth Robin Hood, 
 
 She doth not cause my smart ; 
 But 'tis the poor distressed princess, 
 
 That wounds me to the heart ; 
 
 I'll go fight the [prince and] giants all, 
 
 To set the lady free. 
 The devil take my soul, quoth Little John, 
 
 If I part with thy company. 
 
 Must I stay behind ? quoth Will Scadlbck, 
 
 No, no, that must not be ; 
 rie make the third man in the fight, 
 
 So we shall be three to three. 
 
 These words cheer'd Robin to the heart, 
 
 Joy shone within his face, 
 Within his arms he hugg'd them both, 
 
 And kindly did imbrace. 
 
 Quoth he. We'll put on mothley grey. 
 
 And long staves in our hands, 
 A scrip and bottle by our sides, 
 
 As come from the holy land. 
 
2 28 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 So may we pass along the high-way, 
 
 None will ask us from whence we came, 
 
 But take us pilgrims for to be, 
 Or else some holy men. 
 
 Now they are on their journey gone, 
 
 As fast as they may speed, 
 Yet for all their haste, ere they arriv'd, 
 
 The princess forth was led, 
 
 To be deliver'd to the prince, 
 
 Who in the list did stand, 
 Prepar'd to fight, or else receive 
 
 His lady by the hand. 
 
 With that he walk'd about the lists. 
 
 With giants by his side : 
 Bring forth, said he, your champions. 
 
 Or bring me forth my bride. 
 
 This is the four and twentieth day, 
 
 The day prefixt upon : 
 Bring forth my bride, or London burns, 
 
 I swear by ' Alcaron.' * 
 
 1 Acaron. This termagant prince seems intended for a sort 
 of Mahometan Pagan. Alcaron is a deity formed by metathesis 
 from Alcoran, a book : a conversion much more ancient than 
 the present ballad. Thus in the old metrical romance of " The 
 Sowdon of Babyloyne," a MS. in the possession of Dr. Farmer : 
 
AND THE STRANGER. 229 
 
 Then cries the king, and queen likewise, 
 Both weeping as they ' spake,' 
 
 " Whan Laban herde of this myschief, 
 
 A sory man was he, 
 He trumped his men to relefe, 
 
 For to cease that tyme mente he. 
 Mersadage kinge of Barbarye 
 
 He did carye to his tente, 
 And beryed him by right of Sarsenye, 
 
 With brennynge fire riche oynemenfe ; 
 And songe the dirige of Alkaron, 
 
 That bibill is of here laye ; 
 And wayled his deth everychon, 
 
 Seven nyghtis and seven dayes." 
 
 Here Alkaron is expressly the name of a book {i.e. the Koran 
 or Alcoran) ; in the following passage it is that of a god : 
 
 " Now shall ye here of Laban : 
 
 Whan tidynges to him were comen, 
 Tho was he a fulle sory man. 
 
 Whan he herde howe his vitaile were nomen, 
 And howe his men were slayne, 
 
 And Gye was go safe hem froo ; 
 He defyed Mahounde, and Apolyne, 
 
 Jubiter, Astarol, and Alcaron also," 
 
 Wynken de Worde printed " A lytell treatyse of the Turkes 
 law called Alcaron, &c." See Herbert, 224. 
 
 If, however, Acaron be the true reading, we shall find an idol 
 of that name in the Bible, 2 Regum i. 16, ed. Vulgate, 
 
 It was, at the same time, a proper name in the East : as 
 " Accaron princeps insulaj Cypri" is mentioned by Roger de 
 Hovcden, 786. 
 
230 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 Lo ! we have brought our daughter dear, 
 Whom we are forc'd to forsake. 
 
 With that stept out bold Robin Hood, 
 Crys, My liege, it must not be so : 
 
 Such beauty as the fair princ&ss 
 Is not for a tyrants mow. 
 
 The prince he then began to storm, 
 Cries, Fool, fanatick, baboon ! ^ 
 
 How dare thou stop my valours prize ? 
 I'll kill thee with a frown. 
 
 Thou tyrant Turk, thou infidel, 
 
 Thus Robin began to reply. 
 Thy frowns I scorn ; lo ! here's my gage, 
 
 And thus I thee defie. 
 
 And for those two Goliahs there. 
 
 That stand on either side, 
 Here are two little Davids by, 
 
 That soon can tame their pride. 
 
 Then the king did for armour send, 
 For lances, swords, and shields ; 
 
 And thus all three in armour bright, 
 Came marching to the field. 
 
 1 We should probably read frantick baboon ! 
 
AND THE STRANGER. 23 1 
 
 The trumpets began to sound a charge, 
 
 Each singled out his man ; 
 Their arms in pieces soon were hew'd, 
 
 Blood sprang from every vain. 
 
 The prince he reacht Robin Hood a blow, 
 
 He struck with might and main, 
 Which forc'd him to reel about the field, 
 
 As though he had been slain. 
 
 God-a-mercy, quoth Robin, for that blow ! 
 
 The quarrel shall soon be try'd ; 
 This stroke shall shew a full divorce 
 
 Betwixt thee and thy bride. 
 
 So from his shoulders he's cut his head, 
 
 Which on the ground did fall. 
 And grumbling sore at Robin Hood, 
 
 To be so dealt withaL 
 
 The giants then began to rage 
 
 To see their prince lie dead : 
 Thou's be the next, quoth Little John, 
 
 Unless thou well guard thy head. 
 
 With that his faulchion he wherl'd about, 
 
 It was both keen and sharp ; 
 He clave the giant to the belt, 
 
 And cut in twain his heart. 
 
232 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 Will Scadlock well had play'd his part, 
 The giant he had brought to his knee ; 
 
 Quoth Will, The devil cannot break his fast, 
 Unless he have you all three. 
 
 So with his faulchion he run him through, 
 
 A deep and * ghastly' wound ; 
 Who dam'd and foam'd, curst and blasphem'd, 
 
 And then fell to the ground. 
 
 Now all the lists with shouts were fiU'd, 
 
 The skies they did resound, 
 Which brought the princess to herself, 
 
 Who had fal'n in a swound. 
 
 The king and queen, and princess fair, 
 
 Came walking to the place. 
 And gave the champions many thanks, 
 
 And did them further grace. 
 
 Tell me, quoth the king, whence you are. 
 
 That thus disguised came, 
 Whose valour speaks that noble blood 
 
 Doth run through every vain. 
 
 A boon, a boon, quoth Robin Hood, 
 
 On my knees I beg and crave. 
 By my crown, quoth the king, I grant. 
 
 Ask what, and thou shalt have. 
 
AND THE STRANGER. 233 
 
 Then pardon I beg for my merry men, 
 
 Which are in the green-wood, 
 For Little John and Will Scadlock, 
 
 And for me, bold Robin Hood. 
 
 Art thou Robin Hood ? quoth the king ; 
 
 For the valour thou hast shewn, 
 Your pardons I do freely grant, 
 
 And welcome every one, 
 
 The princess I promise the victor's prize, 
 
 She cannot have you all three. 
 She shall chuse, quoth Robin. Said Little John, 
 
 Then little share falls to me. 
 
 Then did the princess view all three. 
 
 With a comely lovely grace. 
 And took Will Scadlock by the hand, 
 
 Saying, Here I make my choice. 
 
 With that a noble lord stept forth. 
 
 Of Maxfield earl was he. 
 Who look'd Will Scadlock in the face, 
 
 And wept most bitterly. 
 
 Quoth he, I had a son like thee, 
 
 Whom I lov'd wondrous well, 
 But he is gone, or rather dead, 
 
 His name it is young Gamwell. 
 
 2 G 
 
234 
 
 ROBIN HOOD AND THE STRANGER. 
 
 Then did Will Scadlock fall on his knees, 
 
 Cries, Father ! father ! here, 
 Here kneels your son, your young Gamw^ll, 
 
 You said you lov'd so dear. 
 
 But, lord ! what imbracing and kissing was there, 
 
 When all these friends were met ! 
 They are gone to the wedding, and so to [the] 
 
 And so I bid you good night. [bedding : 
 

 XII. 
 
 ROBIN HOOD AND QUEEN KATHERINE. 
 
 From an old black letter copy in a private collection, compared 
 with another in that of Anthony a Wood. The full title is : 
 " Renowned Robin Hood ; Or, His famous archery truly related 
 in the worthy exploits he acted before Queen Katherine, he being 
 an outlaw man ; and how he obtained his own and his fellows 
 pardon. To a new tune." 
 
 It is scarcely worth observing that there was no queen-consort 
 named Katherine before Henry the Fifth's time ; but as Henry 
 the Eighth had no lessthan three wives so called, the name would 
 be sufficiently familiar to our ballad-maker. 
 
 Gold tane from the kings harbengers, 
 Downe, a downe, a downe. 
 As seldome hath beene scene, 
 Downe, a downe, a downe, 
 And carried by bold Robin Hood 
 For a present to the queene, 
 Downe, a downe, a downe. 
 
236 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 If that I live a yeare to an end, 
 Thus gan queene Katharine say, 
 
 Bold Robin Hood, I will be thy friend, 
 And all thy yeomen gay. 
 
 The queene is to her chamber gone, 
 
 As fast as she can wen ; 
 She calls unto her lovely page, 
 
 His name was Richard Patrington. 
 
 " Come thou hither to mee, thou lovely page, 
 
 Come thou hither to mee ; 
 For thou must post to Nottingham. 
 
 As fast as thou can dree ; 
 
 And as thou goest to Nottingham, 
 
 Search all the English wood. 
 Enquire of one good yeoman or another, 
 
 That can tell thee of Robin Hood." 
 
 Sometimes hee went, sometimes hee ran, 
 
 As fast as hee could win ; 
 And when hee came to Nottingham, 
 
 There hee tooke up his inne. 
 
 And when he came to Nottingham, 
 
 And had tooke up his inne, 
 He cals for a pottle of Rhenish wine, 
 
 And dranke a health to his queene. 
 
AND QUEEN KATHERINE. 237 
 
 There sate a yeoman by his side, 
 
 Tell mee, sweet page, said hee, 
 What is thy businesse and the cause, 
 
 So far in the north countrey ? 
 
 This is my businesse and the cause. 
 
 Sir, He tell it you for good. 
 To enquire of one good yeoman or another, 
 
 To tell mee of Robin Hood. 
 
 " He get my horse betimes in the morne, 
 
 By it be break of day, 
 And I will shew thee bold Robin Hood, 
 
 And all his yeomen gay." 
 
 When that he came at Robin Hoods place, 
 
 Hee fell down on his knee : 
 " Queen Katherine she doth greet you well, 
 
 She greets you well by mee ; 
 
 She bids you post to fair London court, 
 
 Not fearing any thing ; 
 For there shall be a little sport, 
 
 And she hath sent you her ring." 
 
 Robin Hood tooke his mantle from his back. 
 
 It was of the Lincolne greene, 
 And sent it by this lovely page. 
 
 For a present unto the queene. 
 
238 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 In summer time, when leaves grow green, 
 
 It's a seemely sight to see. 
 How Robin Hood himselfe had drest, 
 
 And all his yeomandry. 
 
 He clothed his men in Lincolne greene, 
 
 And himselfe in scarlet red ; 
 Blacke hats, white feathers, all alike. 
 
 Now bold Robin Hood is rid : 
 
 And when hee came at Londons court, 
 
 Hee fell downe on his knee. 
 Thou art welcome, Locksly, said the queen, 
 
 And all thy good 'yeomandree.' 
 
 The king is into Finsbury field ^ 
 
 Marching in battle-ray. 
 And after follows bold Robin Hood, 
 
 And all his yeomen gay. 
 
 1 Ground near Moorfields, London, famous in old times for 
 the archery practised there. "In the year 1498," says Stow, 
 "all the gardens which had continued time out of minde, without 
 Mooregate, to wit, about and beyond the lordship of Fensberry, 
 were destroyed. And of them was made a plaine field for archers 
 toshoote in." Survay of London, 1598, p. 351. Seealso p. tj, 
 where it is observed that "about the feast of S. Bartlemew . . . 
 the officers of the city . . . were challengers of all men in the 
 suburbes, . . . before the ' lord' maior, aldermen, and sheriffes, 
 in Fensbery fielde, to shoote the standarde, broade arrow, 
 and flight, for games." There is a tract intitled, " Ayme for 
 Finsburie archers, or an alphabetical table of the names of every 
 
AND QUEEN KATHERINE. 239 
 
 Come hither, Tepus, said the king, 
 
 Bow-bearer after mee ; 
 Come measure me out with this line, 
 
 How long our mark must be. 
 
 What is the wager ? said the queene, 
 
 That must I now know here. 
 '* Three hundred tun of Rhenish wine. 
 
 Three hundred tun of beere ; 
 
 Three hundred of the fattest harts 
 
 That run on Dallom-lee." ^ 
 That's a princely wager, said the king. 
 
 That needs must I tell thee. 
 
 marke within the same fields, with the true distances, both by 
 the map, and dimensuration with the line. Published for the 
 ease of the skilfull, and behoofe of the yoonge beginners in the 
 famous exercise of archerie, by J. J. and E, B. To be sold at 
 the signe of the Swan in Grub-street, by F. Sergeant, 1594." 
 i6mo. Republished by R. F. 1604 ; and again by James Par- 
 tridge, 1628, i2mo. 
 
 These famous archers are mentioned by Ben Jonson (Every 
 Man in his Humour, act i. scene i): " Because I dwell at Hogsden 
 I shall keep company with none but the archers of Finsbury." 
 
 The practice of shooting here is alluded to by Cotton in his 
 Virgile Travestie (b. iv.), 1667 : 
 
 " And arrows loos'd from Grub-street bow, 
 In FiNSBURV, to him are slow ;" 
 
 and continued till within the memory of persons now living. 
 
 I The situation of this chase cannot be ascertained. There is 
 an ancient family seat in Westmoreland called Dalham-towcr. 
 
240 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 With that bespake one Clifton then, 
 
 Full quickly and full soone, 
 Measure no markes for us, most soveraigne liege, 
 
 Wee'l shoot at sun and moone. 
 
 " Full fifteene score your marke shall be, 
 
 Full fifteene score shall stand." 
 lie lay my bow, said Clifton then, 
 
 He cleave the willow wand. 
 
 With that the kings archers led about, 
 
 While it was three, and none ; 
 With that the ladies began to shout, 
 
 " Madam, your game is gone." 
 
 A boone, a boone, queene Katherine cries, 
 
 I crave it on my bare knee ; 
 Is there any knight of your privy counsel 
 
 Of queen Katherines part will be ? 
 
 Come hither to mee, sir Richard Lee, 
 
 Thou art a knight full good ; 
 For I do knowe by thy pedigree 
 
 Thou sprung'st from Gowers blood. 
 
 Come hither to me, thou bishop of Herefordshire ; 
 
 For a noble priest was hee. 
 By my silver miter, said the bishop then, 
 
 lie not bet one peny. 
 
AND QUEEN KATHERINE. 24 1 
 
 The king hath archers of his own, 
 
 Full ready and full light, 
 And these be strangers every one, 
 
 No man knowes what they hight. 
 
 What wilt thou bet ? said Robin Hood, 
 
 Thou seest our game the worse. 
 By my silver miter, then said the bishop, 
 
 All the money within my purse. 
 
 What is in thy purse ? said Robin Hood, 
 
 Throw it downe on the ground. 
 Fifteen score nobles, said the bishop ; 
 
 It's neere an hundred pound, ^ 
 
 Robin Hood took his bagge from his side, 
 And threw it downe on the greene : 
 
 William Scadlocke then went smiling away, 
 " I know who this money must win." 
 
 With that the kings archers led about, 
 
 While it was three and three ; 
 With that the ladies gave a shout, 
 
 " Woodcock, beware thy knee ! " 
 
 1 Either the bishop was a very bad reckoner, or there is some 
 mistake in the copy : three hundred nobles are exactly a hundred 
 pounds. The common editions read ninety-nine angels, which 
 would be no more than ^^49, los. No such coin or denomi- 
 nation, however, as either angel or noble existed in Robin Hood's 
 time. 
 
 2 H 
 
242 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 It is three and three, now, said the king, 
 
 The next three pays for all. 
 Robin Hood went and whisper'd the queen, 
 
 The kings part shall be but small, 
 
 Robin Hood hee led about, 
 
 Hee shot it under hand ; 
 And Clifton with a bearing arrow, 
 
 Hee clave the willow wand. 
 
 And little Midge, the millers son, 
 
 Hee shot not much the worse ; 
 He shot within a finger of the prick : 
 
 " Now, bishop, beware thy purse ! " 
 
 A boone, a boone, queene Katherine cries, 
 
 I crave ' it ' on my bare knee, 
 That you will angry be with none 
 
 That are of my partie, 
 
 " They shall have forty dales to come. 
 
 And forty daies to goe. 
 And three times forty to sport and play ; 
 
 Then welcome friend or foe,'' 
 
 Thou art welcome, Robin Hood, said the queene, 
 
 And so is Little John, 
 And so is Midge, the millers son ; 
 
 Thrice welcome every one. 
 
AND QUEEN KATHERINE. 243 
 
 Is this Robin Hood ? now said the king, 
 
 For it was told to me 
 That he was slain in the palace gates, 
 
 So far in the north country. 
 
 • 
 
 Is this Robin Hood ? quoth the bishop then, 
 
 As ' it seems ' ' well to be : 
 Had I knowne ' it ' had been that bold outlaw, 
 
 I would not [have] bet one peny. 
 
 Hee tooke me late one Saturday at night, 
 
 And bound mee fast to a tree. 
 And made mee sing a masse, God wot, 
 
 To him and his ' yeomandree.' 
 
 What, an if I did, sales Robin Hood, 
 
 Of that masse I was faine ; 
 For recompence of that, he sales, 
 
 Here's halfe thy gold againe. 
 
 Now nay, now nay, saies Little John, 
 
 Master, that shall not be ; 
 We must give gifts to the kings officers ; 
 
 That gold will serve thee and mee. 
 
 1 I see. 
 
XIII. 
 ROBIN HOOD'S CHASE: 
 
 " Or, a merry progress between Robin Hood and King Henry : 
 Shewing how Robin Hood led the king his chase from London 
 to London ; and when he had taken his leave of the queen, he 
 returned to merry Sherwood. To the tune of Robin Hood and 
 the Beggar.'' 
 
 From an old black letter copy in the collection of Anthony a 
 Wood. 
 
 Come, you gallants all, to you I do call, 
 IViih hey down, down, an a down, 
 
 That now ' are ' in this place ; 
 For a song I will sing of Henry the king, 
 
 How he did Robin Hood chase. 
 
ROBIN hood's chase. 245 
 
 Queen Katherin she a match did ^ make, 
 
 As plainly doth appear, 
 For three hundred tun of good red wine. 
 
 And three [hundred] tun of beere. 
 
 But yet her archers she had to seek, 
 With their bows and arrows so good ; 
 
 But her mind it was bent with a good intent, 
 To send for bold Robin Hood. 
 
 But when bold Robin he came there, 
 
 Queen Katherin she did say, 
 Thou art welcome, Locksley, said the queen, 
 
 And all thy yeomen gay. 
 
 For a match of shooting I have made, 
 
 And thou on my part must be. 
 " If I miss the mark, be it light or dark, 
 
 Then hanged I will be." 
 
 But when the game came to be played. 
 
 Bold Robin he then drew nigh. 
 With his mantle of green, most brave to be seen, 
 
 He let his arrows fly. 
 
 And when the game it ended was, 
 
 Bold Robin wan it with a grace ; 
 But after the king was angry with him, 
 
 And vowed he would him chace. 
 
 » Then did. 
 
246 ROBIN hood's chase. 
 
 What though his pardon granted was, 
 
 While he with him did stay ; 
 But yet the king was vexed at him, 
 
 When as he was gone his way. 
 
 Soon after the king from the court did hye, 
 
 In a furious angry mood, 
 And often enquired both far and near 
 
 After bold Robin Hood. 
 
 But when the king to Nottingham came, 
 
 Bold Robin was in the wood : 
 O, come now, said he, and let me see 
 
 Who can find me bold Robin Hood. 
 
 But when that bold Robin he did hear 
 
 The king had him in chase, 
 Then said Little John, 'Tis time to be gone. 
 
 And go to some other place. 
 
 And away they went from merry Sherwood, 
 
 And into Yorkshire he did hye ; 
 And the king did follow, with a hoop and a hallow, 
 
 But could not come him nigh. 
 
 Yet jolly Robin he passed along, 
 
 * And went strait ' to Newcastle town ; 
 And there ' he ' stayed hours two or three, 
 And ' then ' to Barwick ' is ' ' gone. 
 
 1 He . , was. 
 
ROBIN hood's chase. 247 
 
 When the king did see how Robin did flee, 
 
 He was vexed wondrous sore ; 
 With a hoop and a hallow he vowed to follow, 
 
 And take him, or never give ore. 
 
 Come now let's away, then crys Little John, 
 
 Let any man follow that dare ; 
 To Carlisle we'l hye, with our company, 
 
 And so then to Lancaster. 
 
 From Lancaster then to Chester they went, 
 
 And so did king Henry ; 
 But Robin [went] away, for he durst not stay, 
 
 For fear of some treachery. 
 
 Says Robin, Come let us for London goe, 
 
 To see our noble queens face, 
 It may be she wants our company, 
 
 Which makes the king so us chase. 
 
 When Robin he came queene Katherin before, 
 
 He fell low upon his knee : 
 " If it please your grace, I am come to this place 
 
 For to speak with king Henry." 
 
 Queen Katherine answered bold Robin ^ again, 
 The king is gone to merry Sherwood ; 
 
 And when he went away to me he did say. 
 He would go and seek Robin Hood. 
 
 » Robin Hood. 
 
248 
 
 ROBIN hood's chase. 
 
 " Then fare you well, my gracious queen, 
 For to Sherwood I will hye apace ; 
 
 For fain would I see what he would with me, 
 If I could but meet with his grace." 
 
 But when king Henry he came home, 
 
 Full weary, and vexed in mind, 
 And that he did hear Robin had been there, 
 
 He blamed dame Fortune unkind. 
 
 You're welcome home, ' queen ' Katherin cryed, 
 
 Henry, my soveraign liege ; 
 Bold Robin Hood, that archer good. 
 
 Your person hath been to seek. 
 
 But when king Henry he did ' hear,' 
 
 That Robin had been there him to seeke. 
 
 This answer he gave, He's a cunning knave. 
 For I have sought him this whole three weeks. 
 
 A boon ! a boon ! ' queen ' Katherin cry'd, 
 
 I beg it here ' of ' your grace, 
 To pardon his life, and seek not strife : 
 
 And so endeth Robin Hoods chase. 
 
XIV. 
 ROBIN HOOD'S GOLDEN PRIZE. 
 
 " He met two priests upon the way, 
 And forced them with him to pray ; 
 For gold they prayed, and gold they had, 
 Enough to make bold Robin glad ; 
 His share came to four hundred pound. 
 That then was told upon the ground. 
 Now mark, and you shall hear the jest. 
 You never heard the like exprest. 
 Tune is, Robin Hood was a tall young man, &c." 
 
