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/ 


CONTENTS 


or 


VOLUME  THE    FIRST. 

Page 

The  Life  of  Robin  Hood v 

Notes  and  illustrations    . xviii 

PART  THE  FIRST. 

1.  A  lytell  geste  of  Robyn  Ilode 1  < 

2.  Rohyii  Ilode  and  tlie  potter 81   ' 

3.  Robin  Ilood  and  the  beggar 97 

4.  Robin  Hood  and  Guy  of  Gisborne 114  ^ 

5.  A  true  tale  of  Robin  Hood 126 


si 


THE 


LIFE  OF  ROBIN  HOOD. 


It  will  scarcely  be  expected  that  one  should  be  able 
to  offer  an  authentic  narrative  of  the  life  and  trans- 
actions of  this  extraordinary  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  ro- 
mance, but  altogether  inimical  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  (a) ;  and  even  the  in- 
dustrious sir  John  Hawkins,  from  whom  the  public 
might  have  expected  ample  gratification  upon  the 
subject,  acknowledges  that  "  the  history  of  this 
popular  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 

VOL.  I.  b 


VI  THE  LIFE  OF 

enquirer  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,  how- 
ever, has  been  done,  according  to  the  best  of  the 
compilers  information  and  abilities  ;  and  the  result 
is,  with  a  due  sense  of  the  deficiency  of  both,  sub- 
mitted to  the  readers  candour. 

Robin  Hood  was  born  at  Locksley,  in  the  county 
of  Nottingham,  (A)  in  the  reign  of  king  Henry  the 
second,  and  about  the  year  of  Christ  1160  (B). 
His  extraction  was  noble,  and  his  true  name  Robert 
FiTzooTii,  which  vulgar  pronunciation  easily  cor- 
rupted into  Robin  Hood  (C).  He  is  frequently 
stiled,  and  commonly  reputed  to  have  been  Eari, 
OF  Huntingdon  ;  a  title  to  which,  in  the  latter 
])art  of  his  life,  at  least,  he  actually  appears  to  have 
had  some  sort  of  pretension  (D).  In  his  youth  he 
is  reported  to  have  been  of  a  wild  and  extravagant 
disposition  ;  insomuch  that,  his  inheritance  being 
consumed  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 


ROBIN   HOOD.  VII 

whicli  immense  tracts,  especially  in  the  northern 
parts  of  the  kingdom,  were  at  that  time  covered  (E). 
Of  these  he  chiefly  affected  Barnsdale,  in  Yorkshire, 
Sherwood,  in  Nottinghamshire,  and,  according  to 
some,  Plompton-park,  in  Cumberland  (F).  Here 
he  either  found,  or  was  afterward  joined  by,  a 
number  of  persons  in  similar  circumstances  ; 

"  Such  as  the  fury  of  ungovem'd  youth 

Thrust  from  the  company  of  awful  men  :"  (*  F) 

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,  were  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  millers  son, 
and  a  certain  monk  or  frier  named  Tuck  (G).  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  (H). 

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  (I).  His  manner  of  recruit- 
ing was  somewhat  singular ;  for,  in  the  words  of  an 
old  writer,  "  whersoever  he  hard  of  any  that  were  of 
unusual  strength  and  '  hardines,'  he  would  desgyse 
himselfe,  and,  rather  then  fayle,  go  lyke  a  begger  to 


Vlir  TIIF,   LIFE  OK 

become  acqiiaynted  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"  (J)  :  a  practice  of  which  numerous  in- 
stances 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  re- 
quired, they  had  also  other  weapons"  (K). 

In  these  forests,  and  with  this  company,  he  for 
many  years  reigned  like  an  independant  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  de- 
prived of  protection,  owed  no  allegiance;  "his 
hand  '  was'  against  every  man,  and  every  mans 
hand  against  him"  (L).  These  forests,  in  short, 
were  his  territories  ;  those  who  accompanied  and 
adhered  to  him  his  subjects  : 


ROBIN   HOOD.  ix 

The  world  was  not  his  friend,  nor  the  worlds  law  : 

and  what  better  title  king  Richard  could  pretend  to 
tlie  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  philosophei'. 

The  deer  with  which  the  royal  forests  then  abounded 
(every  Norman  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  venison,  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 
occasion  for  from  the  wealthy  passenger,  who  tra- 
versed or  approached  their  territories,  and  partly  by 
commerce  with  the  neighbouring  villages  or  great 
towns. 