 This ballad (given from an old black letter copy in the col- 
 lection of Anthony a Wood) was entered (amongst others) in the 
 Stationers' book, by Francis Coule, 13th June 1631, and by 
 Francis Grove, 2d June 1656. 
 
 I HAVE heard talk of Robin Hood, 
 Derry^ derry down, 
 And of brave Little John, 
 Of fryer Tuck, and Will Scarlet, 
 Loxley, and maid Mari6n. 
 
 3 I 
 
250 ROBIN hood's golden PRIZE. 
 
 But such a tale as this before 
 
 I think was never knone : 
 For Robin Hood disguised himself, 
 
 And ' from ' ^ the wood is gone. 
 
 Like to a fryer bold Robin Hood 
 Was accoutered in his array ; 
 
 With hood, gown, beeds, and crucifix. 
 He past upon the way. 
 
 He had not gone miles two or three, 
 But it was his chance to spy 
 
 Two lusty priests, clad all in black, 
 Come riding gallantly. 
 
 Benedicite, then said Robin Hood, 
 
 Some pitty on me take ; 
 Cross you my hand with a silver groat, 
 
 For our dear ladies sake. 
 
 For I have been wandring all this day. 
 
 And nothing could I get ; 
 Not so much as one poor cup of drink, 
 
 Nor bit of bread to eat. 
 
 Now, by our holy dame, the priests repli'd, 
 
 We never a peny have ; 
 For we this morning have been rob'd. 
 
 And could no money save. 
 
 1 To. 
 
ROBIN hood's golden PRIZE. 25 1 
 
 I am much afraid, said bold Robin Hood, 
 
 That you both do tell a lie ; 
 And now before you do go hence, 
 
 I am resolv'd to try. 
 
 When as the priests heard him say so, 
 
 Then they rode away amain ; 
 But Robin Hood betook to his heels, 
 
 And soon overtook them again. 
 
 Then Robin Hood laid hold of them both. 
 And puU'd them down from their horse : 
 
 O spare us, fryer ! the priests cry'd out, 
 On us have some remorse ! 
 
 You said you had no mony, quoth he, 
 
 Wherefore, without delay, 
 We three will fall down on our knees, 
 
 And for mony we will pray. 
 
 The priests they could not him gainsay. 
 But down they kneeled with speed : 
 
 Send us, O send us, then quoth they, 
 Some mony to serve our need. 
 
 The priests did pray with a mournful chear. 
 Sometimes their hands did wring ; 
 
 Sometimes they wept, and cried aloud. 
 Whilst Robin did merrily sing. 
 
252 ROBIN HOODS GOLDEN PRIZE. 
 
 When they had been praying an hours space, 
 
 The priests did still lament ; 
 Then quoth bold Robin, Now let's see 
 
 What mony heaven hath us sent. 
 
 We will be sharers all alike 
 
 Of [the] mony that we have ; 
 And there is never a one of us 
 
 That his fellow shall deceive. 
 
 The priests their hands in their pockets put, 
 
 But mony would find none : 
 We'l search ourselves, said Robin Hood, 
 
 Each other, one by one. 
 
 Then Robin ^ took pains to search them both, 
 And he found good store of gold. 
 
 Five hundred peeces presently 
 Upon the grass was told. 
 
 Here is a brave show, said Robin Hood, 
 
 Such store of gold to see, 
 And you shall each one have a part. 
 Cause you prayed so heartily. 
 
 He gave them fifty pounds a-peece, 
 And the rest for himself did keep : 
 
 The priests [they] durst not speak one word, 
 But they sighed wondrous deep. 
 
 1 Robin Hood. 
 
ROBIN HOOD AND THE FRIARS, 
 
Im 
 
 ROBIN HOOD AND THE FRIARS 
 
ROBIN HOODS GOLDEN PRIZE. 253 
 
 With that the priests rose up from their knees, 
 
 Thinking to have parted so : 
 Nay, nay, says Robin Hood, one thing more 
 
 I have to say ere you go. 
 
 You shall be sworn, said bold Robin Hood, 
 
 Upon this holy grass, 
 That you will never tell lies again, 
 
 Which way soever you pass. 
 
 The second oath that you here must take, 
 
 That all the days of your lives, 
 You shall never tempt maids to sin, 
 
 Nor lie with other mens wives. 
 
 The last oath you shall take, it is this, 
 
 Be charitable to the poor ; 
 Say, you have met with a holy fryar. 
 
 And I desire no more. 
 
 He set them on their horses again, 
 
 And away then they did ride ; 
 And he return'd to the merry green-wood. 
 
 With great joy, mirth, and pride. 
 
XV. 
 
 ROBIN HOOD'S RESCUING WILL STUTLY. 
 
 From an old black letter copy in the collection of Anthony a 
 Wood. The full title is: "Robin Hood his rescuing Will 
 Stutly from the sheriff and his men, who had taken him prisoner, 
 and was going to hang him. To the tune of Robin Hood and 
 Queen Katherine." ^ 
 
 When Robin Hood in the green wood liv'd, 
 Derry^ derry down. 
 Under the green wood tree, 
 Tidings there came to him with speed, 
 Tidings for certainty ; 
 
 Hey down, derry, derry down ; 
 
 ^ See before, p. 235. 
 
RESCUING WILL STUTLY. 255 
 
 That Will Stutly surprized was, 
 
 And eke in prison lay ; 
 Three varlets that the sheriff had hired, 
 
 Did likely him betray : 
 
 " I, and to-morrow hanged must be, 
 
 To-morrow as soon as it is day ; 
 Before they could this victory get, 
 
 Two of them did Stutly slay." 
 
 When Robin Hood he heard this news, 
 
 Lord ! he was grieved sore ; 
 And to his merry men he did say, 
 
 (Who altogether swore), 
 
 That Will Stutly should rescued be, 
 
 And be brought * back ' again ; 
 Or else should many a gallant wight 
 
 For his sake there be slain. 
 
 He cloathed himself in scarlet * red,' 
 
 His men were all in green ; 
 A finer shew, throughout the world. 
 
 In no place could be seen. 
 
 Good lord ! it was a gallant sight 
 
 To see them all on a row ; 
 With every man a good broad sword, 
 
 And eke a good yew bow. 
 
256 ROBIN hood's 
 
 Forth of the green wood are they gone, 
 
 Yea all couragiously, 
 Resolving to bring Stutly home, 
 
 Or every man to die. 
 
 And when they came the castle neer. 
 
 Whereas Will Stutly lay, 
 I hold it good, saith Robin Hood, 
 
 Wee here in ambush stay, 
 
 And send one forth some news to hear, 
 
 To yonder palmer fair, 
 That stands under the castle wall, 
 
 Some news he may declare. 
 
 With that steps forth a brave young man. 
 
 Which was of courage bold, 
 Thus did hee speak to the old man : 
 
 I pray thee, palmer old. 
 
 Tell me, if that thou rightly ken. 
 
 When must Will Stutly die, 
 Who is one of bold Robin's men, 
 
 And here doth prisoner lie ? 
 
 Alack ! alass ! the palmer said, 
 
 And for ever wo is me ! 
 Will Stutly hanged must be this day, 
 
 On yonder gallows-tree. 
 
RESCUING WILL STUTLY. 257 
 
 O had his noble master known, 
 
 He would some succour send ; 
 A few of his bold yeomandree 
 
 Full soon would fetch him hence. 
 
 I, that is true, the young man said ; 
 
 I, that is true, said he ; 
 Or, if they were neer to this place, 
 
 They soon would set him free. 
 
 But fare ' thee ' well, thou good old man, 
 
 Farewell, and thanks to thee ; 
 If Stutly hanged be this day, 
 
 Reveng'd his death will be. 
 
 Hee was no sooner from the palmer gone, 
 But the gates * were ' open'd wide, 
 
 And out of the castle Will Stutly came. 
 Guarded on every side. 
 
 When hee was forth of the castle come, 
 
 And saw no help was nigh, 
 Thus he did say to the sheriff, 
 
 Thus he said gallantly : 
 
 Now seeing that I needs must die, 
 
 Grant me one boon, said he, 
 For my noble master nere had a man, 
 
 That yet was hang'd on the tree. 
 
 3 K 
 
258 ROBIN hood's 
 
 Give me a sword all in my hand, 
 
 And let mee be unbound, 
 And with thee and thy men He fight, 
 
 Till I lie dead on the ground. 
 
 But his desire he would not grant, 
 
 His wishes were in vain ; 
 For the sheriff had sworn he hanged should be, 
 
 And not by the sword be slain. 
 
 Do but unbind my hands, he sales, 
 
 I will no weapons crave. 
 And if I hanged be this day, 
 
 Damnation let me have. 
 
 O no, O no, the sheriff said. 
 
 Thou shalt on the gallows die, 
 I, and so shall thy master too. 
 
 If ever in me it lie. 
 
 O, dastard coward ! Stutly cries, 
 
 Thou faint-heart pesant slave ! 
 If ever my master do thee meet, 
 
 Thou shalt thy paiment have., 
 
 My noble master ' doth thee ' scorn, 
 
 And all thy * coward ' crew ; 
 Such silly imps unable are, 
 
 Bold Robin to subdue. 
 
RESCUING WILL STUTLY. 259 
 
 But when he was to the gallows come, 
 
 And ready to bid adiew, 
 Out of a bush leaps Little John, 
 
 And comes Will Stutly ' to ' : 
 
 " I pray thee, Will, before thou die, 
 Of thy dear friends take leave : — 
 
 I needs must borrow him for a while, 
 How say you, master * shrieve ' ? " 
 
 Now, as I live, the sheriff he said, 
 
 That varlet will I know ; 
 Some sturdy rebell is that same, 
 
 Therefore let him not go. 
 
 Then Little John most hastily, 
 
 Away cut Stutly's bands, 
 And from one of the 'sheriffs' men, 
 
 A sword twicht from his hands. 
 
 " Here, Will, here, take thou this same. 
 
 Thou canst it better sway ; 
 And here defend thyself awhile, 
 
 For aid will come straightway." 
 
 And there they turn'd them back to back. 
 
 In the middle of them that day. 
 Till Robin Hood approached near. 
 
 With many an archer gay. 
 
26o ROBIN hood's 
 
 With that an arrow by them flew, 
 
 I wist from Robin Hood ; 
 Make haste, make haste, the sheriff he said, 
 
 Make haste, for it is good. 
 
 The sheriff is gon, his ' doughty ' ^ men 
 
 Thought it no boot to stay, 
 But, as their master had them taught, 
 
 ' They ' run full fast away. 
 
 O stay, O stay, Will Stutly said, 
 
 Take leave ere you depart ; 
 You neere will catch bold Robin Hood, 
 
 Unless you dare him meet. 
 
 ill betide you, quoth Robin Hood, 
 That you so soon are gone ; 
 
 My sword may in the scabbord rest, 
 For here our work is done. 
 
 1 little thought, ' Will Stutly said,' 2 
 
 When I came to this place, 
 For to have met with Little John, 
 Or seen my masters face. 
 
 Thus Stutly was at liberty set. 
 And safe brought from his foe : 
 
 " O thanks, O thanks to my master, 
 Since here it was not so : 
 
 1 Doubtless. * When I came here. 
 
RESCUING WILL STUTLY. 
 
 261 
 
 And once again, my fellows [all], 
 We shall in the green woods meet, 
 
 Where we [will] make our bow-strings twang, 
 Musick for us most sweet." 
 
i<^ 'I'liyf ti I' J\ 1 1 n i"^ ' '"""fTTTn 
 
 XVI. 
 THE NOBLE FISHER-MAN; 
 
 OR, 
 
 ROBIN hood's preferment : 
 
 "Shewing how he won a prize on the sea, and how he gave 
 the one halfe to his dame, and the other to the building of almes- 
 houses. The tune is, In summer time, &c." 
 
 From three old black letter copies, one in the collection of 
 Anthony a Wood, another in the British Museum, and the third 
 in a private collection. 
 
 In summer-time, when leaves grow green, 
 When they doe grow both green and long, — 
 
 Of a bold outlaw, call'd Robin Hood, 
 It is of him I sing this song, — 
 
ROBIN hood's preferment. 263 
 
 When the lilly leafe, and the ' eglantine/ 
 Doth bud and spring with a merry cheere, 
 
 This outlaw was weary of the wood-side, 
 And chasing of the fallow-deere. 
 
 " The fisher-men brave more mony have 
 
 Than any merchants two or three ; 
 Therefore I will to Scarborough go, 
 
 That I a fisherman brave may be." 
 
 This outlaw called his merry men all, 
 As they sate under the green-wood tree : 
 
 " If any of you have gold to spend, 
 I pray you heartily spend it with me." 
 
 Now, quoth Robin Hood, He to Scarborough go, 
 
 It seems to be a very faire day, 
 'He' tooke up his inne at a widdow-womans 
 
 Hard by upon the water gray : [house. 
 
 Who asked of him, Where wert thou borne ? 
 
 Or tell to me where dost thou fare ? 
 I am a poor fisherman, said he then. 
 
 This day intrapped all in care. 
 
 " What is thy name, thou fine fell6w, 
 I pray thee heartily tell it to mee ? " 
 
 "In my own country, where I was borne, 
 Men call me Simon over the Lee." 
 
 1 Elephant. 
 
264 ROBIN hood's preferment. 
 
 Simon, Simon, said the good-wife, 
 
 I wish thou mayest well brook thy name. 
 
 The out-law was ware of her courtesie, 
 And rejoyced he had got such a dame. 
 
 '* Simon, wilt thou be my man .? 
 
 And good round wages He give thee ; 
 I have as good a ship of my own, 
 
 As any sails upon the sea : 
 
 Anchors and planks thou shalt not want, 
 Masts and ropes that are so long." 
 
 And if you thus do furnish me. 
 
 Said Simon, nothing shall goe wrong. 
 
 They pluckt up anchor, and away did sayle, 
 More of a day then two or three ; 
 
 When others cast in their baited hooks. 
 The bare lines into the sea cast he. 
 
 It will be long, said the master then, 
 
 Ere this great lubber do thrive on the sea ; 
 
 I'le assure you he shall have no part of our fish, 
 For in truth he is no part worthy. 
 
 woe is me ! said Simon then, 
 This day that ever I came here ! 
 
 1 wish I were in Plompton parke. 
 
 In chasing of the fallo^y deere. 
 
ROBIN hood's preferment. 265 
 
 For every clowne laughs me to scorne, 
 And they by me set nought at all ; 
 
 If I had them in Plompton park, 
 I would set as little by them all. 
 
 They pluckt up anchor, and away did sayle, 
 More of a day then two or three : 
 
 But Simon espyed a ship of warre, 
 
 That sayled towards them most valorously. 
 
 O woe is me ! said the master then, 
 This day that ever I was borne ! 
 
 For all our fish we have got to day, 
 Is every bit lost and forlorne. 
 
 For your French robbers on the sea. 
 They will not spare of us one man, 
 
 But carry us to the coast of France, 
 And ligge us in the prison strong. 
 
 But Simon said. Doe not feare them, 
 Neither, master, take you no care ; 
 
 Give me my bent bow in my hand. 
 And never a Frenchman will I spare. 
 
 " Hold thy peace, thou long lubb&r, 
 
 For thou art nought but brags and boast ; 
 
 If I should cast thee over-board. 
 There's but a simple lubber lost" 
 
 2 L 
 
266 ROBIN hood's PREFERMENT. 
 
 Simon grew angry at these words, 
 
 And so angry then was he, 
 That he took his bent bow in his hand, 
 
 And in the ship-hatch goe doth he. 
 
 Master, tye me to the mast, saith he. 
 That at my mark I may stand fair, 
 
 And give me my bent bow in my hand, 
 And never a Frenchman will I spare. 
 
 He drew his arrow to the very head, 
 
 And drew it with all might and maine, 
 And straightway in the twinkling of an eye, 
 * To ' the Frenchmans heart the ' arrow's gane.' * 
 
 The Frenchman fell down on the ship-hatch, 
 And under the hatches * there ' below ; 
 
 Another Frenchman, that him espy'd, 
 The dead corpse into the sea doth throw. 
 
 O master, loose me from the mast, he said, 
 And for them all take you no care ; 
 
 For give me my bent bow in my hand, 
 And never a Frenchman will I spare. 
 
 Then streight [they] boarded the French ship. 
 They lyeing all dead in their sight ; 
 
 They found within ' that ' ship of warre. 
 Twelve thousand pound of mony bright. 
 
 1 Doth . . . arrow gain. 
 
ROBIN hood's preferment. 267 
 
 The one halfe of the ship, said Simon then, 
 He give to my dame and [her] children small ; 
 
 The other halfe of the ship He bestow 
 On you that are my fellowes alL 
 
 But now bespake the master then, 
 
 For so, Simon, it shall not be. 
 For you have won it with your own hand, 
 
 And the owner of it you shall bee. 
 
 " It shall be so, as I have said ; 
 
 And, with this gold, for the opprest 
 An habitation I will build, 
 
 Where they shall live in peace and rest." 
 
jSSrJiaia».'-vs 
 
 XVII. 
 
 ROBIN HOOD'S DELIGHT: 
 
 "Or, a merry combat fought between Robin Hood, Little 
 John, and Will Scarelock, and three stout Keepers in Sheerwood 
 Forrest. 
 
 Robin was valiant and stout. 
 
 So was Scarelock and John in the field. 
 But these Keepers stout did give them rout, 
 
 And made them all for to yield. 
 But after the battel ended was, 
 
 Bold Robin did make them amends, 
 For claret and sack they did not lack. 
 
 So drank themselves good friends. 
 
 To the tune of, Robin Hood and Queen Katherine ; or, Robin 
 Hood and the Shepheard." 
 
 From an old black letter copy iu the collection of Anthony a 
 Wood. 
 
ROHIN hood's delight. 269 
 
 There's some will talk of lords and knights, 
 Doufi, a doun, a doun, 
 And some of yeomen good ; 
 But I will tell you of Will Scarlock, 
 Little John, and Robin Hood. 
 Doun, a doun, a doun, a doun. 
 
 They were outlaws, 'tis well known, 
 
 And men of a noble blood ; 
 And many a time was their valour shown 
 
 In the forrest of merry Sheerwood. 
 
 Upon a time it chanced so. 
 
 As Robin would have it be. 
 They all three would a walking go, 
 
 The pastime for to see. 
 
 And as they walked the forest along, 
 
 Upon a Midsummer day, 
 There was they aware of three keepers, 
 
 Clad all in green aray. 
 
 With brave long faucheons by their sides 
 
 And forrest-bills in hand. 
 They call'd aloud to those bold outlkws, 
 
 And charged them to stand. 
 
 1 Robin Hood. ' . 
 
270 ROBIN HOODS DELIGHT. 
 
 Why, who are you, cry'd bold Robin, 
 
 That ' speak ' so boldly here ? 
 " We three belong to King Henry, 
 
 And are keepers of his deer." 
 
 The devil * you are ! ' sayes Robin Hood, 
 
 I am sure that it is not so ; 
 We be the keepers of this forrest, 
 
 And that you soon shall know. 
 
 Come, your coats of green lay on the ground. 
 
 And so will we all three, 
 And take your swords and bucklers round. 
 
 And try the victory. 
 
 We be content, the keepers said, 
 
 We be three, and you no less, 
 Then why should we be of you afraid, 
 
 ' As ' we never did transgress ? 
 
 " Why, if you be three keepers in this forrest. 
 Then we be three rangers good, 
 
 And will make you know before you do go, 
 You meet with bold Robin Hood." 
 
 " We be content, thou bold outlkw, 
 
 Our valour here to try. 
 And will make you know, before we do go, 
 
 We will fight before we will fly. 
 
ROBIN HOODS DELIGHT. 27 1 
 
 Then, come draw your swords, you bold outlJiws, 
 
 No longer stand to prate, 
 But let us try it out with blows, 
 
 For cowards we do hate. 
 
 Here is one of us for Will Scarl6ck, 
 
 And another for Little John, 
 And I myself for Robin Hood, 
 
 Because he is stout and strong," 
 
 So they fell to it hard and sore, 
 
 It was on a Midsummers day ; 
 From eight of the clock till two and past. 
 
 They all shewed gallant play. 
 
 There Robin, and Will, and Little John, 
 
 They fought most manfully, 
 Till all their winde was spent and gone, 
 
 Then Robin aloud did cry : 
 
 O hold, O hold, cries bold Robin, 
 
 I see you be stout men ; 
 Let me blow one blast on my bugle-horn, 
 
 Then He fight with you again. 
 
 " That bargain's to make, bold Robin Hood, 
 
 Therefore we it deny ; 
 Thy blast upon the bugle-horn 
 
 Cannot make us fight or fly. 
 
272 ROBIN HOODS DELIGHT. 
 
 Therefore fall on, or else be gone, 
 
 And yield to us the day : 
 It never shall be said that we are afraid 
 
 Of thee, nor thy yeomen gay." 
 
 If that be so, cries bold Robin, 
 Let me but know your names, 
 
 And in the forrest of merry Sheerwood, 
 I shall extol your fames. 
 
 And with our names, one of them said. 
 
 What hast thou here to do ? 
 Except that you wilt fight it out. 
 
 Our names thou shalt not know. 
 
 We will fight no more, sayes bold Robin, 
 
 You be men of valour stout ; 
 Come and go with me to Nottingham, 
 
 And there we will fight it out. 
 
 With a but of sack we will bang it ' about,' 
 
 To see who wins the day ; 
 And for the cost make you no doubt, 
 
 I have gold ' enough ' to pay. 
 
 And ever hereafter so long as we live. 
 
 We all will brethren be ; 
 For I love these men with heart and hand, 
 
 That will fight and never flee. 
 
ROBIN hood's delight. 
 
 *73 
 
 So, away they went to Nottinghkm, 
 With sack to make amends ; 
 
 For three days they the wine did chase, 
 And drank themselves good friends. 
 
 a u 
 
XVIII. 
 ROBIN HOOD AND THE BEGGAR. 
 
 "Shewing how Robin Hood and the Beggar fought, and how 
 he changed cloaths with the Beggar, and how he went a begging 
 to Nottingham ; and how he saved three brethren from being 
 hang'd for steaUng of deer. To the tune of Robin Hood and 
 the Stranger." 
 
 From an old black letter copy in the collection of Anthony a 
 Wood. 
 
 Come and listen, you gentlemen all, 
 Hey down, down, an a down, 
 
 That mirth do love for to hear, 
 And a story true He tell unto you, 
 
 If that you will but draw near. 
 
ROBIN HOOD AND THE BEGGAR. 275 
 
 In elder times, when merriment was, 
 
 And archery was holden good. 
 There was an outlaw, as many ' do ' know, 
 
 Which men called Robin Hood. 
 
 Upon a time it chanced so, 
 
 Bold Robin was merry disposed, 
 His time for to spend he did intend 
 
 Either with friends or foes. 
 
 Then he got upon a gallant brave steed, 
 
 The which was worth angels ten. 
 With a mantle of green, most brave to be seen. 
 
 He left all his merry men. 
 
 And riding towards Nottingham, 
 
 Some pastime for to 'spy. 
 There was he aware of a jolly beggar, 
 
 As ere he beheld with his eye. 
 
 An old pacht coat the beggar had on, 
 
 Which he daily did use to wear ; 
 And many a bag about him did wag. 
 
 Which made Robin * to him repair. 
 
 God speed, God speed, said Robin Hood, 
 
 What countryman ? tell to me, 
 " I am Yorkshire, sir ; but, ere you go far, 
 
 Some charity give unto me." 
 
 1 Robin Hood. 
 
276 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 Why, what wouldst thou have ? said Robin Hood, 
 
 I pray thee tell unto me. 
 No lands nor livings, the beggar he said, 
 
 But a penny for charitie. 
 
 I have no money, said Robin Hood then, 
 
 But a ranger within the wood ; 
 I am an outlaw, as many do know, 
 
 My name it is Robin Hood. 
 
 But yet I must tell the, bonny beggkr, 
 That a bout with [thee] I must try ; 
 
 Thy coat of grey, lay down I say, 
 And my mantle of green shall lye by. 
 
 Content, content, the beggar he cry'd, 
 
 Thy part it will be the worse ; 
 For I hope this bout to give thee the rout, 
 
 And then have at thy purse. 
 
 So the beggar he had a mickle long staffe, 
 
 And Robin ^ a nut-brown sword ; 
 So the beggar drew nigh, and at Robin let fly. 
 
 But gave him never a word. 
 
 Fight on, fight on, said Robin Hood then. 
 
 This game well pleaseth me. 
 For every blow that Robin gave, 
 
 The beggar gave buffets three. 
 
 • 1 He had. 
 
AND THE BEGGAR. 277 
 
 And fighting there full hard and sore, 
 
 Not far from Nottingham town, 
 They never fled, till from Robin Hoods head 
 
 The blood came trickling down. 
 
 O, hold thy hand, said Robin Hood then, 
 
 And thou and I will agree. 
 If that be true, the beggar he said, 
 
 Thy mantle come give unto me. 
 
 Now a change, a change, cri'd Robin Hood, 
 
 Thy bags and coat give me ; 
 And this mantle of mine He to thee resign, 
 
 My horse and my braverie. 
 
 When Robin 1 had got the beggars clothes. 
 
 He looked round about ; 
 Methinks, said he, I seem to be 
 
 A beggar brave and stout 
 
 For now I have a bag for my bread, 
 
 So I have another for corn ; 
 I have one for salt, and another for malt. 
 
 And one for my little horn. 
 
 And now I will a begging goe, 
 
 Some charitie for to find. 
 And if any more of Robin you'll know, 
 
 In ' the ' second part 'tis behind. 
 
 1 Robin Hood. 
 
'278 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 Now Rubin he is to Nottingham bound, 
 With his bag hanging down to his knee, 
 
 His staff, and his coat, scarce worth a groat, 
 Yet merrilie passed he. 
 
 As Robin he passed the streets along, 
 
 He heard a pittiful cry ; 
 Three brethren dear, as he did hear, 
 
 Condemned were to dye. 
 
 Then Robin he highed to the sherififs [house], 
 
 Some reUefe for to seek ; 
 He skipt, and leapt, and capered full high, 
 
 As he went along the street. 
 
 But when to the sheriffs doore he came, 
 There a gentleman fine and brave, 
 
 Thou beggar, said he, come tell unto me 
 What it is thou wouldest have. 
 
 No meat, nor drink, said Robin Hood then, 
 
 That I come here to crave ; 
 But to get the lives of yeomen three, 
 
 And that I fain would have. 
 
 That cannot be, thou bold beggkr. 
 
 Their fact it is so clear ; 
 I tell to thee, they hanged must be, 
 
 For stealing of our king's deer. 
 
AND THE BEGGAR. 279 
 
 But when to the gallows they did come, 
 
 There was many a weeping eye : 
 O, hold your peace, said Robin Hood then, 
 
 For certain * they shall ' not dye. 
 
 Then Robin he set his horn to his mouth, 
 
 And he blew out Wastes three, 
 Till a hundred bold archers brave 
 
 Came kneeling down to his knee. 
 
 What is your will, master ? they said, 
 
 We are at your command. 
 Shoot east, shoot west, said Robin Hood then, 
 
 And see you spare no man. 
 
 Then they shot east, and they shot west, 
 
 Their arrows were so keen ; 
 The sheriffe he, and his companie. 
 
 No longer ' could ' be seen. 
 
 Then he stept to those brethren three, 
 
 And away he has them tane ; 
 The sheriffe was crost, and many a man lost, 
 
 That dead lay on the plain. 
 
 And away they went into the merry green wood, 
 
 And sung with a merry glee ; 
 And Robin Hood took these brethren good 
 
 To be of his yeomandrie. 
 
XIX. 
 LITTLE JOHN AND THE FOUR BEGGARS. 
 
 From an old black letter copy in the collection of Anthony a 
 Wood : the full title being, "A new merry song of Robin Hood 
 and Little John, shewing how Little John went a begging, and 
 how he fought with the four beggers, and what a prize he got of 
 the four beggers. The tune is, Robin Hood and the Begger. " 
 
 All you that delight to spend some time, 
 
 With a hey down, down, a down, down, 
 
 A merry song for to sing, 
 Unto me draw neer, and you shall hear 
 
 How Little John went a begging. 
 
LITTLE JOHN AND THE FOUR BEGGARS. 28 1 
 
 As Robin Hood walked the forest along, 
 
 And all his yeomandree. 
 Sayes Robin, Some of you must a begging go. 
 
 And, Little John, it must be thee. 
 
 Sayes John, If I must a begging go, 
 
 I will have a palmer's weed, 
 With a staff and a coat, and bags of all sort. 
 
 The better then I may speed. 
 
 Come, give me now a bag for my bread, 
 
 And another for my cheese. 
 And one for a peny, when as I get any, 
 
 That nothing I may leese. 
 
 Now Little John he is a begging gone, 
 
 Seeking for some relief; 
 But of all the beggers he met on the way, 
 
 Little John he was the chief. 
 
 But as he was walking himself alone, 
 
 Four beggers he chanced to spy, 
 Some deaf, and some blind, and some came behind ; 
 
 Sayes John, Heres a brave company. 
 
 Good-morrow, said John, my brethren dear. 
 
 Good fortune I had you to see ; 
 Which way do you go ? pray let me know, 
 
 For I want some company. 
 
 3 N 
 
282 LITTLE JOHN 
 
 O ! what is here to do ? then said Little John : 
 
 Why ring all these bells ? said he ; 
 What dog is a hanging ? Come, let us be ganging, 
 
 That we the truth may see. 
 
 Here is no dog a hanging, then one of them said, 
 
 Good fellow, we tell unto thee ; 
 But here is one dead, that will give us cheese and bread, 
 
 And it may be one single penny, 1 
 
 We have brethren in London, another he said. 
 
 So have we in Coventry, 
 In Barwick and Dover, and all the world over, 
 
 But ne'er a crookt carril like thee. 
 
 Therefore stand thee back, thou crooked carhl, 
 
 And take that knock on the crown. 
 Nay, said Little John, He not yet be gone, 
 
 For a bout will I have of you round. 
 
 Now have at you all, then said Little John, 
 
 If you be so full of your blows ; 
 Fight on all four, and nere give ore. 
 
 Whether you be friends or foes. 
 
 John nipped the dumb, and made him to rore, 
 
 And the blind ' he made to ' ^ see ; 
 And he that a cripple had been seven years. 
 
 He made run then faster than he. 
 
 1 That could not. 
 
AND THE FOUR BEGGARS, 283 
 
 And flinging them all against the wall, 
 
 With many a sturdie bang, 
 It made John sing, to hear the gold ring, 
 
 Which again the walls cryed twang. 
 
 Then he got out of the beggers cloak, 
 
 Three hundred pound in gold, 
 Good fortune had I, then said Little John, 
 
 Such a good sight to behold. 
 
 But what found he in the beggar's bag 
 But three hundred pound and three ? 
 
 ** If I drink water while this doth last. 
 Then an ill death may I dye : 
 
 And my begging trade I will now give ore, 
 
 My fortune hath bin so good ; 
 Therefore He not stay, but I will away, 
 
 To the forrest of merry Sherwood." 
 
 And when to the forrest of Sherwood he came. 
 
 He quickly there did see 
 His master good, bold Robin Hood, 
 
 And all his company. 
 
 What news ? What news ? then said Robin 
 Come, Little John, tell unto me ; [Hood, 
 
 How hast thou sped with thy beggers trade ? 
 For that I fain would see. 
 
284 LITl'LE JOHN AND THE FOUR BEGGARS. 
 
 No news but good, said Little John, 
 With begging ful wel I have sped ; 
 
 Six hundred and three I have here for thee, 
 In silver and gold so red. 
 
 'Then' Robin Hood took Little John by the 
 And danced about the oak tree : [hand, 
 
 " If we drink water while this doth last, 
 Then an il death may we die. " 
 
 So to conclude my merry new song, 
 
 All you that delight it to sing ; 
 'Tis of Robin Hood, that archer good, 
 
 And how Little John went a begging. 
 
 
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XX. 
 
 ROBIN HOOD AND THE RANGER 
 
 TRUE FRIENDSHIP AFTER A FIERCE FIGHT. 
 
 No ancient copy of this ballad having been met with, it is given 
 from an edition of " Robin Hood's Garland," printed some years 
 since at York. The tune is Arthur a Bland. 
 
 When Phcebus had melted the * sickles ' of ice, 
 ff/'M a hey down, &*c. 
 
 And likewise the mountains of snow, 
 Bold Robin Hood he would ramble away, 
 
 To frolick abroad with his bow. 
 
2 86 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 He left all his merry men waiting behind, 
 Whilst through the green vallies he pass'd, 
 
 Where he did behold a forester bold, 
 Who cry'd out. Friend, whither so fast ? 
 
 I am going, quoth Robin, to kill a fat buck. 
 
 For me and my merry men all ; 
 Besides, ere I go, I'll have a fat doe, 
 
 Or else it shall cost me a fall. 
 
 You'd best have a care, said the forester then, 
 
 For these are his majesty's deer ; 
 Before you shall shoot, the thing I'll dispute, 
 
 For I am head forester here. 
 
 These thirteen long summers, quoth Robin, I'm sure. 
 
 My arrows I here have let fly, 
 Where freely I range ; methinks it is strange 
 
 You should have more power than I. 
 
 This forest, quoth Robin, I think is my own. 
 
 And so are the nimble deer too ; 
 Therefore I declare, and solemnly swear, 
 
 I'll not be affronted by you. 
 
 The forester he had a long quarter-staff. 
 
 Likewise a broad sword by his side ; 
 Without more ado, he presently drew 
 
 Declaring the truth should be try'd. 
 
AND THE RANGER. 287 
 
 Bold Robin Hood had a sword of the best, 
 Thus, ere he would take any wrong. 
 
 His courage was flush, he'd venture a brush, 
 And thus they fell to it ding dong. 
 
 The very first blow that the forester gave, 
 He made his broad weapon cry twang ; 
 
 'Twas over the head, he fell down for dead, 
 O that was a damnable bang ! 
 
 But Robin he soon recovered himself, 
 
 And bravely fell to it again ; 
 The very next stroke their weapons they broke, 
 
 Yet never a man there was slain. 
 
 At quarter-staff then they resolved to play, 
 Because they would have the other bout ; 
 
 And brave Robin Hood right valiantly stood, 
 Unwilling he was to give out. 
 
 Bold Robin he gave him very hard blows, 
 
 The other return'd them as fast ; 
 At every stroke their jackets did smoke ; 
 
 Three hours the combat did last 
 
 At length in a rage the forester grew, 
 
 And cudgel'd bold Robin so sore. 
 That he could not stand, so shaking his hand, 
 
 He cry'd, Let us freely give o'er. 
 
2 88 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 Thou art a brave fellow, I needs must confess 
 
 I never knew any so good ; 
 Thou art fitting to be a yeoman for me, 
 
 And range in the merry green wood. 
 
 I'll give thee this ring as a token of love. 
 For bravely thou hast acted thy part ; 
 
 That man that can fight, in him I delight, 
 And love him with all my whole heart. 
 
 Robin Hood set his bugle-horn to his mouth, 
 
 A blast then he merrily blows ; 
 His yeomen did hear, and strait did appear 
 
 A hundred with trusty long bows. 
 
 Now Little John came at the head of them all, 
 Cloath'd in a rich mantle of green ; 
 
 And likewise the rest were gloriously drest, 
 A delicate sight to be seen ! 
 
 Lo ! these are my yeomen, said bold Robin Hood, 
 And thou shalt be one of the train : 
 
 A mantle and bow, and quiver also, 
 I give them whom I entertain. 
 
 The forester willingly enter'd the list. 
 They were such a beautiful sight ; 
 
 Then with a long bow they shot a fat doe. 
 And made a rich supper that night. 
 
AND THE RANGER. 289 
 
 What singing and dancing was in the green wood, 
 
 For joy of another new mate ! 
 With might and delight they spent all the night, 
 
 And liv'd at a plentiful rate. 
 
 The forester ne'er was so merry before, 
 As then he was with these brave souls, 
 
 Who never would fail, in wine, beer, or ale, 
 To take off their cherishing bowls. 
 
 Then Robin Hood gave him a mantle of green, 
 
 Broad arrows, and curious long bow : 
 This done, the next day, so gallant and gay, 
 
 He marched them all on a row. 
 
 Ouoth he. My brave yeomen, be true to your trust, 
 And then we may range the woods wide. 
 
 They all did declare, and solemnly swear, 
 They would conquer, or die by his side. 
 
 imi\fLi^,Mm\i>,}i.^^ 
 
XXI. 
 
 ROBIN HOOD AND LITTLE JOHN: 
 
 ' ' Being an account of their first meeting, their fierce encounter, 
 and conquest. To which is added, their friendly agreement ; and 
 how he came to be called Little John. Tune of Arthur a Bland." 
 
 This ballad is named in a schedule of such things under an 
 agreement between W. Thackeray and others in 1689 (CoL 
 Pepys. vol. s), but is here given as corrected from a copy in the 
 "Collection of Old Ballads," 1723. 
 
 The notion that Little John obtained this appellation, ironi- 
 cally, from his superior stature, though doubtless ill-founded, is 
 of considerable antiquity. See "Notes and Illustrations to the 
 Life," p. cxvi. 
 
 When Robin Hood was about twenty years old, 
 With a hey down, down, and a down; 
 
 He happen'd to meet Little John, 
 A jolly brisk blade, right fit for the trade, 
 
 For he was a lusty young man. 
 
ROBIN HOOD AND LITTLE JOHN. 29 1 
 
 Tho' he was call'd Little, his limbs they were 
 And his stature was seven foot high ; [large, 
 
 Whereever he came, they quak'd at his name, 
 For soon he would make them to fly. 
 
 How they came acquainted, I'll tell you in brief, 
 
 If you would but listen awhile; 
 
 For this very jest, among all the rest, 
 
 . I think it may cause you to smile. 
 
 For Robin Hood said to his jolly bowman. 
 Pray tarry you here in this grove ; 
 
 And see that you all observe well my call. 
 While thorough the forest I rove. 
 
 We have had no sport for these fourteen long 
 Therefore now abroad will I go ; [days, 
 
 Now should I be beat, and cannot retreat, 
 My horn I will presently blow. 
 
 Then did he shake hands with his merry men all, 
 And bid them at present good b' w'ye ; 
 
 Then, as near the brook his journey he took, 
 A stranger he chanc'd to espy. 
 
 They happen'd to meet on a long narrow bridge, 
 And neither of them would give way ; 
 
 Quoth bold Robin Hood, and sturdily stood, 
 I'll shew you right Nottingham-play. 
 
292 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 With that from his quiver an arrow he drew, 
 A broad arrow with a goose-wing. 
 
 The stranger reply'd, I'll liquor thy hide, 
 If thou offer to touch the string. 
 
 Quoth bold Robin Hood, Thou dost prate like 
 For were I to bend but my bow, [an ass, 
 
 I could send a dart, quite thro' thy proud heart. 
 Before thou could'st strike me one blow. 
 
 Thou talk'st like a coward, the stranger reply'd ; 
 
 Well arm'd with a long bow you stand, 
 To shoot at my breast, while I, I protest^ 
 
 Have nought but a staff in my hand. 
 
 The name of a coward, quoth Robin, I scorn, 
 Therefore my long bow I'll lay by 3 
 
 And now, for thy sake, a staff will I take, 
 The truth of thy manhood to try. 
 
 Then Robin Hood stept to a thicket of trees. 
 And chose him a staff of ground oak ; 
 
 Now this being done, away he did run 
 To the stranger, and merrily spoke : 
 
 Lo ! see my staff is lusty and tough, 
 Now here on the bridge we will play ; 
 
 Whoever falls in, the other shall win 
 The battle, and so we'll away. 
 
AND LITTLE JOHN. 293 
 
 With all my whole heart, the stranger reply'd, 
 
 I scorn in the least to give out ; 
 This said, they fell to't without more dispute, 
 
 And their staffs they did flourish about. 
 
 At first Robin he gave the stranger a bang, 
 So hard that he made his bones ring : 
 
 The stranger he said, This must be repaid, 
 I'll give you as good as you bring. 
 
 So long as I am able to handle a staff, 
 To die in your debt, friend, I scorn. 
 
 Then to it each goes, and foUow'd their blows, 
 As if they'd been threshing of corn. 
 
 The stranger gave Robin a crack on the crown, 
 Which caused the blood to appear ; 
 
 Then Robin enrag'd, more fiercely engag'd. 
 And follow'd his blows more severe. 
 
 So thick and so fast did he lay it on him. 
 
 With a passionate fury and ire ; 
 At every stroke he made him to smoke, 
 
 As if he had been all on fire. 
 
 O then into fury the stranger he grew. 
 
 And gave him a damnable look. 
 And with it a blow that laid him full low, 
 
 And tumbl'd him into the brook. 
 
294 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 I prithee, good fellow, O where art thou now ? 
 
 The stranger, in laughter, he cry'd. 
 Quoth bold Robin Hood, Good faith, in the flood, 
 
 And floating along with the tide. 
 
 I needs must acknowledge thou art a brave soul, 
 With thee I'll no longer contend ; 
 
 For needs must I say, thou hast got the day, 
 Our battel shall be at an end. 
 
 Then unto the bank he did presently wade. 
 And pull'd himself out by a thorn ; 
 
 Which done, at the last he blow'd a loud blast 
 Straitway on his fine bugle -horn : 
 
 The eccho of which through the vallies did fly, 
 At which his stout bowmen appear'd, 
 
 All cloathed in green, most gay to be seen, 
 So up to their master they steer'd. 
 
 O, what's the matter ? quoth William Stutely, 
 Good master, you are wet to the skin. 
 
 No matter, quoth he, the lad which you see 
 In fighting hath tumbl'd me in. 
 
 He shall not go scot-free, the others reply'd ; 
 
 So strait they were seizing him there. 
 To duck him likewise : but Robin Hood cries. 
 
 He is a stout fellow ; forbear. 
 
AND LITTLE JOHN. 295 
 
 There's no one shall wrong thee, friend, be not afraid ; 
 
 These bowmen upon me do wait ; 
 There's threescore and nine ; if thou wilt be mine. 
 
 Thou shalt have my livery strait, 
 
 And other accoutrements fit for a man ; 
 
 Speak up, jolly blade, never fear : 
 I'll teach you also the use of the bow, 
 
 To shoot at the fat fallow deer. 
 
 O, here is my hand, the stranger reply'd, 
 I'll serve you with all my whole heart ; 
 
 My name is John Little, a man of good mettle ; 
 Ne're doubt me, for I'll play my part. 
 
 His name shall be alter'd, quoth William Stutely, 
 
 And I will his godfather be ; 
 Prepare then a feast, and none of the least, 
 
 For we will be merry, quoth he. 
 
 They presently fetch'd him a brace of fat does, 
 With humming strong liquor likewise ; 
 
 They lov'd what was good ; so, in the green wood, 
 This pretty sweet babe they baptize. 
 
 He was, I must tell you, but seven foot high, 
 
 And, may be, an ell in the waste ; 
 A sweet pretty lad : much feasting they had ; 
 
 Bold Robin the christ'ning grac'd, 
 
296 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 With all his bowmen, which stood in a ring, 
 And were of the Nottingham breed • 
 
 Brave Stutely came then, with seven yeomen. 
 And did in this manner proceed : 
 
 This infant was called John Little, quoth he ; 
 
 Which name shall be changed anon : 
 The words we'll transpose ; so whereever he goes. 
 
 His name shall be call'd Little John. 
 
 Tliey all with a shout made the elements ring ; 
 
 So soon as the office was ore, 
 To feasting they went, with true merriment, 
 
 And tippl'd strong liquor gillore. 
 
 Then Robin he took the pretty sweet babe, 
 And cloath'd him from top to the toe, 
 
 In garments of green, most gay to be seen, 
 And gave him a curious long bow. 
 
 " Thou shalt be an archer, as well as the best, 
 And range in the green wood with us ; 
 
 Where we'll not want gold nor silver, behold. 
 While bishops have ought in their purse. 
 
 We live here like 'squires, or lords of renown. 
 
 Without ere a foot of free land ; 
 We feast on good cheer, with wine, ale, and beer, 
 
 And ev'rv thing at our. command," 
 
AND LIITLE JOHN. 
 
 Then musick and dancing did finish the day ; 
 
 At length, when the sun waxed low, 
 Then all the whole train the grove did refrain. 
 
 And unto their caves they did go. 
 
 And so, ever after, as long as he liv'd, 
 
 Altho' he was proper and tall, 
 Yet, nevertheless, the truth to express. 
 
 Still Little John they did him call. 
 
 297 
 
 2 P 
 
XXII. 
 
 ROBIN HOOD AND THE BISHOP OF HEREFORD. 
 
 This excellent ballad, given from the common edition of 
 Aldermary-church-yard (compared with the York copy), is sup- 
 posed to be modern ; the story, however, seems alluded to in the 
 ballad of "Renowned Robin Hood." The full title is "The 
 Bishop of Hereford's entertainment by Robin Hood and Little 
 John, &c. in merry Barnsdale." The tune is added from an 
 engraved sheet. 
 
 Some they will talk of bold Robin Hood, 
 
 And some of barons bold ; 
 But I'll tell you how he serv'd the bishop of Here- 
 
 When he robb'd him of his gold. U^^'^y 
 
BISHOP OF HEREFORD. 299 
 
 As it befel, in merry Barnsdale, 
 
 ' All ' under the green-wood-tree, 
 The bishop of Hereford was to come by, 
 
 With all his company. 
 
 Come, kill [me] a ven'son, said bold Robin Hood, 
 
 Come, kill me a good fat deer, 
 The bishop of Hereford is to dine with me to-day, 
 
 And he shall pay well for his cheer. 
 
 We'll kill a fat ven'son, said bold Robin Hood, 
 
 And dress it by the highway side ; 
 And we will watch the bishop narrowly. 
 
 Lest some other way he should ride. 
 
 Robin Hood dress'd himself in shepherd's attire. 
 