It  maybe  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  Olivers 
asking,  "  where  will  the  old  duke  live  V  Charles 
answers,  "  They  say  he  is  already  in  the  forest  of 


X  TUK   LIFE   Ol 

Arden,  and  a  many  merry  men  with  him  ;  and  there 
they  live  like  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  Valentine,  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  nightingales  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  1 
These  are  my  mates,  that  make  their  wills  their  law. 
Have  some  unhappy  passenger  in  chace  : 
They  love  me  well ;  j-et  1  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  ho\irs  away  !  (M) 

Their  mode  of  life,  in  short,  and  domestic  oeconomy, 
of  which  no  authentic   particulars  have  been  even 

*  Two  Gentlemen  of  Verona,  act  5.  scene  1. 


UOBIN   HOOD.  XI 

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. 

"  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  friar,  which  many  a  sermon  made 
In  praise  of  Robin  Hood,  his  out-laws,  and  their  trade. 
An  hundred  valiant  men  had  tliis  brave  Robin  Hood, 
Still  ready  at  his  call,  that  bow-men  were  right  good. 
All  clad  in  Lincoln  green,  (N)  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  perfect  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  : 


XII  TIIF,   LUl.  OF 

At  long-outs,  short,  and  lioyles,  each  one  could  cleave  the  pin  : 

Their  arrows  fine!}'  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  speed  upon. 

Which  they  did  boil  and  roast,  in  many  a  mighty  wood. 

Sharp  hunger  the  fine  sauce  to  their  more  kingly  food. 

Then  taking  them  to  rest,  his  merry  men  and  he 

Slept  many  a  summer's  night  under  the  greenwood  tree. 

From  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  giaciously  reliev'd. 

And  remedied  the  wrongs  of  many  a  virgin  griev'd  :   (O) 

He  from  the  husband's  bed  no  married  woman  wan. 

But  to  his  mistress  dear,  his  loved  Marian, 

Wcis  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  famosissimus 
siccarius"  that  most  celebrated  robber,  and  Major 

*  Drayton's  Polyolbion,  song  xxvi. 


ROBIN   HOOD.  XIU 

terms  him  and  Little  John,  '^  famatisshni  latrones." 
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  any  thing  from  the  poor, 
but  charitably  fed  them  with  the  wealth  he  drew 
from  the  abbots.  I  disapprove,  says  he,  of  the  rapine 
of  the  man  :  but  he  was  the  most  humane  and  the 
prince  of  all  robbers  (*  O).  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  latters  ^^ 
own  time  (P). 

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  byude," 

was  an  injunction  carefully  impressed  upon  his  fol- 
lowers. The  abbot  of  Saint  Marys,  in  York,  (Q) 
from  some  unknown  cause,  appears  to  have  been 
distinguished  by  particular  animosity ;  and  the  sheriff 
of  Nottinghamshire,  (R)  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 


XIV  Tin:  LIFE  or 


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- 
j/  bration  of  the  divine  mysteries.  This  we  learn  from 
an  anecdote  preserved  by  Fordun,  (S)  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 
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- 
shiping, he  absolutely  refused  to  do.  But  the  rest 
of  his  men  having  fled  for  fear  of  death,  Robin, 
confiding  solely  in  him  whom  he  reverently  worshiped, 
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  til'  mass  gives  ear. 

Having,  for  a  long  series  of  years,  maintained  a 


IIOBIX    HOOD.  XV 

sort  of  independent  sovereignty,  and  set  kings,  judges, 
and  magistrates   at  defiance,   a   proclamation   was 
published,  (T)    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,  (U)  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 
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  18th  of  November,  1247,  being  the 
31st  year  of  king  Henry  III.  and  (if  the  date  assigned 
to  his  birth  be  correct)  about  the  87th  of  his  age(U). 
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  (V). 

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      ^ 


XVI  T!IE   LIFE  OF 

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  follov,'ers 
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 
some  weight,  calls  him  "  j^rcedoneyn  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 
exibitions  (W),  as  of  innumerable  poems,  rimes, 
songs  and  ballads  (X) :  he  has  given  rise  to  divers 
proverbs  (Y) ;  and  to  swear  by  him,  or  some  of  his 
companions,  appears  to  have  been  a  usual  practice 
(Z) :  his  songs  have  been  chanted  on  the  most  solemn 
occasions  (AA) ;  his  service  sometimes  preferred  to 
the  word  of  god  (BB):  he  may  be  regarded  as  the 
patron  of  archery  (CC) :  and,  though  not  actually 
canonized,  (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  (DD),  give  him  an 
indisputable  claim,)  he  obtained  the  principal  dis- 
tinction of  sainthood,  in  having  a  festival  allotted  to 