 With six of his men also j 
 And, when the bishop of Hereford came by, 
 
 They about the fire did go. 
 
 O what is the matter ? then said the bishbp, 
 Or for whom do you make this a-do ? 
 
 Or why do you kill the king's ven'son, 
 When your company is so few ? 
 
 We are shepherds, said bold Robin Hood, 
 
 And we keep sheep all the year, 
 And we are disposed to be merry this day. 
 
 And to kill of the king's fat deer. 
 
300 ROBIN HOOD AND THE 
 
 You are brave fellows ! said the bishop, 
 
 And the king of your doings shall know : 
 Therefore make haste, and come along with me, 
 For before the king you shall go, 
 
 O pardon, O pardon, said bold Robin Hood, 
 
 O pardon, I thee pray ; 
 For it becomes not your lordships coat 
 
 To take so many lives away. 
 
 No pardon, no pardon, said the bishbp, 
 
 No pardon I thee owe ; 
 Therefore make haste, and come along with me. 
 
 For before the king you shall go. 
 
 Then Robin set his back against a tree, 
 
 And his foot against a thorn, 
 And from underneath his shepherds coat 
 
 He pull'd out a bugle-horn. 
 
 He put the little end to his mouth. 
 
 And a loud blast did he blow. 
 Till threescore and ten of bold Robin's men 
 
 Came running all on a row ; 
 
 All making obeysance to bold Robin Hood ; 
 
 'Twas a comely sight for to see. 
 What is the matter, master, said Little John, 
 
 That you blow so hastily ? 
 
BISHOP OF HEREFORD. 30I 
 
 " O here is the bishop of Hereford, 
 
 And no pardon we shall have." 
 Cut off his head, master, said Little John, 
 
 And throw him into his grave. 
 
 O pardon, O pardon, said the bish6p, 
 
 O pardon I thee pray ; 
 For if I had known it had been you, 
 
 I'd have gone some other way. 
 
 No pardon, no pardon, said bold Robin Hood, 
 
 No pardon I thee owe ; 
 Therefore make haste, and come along with me, 
 
 For to merry Barnsdale you shall go. 
 
 Then Robin he took the bishop by the hand, 
 
 And led him to merry Barnsdale ; 
 He made him to stay and sup with him that night, 
 
 And to drink wine, beer, and ale. 
 
 Call in a reckoning, said the bish6p. 
 For methinks it grows wond'rous high. 
 
 Lend me your purse, master, said Little John, 
 And I'll tell you bye and bye. 
 
 Then Little John took the bishop's cloak. 
 
 And spread it upon the ground. 
 And out of the bishop's portmantua 
 
 He told three hundred pound. 
 
302 
 
 ROBIN HOOD, ETC. 
 
 Here's money enough, master, said Little John, 
 
 And a comely sight 'tis to see ; 
 It makes me in charity with the bishop, 
 
 Tho' he heartily loveth not me. 
 
 Robin Hood took the bishop by the hand, 
 
 And he caused the music to play ; 
 And he made the [old] bishop to dance in his boots. 
 
 And glad he could so get away. 
 
 iLmr'i^'M-i'i^Jjj 
 
 
 i 
 
 II 
 

 XXIII. 
 
 ROBIN HOOD RESCUING THE WIDOW'S THREE 
 
 SONS FROM THE SHERIFF WHEN 
 
 GOING TO BE EXECUTED. 
 
 This ballad, from the York edition of " Robin Hood's Garland," 
 is probably one of the oldest extant of which he is the subject. 
 In the more common editions is a modernised copy, in which the 
 "silly old woman "is converted into "a gay lady ; " but even this 
 is more ancient than many of the pieces here inserted, and is 
 entitled, by its merit, to a place in the Appendix. 
 
 The circumstance of Robin's changing clothes with the palmer 
 is, possibly, taken from an old romance intitled "The noble 
 hystory of the moost excellent and myghty prynce and hygh re- 
 nowmed knyght kynge Ponthus of Galyce and of lytell Brytayne, 
 Enprynted at London in Flete strete at the sygne of the sonne by 
 Wynkynde Worde, In the yere of our lorde god, M.ccccc.xi.," 
 4to, b. 1., sig. L 6: "And as he [Ponthus] rode he met with a 
 poore palmer beggynge his brede the whiche had his gowne all 
 to clouted and an olde pylled hatte, so he alyght and sayd to the 
 palmer, frende we shall make a chaunge of all our garmentes, for 
 
304 ROBIN HOOD RESCUING 
 
 ye shall have my gowne and I shall have yours and your hatte. 
 A syr sayd the palmer ye bourde you with me. In good fayth 
 sayd Ponthus I do not, so he dyspoyled hym and cladde hym 
 with all his rayment, and he put vpon hym the poore mannes 
 gowne, his gyrdell, his hosyn, hjs shone, his hatte, and his 
 bourden." 
 
 There are twelve months in all the year, 
 
 As I hear many say, 
 But the merriest month in all the year 
 
 Is the merry month of May. 
 
 Now Robin Hood is to Nottingham gone 
 
 With a link a down, and a day, 
 And there he met a silly old woman 
 
 Was weeping on the way. 
 
 " What news ? what news ? thou silly old woman, 
 
 What news hast thou for me ? " 
 Said she. There's three squires in Nottingham town, 
 
 To-day ' are ' ^ condemned to die. 
 
 Oh, have they parishes burnt ? he said, 
 
 Or have they ministers slain ? 
 Or have they robbed any virgin ? 
 
 Or with other men's wives have lain ? 
 
 " They have no parishes burnt, good sir. 
 
 Nor yet have ministers slain, 
 Nor have they robbed any virgin, 
 
 Nor with other men's wives have lain." 
 
 1 Is. 
 
THE widow's S^NS. 3O5 
 
 Oh, what have they done ? said Robin Hood, 
 
 I pray thee tell to me. 
 *' It's for slaying of the kings fallow deer. 
 
 Bearing their long bows with thee." 
 
 Dost thou not mind, old woman, he said. 
 Since thou made me sup and dine ? 
 
 By the truth of my body, quoth bold Robin Hood, 
 You could not tell it in better time. 
 
 Now Robin Hood is to Nottingham gone, 
 With a link, a down, and a * day,' ^ 
 
 And there he met with a silly old palmer, 
 Was walking along the highway. 
 
 " What news .-' what news ? thou silly old man, 
 
 What news, I do thee pray ? " 
 Said he. Three squires in Nottingham town, 
 
 Are condemn'd to die this day. 
 
 " Come change thy apparel with me, old man, 
 Come change thy apparel for mine ; 
 
 Here is forty shillings in good silver, 
 Go drink it in beer or wine." 
 
 Oh, thine apparel is good, he said, 
 
 And mine is ragged and torn ; 
 Wherever you go, wherever you ride. 
 
 Laugh ne'er an old man to scorn. 
 
 ' Down a. 
 
 2 Q 
 
3o6 ROBIN HOOD RESCUING 
 
 " Come change thy apparel with me, old churl, 
 Come change thy apparel with mine ; 
 
 Here are twenty pieces of good broad gold, 
 Go feast thy brethren with wine." 
 
 Then he put on the old man's hat, 
 
 It stood full high on the crown ; 
 " The first bold bargain that I come at. 
 
 It shall make thee come down." 
 
 Then he put on the old man's cloak, 
 Was patch'd black, blew, and red ; 
 
 He thought it no shame, all the day long, 
 To wear the bags of bread. 
 
 Then he put on the old man's breeks, 
 
 Was patch'd from ballup to side : 
 By the truth of my body, bold Robin can say. 
 
 This man lov'd little pride. 
 
 Then he put on the old man's hose. 
 
 Were patch'd from knee to wrist : 
 By the truth of my body, said bold Robin Hood, 
 
 I'd laugh if I had any list. 
 
 Then he put on the old man's shoes, 
 Were patch'd both beneath and aboon ; 
 
 Then Robin Hood swore a solemn oath, 
 It's good habit that makes a man. 
 
THE widow's sons. 307 
 
 Now Robin Hood is to Nottingham gone, 
 
 With a link a down and a down, 
 And there he met with the proud sheriflF, 
 
 Was walking along the town. 
 
 Oh 'Christ you ' save, oh, sheriff, he said,^ 
 
 Oh * Christ you save and ' see ; 
 And what will you give to a silly old man 
 
 To-day will your hangman be ? 
 
 Some suits, some suits, the sheriff he said. 
 
 Some suits, I'll give to thee ; 
 Some suits, some suits, and pence thirteen. 
 
 To-day's a hangman's fee. 
 
 Then Robin he turns him round about, 
 
 And jumps from stock to stone : 
 By the truth of my body, the sheriff he said, 
 
 That's well jumpt, thou nimble old man. 
 
 I was ne'er a hangman in all my life. 
 
 Nor yet intends to trade ; 
 But curst be he, said bold Robin, 
 
 That first a hangman was made. 
 
 I've a bag for meal, and a bag for malt. 
 
 And a bag for barley and corn ; 
 A bag for bread, and a bag for beef. 
 
 And a bag for my little small horn. 
 
 1 Oh save, oh save, oh sheriff he said, 
 Oh save and you may see. 
 
3o8 ROBIN HOOD, ETC. 
 
 I have a horn in my pocket, 
 
 I got it from Robin Hood, 
 And still when I set it to my mouth, 
 
 For ' thee ' ^ it blows little good, 
 
 " Oh, wind thy horn, thou proud fellow, 
 
 Of thee I have no doubt ; 
 I wish that thou give such a blast, 
 
 Till both thy eyes fall out." 
 
 The first loud blast that he did blow, 
 He blew both loud and shrill ; 
 
 A hundred and fifty of Robin Hoods men 
 Came riding over the hill. 
 
 The next loud blast that he did give, 
 He blew both loud and amain. 
 
 And quickly sixty of Robin Hoods men, 
 Came shining over the plain. 
 
 Oh, who are ' those,' the sheriff he said, 
 
 Come tripping over the lee? 
 They're my attendants, brave Robin did say. 
 
 They'll pay a visit to thee. 
 
 They took the gallows from the slack, 
 
 They set it in the glen, 
 They hang'd the proud sheriff on that, 
 
 Releas'd their own three men. 
 
 1 Me. 
 
XXIV. 
 ROBIN HOOD AND MAID MARIAN. 
 
 This ballad, which has never been inserted in any of the pub- 
 lications intitled " Robin Hood's Garland " (and, perhaps, was 
 not worth inserting here), is given from an old black letter copy 
 in the collection of Anthony a Wood. Its full title is, "A famous 
 battle between Robin Hood and Maid Marian ; declaring their 
 love, life, and liberty. Tune, Robin Hood Reviv'd " (see before, 
 p. 217). 
 
 A BONNY fine maid of a noble degree, 
 
 IVM a hey down, down, a down, down^ 
 
 Maid Marian call'd by name, 
 Did live in the North, of excellent worth, 
 
 For shee was a gallant dame. 
 
3IO ROBIN HOOD 
 
 For favour and face, and beauty most rare, 
 
 Queen Hellen shee did excell : 
 For Marian then was prais'd of all men, 
 
 That did in the country dwell. 
 
 'Twas neither Rosamond nor Jane Shore, 
 Whose beauty was clear and bright, 
 
 That could surpass this country lass, 
 Beloved of lord and knight. 
 
 The earl of Huntington, nobly born. 
 
 That came of noble blood. 
 To Marian went, with a good intent. 
 
 By the name of Robin Hood. 
 
 With kisses sweet their red lips did meet. 
 
 For she and the earl did agree ; 
 In every place, they kindly embrace, 
 
 With love and sweet unity. 
 
 But fortune bearing these lovers a spight. 
 That soon they were forced to part : 
 
 To the merry green wood then went Robin Hood, 
 With a sad and sorrowfuU heart. 
 
 And Marian, poor soul, was troubled in mind, 
 
 For the absence of her friend ; 
 With finger in eye, shee often did cry, 
 
 And his person did much comend. 
 
AND MAID MARIAN. 31I 
 
 Perplexed and vexed, and troubled in mind, 
 
 Shoe drest herself like a page, 
 And ranged the wood, to find Robin Hood, 
 
 The bravest of men in that age. 
 
 With quiver and bow, sword, buckler, and all, 
 
 Thus armed was Marian most bold, 
 Still wandering about to find Robin out. 
 
 Whose person was better then gold. 
 
 But Robin Hood, hee himself had disguis'd, 
 
 And Marian was strangly attir'd. 
 That they prov'd foes, and so fell to blowes. 
 
 Whose vallour bold Robin admir'd. 
 
 They drew out their swords, and to cutting they went, 
 
 At least an hour or more, 
 That the blood ran apace from bold Robins face. 
 
 And Marian was wounded sore. 
 
 O hold thy hand, hold thy hand, said Robin Hood, 
 
 And thou shalt be one of my string. 
 To range in the wood with bold Robin Hood, 
 
 And hear the sweet nightingall sing. 
 
 When Marian did hear the voice of her love, 
 
 Herself shee did quickly discover. 
 And with kisses sweet she did him greet, 
 
 Like to a most loyall lover. 
 
312 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 When bold Robin Hood his Marian did see, 
 Good lord, what clipping was there ! 
 
 With kind embraces, and jobbing of faces, 
 Providing of gallant cheer. 
 
 For Little John took his bow in his hand, 
 
 And ' wandred ' in the wood, 
 To kill the deer, and make good chear. 
 
 For Marian and Robin Hood. 
 
 A stately banquet * they ' had full soon, 
 
 All in a shaded bower, 
 Where venison sweet they had to eat. 
 
 And were merry that present hour. 
 
 Great flaggons of wine were set on the board, 
 
 And merrily they drunk round 
 Their boules of sack, to strengthen the back. 
 
 Whilst their knees did touch the ground. 
 
 First Robin Hood began a health 
 
 To Marian his onely dear ; 
 And his yeomen all, both comly and tall. 
 
 Did quickly bring up the rear : 
 
 For in a brave venie they tost off the bouls. 
 
 Whilst thus they did remain ; 
 And every cup, as they drunk up. 
 
 They filled with speed again. 
 
 1 Wandrins. 
 
AND MAID MARIAN. 
 
 313 
 
 At last they ended their merryment, 
 
 And went to walk in the wood, 
 Where Little John, and Maid Marikn, 
 
 Attended on bold Robin Hood. 
 
 In sollid content together they liv'd, 
 
 With all their yeomen gay ; 
 They liv'd by * their ' hands, without any lands, 
 
 And so they did many a day. 
 
 But now to conclude an end I will make, 
 
 In time as I think it good ; 
 For the people that dwell in the North can tell 
 
 Of Marian and bold Robin Hood. 
 
 2 R 
 
XXV. 
 
 THE KING'S DISGUISE, AND FRIENDSHIP 
 WITH ROBIN HOOD, 
 
 from the common collection of Aldermary-church-yard, seems 
 to be taken from the old legend in Part I., and to have been 
 written by some miserable retainer to the press, merely to eke out 
 the book ; being, in fact, a most contemptible performance. 
 
 The two concluding lines (the same with those of the next 
 ballad) refer to song xxvii. , which they have once immediately 
 preceded. 
 
 King Richard hearing of the pranks 
 
 Of Robin Hood and his men, 
 He much admir'd, and more desired 
 
 To see both him and them. 
 
THE king's disguise. 315 
 
 Then, with a dozen of his lords, 
 
 To Nottingham he rode ; 
 When he came there, he made good cheer, 
 
 And took up his abode. 
 
 He having staid there some time. 
 
 But had no hopes to speed. 
 He and his lords, with one accord, 
 
 All put on monks weeds. 
 
 From Fountain-abbey they did ride, 
 
 Down to Barnsdale ; 
 Where Robin Hood prepared stood 
 
 All company to assail. 
 
 The king was higher than the rest, 
 
 And Robin thought he had 
 An abbot been whom he had seen. 
 
 To rob him he was glad. 
 
 He took the king's horse by the head. 
 
 Abbot, says he, abide ; 
 I am bound to rue such knaves as you. 
 
 That live in pomp and pride. 
 
 But We are messengers from the king, 
 
 The king himself did say ; 
 Near to this place his royal grace 
 
 To speak with thee does stay. 
 
3i6 .THE king's disguise. 
 
 God save the king, said Robin Hood, 
 
 And all that wish him well ; 
 He that does deny his sovereignty, 
 
 I wish he was in hell. 
 
 Thyself thou cursedst, says the king, 
 
 For thou a traitor art. 
 " Nay, but that you are his messenger, 
 
 I swear you lie in heart. 
 
 For I never yet hurt any man 
 
 That honest is and true ; 
 But those who give their minds to live 
 
 Upon other mens due. 
 
 I never hurt the * husbandmen,' 
 
 That use to till the ground : 
 Nor spill their blood who range the wood, 
 
 To follow hawk or hound. 
 
 My chiefest spite to clergy is, 
 
 Who in these days bear great sway ; 
 
 With fryars and monks, with their fine sprunks, 
 I make my chiefest prey." 
 
 But I am very glad, says Robin Hood, 
 
 That I have met you here ; 
 Come, before we end, you shall, my friend, 
 
 Taste of our green-wood cheer. 
 
THE king's disguise. 317 
 
 The king he then did marvel much, 
 
 And so did all his men ; 
 They thought with fear, what kind of cheer, 
 
 Robin would provide for them. 
 
 Robin took the kings horse by the head, 
 
 And led him to his tent : 
 Thou wouldst not be so us'd, quoth he. 
 
 But that my king thee sent. 
 
 Nay, more than that, quoth Robin Hood, 
 
 For good king Richards sake, 
 If you had as much gold as ever I told, 
 
 I would not one penny take. 
 
 Then Robin set his horn to his mouth, 
 
 And a loud blast he did blow, 
 Till a hundred and ten of Robin Hoods men, 
 . Came marching all of a row. 
 
 And when they came bold Robin before, 
 
 Each man did bend his knee : 
 O, thought the king, 'tis a gallant thing. 
 
 And a seemly sight to see. 
 
 Within himself the king did say, 
 
 These men of Robin Hoods 
 More humble be than mine to me ; 
 
 So the court may learn of the woods. 
 
3i8 THE king's disguise. 
 
 So then they all to dinner went, 
 
 Upon a carpet green ; 
 Black, yellow, red, finely mingled. 
 
 Most curious to be seen. 
 
 Venison and fowls were plenty there, 
 
 With fish out of the river : 
 King Richard swore, on sea or shore. 
 
 He never was feasted better. 
 
 Then Robin takes a cann of ale : 
 " Come, let us now begin ; 
 
 And every man shall have his cann : 
 Here's a health unto the king." 
 
 The king himself drank to the king, 
 
 So round about it went ; 
 Two barrels of ale, both stout and stale, 
 
 To pledge that health was spent. 
 
 And, after that, a bowl of wine 
 In his hand took Robin Hood ; 
 
 Until I die, I'll drink wine, said he, 
 While I live in the green wood. 
 
 Bend all your bows, said Robin Hood, 
 And with the grey-goose-wing. 
 
 Such sport now show, as you would do 
 In the presence of the king. 
 
THE king's disguise. 319 
 
 They shewed such brave archery, . 
 
 By cleaving sticks and wands, 
 That the king did say, such men as they 
 
 Live not in many lands. 
 
 Well, Robin Hood, then says the king, 
 
 If I could thy pardon get. 
 To serve the king in every thing 
 
 Would'st thou thy mind firm set ? 
 
 Yes, ' with all ' my heart, bold Robin said. 
 
 So they flung off their hoods ; 
 To serve the king in every thing, 
 
 They swore they would spend their 'bloods.' 
 
 For a clergyman was first my bane, 
 
 Which makes me hate them all. 
 But if you will be so kind to me. 
 
 Love them again I shall. 
 
 The king no longer could forbear. 
 For he was mov'd with * ruth.' 
 
 " I am the king, 'your' sovereign king, 
 That appears before you all." 
 
 When Robin saw that it was he. 
 Strait then he down did fall. 
 
320 THE king's disguise. 
 
 Stand up again, then said the king, 
 
 I'll thee thy pardon give ; 
 Stand up, my friend, who can contend, 
 
 When I give leave to live ? 
 
 So they are all gone to Nottingham, 
 
 All shouting as they came : 
 But when the people them did see. 
 
 They thought the king was slain ; 
 
 And for that cause the outlaws were come, 
 
 To rule all as they list ; 
 And for to shun, which ' way ' to run. 
 
 The people did not wist. 
 
 The plowman left the plow in the fields. 
 The smith ran from his shop ; 
 
 Old folks also, that scarce could go, 
 Over their sticks did hop. 
 
 The king soon did let them understand 
 He had been in the green-wood. 
 
 And from that day, for evermore. 
 He'd forgiven Robin Hood. 
 
 Then [when] the people they did hear, 
 And [that] the truth was known, 
 
 They all did sing, God save the king ! 
 Hang care, the town's our own ! 
 
THE KINGS DISGUISE. 32 I 
 
 What's that Robin Hood ? then said the sheriff, 
 
 That varlet I do hate; 
 Both me and mine he caused to dine, 
 
 And serv'd us all with one plate. 
 
 Ho, ho, said Robin Hood, I know what you mean, 
 
 Come, take your gold again ; 
 Be friends with me, and I with thee. 
 
 And so with every man. 
 
 Now, master sheriff, you are paid, 
 
 And since you are beginner, 
 As well as you give me my due. 
 
 For you ne'er paid for that dinner. 
 
 But if ' that it ' should please the king, 
 
 So much your house to grace, 
 To sup with you, for, to speak true, 
 
 [I] know you ne'er was base. 
 
 The sheriff [this] could not gainsay. 
 
 For a trick was put upon him ; 
 A supper was drest, the king was a guest, 
 
 But he thought 'twould have outdone him. 
 
 They are all gone to London court, 
 
 Robin Hood with all his train ; 
 He once was there a noble peer. 
 
 And now he's there again. 
 
 2 s 
 
322 
 
 THE king's disguise. 
 
 Many such pranks brave Robin play'd, 
 While he Hv'd in the green wood : 
 
 Now, my friend, attend, and hear an end 
 Of honest Robin Hood. 
 
XXVI. 
 ROBIN HOOD AND THE GOLDEN ARROW. 
 
 A COMPOSITION of a similar nature with the preceding, and 
 from the same authority. 
 
 When as the sheriff of Nottingham 
 
 Was come with mickle grief, 
 He talk'd no good of Robin Hood, 
 
 That strong and sturdy thief. 
 Fal la dal de. 
 
 So unto London road he past, 
 
 His losses to unfold 
 To king Richard, who did regard 
 
 The tale that he had told. 
 
324 • ROBIN HOOD 
 
 Why, quoth the king, what shall I do ? 
 
 Art thou not sheriff for me ? 
 The law is in force, to take thy course 
 
 Of them that injure thee. 
 
 Go get thee gone, and by thyself 
 
 Devise some tricking game, 
 For to enthral yon rebels all, 
 
 Go take thy course with them. 
 
 So away the sheriff he return'd, 
 
 And by the way he thought 
 Of th' words of the king, and how the thing 
 
 To pass might well be brought. 
 
 For within his mind he imaginM, 
 That when such matches were, 
 
 Those outlaws stout, without all doubt, 
 Would be the bowmen there. 
 
 So an arrow with a golden head, 
 
 And shaft of silver-white, 
 Who on the day should bear away 
 
 For his own proper right. 
 
 Tidings came to bold Robin Hood, 
 
 Under the green- wood tree : 
 " Come prepare you then, my merry men. 
 
 We'll go yon sport to see." 
 
AND THE GOLDEN ARROW. 325 
 
 With that stept forth a brave young man, 
 
 David of Doncaster, 
 Master, said he, be rul'd by me, 
 
 From the green wood we'll not stir. 
 
 To tell the truth, I'm well inform'd, 
 
 Yon match it is a wile ; 
 The sheriff, I wiss, devises this 
 
 Us archers to beguile. 
 
 Thou smells of a coward, said Robin Hood, 
 
 Thy words do not please me ; 
 Come on't what will, I'll try my skill. 
 
 At yon brave archery. 
 
 O then bespoke brave Little John, 
 
 Come let us thither gang ; 
 Come listen to me, how it shall be, 
 
 That we need not be ken'd. 
 
 Our mantles all of Lincoln-green 
 
 Behind us we will leave ; 
 We'll dress us all so several, 
 
 They shall not us perceive. 
 
 One shall wear white, another red, 
 
 One yellow, another blue ; 
 Thus in disguise, * to ' the exercise 
 
 We'll gang, whate'er insue. 
 
326 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 Forth from the green wood they are gone, 
 With hearts all firm and stout, 
 
 Resolving [then] with the sheriflfs men 
 To have a hearty bout. 
 
 So themselves they mixed with the rest, 
 
 To prevent all suspicion ; 
 For if they should together hold. 
 
 They thought it no discretion. 
 
 So the sheriff ' looked ' round about. 
 
 Amongst eight hundred men, 
 But could not see the sight that he 
 
 Had long suspected then. 
 
 Some said, If Robin Hood was here, 
 
 And all his men to boot, 
 Sure none of them could pass these men, 
 
 So bravely they do shoot. 
 
 Ay, quoth the sheriff, and scratch'd his head, 
 I thought he would have been here ; 
 
 I thought he would, but tho' he's bold, 
 He durst not now appear. 
 
 O that word griev'd Robin Hood to the heart, 
 
 He vexed in his blood ; 
 Ere long, thought he, thou shalt well see 
 
 That here was Robin Hood. 
 
AND THE GOLDEN ARROW. 327 
 
 Some cried, Bluejacket ! another cried, Brown ! 
 
 And a third cried, Brave yellow ! 
 But the fourth man said, Yon man in red 
 
 In this place has no fellow. 
 
 For that was Robin Hood himself, 
 
 For he was cloath'd in red ; 
 At every shot the prize he got, 
 
 For he was both sure and dead. 
 
 So the arrow with the golden head, 
 
 And shaft of silver-white, 
 Brave Robin Hood won, and bore with him, 
 
 For his own proper right. 
 
 These outlaws there, that very day. 
 
 To shun all kinds of doubt. 
 By three or four, no less nor more, 
 
 As they went in came out. 
 
 Until they all assembled were 
 
 Under the green-wood shade, 
 Where they * report,' in pleasant sport, 
 
 What brave pastime they made. 
 
 Says Robin Hood, all my care is, 
 
 How that yon sheriff may 
 Know certainly that it was I 
 
 That bore his arrow away. 
 
328 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 Says Little John, My counsel good 
 
 Did take effect before, 
 So therefore now, if you'll allow, 
 
 I will advise once more. 
 
 Speak on, speak on, said Robin Hood, 
 Thy wit's both quick and sound, 
 
 This I advise, said Little John, 
 
 That a letter shall be penn'd, 
 And when it is done, to Nottingham 
 
 You to the sheriff shall send. 
 
 That is well advised, said Robin Hood, 
 
 But how must it be sent ? 
 " Pugh ! when you please, 'tis done with ease : 
 
 Master, be you content. 
 
 I'll stick it on my arrow's head, 
 
 And shoot it into the town ; 
 The mark must show where it must go, 
 
 Whenever it lights down." 
 
 The project it was well perform'd, 
 
 The sheriff that letter had. 
 Which when he read, he scratch'd his head. 
 
 And rav'd like one that's mad. 
 
AND THE GOLDEN ARROW. 
 
 329 
 
 So we'll leave him chafing in ' his ' grease, 
 
 Which will do him no good : 
 Now, my friends, attend, and hear the end 
 
 Of honest Robin Hood. 
 
 2 T 
 
XXVII. 
 ROBIN HOOD AND THE VALIANT KNIGHT. 
 
 "Together with an account of his death and burial, &c. 
 Tune of Robin Hood and the fifteen Foresters." From the com- 
 mon garland of Aldermary-church-yard ; corrected by the York 
 copy. 
 
 When Robin Hood, and his merry men all, 
 Derry down, down. 
 Had reigned many years, 
 The king was then told that they had been bold 
 To his bishops and noble peers. 
 
 Hey down, derry, derry down. 
 
ROBIN HOOD, ETC 33 1 
 
 Therefore they called a council of state, 
 To know what was best to be done. 
 
 For to quell their pride, or else they reply'd 
 The land would be over-run. 
 
 Having consulted a whole summer's day, 
 
 At length it was agreed. 
 That one should be sent to try the event, 
 
 And fetch him away with speed. 
 
 Therefore a trusty and most worthy knight 
 
 The king was pleased to call, 
 Sir William by name ; when to him he came, 
 
 He told him his pleasure all 
 
 " Go you from hence to bold Robin Hood, 
 
 And bid him, without more ado, 
 Surrender himself, or else the proud elf 
 
 Shall suffer with all his crew. 
 
 Take here a hundred bowmen brave. 
 
 All chosen men of great might. 
 Of excellent art to take thy part, 
 
 In glittering armour most bright." 
 
 Then said the knight, My sovereign liege, 
 
 By me they shall be led ; 
 I'll venture my blood against bold Robin Hood, 
 
 And bring him alive or dead. 
 
332 ROBIN HOOD 
 
 One hundred men were chosen straight, 
 
 As proper as e'er men saw : 
 On Midsummer-day they marched away, 
 
 To conquer that brave outlaw. 
 
 With long yew bows, and shining spears, 
 They march'd with mickle pride. 
 
 And never delay'd, nor halted, nor stay'd 
 Till they came to the green-wood side. 
 
 Said he to his archers, Tarry here. 
 
 Your bows make ready all. 
 That if need should be, you may follow me, 
 
 And see you observe my call. 
 
 I'll go first in person, he cry'd, 
 With the letters of my good king. 
 
 Well sign'd and seal'd, and if he will yield, 
 We need not to draw one string. 
 
 He wander'd about till at length he came 
 
 To the tent of Robin Hood ; 
 The letter he shows ; bold Robin arose, 
 
 And there on his guard he stood. 
 
 They'd have me surrender, quoth bold Robin 
 And lie at their mercy then; [Hood, 
 
 But tell them from me, that never shall be, 
 While I have full seven score men. 
 
AND THE VALIANT KNIGHT. 333 
 
 Sir William the knight, both hardy and bold, 
 
 He offer'd to seize him there. 
 Which William Locksley by fortune did see, 
 
 And bid him that trick to forbear. 
 
 Then Robin Hood set his horn to his mouth, 
 
 And blew a blast or twain. 
 And so did the knight, at which there in sight 
 
 The archers came all amain. 
 
 Sir William with care he drew up his men, 
 
 And plac'd them in battle-array ; 
 Bold Robin, we find, he was not behind : 
 
 Now this was a bloody fray. 
 
 The archers on both sides bent their bows, 
 
 And the clouds of arrows flew ; 
 The very first flight that honour'd knight 
 
 Did there bid the world adieu. 
 
 Yet nevertheless their fight did last 
 
 From morning till almost noon ; 
 Both parties were stout, and loth to give out, 
 
 This was on the last day of June. 
 
 At length they left oflf : one party they went 
 
 To London with right good will ; 
 And Robin Hood he to the green-wood tree, 
 
 And there he was taken ill. 
 
334 
 
 ROBIN HOOD, ETC. 
 
 He sent for a monk, to let him blood, 
 
 Who took his life away ; 
 Now this being done, his archers they run. 
 
 It was not a time to stay. 
 
 Some got on board, and cross'd the seas. 
 To Flanders, France, and Spain, 
 
 And others to Rome, for fear of their doom, 
 But soon return'd again. 
 
K^r-;^\-7 
 
 XXVIII. 
 ROBIN HOOD'S DEATH AND BURIAL: 
 
 " Shewing how he was taken ill, and how he went to his cotisin 
 at Kirkley-hall, who let him blood, which was the cause of his 
 death. Tune of Robin Hood's Last Farewel, &c." 
 
 This very old and curious piece is preserved solely in the edi- 
 tions of " Robin Hood's Garland " printed at York (or such as 
 have been taken from them), where it is made to conclude with 
 some foolish lines (adopted from the London copy of the preceding 
 ballad), in order to introduce the epitaph. It is here given from 
 a collation of two different copies, containing numerous variations, 
 a few of which are retained in the margin. 
 
 When Robin Hood and Little John, 
 
 Down a down, a down, a down. 
 Went o'er yon bank of broom, 
 Said Robin Hood to Little John, 
 We have shot for many a pound : 
 Hey down, a down, a down. 
 
336 ROBIN hood's 
 
 But I am not able to shoot one shot more, 
 
 My arrows will not flee ; 
 But I have a cousin lives down below, 
 
 Please god, she will bleed me. 
 
 Now Robin is to fair Kirkley gone. 
 
 As fast as he can win ; 
 But before he came there, as we do hear, 
 
 He was taken very ill. 
 
 And when that he came to fair Kirkley-hall, 
 
 He knock'd all at the ring. 
 But none was so ready as his cousin herself 
 
 For to let bold Robin in. 
 
 Will you please to sit down, cousin Robin, she 
 And drink some beer with me ? [said, 
 
 " No, I will neither eat nor drink, 
 Till I am blooded by thee." 1 
 
 Well, I have a room, cousin Robin, she said, 
 
 Which you did never see. 
 And if you please to walk therein, 
 
 You blooded by me shall be.^ 
 
 She took him by the lilly-white hand, 
 
 And led him to a private room, 
 And there she blooded bold Robin Hood, 
 
 Whilst one drop of blood would run. 
 
 1 Till I blood letted be. 
 
 2 You blood shall letted be. 
 
ROBIN HOOD AND HIS BETRAYER, 
 
J 
 
 ROBIN HOOD AND HIS BETRAYER. 
 
DEATH AND BURIAL. 337 
 
 She blooded him in the vein of the arm, 
 
 And lock'd him up in the room ; 
 There did he bleed all the live-long day, 
 
 Untill the next day at noon. 
 
 He then bethought him of a casement door, 
 
 Thinking for to be gone ; ^ 
 He was so weak he could not leap, 
 
 Nor he could not get down. 
 
 He then bethought him of his bugle-horn, 
 Which hung low down to his knee ; 
 
 He set his horn unto his mouth, 
 And blew out weak blasts three. 
 
 Then Little John, when hearing him. 
 
 As he sat under the tree, 
 " I fear my master is near dead, 
 
 He blows so wearily." 
 
 Then Little John to fair Kirkley is gone, 
 
 As fast as he can dree ; 
 But when he came to Kirkley-hall, 
 
 He broke locks two or three ; 
 
 Untill he came bold Robin to, 
 
 Then he fell on his knee ; 
 A boon, a boon, cries Little John, 
 
 Master, I beg of thee. 
 
 ' Get down. 
 
 2 U 
 
338 ROBIN hood's 
 
 What is that boon, quoth Robin Hood, 
 
 Little John, thou begs of me ? 
 "It is to burn fair Kirkley-hall, 
 
 And all their nunnery." 
 
 Now nay, now nay, quoth Robin Hood, 
 
 That boon I'll not grant thee ; 
 I never ' hurt ' ^ woman in all my life, 
 
 Nor man in woman's company. 
 
 I never hurt fair maid in all my time, 
 
 Nor at my end shall it be ; 
 But give me my bent bow in my hand. 
 
 And a broad arrow I'll let flee : 
 And where this arrow is taken up, 
 
 There shall my grave digg'd be. 
 
 Lay me a green sod under my head, 
 
 And another at my feet ; 2 
 And lay my bent bow by my side, 
 
 Which was my music sweet ; 
 And make my grave of gravel and green, 
 
 Which is most right and meet. 
 
 Let me have length and breadth enough. 
 With a green sod under my head ; ^ 
 
 ' Burnt. This stanza is omitted in one edition. 
 ^ With verdant sods most neatly put, 
 Sweet as the green wood tree. 
 * This line is manifestly impertinent and corrupt. We might 
 read : 
 
 With a stone upon the sod. 
 
DEATH AND BURIAL. 
 
 That they may say, when I am dead, 
 Here lies bold Robin Hood. 
 
 These words they readily promis'd him, 
 Which did bold Robin please : 
 
 And there they buried bold Robin Hood, 
 Near to the fair Kirkleys. 
 
 339 
 
 '.1^ --r^ 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 I. 
 
 THE PLAYE OF ROBYN HODE 
 
 is printed by Copland at the end of his edition of the " Mery 
 Geste," &c., inserted in the present volume. It seems to be 
 composed, certainly with little improvement, partly from the 
 ballad of ' ' Robin Hood and the Curtail Frier " (see before, p. 209), 
 or rather, perhaps, some still older piece on the same subject, 
 and partly from the ancient poem of " Robin Hood and the 
 Potter" (see p. 81). The whole title runs — " Here beginnethe 
 the playe of Robyn Hoode, very proper to be played in Maye 
 games." It has here received a few corrections from White's 
 edition, 1634. 
 
 RCBYN HODE. 
 
 Now Stand ye forth, my mery men all, 
 And harke what I shall say ; 
 Of an adventure I shal you tell, 
 The which befell this other day. 
 
342 APPENDIX. 
 
 As I went by the hygh way, 
 
 With a stout frere I met, 
 
 And a quarter-staffe in his hande, 
 
 Lyghtely to me he lept, 
 
 And styll he bade me stande ; 
 
 There were strypes two or three. 
 
 But I cannot tell who had the worse, 
 
 But well I wote the horeson lept within me, 
 
 And fro me he toke my purse. 
 
 Is there any of my mery men all. 
 
 That to that frere wyll go, 
 
 And bryng him to me forth withall, 
 
 Whether he wyll or no ? ^ 
 
 LYTELL JOHN. 
 
 Yes, mayster, I make god avowe, 
 To that frere wyll I go. 
 And bring him to you, 
 Whether he wyl or no. 
 
 FRYER TUCKE. 
 
 Deus hie, deus hie, god be here ! 
 
 Is not this a holy worde for a frere ? 
 
 God save all this company ! 
 
 But am not I a jolly fryer ? 
 
 For I can shote both farre and nere, 
 
 And handle the sworde and buckler, 
 
 And this quarter-staffe also. 
 
 If I mete with a gentylman or yeman, 
 
APPENDIX. 343 
 
 I am not afrayde to loke hym upon, 
 
 Nor boldly with him to carpe ; 
 
 If he speake any wordes to me, 
 
 He shall have strypes two or thre. 
 
 That shal make his body smarte. 
 
 But, maisters,^ to shew you the matter, 
 
 Wherefore and why I am come hither, 
 
 In fayth I wyl not spare : 
 
 I am come to seke a good yeman, 
 
 In Bernisdale men sai is his habitacion, 
 
 His name is Robyn Hode. 
 
 And if that he be better man than I, 
 
 His servaunt wyll I be, and serve him truely ; 
 
 But if that I be better man than he, 
 
 By my truth my knave shall he be, 
 
 And leade these dogges all three. 
 
 ROBYN HODE. 
 
 Yelde the, fryer, in thy long cote. 
 
 FRYER TUCKE. 
 
 I beshrew thy hart, knave, thou hurtest my throt. 
 
 ROBYN HODE. 
 
 I trowe, fryer, thou beginnest to dote ; 
 Who made the so malapert and so bolde, 
 To come into this forest here, 
 Amonge my falowe dere ? 
 
 1 Maister. C. 
 
342 APPENDIX. 
 
 As I went by the hygh way, 
 
 With a stout frere I met, 
 
 And a quarter-staffe in his hande, 
 
 Lyghtely to me he lept, 
 
 And styll he bade me stande ; 
 
 There were strypes two or three, 
 
 But I cannot tell who had the worse, 
 
 But well I wote the horeson lept within me, 
 
 And fro me he toke my purse. 
 
 Is there any of my mery men all, 
 
 That to that frere wyll go. 
 
 And bryng him to me forth withall, 
 
 Whether he wyll or no ? ^ 
 
 LYTELL JOHN. 
 
 Yes, mayster, I make god avowe. 
 To that frere wyll I go. 
 And bring him to you, 
 Whether he wyl or no. 
 
 FRYER TUCKE. 
 
 Deus hie, deus hie, god be here ! 
 
 Is not this a holy worde for a frere ? 
 
 God save all this company ! 
 
 But am not I a jolly fryer .? 
 
 For I can shote both farre and nere, 
 
 And handle the sworde and buckler, 
 
 And this quarter-staffe also. 
 
 If I mete with a gentylman or yeman, 
 
APPENDIX. 343 
 
 I am not afrayde to loke hym upon, 
 
 Nor boldly with him to carpe ; 
 
 If he speake any wordes to me, 
 
 He shall have strypes two or thre, 
 
 That shal make his body smarte. 
 
 But, maisters,^ to shew you the matter, 
 
 Wherefore and why I am come hither, 
 
 In fayth I wyl not spare : 
 
 I am come to seke a good yeman, 
 
 In Bernisdale men sai is his habitacion, 
 
 His name is Robyn Hode. 
 
 And if that he be better man than I, 
 
 His servaunt wyll I be, and serve him truely ; 
 
 But if that I be better man than he, 
 
 By my truth my knave shall he be. 
 
 And leade these dogges all three. 
 
 ROBYN HODE. 
 
 Yelde the, fryer, in thy long cote. 
 
 FRYER TUCKE. 
 
 I beshrew thy hart, knave, thou hurtest my throt. 
 
 ROBYN HODE. 
 
 I trowe, fryer, thou beginnest to dote ; 
 Who made the so malapert and so bolde, 
 To come into this forest here, 
 Amonge my falowe dere ? 
 
 » Maister. C. 
 
344 APPENDIX. 
 
 FRYER. 
 
 Go louse the, ragged knave, 
 
 If thou make mani wordes, I will geve the on the eare, 
 
 Though I be but a poore fryer. 
 
 To seke Robyn Hode I am com here. 
 
 And to him my hart to breke. 
 
 ROBYN HODE. 
 Thou lousy frer, what wouldest thou with hym ? 
 He never loved fryer, nor none of freiers kyn. 
 
 FRYER. 
 
 Avaunt, ye ragged knave ! 
 
 Or ye shall have on the skynne. 
 
 ROBYN HODE. 
 
 Of all the men in the morning thou art the worst, 
 To mete with the I have no lust ; 
 For he that meteth a frere or a fox in the morning, 
 To spede ill ^ that day he standeth in jeoperdy : 
 Therfore I had lever mete with the devil of hell, 
 Fryer, I tell the as I thinke, 
 Then mete with a fryer or a fox 
 In a mornyng, or I drynk. 
 
 FRYER. 
 
 Avaunt, thou ragged knave, this is but a mock, 
 
 If thou make mani words thou ^ shal have a knock. 
 
 1 Ell. C. 2 You. you. C. 
 
APPENDIX. 345 
 
 ROBYN HODE. 
 
 Harke, frere, what I say here, 
 Over this water thou shalt me here, 
 The bi ydge is borne away, 
 
 FRYER. 
 
 To say naye I wyll not, 
 
 To let the of thine oth it were great pitie and sin, 
 
 But up on a fryers backe, and have even in. 
 
 ROBYN HODE. 
 Nay, have over. 
 
 FRYER. 
 
 Now am I, frere, within, and thou, Robin, without, 
 To lay the here I have no great doubt. 
 Now art thou, Robyn, without, and I, frere, within. 
 Lye ther, knave ; chose whether thou wilte sinke or 
 swym. 
 
 ROBYN HODE. 
 
 Why, thou lowsy frere, what hast thou done ? * 
 
 FRYER. 
 
 Mary, set a knave over the shone. 
 
 ROBYN HODE. 
 
 Therfore thou shalt abye. 
 
 ' Donee. C. 
 
 2 X 
 
346 APPENDIX. 
 
 FRYER. 
 
 Why, wylt thou fyght a plucke ? 
 ROBYN HODE, 
 
 And god send me good lucke, 
 
 FRYER. 
 
 Than have a stroke for fryer Tucke. 
 
 ROBYN HODE. 
 
 Holde thy hande, frere, and here nie speke. 
 
 FRYER. 
 
 Saye on, ragged knave, 
 
 Me semeth ye begyn to swete, 
 
 ROBYN HODE. 
 
 In this forest I have a hounde, 
 
 I wyl not give him for an hundreth pound, 
 
 Geve me leve my home to blowe, 
 
 That my hounde may knowe. 
 
 FRYER. 
 
 Blowe on, ragged knave, without any doubte, 
 
 Untyll bothe thyne eyes starte out. 
 
 Here be a sorte of ragged knaves come in, 
 
 Clothed all in Kendale grene. 
 
 And to the they take their way nowe. 
 
APPENDIX. 347 
 
 ROBYN HODE. 
 
 Peradventure they do so. 
 
 FRYER. 
 
 I gave the leve to blowe at thy wyll, 
 Now give me leve to whistell my fyll. 
 
 ROBYN HODE. 
 
 Whystell, frere, evyll mote thou fare, 
 Untyll bothe thyne eyes stare.^ 
 
 FRYER. 
 
 Now Cut and Bause ! 
 
 Breng forth the clubbes and staves, 
 
 And downe with those ragged knaves ! 
 
 ROBYN HODE. 
 
 How sayest thou, frere, wylt thou be my man, 
 
 To do me the best servyse thou can ? 
 
 Thou shalt have both golde and fee, 
 
 And also here is a lady free, 
 
 I wyll geve her unto the, 
 
 And her chapplayn I the make, 
 
 To serve her for my sake. 
 
 FRYER. 
 Here is a buckle duckle, an inch above the buckle ; 
 J Starte. C. 
 
55© APPENDIX. 
 
 ROBYN HODE. 
 
 I will lai with the, Litel John, twenti pound so read, 
 
 If I wyth that potter mete, 
 
 I wil make him pay passage, maugre his head. 
 
 LYTELL JOHN. 
 
 I consente therto, so eate I bread, 
 
 If he pay passage maugre his head, 
 
 Twenti pound shall ye have of me for your mede. 
 
 THE POTTERS BOYE JACKE. 
 
 Out alas, that ever I sawe this daye ! 
 
 For I am clene out of my waye 
 
 From Notyngham towne ; 
 
 If I hye me not the faster. 
 
 Or I come there the market ^ wel be done, 
 
 ROBYN HODE. 
 