IIOBIN    HOOD.  XVII 

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 
religious  liberties  of  the  people,  the  efforts  of  govern- 
ment to  suppress  them  frequently  producing  tumult 
and  insurrection  (EE) :  his  bow,  and  one  of  his 
arrows,  his  chair,  his  cap,  and  one  of  his  slippers, 
were  preserved,  with  peculiar  veneration,  till  within 
the  present  century  (FF) ;  and  not  only  places  which 
afforded  him  security  or  amusement,  but  even  the 
well  at  which  he  quenched  his  thirst,  still  retain  his 
name  (GG):  a  name  which,  in  the  middle  of  the 
present  century,  v/as  conferred  as  a  singular  distinc- 
tion upon  the  prime  minister  to  the  king  of  Mada- 
gascar (HH). 

After  his  death  his  company  was  dispersed.  His- 
tory is  silent  in  particulars  :  all  that  we  can,  there- 
fore, learn  is,  that  the  honour  of  Little  Johns  death 
and  burial  is  contended  for  by  rival  nations  (II); 
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  (KK). 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS  REFERRED 
TO  IN  THE  FOREGOING  LIFE. 


(a)  "  Former  biographers,"  &:c.]  Such,  tliat  is,  as  have 
already  appeared  in  print,  since  a  sort  of  manuscript  life  in 
the  Sloane  Librai7  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 ;  togetlier 
with  a  true  account,  of  tlie  many  merry  extravagant  exploits 
he  played  ;  in  twelve  several  stories  :  newly  collected  by  an 
ingenious  antiquar}\  London,  printed  by  V\'.  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  togetlier,  lias  known  so  little  of  liis  trade,  that 
he  sets  out  with  iuforiiiing  us  of  his  heros  banisliment  by 
king  Henry  the  eighth.  The  above  is  supposed  to  be  the 
"  small  merry  book"  called  Rcbin  Hood,  mentioned  in  a 
list  of  "  books,  ballads,  and  histories,  printed  for  and  sold 
by  William  Thackeray  at  die  Angel  in  Duck-lane,"  (about 
1680,)  preser\ed  in  one  of  the  volumes  of  old  ballads  (part 
of  Bagfords  collection)  in  the  British  Museum. 

Anotlier  piece  of  biography,  from  which  much  will  not  be 
expected,  is,  "  Tiie  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  Johnsons 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  XIX 

"  Lives  of  tlie  highwaymen,"  in  wliich,  as  a  specimen  of  tlie 
authors  historical  autlienticity,  we  have  the  life  and  actions 
of  tliat  noted  robber,  sir  John  Falstaff. 

The  principal  if  not  sole  reason  why  our  hero  is  never 
once  mentioned  by  Matthew  Paris,  Benedictus  Abbas,  or 
any  otlier  ancient  English  historian,  was  most  probably  his 
avowed  enmity  to  churchmen  ;  and  history,  in  former  times, 
was  written  by  none  but  monks.  Tliey  were  unwilling  to 
praise  tlie  actions  which  tliey  durst  neither  misrepresent  nor 
deny.  Fordun  and  IMajor,  however,  being  foreigners,  have 
not  been  deterred  by  this  professional  spirit  from  rendering 
homage  to  his  virtues. 

(A)  '' — was  bom  at  Locksley  in  the  county  of  Notting- 
ham."] "  Robin  hood,"  says  a  MS.  in  tlie  British  Museum, 
(Bib.  Sloan.  715.)  written,  as  it  seems,  toward  die  end  of 
the  sixteenth  century, "  was  borne  at  Lockesley  in  Yorkshyre, 
or  after  otliers  in  Nottinghamshire."  Tlie  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  hold  Robin  Hood  was  horn  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  birtli)  by  his  chief  abode  this  country-man." 

Tlie  name  of  such  a  towTi  as  Locksley,  or  Loxley  (for  so, 
we  sometimes  find  it  spelled),  in  tlie  county  of  Nottingham 
or  of  York,  does  not,  it  must  be  confessed,  occur  either  in 
sir  Henry  Spelmans  Mllare  Anglicum,  in  Adams's  Index 

•  See  Part  II.  BaUad  1. 


XX  NOTES   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

villaris,  in  Whatleys  Englands  Gazetteer,*  in  Thorotons 
History  of  Nottinghamshire,  or  in  the  Nomina  villarum 
Eboracensium  (York,  1768,  8vo).  Tlie  silence  of  these 
authorities  is  not,  however,  to  be  regarded  as  a  conclusive 
proof  that  such  a  place  never  existed.  Tlie  names  of  towiis 
and  villages,  of  which  no  trace  is  now  to  be  found  but  in 
ancient  writings,  would  fill  a  volume. 

(B) — "  in  the  reign  of  king  Henry  tlie  second,  and  about 
the  year  of  Christ  1160.]  "  Robin  Hood,"  according  to  the 
Sloane  MS.  "  was  borne  ...  in  the  daycs  of  Henry  the  2nd 
about  the  yeare   1160."     This  was  tlie  6th  year  of  tliat 
monarch ;  at  whose  death  (anno  1189)  he  would,  of  course, 
be  about  29  years  of  age.    Tliose  writers  are  tlierefore  prett}' 
correct  who  represent  him  as  playing  his  pranks  (Dr.  Fullers 
phrase)  in  the  reign  of  king  Richard  the  first,  and,  according 
to  the  last-named   autlior,  "  about  the  year  of  our  lord 
1200."t     Thus  Mair  (who  is  followed  by  Stowe,  Annales 
1592,  p.  227.)  "  Circa  hjec  tempora  [sci.  Ricardi  I.]  ut 
auguror,"  &c.  A  MS.  note  in  the  museum  (Bib.  Har.  1233.) 
not,  in  Mr.  Wanleys  opinion,  to  be  relyed  on,  places  him 
in   the   same  period,  "Temp.  Rich.  I."     Nor  is  Tordun 
altogetlier  out  of  his  reckoning  in  bringing  him  down  to  tlie 
time  of  Henry  III.  as  we  shall  hereafter  see  ;  and  widi  him 
agrees  Andrew  of  Wyntowne,  in  his  "  Oryginale  cronykil," 
written  about  1420,  whicli,  at  die  year  1 283,has  die  following 
lines : 

"  Lytil  Jhon  and  Robyne  Hude 
Waythmen  were  coinmendyd  gud  : 
111  Yngil  wode  and  Baniysdale 
Thai  oysyd  all  this  tj-me  thare  trawale." 


*  All  three  mention  a  Loxley  in  Warwickshire,  and  another  in 
Staffordshire  ("  near  Ncedwoodforest ;  the  manor  and  seat  of  the 
Kinardsleys.") 

t  It  is  1100  in  the  original,  hut  that  is  clearly  an  error  of  the  press. 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  Xil 

A  modern  writer,  (Histoiy  of  WTiitby,  by  Lionel  Charlton, 
York,  1779,  4to.)  tliough  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  1211.  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  (D).  Warner,  also,  in  his  Albions 
England,  1602.  p.  1 32.  refers  his  existence  to  "  better  dales, 
first  Richards  dales."  This,  to  be  sure,  may  not  be  such 
evidence  as  would  be  sufficient  to  decide  tlie  point  in  a 
court  of  justice  ;  but  neither  judge  nor  counsel  will  dispute 
the  authority  of  that  oracle  of  the  law  sir  Edward  Coke, 
who  pronounces  tliat  "  This  Robert  Hood  lived  in  the  reign 
of  king  R.  I."  (3  Institute,  197.) 

We  must  not  tlierefore  regard  what  is  said  by  such  writers 
as  the  author  of  "  George  a  Greene,  the  pinner  of  Wake- 
field," 1599,  (see  note  (G)  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  (a)  who  commences  it  by  Informing  us  of  his 
banishment  by  king  Henry  VIII.  As  well  indeed  might 
we  suppose  him  to  have  lived  before  the  time  of  Charlemagne, 
because  sir  John  Harington,  In  his  translation  of  the 
Orlando  furioso,  1590.  p.  391.  has  made 

"  Duke '  Animon  in  great  wrath  thus  wise  '  to '  speake, 

Tiiis  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, 

*  King  Edward,  it  is  true,  is  introduced  in  the  "  Lytell  geste,"  &c. 
but  the  author  has  unquestionably  meant  thejirst  of  that  name. 