 Let me se, are thy 2 pottes hole and sounde ? 
 
 JACKE. 
 
 Yea, meister, but they will not breake the ground. 
 
 ROBYN HODE. 
 
 I wil them breke, for the cuckold thi maisters sake ; 
 And if they will not breake the grounde. 
 Thou shalt have thre pence for a pound.^ 
 
 1 Maryet. C. 2 The. C. 
 
 ' Not omitted in W. 
 
APPENDIX. 351 
 
 JACKE. 
 
 Out alas ! what have ye done ? 
 
 If my maister come, he will breke your crown. 
 
 THE POTTER. 
 
 Why, thou horeson, art thou here yet ? 
 Thou shouldest have bene at market. 
 
 JACKE. 
 
 I met with Robin Hode, a good yemJin, 
 
 He hath broken my pottes, 
 
 And called you kuckolde by your name. 
 
 THE POTTER. 
 
 Thou mayst be a gentylman, so god me save, 
 
 But thou semest a noughty knave. 
 
 Thou callest me cuckolde by my name. 
 
 And I swere by god and saynt John 
 
 Wyfe had I never none. 
 
 This cannot I denye. 
 
 But if thou be a good felowe, 
 
 I wil sel mi horse, mi harneis, pottes and paniers to, 
 
 Thou shall have the one halfe and I will have the 
 
 If thou be not so content, [other ; 
 
 Thou shall have stripes if thou were my brother. 
 
 ROBYN HODE. 
 
 Harke, potter, what I shall say : 
 
 This seven yere and more thou hast used this way, 
 
352 APPENDIX. 
 
 Yet were thou never so curteous to me, 
 As one penny passage to paye. 
 
 THE POTTER. 
 Why should I paye passage to thee ? 
 
 ROBYN HODE. 
 
 For I am Robyn Hode, chiefe governoure 
 Under the grene woode tree, 
 
 THE POTTER. 
 
 This seven yere have I used this way up and downe, 
 
 Yet payed I passage to no man, 
 
 Nor now I wyl not beginne, so do ^ the worst you can. 
 
 ROBYN HODE, 
 
 Passage shalt thou pai here under the grene-wode tre. 
 Or els thou shalt leve a wedde ^ with me, 
 
 THE POTTER. 
 
 If thou be a good felowe, as men do the call, 
 Lay awaye thy bowe, 
 
 And take thy sword and buckeler in thy hande, 
 And se what shall befall. 
 
 ROBYN HODE, 
 
 Lyttle John, where art thou .'' 
 
 LYTELL [JOHN], 
 
 Here, mayster, I make god avowe. 
 
 1 To do. C. to or so omitted in W. 
 
 2 Wedded. C. wed, W. 
 
APPENDIX. 353 
 
 I tolde you, mayster, so god me save, 
 
 That you shoulde fynde the ^ potter a knave. 
 
 Holde your buckeler fast in your hande, 
 
 And I wyll styfly by you stande, 
 
 Ready for to fyghte ; 
 
 Be the knave never so stoute, 
 
 I shall rappe him on the snoute, 
 
 And put hym to flyghte. 
 
 II. 
 
 A FREEMAN'S SONG, 
 
 FOR THREE VOICES. 
 
 This Strange and whimsical performance is taken from a very 
 rare and curious publication, intitled " Deuteromelia : or the 
 second part of musicks melodic, or melodius musicke. Of plea- 
 sant roundelaies ; K. H. mirth, or freemens songs. And such 
 delightfull catches. London : printed for Thomas Adams dwell- 
 ing in Paules church-yard at the signe of the white lion, 1609." 
 4to. Freemen's songs is supposed to be a corruption of Three 
 men's songs, from their being generally for three voices. K. H. 
 is King Henry's, See "Ancient Songs," ed. 1829, vol. i. p. 
 Ixxix., and vol. ii. p. 54, &c 
 
 In the collection of old printed ballads made by Anthony a 
 Wood is an inaccurate copy of this ancient and singular pro- 
 duction, in his own handwriting : "This song," says he, " was 
 esteemed an old song before the rebellion broke out in 1641." 
 It thereby appears that the first hne of every stanza was " to be 
 sung thrice." Beside the music here given, there are three parts 
 of "Another way," which it was not thought necessary to insert. 
 
 » Your. C. 
 
 2 Y 
 
3S4 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 TREBLE. 
 
 B^^^^ 
 
 2=$: 
 
 E 
 
 Y Lands-dale hey ho, by mery Lands-dale 
 
 ^^^^ 
 
 t— ♦ — t— -^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 there dwelt a jolly miller, And a very good old man 
 
 -i- 
 
 S 
 
 W—'f 
 
 ^ 
 
 m 
 
 4^ 
 
 was hee, was he, hey ho He had, he had and a 
 
 -ft— PV- 
 
 i^ 
 
 "4 » 4<lP»-i — ^ 
 
 :Tf- 
 
 '-^=^ 
 
 Sonne a. He had, he had and a sonne. 
 
 TENOR. 
 
 B^^ 
 
 t^ 
 
 ^-^^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 -» - -4- 
 
 Y Lands-dale hey ho, by mery Lands dale hey ho 
 
 fN— HV 
 
 t'^irx 
 
 ^m 
 
 ^ 
 
 vvas he hey ho. He had, he had and a sonne a 
 £ 
 
 I 
 
 -^-4-4-4- 
 
 m 
 
 4~^ 
 
 =F^ 
 
APPENDIX, 
 
 35$ 
 
 BASSUS. 
 
 Y Lands-dale hey ho, by mery Lands-dale, hey ho, 
 
 ^ ^mtii4m s^ 
 
 
 :||:The 
 
 re dwelt a 
 
 oily 
 
 mill 
 
 er, a 
 
 IS 
 
 nd a very good old man was 
 
 . .1 1 
 
 r 
 
 ' 
 
 ( 
 
 > 
 
 
 
 
 
 ■ 
 
 z V 
 
 X 
 
 , 
 
 * 
 
 
 L i 
 
 ' , 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 . 
 
 T7 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ' ^ 
 
 » 
 
 1. 
 
 
 
 n_ji — 2 
 
 y 1 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 ^ <» i 
 
 ►— 
 
 he, hey ho, He had, he had and a Sonne a, he had 
 
 f* - ' y ^ A 4 **^ 
 he had, he had 
 
 He had, he had and a sonne a. 
 Men called him Renold, 
 
 And mickle of his might 
 Was he, was he, hey ho. 
 
 And from his father a wode a,, 
 His fortune for to seeke. 
 
 From mery Landsdale 
 
 Wode he, wode he, hey how 
 
356 APPENDIX. 
 
 His father would him seeke a, 
 And found him fast asleepe. 
 
 Among the leaves greene 
 Was he, was he, hey ho. 
 
 He tooke, he tooke him up a, 
 All by the lilly-white hand. 
 
 And set him on his feet. 
 
 And bad him stand, hey ho. 
 
 He gave to him a benbow. 
 Made all of a trusty tree, 
 
 And arrowes in his hand, 
 And bad him let them flee. 
 
 And shoote was that that a did a. 
 Some say he shot a mile, 
 
 But halfe a mile and more 
 Was it, was it, hey ho. 
 
 And at the halfe miles end [a], 
 There stood an armed man ; 
 
 The childe he shot him through, 
 
 And through, and through, hey * ho.' 
 
 His beard was all on a white a, 
 As white as whaleis bone. 
 
 His eyes they were as cleare 
 As christall stone, hey ho. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 357 
 
 And there of him they made [a] 
 Good yeoman Robin Hood, 
 
 Scarlet, and Little John, 
 And Little John, hey ho. 
 
 in. 
 
 A ROUND 
 
 from " Pammelia. Musicks miscellanie. Or, mixed varietie 
 of pleasant roundelayes, and delightfull catches, of 3. 4 5. 6. 7. 
 8. 9. 10. parts in one. None so ordinarie as musicall, none so 
 musical as not to all very pleasing and acceptable. London 
 Printed by William Barley, for R. B. and H. W. and are to be 
 sold at the Spread Eagle at the great north dore of Paules, 
 1609," 4to, a work equally scarce and curious with that before 
 cited. This, however, is only the tenor part ; but the words of 
 the other parts are very trifling, and relate to different subjects. 
 It is called " A round of three country-dances in one." 
 
 Rfe 
 
 fi/.t 
 
 OBIN Hood, Robin Hood, said Little John, 
 
 ^ 
 
 ♦ * 
 
 I 
 
 -^•—♦-m 
 
 Come dance before the queene a ; 
 
 _ 6^ 
 
 In a red petticote 
 
 fe3Z 
 
 3fe^ 
 
 *-^-^ 
 
 4-:ir^ 
 
 It 
 
 and a greene jacket, a white hose and a greene a «/ Jir/ra. 
 
358 APPENDIX 
 
 IV. 
 
 HEY JOLLY ROBIN. 
 
 These stanzas are supplied by "A musicall dreame, or the 
 fourth booke of ayres, &c. Composed by Robert lones. London, 
 Imprinted by the assignees of WiUiam Barley, and are to be 
 solde in Powles church-yeard, at the signe of the Crowne, 1609," 
 fo. The music, a composition of little merit or curiosity for the 
 present age, was not transcribed. 
 
 In Sherwood livde stout Robin Hood, 
 
 An archer great, none greater : 
 His bow and shafts were sure and good, 
 
 Yet Cupids were much beter, 
 Robin could shoot at many a hart and misse, 
 Cupid at first could hit a hart of his. 
 
 Hey jolly Robin, hoe jolly Robin, hey jolly Robin 
 Hood, 
 
 Love finds out me, as well as thee, to follow me, 
 to follow me to the green wood. 
 
 A noble thiefe was Robin Hoode, 
 
 Wise was he could deceive him ; 
 Yet Marrian, in his bravest mood, 
 
 Could of his heart bereave him. 
 No greater thief lies hidden under skies 
 
 Then beauty closely lodgde in womens eyes. 
 Hey jolly Robin. 
 
APPENDIX. 359 
 
 An out-law was this Robin Hood, 
 
 His life free and unruly ; 
 Yet to faire Martian bound he stood, 
 
 And loves debt payed her duely. 
 Whom curbe of stricktest law could not hold in 
 Love with obeyednes and a winke could winne. 
 Hey jolly Robin. 
 
 Now wend we home, stout Robin Hood, 
 
 Leave we the woods behind us ; 
 Love-passions must not be withstood. 
 
 Love every where will find us. 
 I livde in fielde and towne, and so did he, 
 I got me to the woods. Love followed me. 
 Hey jolly Robin. 
 
 V. 
 
 A MERRY WEDDING ; 
 
 OR, 
 
 O BRAVE ARTHUR OF BRADLEY. 
 
 This old ballad, referred to in p. 158 of the present volume, is 
 given from a black letter copy in a private collection, compared 
 with and very much corrected by *' An antidote against melan- 
 choly : made up in pills, compounded of witty ballads, jovial 
 songs, and merry catches, 166 1." The running title of the volume 
 is " I'ills to purge melancholy," which was afterward borrowed 
 by Durfey, 
 
360 APPENDIX. 
 
 There is a different, but probably much more modern, <Ballad 
 upon this popular subject, in the same measure, intitled "Arthur 
 o' Bradley," and beginning, 
 
 "All in the merry month of May." 
 
 In Jonson's " Bartholomew Fair," Moon-calf addresses Justice 
 Overdo by this name : "Olord! doyou not know him, mistress? 
 'tis mad Arthur of Bradley that makes the orations. Brave 
 master, old Arthur of Bradley, how do you do ? welcome to the 
 fair, when shall we hear you again to handle your matters with 
 your back against a booth, ha? I ha' been one o' your little 
 disciples, i' my days ! " 
 
 In *' The Honest Whore," by Decker, 1604, Bellafront, on the 
 Duke's assurance that Matthio shall make her amends and marry 
 her, replies, " Shall he ? O brave Arthur of Bradley then ! " 
 
 See you not Pierce the piper, 
 His cheeks as big as a miter, 
 A piping among the swains, 
 That dance on yonder plains ? 
 Where Tib and Tom do trip it, 
 And youths to the hornpipe nip it, 
 With every one his carriage, 
 To go to yonder marriage ; 
 Not one would stay behind, 
 But go with Arthur of Bradley, 
 Oh fine Arthur of Bradley, 
 Oh fine Arthur of Bradley, 
 Oh fine Arthur of Bradley, oh, &c. 
 
 Arthur had got him a lass, 
 A bonnier never was ; 
 
APPENDIX. 361 
 
 • The chief youths of the parish 
 
 Came dancing of the morris ; 
 
 With country lasses trounsing, 
 
 And lusty lads bounsing, 
 
 Jumping with mickle pride, 
 
 And each his wench by his side ; 
 
 They all were fine and gay, 
 
 For the honour of Arthur of Bradley, 
 Oh fine Arthur of Bradley, oh, &c. 
 
 And when that Arthur was married. 
 
 And his bride home had carried. 
 
 The youngsters they did wait 
 
 To help to carry up meat ; 
 
 Francis carried the furmety, 
 
 Michael carried the mince-pye, 
 
 Bartholomew the beef and the mustard, 
 
 And Christopher carried the custard ; 
 
 Thus every one in his array. 
 
 For the honour of Arthur of Bradley, 
 Oh fine Arthur of Bradley, oh, &c. 
 
 And when that dinner was ended, 
 The maidens they were befriended. 
 For out steps Dick the draper. 
 And he bid, Strike up, scraper ! 
 It's best to be dancing a little, 
 And then to the tavern to tipple : 
 He call'd for a hornpipe, 
 
 2 z 
 
362 APPENDIX. 
 
 That went fine on the bagpipe ; 
 Then forward, piper, and play, 
 
 For the honour of Arthur of Bradley, 
 
 Oh fine, &c. 
 
 Richard he did lead it, 
 
 And Margery did tread it, 
 
 Francis followed them. 
 
 And after courteous Jane ; 
 
 Thus every one after another, 
 
 As if they had been sister and brother ; 
 
 That 'twas great joy to see 
 
 How well they did agree ; 
 
 And then they all did say, 
 
 Hay for Arthur of Bradley ! 
 
 Oh fine Arthur of Bradley, oh, &c. 
 
 Then Miles in his motley breeches. 
 
 And he the piper beseeches 
 
 To play him Haw-thorn buds, 
 
 That he and his wench might trudge : 
 
 But Lawrence liked not that, 
 
 No more did lusty Kate ; 
 
 For she cry'd, Can'st thou not hit it, 
 
 To see how fine Thomas can trip it. 
 
 For the honour of Arthur of Bradley, &c. 
 
 When all the swains did see 
 This mirth and merry glee. 
 There was never a man did flinch. 
 
APPENDIX. 363 
 
 But each one kist his wench ; 
 
 But Giles was greedy of gain. 
 
 For he would needs kiss twain : 
 
 Her lover seeing that, 
 
 Did rap him over the pate, 
 
 That he had nought to say, 
 
 For the honour of Arthur of Bradley, 
 Oh fine Arthur of Bradley, oh, &c. 
 
 The piper lookt aside, 
 
 And there he spied the bride, 
 
 He thought it was a hard chance. 
 
 That none would lead her a dance ; 
 
 But there was none durst touch her, 
 
 Save only Bat the Butcher ; 
 
 He took her by the hand, 
 
 And danced while he could stand : 
 
 The bride was fine and gay, 
 
 For the honour of Arthur of Bradley, 
 Oh fine Arthur of Bradley, oh, &c. 
 
 Then out stept Will the weaver. 
 And he swore he'd not leave her, 
 He hopp'd it all on one leg, 
 For the honour of his Peg : 
 But Kister in cambrick rufTe, 
 He took that all in snuffe ; 
 For he against that day 
 Had made himself fine and gay. 
 His ruffe was whipt with blew. 
 
364 APPENDIX. 
 
 And he cried, A new dance, a new. 
 Then strike up a round-delay, 
 
 For the honour of Arthur of Bradley, 
 
 Oh fine, &c. 
 
 Then gan the sun decline, 
 
 And every one thought it time 
 
 To go unto his home, 
 
 And leave the bridegroom alone. 
 
 Tut, tut, says lusty Ned, 
 
 I'le see them both in bed. 
 
 For I'le gib at a joynt, 
 
 But I'le have his codpeece-point : 
 
 Then forward piper and play. 
 
 For the honour of Arthur of Bradley, 
 
 Oh fine, &c. 
 
 And thus the day was spent. 
 
 And no man homeward went, 
 
 There was such a crowding and thrusting. 
 
 That some were in danger of bursting, 
 
 To see them go to bed ; 
 
 For all the skill they had. 
 
 He was got to his bride. 
 
 And lay close to her side : 
 
 Then got they his points and his garters, 
 
 And cut them in pieces like martyrs ; 
 
 And then they all did play 
 
 For the honour of Arthur of Bradley, 
 
 Oh fine, &c. 
 
APPENDIX- 365 
 
 Then Will and his sweetheart 
 
 Did call for Loth to depart ; 
 
 And then they did foot it, and toss it, 
 
 Till the cook brought in the sack-posset 
 
 The bride-pye was brought forth, 
 
 A thing of mickle worth : 
 
 And so all at the beds side 
 
 Took leave of Arthur and his bride. 
 
 And so went all away 
 
 From the wedding of Arthur of Bradley, 
 
 Oh fine. &c. 
 
 VI. 
 
 ROBIN HOOD RESCUING THE THREE SQUIRES 
 FROM NOTTINGHAM GALLOWS. 
 
 This song and its tune, as the editor is informed by his ingenious 
 friend Edward Williams, the Welsh bard, are well known in 
 South Wales by the name of " Marchog glas," i.e. Green knight. 
 Though apparently ancient, it is not known to exist in black letter, 
 nor has any better authority been met with than the common col- 
 lection of Aldermary-church-yard. See before, p. 303. 
 
 Bold Robin Hood ranging the forrest all round, 
 
 The forrest all round ranged he ; 
 O there did he meet with a gay lady'. 
 
 She came weeping along the highway. 
 
366 APPENDIX. 
 
 Why weep you, why weep you ? bold Robin he said, 
 
 What weep you for gold or fee ? 
 Or do you weep for your maidenhead, 
 
 That is taken from your body ? 
 
 I weep not for gold, the lady reply'd, 
 
 Neither do I weep for fee ; 
 Nor do I weep for my maidenhead. 
 
 That is taken from my body. 
 
 What weep you for then ? said jolly Robin, 
 
 I prithee come tell unto me, 
 *' Oh ? I do weep for my three sons, 
 
 For they are all condemned to die." 
 
 What church have they robbed ? said jolly Robin, 
 
 Or parish-priest have they slain ? 
 What maids have they forced against their will ? 
 
 Or with other mens wives have lain ? 
 
 No church have they robbed, this lady reply'd, 
 
 Nor parish-priest have they slain ; 
 No maids have they forced against their will, 
 
 Nor with other mens wives have lain. 
 
 What have they done then ? said jolly Robin, 
 
 Come tell me most speedily. 
 " Oh ! it is for killing the king's fallow deer, 
 
 ' That ' ^ they are all condemned to die." 
 
 1 And. 
 
APPENDIX. 367 
 
 Get you home, get you home, said jolly RoWn, 
 
 Get you home most speedily, 
 And I will unto fair Nottingham go, 
 
 For the sake of the 'squires all three. 
 
 Then bold Robin Hood for Nottingham goes, 
 
 For Nottingham town goes he, 
 O there did he meet with a poor beggar-man, 
 
 He came creeping along the highway. 
 
 ♦' What news, what news, thou old beggar-man ? 
 
 What news, come tell unto me." 
 ** O there's weeping and wailing in Nottingham [town]. 
 
 For the death of the 'squires all three." 
 
 This beggar-man had a coat on his back, 
 
 'Twas neither green, yellow, nor red ; 
 Bold Robin Hood thought 'twas no disgrace 
 
 " Come, pull off thy coat, thou old beggar-man, 
 
 And thou shalt put on mine ; 
 And forty good shillings I'll give thee to boot, 
 
 Besides brandy, good beer, ale and wine," 
 
 Bold Robin Hood then unto Nottingham came, 
 Unto Nottingham town came he ; 
 
 O there did he meet with great master sheriff. 
 And likewise the 'squires all three. 
 
368 APPENDIX. 
 
 One boon, one boon, says jolly Robin, 
 
 One boon I beg on my knee ; 
 That, as for the death of these three 'squires, 
 
 Their hangman I may be. 
 
 Soon granted, soon granted, says master sheriff, 
 
 Soon granted unto thee ; 
 And * thou shalt ' ^ have all their gay cloathlng, 
 
 Aye, and all their white mon^y. 
 
 "01 will have none of their gay cloathlng, 
 
 Nor none of their white mon^y, 
 But I'll have three blasts on my bugle-horn, 
 
 That their souls to heaven may flee." 
 
 ' Then ' 2 Robin Hood mounted the gallows so high. 
 
 Where he blew loud and shrill, 
 Till a hundred and ten of Robin Hoods men 
 
 Came marching down the green hill. 
 
 Whose men are these ? says master sheriff. 
 
 Whose men are they ? tell unto me,^ 
 " O they are mine, but none of thine. 
 
 And are come for the 'squires all three." 
 
 O take them, O take them, says great master sheriff, 
 
 O take them along with thee ; 
 For there's never a man in fair Nottingham 
 
 Can do the like of thee. 
 
 1 You shall. 2 When. ^ Come tell. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 369 
 
 VII. 
 
 ROBIN HOOD'S DELIGHT. 
 
 Dr. Pepusch, among other very curious articles of ancient 
 English music, was possessed of a MS, folio (supposed to be 
 still extant), which at p. 15 contained a tune intitled " Robin 
 Hood." See Ward's " Lives of the Professors of Gresham Col- 
 lege," 1740 (an interleaved copy, corrected and augmented by 
 the author, in the British Museum), " Robene Hude " is likewise 
 the name of a dance in Wedderburn's " Complainte of Scotland," 
 printed in 1549. The following tune is preserved by Oswald 
 in his "Caledonian Pocket Companion," 
 
 pnr[[gi[:UrP'.Gq 
 
 3 A 
 
370 APPENDIX. 
 
 VIII. 
 ROBIN HOOD AND THE MONK. 
 
 This singularly curious and excellent poem, which is probably 
 the earliest extant on the subject, was first printed in the " An- 
 cient Metrical Tales," edited by the Rev. C. H, Hartshorne 
 (8vo, 1829), from a MS. in the library of University College, 
 Cambridge (F. F, 5. 48), with which it has been since obligingly 
 collated by Frederic Madden, Esq. A few lines are unfortu- 
 nately rendered illegible by damp. 
 
 In somer when the shawes be sheyne, 
 And leves be large and longe, 
 
 Hit is fuUe mery in feyre foreste 
 To here the foulys song. 
 
 To se the dere draw to the dale, 
 
 And leve the hilles hee, 
 And shadow hem in the leves grene 
 
 Vndur the grene wode tre. 
 
 Hit befel on whitsontide, 
 
 Erly in a may mornyng, 
 The son vp fayre can shyne, 
 
 And the briddis mery can syng. 
 
 This is a mery mornyng, seid lituUe Johne, 
 
 Be hym that dyed on tre, 
 A more mery man than I am one 
 
 Lyves not in cristiant^. 
 
APPENDIX. 371 
 
 Pluk vp thi hert my dere mayster, 
 
 Litulle Johne can sey, 
 And thynk hit is a fulle fayre tyme 
 
 In a mornynge of may. 
 
 Ze on thynge greves me seid Robyne, 
 
 And does my hert myche woo, 
 That I may not so solem day 
 
 To mas nor matyns goo. 
 
 Hit is a fourtnet and more, seyd hee, 
 
 Syn I my sauyour see ; 
 To day wil I to Notyngham, seid Robyn, 
 
 With the myght of mylde Mary. 
 
 Then spake Moche the mylner[s] sune, 
 
 Euer more wel hym betyde, 
 Take xii of thi wyght zemen 
 
 Welle weppynd be ther side. 
 
 Such on wolde thi selfe slon 
 
 That xii dar not abyde. 
 Off alle my mery men, seid Robyne, 
 
 Be my feithe I wil non haue. 
 
 But litulle Johne shalle beyre my bow 
 Til that me list to drawe 
 
372 APPENDIX. 
 
 Thou shalle beyre ' thin own ' ^ seid litulle Jon, 
 
 Maister & I wil beyre myne, 
 And we wille shete a peny, seid litulle Jon, 
 
 Vnder the grene wode lyne. 
 
 I wil not shete a peny, seyde Robyn Hode, 
 
 In feith litulle Johne with thee. 
 But euer for on as thou shetes, seid Robyn, 
 
 In feith I hold the thre. 
 
 Thus shet thei forthe these zemen too 
 
 Bothe at buske and brome, 
 Til litulle Johne wan of his maister 
 
 V s. to hose and shone. 
 
 A ferly strife fel them betwene 
 
 As they went bi the way ; 
 Litulle Johne seid he had won v shyllyngs, 
 
 And Robyn Hode seid schortly nay. 
 
 With that Robyn Hode lyed litul Jone, 
 And smote hym with his honde, 
 
 Litul John waxed wroth therwith, 
 And pulled out his bright bronde. 
 
 Were thou not my maister, seid litulle Johne, 
 
 Thou shuldis by hit ful sore. 
 Get the a man where thou wilt, Robyn, 
 
 For thou getes me no more. 
 
 1 Th' now. MS. 
 
APPENDIX. 373 
 
 Then Robyn goes to Notyngham 
 
 Hymselfe mornynge allone, 
 And litulle Johne to mery Scherewode, 
 
 The pathes he knowe alkone. 
 
 Whan Robyn came to Notyngham, 
 
 Sertenly withoutene layne, 
 He prayed to god and my Id Mary 
 
 To brynge hym out saue agayne. 
 
 He gos into seynt Mary[s] chirche, 
 And knelyd downe before the rode, 
 
 Alle that euer were the churche within 
 Beheld wel Robyne Hode. 
 
 Besyde hym stode a gret hedid munke, 
 
 I pray to god woo he be, 
 Ful sone he knew gode Robyn [Hode] 
 
 As sone as he liym se. 
 
 Out at the durre he ran 
 
 Ful son and anon, 
 Alle the zatis of Notyngham 
 
 He made to be sparred euerychone. 
 
 Rise vp, he seid, thou prowde schereff, 
 
 Buske the and make the bowne, 
 I haue spyed the kynges felone, 
 
 For sothe he is in this towne. 
 
374 APPENDIX. 
 
 I haue spyed the false felone 
 
 As he stondes at his masse, 
 Hit is longe of the seide the munke, 
 
 And euer he fro vs passe. 
 
 This traytur[s] name is Robyn Hode, 
 
 Vndur the grene wode lynde, 
 He robbyt me onys of a C pound, 
 
 Hit shalle neuer out of my mynde. 
 
 Vp then rose this prowd schereff. 
 
 And zade towarde hym zare ; 
 Many was the modur son 
 
 To the kyrk with hym can fare. 
 
 In at the durres thei throly thrast 
 
 With staves ful gode * ilkone ' ^ 
 Alas, alas, seid Robyn Hode, 
 
 Now mysse I litulle Johne. 
 
 But Robyne toke out a too-hond sworde 
 
 That hangit down be his kne, 
 Ther as the schereff and his men stode thyckust 
 
 Thidurward wold he. 
 
 Thryes thorow at them he ran, 
 
 Ther for sothe as I yow say, 
 And woundyt many a modur sone, 
 
 And xii he slew that day. 
 
 1 Wone. MS. 
 
APPENDIX. 375 
 
 His sworde vpon the schireff hed 
 
 Sertanly he brake in too ; 
 The smyth that the made, seid Robyn, 
 
 I pray god ^ wyrke hym woo. 
 
 For now am I weppynlesse, seid Robyne, 
 
 Alasse agayn my wylle ; 
 But if I may fle these traytors fro, 
 
 I wot thai wil me kylle. 
 
 Robyns men to the churche ran 
 
 Throout hem euer ilkon. 
 Sum fel in swonyng as thei were dede, 
 
 And lay still as any stone. 
 
 Non of theym were in her mynde 
 But only lituUe Jon. 
 
 Let be your rule, seid lituUe Jon, 
 For his luf that dyed on tre, 
 
 Ze that shulde be duzty men 
 Hit is gret shame to se. 
 
 Oure maister has bene hard bystode, 
 
 And zet scapyd away, 
 Pluk up your hertes and leve this mone, 
 
 And herkyn what I shal say. 
 
 » I pray io. MS. 
 
•376 APPENDIX. 
 
 He has seruyd our lady many a day, 
 
 And zet wil securly, 
 Therfore I trust in her specialy 
 
 No wycked deth shal he dye. 
 
 Therfor be glad, seid litul Johne, 
 And let this mournyng be, 
 
 And I shall be the munkes gyde 
 With the myght of mylde Mary. 
 
 And I mete hym, seid litull Johne, 
 We wille go but we too 
 
 Loke that ze kepe wel oure tristil tre 
 
 Vndur the levys smale, 
 And spare non of his venyson 
 
 That gose in thys vale. 
 
 Forth e thei went these zemen too, 
 
 Litul Johne and Moche onfere. 
 And lokid on Moche emys hows 
 
 The hyeway lay fulle nere. 
 
 Litul John stode at a window in the mornynge 
 
 And lokid forth at a stage. 
 He was war wher the munke came ridynge. 
 
 And with hym. a litul page. 
 
APPENDIX. ' 377 
 
 Be my feith, seid litul Johne to Moche, 
 
 I can the tel tithyngus gode ; 
 I see wher the munk comys rydyng, 
 
 I know hym be his wyde hode. 
 
 Thei went into the way these zemen bothe, 
 
 As curtes men and hende, 
 Thei spyrred tithyngus at the munke 
 
 As thei hade bene his frende. 
 
 Fro whens come ze, seid litul Johne, 
 
 Tel vs tithyngus I yow pray 
 Off a false owtlay [called Robyn Hode] 
 
 Was takyn zisturday. 
 
 He robbyt me and my felowes bothe 
 
 Of XX marke in serten ; 
 If that false owtlay be takyn, 
 
 For sothe we wolde be fayne. 
 
 So did he me, seid the munke. 
 
 Of a C pound and more ; 
 I layde furst hande hym apon, 
 
 Ze may thonke me therfore. 
 
 I pray god thanke yow, seid litulle Johne, 
 
 And we wil when we may, 
 We wil go with yow with your leve. 
 
 And brynge yow on your way. 
 
 3B 
 
378 APPENDIX. 
 
 For Robyn Hode base many a wilde felow, 
 
 I telle yow in certen, 
 If thei wist ze rode this way, 
 
 In feith ze shulde be slayn. 
 
 As thei went talkyng be the way, 
 The munke and litulle Johne, 
 
 Johne toke the munkes horse be the hede 
 Ful sone and anone. 
 
 Johne toke the munkes horse be the hed, 
 
 For sothe as I yow say. 
 So did Muche the litulle page, 
 
 For he shulde not stirre away. 
 
 Be the golett of the hode 
 
 Johne pulled the munke downe, 
 
 Johne was nothynge of hym agast, 
 He lete hym falle on his crowne. 
 
 Litulle John was 'sore'^ agrevyd, 
 And drew out his swerde in hye, 
 
 The munke saw he shulde be ded, 
 Lowd mercy can he crye. 
 
 He was my maister, seid litulle Johne, 
 That thou base browzt in bale, 
 
 Shalle thou neuer cum at oure kynge 
 For to telle hym tale. 
 
 1 So. MS. 
 
APPENDIX. 379 
 
 Johne smote of the munkes hed, 
 
 No longer wolde he dwelle, 
 So did Moche, the lituUe page, 
 
 For ferd lest he wold tell. 
 
 Ther thei beryed hem both 
 
 In nouther mosse nor lynge, 
 And lituUe Johne and Muche infere 
 
 Bare the letturs to oure kynge. 
 
 He kneled down vpon kis kne, 
 God zow saue, my lege lorde, 
 Jesus yow saue and se. 
 
 God yow saue, my lege kyng, 
 To speke Johne was fulle bolde ; 
 
 He gaf hym the letturs in his bond, 
 The kynge did hit unfold. 
 
 The kynge red the letturs anon, 
 
 And seid so mot I tlie, 
 Ther was neuer zoman in mery Inglond 
 
 I longut so sore to see. 
 
 Wher is the munke that these shuld haue 
 Oure kynge can say, [browzt. 
 
 Be my trouthe, seid lituUe Jone, 
 He dyed afiur the way. 
 
380 APPENDIX. 
 
 The kyng gaf Moche and litul Jon 
 
 XX pound in sertan, 
 And made theim zemen of the crowne, 
 
 And bade theim go agayn. 
 
 He gaf Johne the seel in hand, 
 
 The scheref for to here, 
 To brynge Robyn hym to, 
 
 And no man do hym dere, 
 
 Johne toke his leve at oure kyng, 
 
 The sothe as I yow say ; 
 The next way to Notyngham 
 
 To take he zede the way. 
 
 Whan Johne came to Notyngham 
 The zatis were sparred ychone, 
 
 Johne callid vp the porter, 
 He answerid sone anon. 
 
 What is the cause, seid litul John, 
 Thou sparris the zates so fast ? 
 Because Robyn Hode,^ seid [the] porter. 
 In depe prison is cast. 
 
 Johne, and Moche, and Wylle Scathlok, 
 
 For sothe as I yow say, 
 Thir slew oure men vpon oure wallis, 
 
 And sawtene vs euery day, 
 
 1 Because of Robyn Hode. MS. 
 
APPENDIX. 381 
 
 Litulle Johne spyrred afiur the schereflf, 
 
 And sone he hym fonde, 
 He oppyned the kyngus priue seelle, 
 
 And gaf hym in his honde. 
 
 When the schereff saw the kyngus seelle 
 
 He did of his hode anon, 
 Wher is the munke that bare the letturs ? 
 
 He seid to litulle Johne. 
 
 He is so fayn of him, seid litulle Johne, 
 
 For sothe as I yow sey ; 
 He has made hym abot of Westmynster, 
 
 A lorde of that abbay. 
 
 The scheref made John gode chere, 
 
 And gaf hym wine of the best ; 
 At nyzt thei went to her bedde, 
 
 And euery man to his rest. 
 
 When the scheref was on-slepe 
 
 Dronken of wine and ale, 
 Litul Johne and Moche for sothe 
 
 Toke the way vnto the gale ; 
 
 Litul Johne callid vp the jayler, 
 
 And bade hym rise anon ; 
 He seid Robyn Hode had brokyn preson, 
 
 And out of hit was gon. 
 
38.2 APPENDIX. 
 
 The portere rose anon sertan, 
 As sone as he herd John calle ; 
 
 Litul Johne was redy with a swerd, 
 And bare hym to the walle. 
 
 Now will I be porter, seid Htul Johne, 
 And take the keyes in honde ; 
 
 He toke the way to Robyn Hode, * 
 And sone he hym vnbonde. 
 
 He gaf hym a gode swerd in his hond, 
 His had [ther-]with for to kepe, 
 
 And ther as the walle was lowyst 
 Anon downe can thei lepe. 
 
 Be that the cok began to crow, 
 The day began to sprynge, 
 
 The scheref fond the jaylier ded, 
 The comyn belle made he rynge. 
 
 He made a crye thoroowt al the tow[n], 
 Whedur he be zoman or knave, 
 
 That cowthe brynge hym Robyn Hode, 
 His warisone he shuld haue. 
 
 For I dar neuer, said the scheref, 
 
 Cum before oure kynge ; 
 For if I do I wot serten. 
 
 For sothe he wil me henge. 
 
APPENDIX. 383 
 
 The scheref made to seke Notyngham, 
 
 Bothe be strete and stye, 
 And Robyn was in mery Scherwode 
 
 As lizt as lef on lynde. 
 
 Then bespake gode litulle Johne 
 
 To Robyn Hode can he say, 
 I haue done the a gode turne for an euylle, 
 
 Quyte ' me ' ^ whan thou may. 
 
 I haue done the a gode turne, said litulle Johne, 
 
 For sothe as I you sale, 
 I haue brouzt the vndur [the] grene wode lyne, 
 
 Fare wel, and haue gode day. 
 
 Nay be my trouthe, seid Robyn Hode, 
 
 So shalle hit neuer be, 
 I make the maister, seid Robyne Hode, 
 
 Off alle my men and me. 
 
 Nay be my trouthe, seid litulle Johne, 
 
 So shall hit neuer be, 
 But lat me be a felow, seid litulle Johne, 
 
 No nodur kepe I'll be. 
 
 Thus Johne gate Robyn Hode out of prisone 
 
 Sertan withoutyn layne. 
 When his men saw hym hoi and sounde 
 
 For sothe they were ful fayne. 
 
 i The. MS. 
 
384 APPENDIX. 
 
 They filled in wyne, and made him glad 
 
 Vndur the levys smale, 
 And zete pastes of venysone 
 
 That gode was ' withaL' ^ 
 
 Than worde came to our kynge, 
 How Robyn Hode was gone, 
 
 And how the scheref of Notyngham 
 Durst neuer loke hyme vpone. 
 
 Then bespake oure cumly kynge, 
 
 In an angur hye, 
 Litulle Johne hase begyled the schereff, 
 
 In faith so hase he me. 
 
 Litulle Johne has begyled vs bothe, 
 
 And that fuUe wel I se, 
 Or ellis the schereff of Notyngham 
 
 Hye hongut shuld he be. 
 
 I made hem zemen of the crowne, 
 And gaf hem fee with my hond, 
 
 I gaf hem grithe, seid oure kyng, 
 Thorowout alle mery Inglond. 
 
 I gaf hem grithe, then seid oure kyng, 
 
 I say, so mot I the, 
 For sothe soche a zeman as he is on 
 
 In alle Ingland ar not thre. 
 
 1 That gode was with ale. MS. 
 
APPENDIX. 385 
 
 He is trew to his maister, seid oure kynge, 
 
 I sey, be swete seynt Johne, 
 He louys bettur Robyn Hode, 
 
 Then he dose vs ychone. 
 
 Robyne Hode is euer bond to him, 
 
 Bothe in strete and stalle, 
 Speke no ' more'^ of this matter, seid our kynge, 
 
 But John has begyled vs alle. 
 
 Thus endys the talkyng of the munke, 
 
 And Robyne Hode I wysse ; 
 God, that is euer a crowned kyng, 
 
 Bryng vs alle to his blisse. 
 
 1 Mere. MS. 
 
 3C 
 
GLOSSARY. 
 
 Abye, [to suffer]. 
 
 Air, early. 
 
 Alderbest, best of all. This phrase, which occurs in Chaucer, 
 is corrupted in De Worde's edition to "a/ ther" and "«/ 
 theyre," which Coplande has changed to " al of the ;'" whence 
 it may be inferred that the expression was become already 
 obsolete, and consequently that the poem is of much greater 
 antiquity than 1520 : and yet Shakespeare, above half a century 
 after, puts the word Alderliefest into the mouth of Queen 
 Margaret in his Second Part of Henry the Sixth. 
 
 Angels, pieces of gold coin, value los. 
 
 Anker, hermit, anchorite. 
 
 Ar, ere. 
 
 Asay, Asayed, essayed, tried, proved.' 
 
 A-sound, in a swoon, 
 
 Aunsetters, ancestors. 
 
 Avow, Avowe, protestation, confession. " / make myn avow to 
 God,^ profess to God : from aveu, F. 
 
 Avowe, maintain, ver bum juris. 
 
 Avowh, founder, patron, protector. See Spelman's Glossary, v, 
 Advocatus. 
 
 Awayte, Awatye me scathe, lie in wait to do me harm. 
 
 Awayted, lay in wait for. 
 
 Awet, wit, know, 
 
 Awkwarde, backward. An awkwarde stroke seems to mean an 
 unusual or out of the way stroke, one which the receiver could 
 not foresee, be aware of, or guard against ; a sort of left or 
 back hand stroke. " An auke stroke" is a frequent expression 
 in La Afort d' Arthur. 
 
 Ayenst, against. 
 
 Daist, Baste, basted, belaboured. 
 
 Baith, both. 
 
 Bale, mischief, woe, sorrow, misery. 
 
 Ballup, p, 306. 
 
 Bants, bane, destruction. 
 
 Bear, moan, lamentation, outcry. 
 
 Bearing, arrow. 
 
 Bedene, behind, one after another? 
 
388 GLOSSARY. 
 
 Bedyng, asking. Your bedyng shall be doyn, your invitation 
 shall be complied with, 
 
 Be/oren, before. 
 
 Begeck, Give them a begeck, play them a trick, make fools of 
 them. 
 
 Behote, promised. 
 
 Benbow, [a bent bow ?]. 
 
 Bent^ ii. 84. 
 
 Bescro, beshrew. 
 
 Bestad, Ferre and friend bestad, far from home and without a 
 friend. The passage, however, seems corrupt. Perhaps, 
 indeed, it should he fren (frend ox fremd) bestad, i.e. beset 
 or surrounded by strangers. (Fjienin, Saxon.) Thus, in 
 Spenser's 4th eclogue : 
 
 " So now his friend is changed for z.fren." 
 
 Again, in Florio's Worlde of Wordes, 1598: '■^ Alieno, an 
 alien, a stranger, a forraine, 0.freme." 
 
 Bestead, beset, put to it. 
 
 Beth, are, be. 
 
 Blate, sheepish or foolish, as we should now say. 
 
 Blive, belive, immediately. 
 
 Bloscheins, blossoms. 
 
 Bluter, p. 105. 
 
 Blyve, fast, quickly, briskly. 
 
 Backing, pouring, flowing. 
 
 Bode, bidden, invited. 
 
 Bolt, Bolte, Boltes, Boltys. A bolt was an arrow of a particular 
 kind, used chiefly for shooting at birds ; having a round or 
 blunt head. Much's object, it has been observed, was not to 
 wound, but stun, the monk, and the bolt from its shape was 
 peculiarly adapted to this purpose. In other passages, however, 
 it seems to mean either an arrow in general, or one used for 
 shooting at a mark. " I'll make a shaft or a bolt on't," which 
 Shakespeare has put into the mouth of M. Slender, appears, 
 from Ray's Collection, to have been a common proverbi 
 
 Boote, help. 
 
 Booting, p. 98. 
 
 Borde, table. 
 
 Borowe, Borrow, pledge, surety, bail. 
 
 Borowehode, suretyship. 
 
 Boskyd, busked, prepared, got ready. 
 
 Bottle, a small vessel, of wood or leather, in the shape of a cask, 
 in which shepherds and others employed abroad in the fields 
 carry or keep their drink, 
 
 Bottys, buts. 
 
 Bou, bow. 
 
 Bound, betook, went. Boldly bound away, briskly scampered off. 
 
 Bowe, bough. 
 
GLOSSARY. 389 
 
 Bffwn, ready, Bmtmeye, prepare ye, get ready. 
 
 Boyt, both. 
 
 Breche, breeches. 
 
 Breyde, started, stepped hastily. 
 
 Breyde, start, quick or hasty step. 
 
 Broke, brook, enjoy, use, keep. 
 
 Bronde, brand, sword. 
 
 Bushement, ambush. 
 
 Buske, I wyll me buske, i.e. go, betake myself. Buske you, 
 
 address or prepare yourselves, make ready. 
 Bydene, one after another. 
 Can, did, 
 Carpe, [to speak], 
 
 Cankardly, peevishly, with ill-temp)er. 
 Capull hyde, horse hide. Capal or Caput in Irish or Erse Is a 
 
 horse or mare, as Kephyl is in Welsh, 
 Caret, Carril, carle, old fellow. 
 Caward, awkward or backward. See Awkwarde. 
 Cerstyn, Christian. 
 
 Chaffar, chaffer, merchandise, commodity. 
 Chepe, better ctiepe, cheaper ; a meitteur marchi, F. Gret ctupe, 
 
 very cheap ; d trhs ton marchi, 
 Ctupe, cheapen, buy. Cfiepyd, cheapened, bought. 
 Cfieys, choose. 
 Cfiiven, p. 219. 
 Cfiorte, churl, peasant, clown. 
 Cta'd, scratched. 
 Ctocti, cloak. 
 Ctouted, patched. 
 Cole, p. 66. 
 
 Come, (pronounced com) came. 
 Cotnmand, warrant, authority, 
 Commytted, accounted, 
 Coresed, p, 20. 
 
 Cortessey, courteous, Q. Corteysse. 
 Cotea pye, upper garment, short cloke ; courtepy, Chaucer, See 
 
 Tyrwhitt's note, iv. 201. 
 Coud, knew, understood. 
 Counsett, "And counsett sfiatt it be," and it shall be kept 
 
 secret ; in allusion, perhaps, to the oath of a grand juror : — 
 
 ' ' the king's counset, your fellows, and your own you shall 
 
 keep secret." The phrase is, however, used by Chaucer : 
 
 " Shall it be conseil? sayed the firste shrewe ; 
 And I shall tellen thee in wordes fewe 
 What we shall don, and bring it wel aboute." 
 
 — Pardonerts Tale. 
 
 Covent, convent ; whence our Covent Garden. 
 Cowed, could, knew. Cowed of curteysey, understood good 
 manners. 
 
390 GLOSSARY. 
 
 Crack, boast, 
 
 Craflely, skilfully, secundum artem. 
 
 Crouse, brisk. 
 
 Cun, con, owe, give. 
 
 Cum, p. loi. 
 
 Curtail, p. 210, 211. 
 
 Curteyse, courteous. 
 
 Glitters, sharking fellows ; such as live by robbery or violence ; 
 bravbs. So in the old play of Arden of Feversham, h. d. b. 1. : 
 "And they are cutters, and may cut your throat." 
 
 Dame, mother. 
 
 Dead, certain; so in the common saying, " As dead as Chelsea ; " 
 i.e. as certain as a situation in that hospital. 
 
 Demed, judged. 
 
 Depart, part, separate. 
 
 Derne, privy, secret. 
 
 Deyell, devil. 
 
 Deythe, dight, dressed. 
 
 Donne, dun. 
 
 Doyt, doth, do. 
 
 Dree, hye. 
 
 Dreyffe, drive. 
 
 Dub, shallow miry pool. 
 
 Dung, beaten, overcome. 
 
 Durk, dagger. 
 
 Dyght, dressed, done. 
 
 Dyghtande, p. 69. 
 
 Dysgrate, disgraced, degraded. Hath be dysgrate, hath fallen 
 into poverty. 
 
 Een, eyes. 
 
 Eftsones, hereafter, afterward. 
 
 Eild, age. 
 
 Elephant, p. 263. 
 
 Ender, under. 
 
 English wood. If Inglewood Forest be here intended , the Queen 
 is a little out in her geography : she probably means Sher- 
 wood, but neither was that in the page's way to Nottingham, 
 and Barnsdale was still farther north. See Ancient Popular 
 Poetry, 1791, p. 3. 
 
 Ere, before. 
 
 Eylde, yield. 
 
 Eyr, year. 
 
 Eyre, heir. 
 
 Fail, But fail, without fail, without doubt. 
 
 Failyd, wanted, missed. 
 
 Fair, fare, ado. 
 
 Fare, live. 
 
 Farley, fairly, plainly. 
 
 Fay, faith. 
 
GLOSSARY. 39 1 
 
 Fayne, glad. 
 
 Fe, fee, wages. 
 
 Feardest, fearfulest, most frightened or afraid. 
 
 Feders, feathers. 
 
 Fend, Fend I godys forbade. 
 
 Fende, defend. 
 
 Fered, feared, lived. 
 
 Ferre, far. Ferre dayes, far in the day ; grand jour, F. Ferre 
 gone, long since. 
 
 Fette, fetched. 
 
 Fetteled him, made him ready, prepared himself, set about. 
 Fettled, Them fettled, attempted, set about. 
 
 Feyffe, five. 
 
 Finikin, finical, fine, spruce. 
 
 Flee, fly. 
 
 Flinders, splinters. 
 
 Fane, foes, enemies. 
 
 Forbode, Godys forbode, 'prohibition or curse.' Florio, in his 
 Italian dictionary, 1598, renders the phrase, Adio non 
 fiaceia. God forbid, Godes forbode. In A Briefe Conceitte of 
 English Policy, 1581, it is corrupted to '■'• God swarbote. 
 
 Force, care. 
 
 Forgone, forego, lose. 
 
 Fors, see Force. 
 
 For soy t, forsooth, truly. 
 
 Foryete, forgotten. 
 
 Fostere, forester. 
 
 Fothe, foot. 
 
 Frae, from. 
 
 Frebore, free-bom, gentle. 
 
 Frese, p. 39. 
 
 Furmety, [fumenty"]. 
 
 Frere, [fnar]. 
 
 Fynly, goodly. 
 
 Gae, go. 
 
 Gan, Gan they gone, are they gone, did they go. 
 
 Gang, Gange, go. 
 
 Gate, Gates, ways, passes, paths, ridings. Gate is a common 
 word in the North for way. — P. 
 
 Geffe, given. 
 
 General, perhaps the governor, Nottingham still being a garri- 
 son town. 
 
 Ger, gear, stuff, goods, property, effects. 
 
 Gereamarsey, see Gramercy, 
 
 Gillore, plenty. 
 
 Glen, valley. 
 
 God, good, goods, property. 
 
 God-a-marsey, God-a-mercy ! See Gramercy. 
 
 Godde, see God, 
 
392 GLOSSARY. 
 
 Godys forbade. See Forbade. 
 
 Gorney, journey. 
 
 Gay, joy. 
 
 Graff, Oke graff, oak branch or sapling. 
 
 Gramercy, thanks, or many thanks ; grand mercie, F. 
 
 Gree, satisfaction. 
 
 Gret, greeted, saluted. 
 
 Gripped, grasped, laid hold of. 
 
 Grame, a common man. 
 
 Hail, Allhai^, wholely, entirely. 
 
 Halds, holds, holding-places, supports. 
 
 Halke, perhaps haugh, low ground by the side of a river. See 
 the glossary to Bishop Douglas's Virgil, v. Hawchis. Halke 
 with Chaucer signifies a corner ; but seems here used in oppo- 
 sition to hill. 
 
 Halfendell, half. 
 
 Hals, neck. 
 
 Hambellet, ambleth. 
 
 Hansell. The vendor of any wares is said to receive hansel of 
 his first customer ; but the meaning of the text, Haffe hansell 
 for the mar, is not understood, unless it can be thought to 
 imply. Give me hansel, i.e. buy of my pots. 
 
 Hart of Greece means perhaps no more than a fat hart, for the 
 sake of a quibble between Greece and grease. 
 
 Hawt, aught, anything, something. 
 
 Hayt, hath. 
 
 Held, kept preserved. 
 
 Hende, gentle, courteous. 
 
 Hent, took, caught. 
 
 Hepe, hip, haw, the fruit of the white thorn. So in Gil Morice, 
 a Scotish ballad : — 
 
 " I was once as fow of Gill Morrice 
 
 As THE HIP IS O' THE STEAK." 
 
 Her, their. 
 
 Het, it. 
 
 Het, eat. 
 
 Heynd, gentle, courteous. 
 
 Heyt war howte, p. 86. 
 
 Highed, hyed, hastened. 
 
 Hight, What they hight, what they are called. 
 
 Holde, keep, held, retained of council. 
 
 Holy, wholely. 
 
 Holy dame, Our holy dame, p. 250, the Virgin Mary (so called) ; 
 unless, for our "holy dame" we should read our hahdome, 
 which may mean our holiness, honesty, chastity ; haligoome, 
 sanctimonia. 
 
 Hos, Hus, us. 
 
 Hotys, oats. 
 
 Housband, Housbonde, manager, husbandman^ peasant. 
 
GLOSSARY. 393 
 
 Hew, hill. 
 
 Hawt, out. 
 
 Hy^ht, vowed, promised. 
 
 Hytide, knave. 
 
 /, ay. 
 
 Ibent, bent. 
 
 Jbonde, bound. 
 
 Ichaunged, changed. 
 
 Idyght, dight, dressed, prepared, made ready. 
 
 Ifedered, feathered. 
 
 like, each. 
 
 In-fere, together. 
 
 Inpcked, nocked, notched. 
 
 fpyiiht. Up ipyght, p. 26. 
 
 Iquyt, acquitted, set at liberty, 
 
 /swore, sworn. 
 
 /take, taken. 
 
 Japes, tricks. 
 
 Ken, know. 
 
 /Cest, cast. 
 
 Kirtle, upper petticoat. 
 
 Knave, servant, man. 
 
 Kod, quod, quoth, said. 
 
 Kyrtell, waistcoat, 
 
 Kythe nor kin, acquaintance nor kindred. 
 
 Lxippe, wrap, 
 
 Late, lake, play, game. 
 
 Launsgay, a sort of lance. 
 
 Leasynge, lying, falsehood. 
 
 Lede, train, suite. 
 
 /^desman, guide. 
 
 Lee, plain. 
 
 Le/e, willing. Whether he loere loth or le/e, whether he would or 
 
 not. 
 Leffe, leave, left. 
 l.effes, leaves. 
 Lende, meet, encounter. 
 Lene, lend. 
 Lere, learn. 
 /^re, cheek. 
 l^se, lose. 
 
 />/, omit, hinder, hindered. 
 l.eugh, laughed. 
 
 Lever, rather. «» 
 
 [.ewtk, loyal y, faith, truth ; leauti, F. 
 l^the, light. 
 r.i^e, lay. 
 /./«, stop, stay. 
 Lithe, attend, hear, iiearken. 
 
 3D 
 
394 GLOSSARY. 
 
 Loffe, love. 
 
 Lore, lost. 
 
 Lough, Loughe, Low, laughed. 
 
 Lowe, " a little hill." — P. 
 
 Lawn, villain, knave, base fellow. 
 
 Lust, desire, inclination. 
 
 Lyght, light ; or, perhaps, for lyte, little. 
 
 Lynde, Lyne, the lime or linden tree ; or collectively lime trees, 
 
 or trees in general. 
 Lyth, see Lithe. 
 Lyveray, livery, habit, delivery : the mess, portion, or quantity 
 
 of provisions delivered out at a time by the butler was called 
 
 a livery. 
 Masars, cups, vessels. 
 
 Masterye, " a trial of skill, high proof of skill."—/'. 
 Mair, more. 
 Maney, see Meyne. 
 May, maid. 
 Me, That ever yet sawe I me, a gallicism ; que jamais j'ai vu 
 
 moi. 
 Meal, oat-meal. 
 
 Meal-poke, meal-bag, bag in which oatmeal is put. 
 Aleat-rife. 
 
 Mede, To quyte hym well his mede, to reward him to some purpose. 
 Medys, midst, middle. 
 Meede, reward. 
 
 Mesh, All to mesh, to a mash or jelly. 
 Met, Mete, measured. 
 Aiethe, meat. 
 
 Meyne, attendants, retinue ; mesnie, F. 
 Meythe, might. 
 Mickle, much, great, very. 
 Alister, need. It is misters in the original. 
 AIo, more. 
 Molde, earth. 
 Mot, Mote, might, may. 
 Mote, meeting, assembly, court, audit. 
 Mountenaunce, amount, duration, space. 
 Morw, mouth. 
 Mowe, may. 
 Muckle, see Mickle. 
 Myrthes, mirth, merriment. A man that myrthes can, a minstrel, 
 
 fiddler, juggler, or the like. 
 Myster, need. 
 Nane, none. 
 Nar, nor, than. 
 Ner, ear. So in " The Romaunt of the Rose : " 
 
 " He streight up to his ere ydrough 
 The stronge bowe." 
 
GLOSSARY. 395 
 
 Ner, {fie wer it), were if not. 
 
 Nip, p. lOo. 
 
 Nips, p. loi. 
 
 Nobellys, nobles. The noble was a gold coin, value 6s. 8d. 
 
 Nomb'Us, Numbles, entrails ; those parts which are usually 
 baked in a pie : now, comiptly, called humbles or vmbles : 
 nombles, F. Thus we say, an Adder, an Apron, an Ouche, 
 instead of a Nadder, (Nat)t)jie), a Napron, a Nouche : the n 
 being, through ignorance, transferred to the article. The rn>- 
 verse has happened in the words A newt, which should be 
 written An ewt: a mistake the more remarkable as we say and 
 write An eft; both from the same root : Bpec, Saxon. 
 
 Obeyedores, [obediener], 
 
 Okerer, usurer. 
 
 Or, [en]. 
 
 Os, us. 
 
 Outdone, undone. 
 
 Owthe, out. 
 
 Paid, beat, beaten. 
 
 Palmer. A palmer was, properly, a pilgrim who had visited the 
 Holy Land, from the palm-branch or cross which he bore as a 
 sign of such visitation : but it is probable that the distinction 
 between palmers and oiYi&c pilgnms was never much attended 
 to in this country. The palmer in the text seems to be no 
 more than a common beggar ; as is, likewise, the one in the 
 romance. 
 
 Partakers, assistants, persons to take thy part. 
 
 Passe, extent, bounds, limits, district ; as the Pas de Calais. 
 Copland's edition reads compas. 
 
 Pauage, Pavag, Pavage, Pawage, a toll or duty payable for 
 the liberty of passing over the soil or territory of another : 
 paagium, L. 
 
 Pay, content, satisfaction, money. 
 
 Peces, p. 32. 
 
 Pecocke, With pecocke well ydight, handsomely dressed with 
 p)eacock feathers. Thus Chaucer, descnbing his " squire's 
 yeman:" 
 
 "A shefe of ptacocke artves bright and kene. 
 Under his Delt he bare ful thnflely." 
 
 In a little treatise of " The Hors, the Shepe, and the Ghoos" 
 printed by C'axton, it is Said — 
 
 "Thurgh all ihe londe of Brutes Albyon 
 For fetherd arowes as I rehercc can 
 Ckoos is the best to make comparison 
 Excepte fethers o( pecok and oi nvan.'^ 
 
 Pinder. The pinder is the pounder or pound-keeper ; the petty 
 officer of a manor, whose duty it is to impound all strange 
 cattle straying upon the common, &c 
 
396 GLOSSARY. 
 
 Plucke-buffet, p. 75. 
 Polle, pull. 
 Poke, bag. 
 
 Preke, prick, a piece of wood in the centre of the target. 
 Prese, company. 
 Prest, ready, ready to go. 
 
 Puding-pricks, skewers that fasten the pudding-bag. 
 Pyne, Goddes pyne, Christ's passion or crucifixion. 
 Quequer, quiver : Docujl, Saxon. 
 Queyt, quit, recompense. 
 Qod, quotli, says, said. 
 Raked, walked apace. 
 
 Hay, Battle ray, battle-array. The same expression occurs in 
 The Tragicall History of Didaco and Violenta, 1567 : 
 
 "To traverse forth his grounde, to place 
 His troupes in batayle ray." 
 
 Ray, array, put in order. 
 
 Raye. C/o/A ^rtzy was cloth not coloured or dyed. It is men- 
 tioned in many old statutes in contradistinction to cloth of 
 colour. See 17 E. 3. c. i, 7 H. 4. c. 10, 11 H. 4. c. 6, i R, 3, 
 c. 8. The " reied or striped cloth" (Stow's Survay, 1598, p. 
 436, 430) must have been very different, 
 
 Reachles, careless, regardless, unobservant. 
 
 Red, clear. 
 
 Reuth, pity, compassion. 
 
 Reve, taken by force. 
 
 Reves, bailiffs, receivers. 
 
 Ripe, cleanse. Riped, cleansed. 
 
 Rod, poles, perches. A rod, pole, or perch is usually sixteen feet 
 and a half, but in Sherwood forest (according to Blount) it is 
 21 feet, the foot there being 18 inches. 
 
 Rode, rood, cross. 
 
 Rung, staff. 
 
 Ryall, royal. 
 
 Ryalty, royalty. 
 
 Ryghtwys, righteous, just. 
 
 Sack, a kind of Spanish wine, perhaps sherry, formerly much 
 drank in this country ; very different, at least, from the sweet 
 (or canary) wine now so called, 
 
 Sair, sore. 
 
 Salved, (salued?) saluted. The word salewed, in this sense, 
 occurs repeatedly in The Hystorye of Reinard the Foxe (Pinson's 
 edition); and {vide tamen Salvidva. the Gesta Romanorum, 
 MS. Har. 7333, No. 48) in that of " Kynge Ponthus of 
 Galyce," i$ii. '■^ Salue," F.i. " Salewe," F. ii. K. Ponthus, 
 
 Scathe, harm. 
 
 Schetyng, shooting. 
 
 Schemer y summer. 
 
GLOSSARY. 397 
 
 Sclo, slay. 
 Scop, scalp, pate. 
 Scoper, supper. 
 Scout h, p. 105. 
 Serefe, Screffe, sheriff. 
 Se, vide See, 
 Seche, seek. 
 
 See, regard, protect. The same phrase occurs in Chaucer's 
 Troiius and Cresside : 
 
 "Madame, quoth Pandare, God you save see." 
 
 Seker, sure. 
 
 Selerer. The cellarer (celerier, cellararius, or celUxrius) was 
 that officer who furnished the convent with provisions, cui potus 
 et esccB cura est, qui cellcB vinarice et escarice pretest, promus 
 (Du Cangk). He appears to have been a person of consider- 
 able trust, and to have had a principal concern in the manage- 
 ment of the society's revenues. See Speiman's Glossary, 
 Fuller's Church History, &c. 
 
 Semblaunte, semblance, appearance. 
 
 Sene, see. 
 
 Sete, p. 25. 
 
 Sets. Sets with Roben Hood such a lass I probably such a lass 
 would suit or become him well ; but the passage is either 
 singular or corrupt. 
 
 Sette, mortgaged. 
 
 Shawe. Shaw is usually explained by little wood, but green- 
 wood little wood would be ridiculous tautology ; it may therefore 
 mean shade, which appears its primitive signification : 8cuJ).i, 
 Saxon, See p. 327, ver. 5. Shows, " little woods."— P. 
 
 Shende, hurt, annoy. Shente, hurt, wounded. 
 
 Shet, shut. 
 
 Shete, shoot. 
 
 Shone, [shoes]. 
 
 Shope, shaped, made. 
 
 Shraddes. See the note. 
 
 Shrewde, Shrewed, unlucky. 
 
 Shrift, confession. 
 
 Shro^gs, "shrubs, thorns, briars. G. Doug. scroggis."—P, 
 
 Shyt, shut. 
 
 Skaith, hurt, harm. They feared for his skaith, i.e. for the 
 harm it might do them. 
 
 Slack, low ground. 
 
 Slade, "a slip of greensward between plow-lands, or woods, 
 &c."— P. 
 
 Slawe, Slone, slain. 
 
 Sle, Sloo, slay. 
 
 Somers, sumpter-horses. 
 
 Sororuoe, sorry. 
 
39» 
 
 GLOSSARY. 
 
 Sotke, sooth, truth. 
 
 Sound, see A-sound. 
 
 Soyt, sooth, truth. 
 
 Spear, ask. Speerd, asked, inquired. 
 
 Stalward, Stalworthe, stout, well made. 
 
 Stane, stone. 
 
 Stark, stiff. 
 
 Stede, time. 
 
 Steven, At some unsett-steven, at some unlocked for time, b)' 
 some odd accident, by mere chance, voice, 
 
 Stime, spark, particle or ray of light. 
 
 Stint, stop. 
 
 Sto' , store, p. 219. 
 
 Strang, strong. 
 
 Strete, lane, path, way. 
 
 Sweaven, dream. 
 
 Sweer, p. 100. 
 
 Syne, after, afterward, then. 
 
 Syth, afterward. 
 
 Takles, arrows, 
 
 Takyll, arrow, 
 
 Tarpe, p. 68. 
 
 Tene, grief, sorrow, distress, vexation. 
 
 Tene, grieve. 
 
 The, thrive, prosper, 
 
 Thes, thus, this. 
 
 Thos, thus, 
 
 Throwe, space. 
 
 To-broke, broken. 
 
 To-hande staffe, two-hand staff, quarter-staff. 
 
 Tortyll, wreathed, twined, twirled, twisted; tortilli, F, 
 
 Tray, anger. 
 
 Tree, staff. 
 
 Treyffe, thrive. 
 
 Trow, true. 
 
 Trowet, troth. 
 
 True, trow, believe. 
 
 Trystell, Trystyll. 
 
 Tynde, Tyndes, tines, antlers, the pointed branches that issue 
 from the main beam of a stag, " In Ynglond ther ys a shep- 
 cote, the wyche schepekote hayt ix dorys, & at yeuery dor 
 stondet ix ramys, & every ram hat ix ewys, & yevery ewe hathe 
 ix lambys, & yevery lambe hayt ix homes, & every home hayt 
 ix tyndes: what ys the somm of all thes belle?" (MSS, 
 More, Ee. 4. 35.) 
 
 Unketh, uncouth, strange. 
 
 Unneth, scarcely. 
 
 Up-chaunce, by chance. 
 
 Vefiie, Brave venie, merry vein, jovial humour. 
 
GLOSSARY. 399 
 
 Wan, IVonnynge wan, dwelling-place. 
 
 Wan, got. 
 
 Warden-pies. Wardens are a species of large pears. In 
 Shakesp>eare's Winter's Tale, the clown, enumerating the 
 articles he had to provide for the sheep-shearing feast, says he 
 " must have saifron to colour the warden-pies." 
 
 Warse, worse. 
 
 Was, wash. " And afterward the justices arise and wasse, and 
 geffe thanks unto the new serjaunts forther gode dyner" 
 (Origines J uridiciales , p. ii6). This ceremony, which, in 
 former times, was constantly practised as well before as after 
 meat, seems to have fallen into disuse on the introduction of 
 forks, about the year 1620 : as before that period our ancestors 
 suppiyed the place of this necessary utensil with their fingers. 
 
 Watchman, a. probable mistake for Waithman, outlaw. See 
 Notes, &c., p. Ixxiii. 
 
 Wed, Wedde, pawn, pledge, or deposit. To wedde, in mort- 
 gage. Lay my life to wedde, pawn my life. 
 
 Weele, well. 
 
 Welt, Welt them at his wyll, did as he pleased with them, used 
 them at his pleasure. 
 
 Wed, Wende, go, hye. 
 
 Wenest, thinkest. 
 
 Wenion, Marry gep with a wenion f " He shoulde have bene at 
 home a preaching with a waniant," says Bishop Latimer, 
 Sermons be/ore King Edward V/., p. 35. This phrase, with 
 a wannion, is common in old plays, but, though its meaning 
 be obvious, even Mr. Steevens is unable to "explain the word 
 at the end of it " (Shak. xiii. 440;. It is now corrupted to 
 with a vengeance. 
 
 Went, wended, gone. 
 
 Werschep, worshipped, reverenced, respected. 
 
 West, wist, known. 
 
 Wete, know. 
 
 Whang, Leathern whang, leather thong or string 
 
 Whereas, where. 
 
 Whute, whistle. 
 
 Wigger wand, wicker wand. 
 
 Wight, Wighty, strong. N.B. The latter word seems every- 
 where a mistake for the former. 
 
 Wilfulle, doubtful. 
 
 Win, see Wen. 
 
 Win, get. 
 
 Wist, wis, trow, believe. 
 
 Wist, knew. 
 
 Wode, mad. 
 
 Wodys, woods. 
 
 Wolwarde, wearing a flannel shirt, by way of penance. See 
 Steeven's Shakespeare, 1793, v. 360. 
 
400 GLOSSARY. 
 
 Won, dwell. 
 
 Wonesi, dwellest. 
 
 Woodweele, "the golden ouzle, a bird of the thrush kind."— P. 
 
 Worthe, Wo worthe the, woe be to thee. 
 
 Wrack, ruin, destruction. 
 
 Wroken, wreaked, revenged. 
 
 Wyght, strong, stout. 
 
 Wynne, go. 
 
 Wys, trow ; there is no modern word precisely synonymous. 
 
 Wyte, Wytte, know. 
 
 F, I, 
 
 Yede, Yeed, went. 
 
 Yef, if. 
 
 Yefell, evil. 
 
 Yeft, gift. 
 
 Yemenry, yeomanry. Thaw seys god yemenry, thou speakest 
 honestly, fairly, sensibly, like a good yeoman. 
 
 Yend, yon. 
 
 Yeomandree, Yeomandry, yeomanry, followers. 
 
 Yerdes, rods. 
 
 Yever, ever. 
 
 Y/ere, together. 
 
 Ylke, same. Ylke same, very same. 
 
 Ynowe, enough. 
 
 Yode, went. 
 
 Yole, Christmas. 
 
 Yonder, under. 
 
 Yong men, yeomen (which is everywhere substituted in Copland's 
 edition). See Spelman's Glossary in the wordes Juniores, Yeo- 
 man ; Minshen's Guide into Tongues, in the latter word ; l"yr- 
 whitt's edition of the Canterbury Tales, iv. 195 ; Shakespeare's 
 Plays, 1793, xiv. 347. 
 
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