VOL.  I.  C 


XXll  NOTES   .\XD   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

because  in  his  Morals,  translated  by  Dr.  Philemon  Holland, 
1603.  p.  644.  we  read  tlie  following  passage:  "  Evenso 
[i.  e.  as  the  crane  and  fox  serve  each  other  in  jEsop],  when 
learned  men  at  a  table  plunge  and  drowne  tliemseives  (as  it 
were)  in  subtile  problemes  and  questions  interlaced  with 
logicke,  which  the  \Tilgar  sort  are  not  able  for  tlieir  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  nj-nny  ; 
But  with  a  bow  the  shit-brtecht  elf 
Would  shoot  like  Robin  Hood  himself." 

In  a  word,  if  we  are  to  credit  translators,  he  must  have 
existed  before  the  siege  of  Troy :  for  thus,  according  to  one 
of  Homers  : 

"  Then  came  a  choice  companion 
Of  Robin  Hood  and  Little  John, 
\Mio  many  a  buck  and  many  a  doe. 
In  Sherwood  forest,  with  his  bow, 
Had  nabb'd;  believe  me  it  is  true,  sir, 
The  fellows  Christian  name  was  Teucer." 

Iliad,  by  Bridges,  4to.  p.  231. • 

This  last  supposition,  indeed,  has  even  the  respectable  coun- 
tenance of  dan  Geoffrey  Chaucer  : 

"  Pandanis  answerde,  it  may  be  well  inoughj 
And  held  with  him  of  all  that  ever  he  saied, 

*  Thus,  likewise,  in  a  much  earlier  version  from  the  same  immortal 
bard  ( Ilomer  a  la  mode,  lti64),  we  read  of 

" gi-eate  AiioUo,  who's  as  siood 

At  pricks  and  buts  a»  Rnhin  Hood." 


KOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  XXlll 

But  in  his  hart  he  thought,  and  soft  lough, 
And  to  himselfe  full  soberly  he  saied. 
From  hasellwood  there  Jolly  Robin  plaiad, 
Shall  come  all  that  thou  abidest  here. 
Ye,  farewell  all  the  snow  of  feme  yere." 

Troilus  (B.  5.)  Speghts  edition,  1602. 

(C)  "  His  extraction  was  noble,  and  his  true  name  Robert 
Fitzootli."]     In  "  an  olde  and  auncient  pamphlet,"  which 
Grafton  the  chronicler  had  seen,  it  was  written  that  "  Tliis 
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,  like- 
wise, tlie  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,  marryed   Maud  or   Matilda,  daughter  of 
Gilbert  de  Gaunt  earl  of  Kyme  and  Lindsey,  by  whom  he 
had  two  sons  :  Philip,  afterwai'd  earl  of  Kyme,  that  earldom 
being  part  of  his  mothers  dowry,  and  William.     Philip  the 
elder,  dyed  without  issue ;  William  was  a  ward  to  Robret 
de  Vere  earl  of  Oxford,  in  whose  household  he  received  his 
education,  and  who,  by  the  kings  express  command,  gave 
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 
high  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  Stukeleys 
Palaeographia  Britannica,  No.  I.  passim.) 

A  writer  in  the  Gentleman's  magazine,  for  March  1793, 


XXIV  NOTES   AND   I  LLUS  ril ATIONS. 

under  the  signature  D.  H.*  pretends  that  Hood  is  only  a 
corruption  of  "  o'  th'  wood,  q.  d.  of  Shervvood."  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  par- 
ticular sort  of  hood  our  hero  wore  by  way  of  distinction  or 
disguise.  See  Scots  Discoverie  of  witchcraft,  1584.  p.  522. 
In  Jonsons  masque  of"  The  kings  entertainment  at  Welbeck," 
(  Woj-ks,  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  York- 
shire, formerly  Hode;  and  that  Edward  the  3d,  in  the  10th 
year  of  his  reign,  confirmed  to  Tliomas,tlie  son  of  Rohcrt  de 
Hode,oi  IIoveden,intail-general,  certain  places  of  moorland, 
S,c.  in  vasto  de  Incklesmore,  tSf.  (Ro.  Pa.  10  E.  3.  m.  31.) 

(D)  "  He  is  frequently  stiled  .  .  earl  of  Huntingdon,  a 
title  to  which,  for  the  latter  part  of  his  life  at  least,  he  actually 
appears  to  have  had  some  sort  of  pretension."]  In  (Traftons 
"  olde  and  auncient  pamphlet,"  though  the  author  had,  as 
already  noticed,  said  "  this  man  discended  of  a  noble  pa- 
rentage," he  adds,  "  or  rather  beyng  of  a  base  stocke  and 
linage,  was  for  his  manhood  and  chivalry  ad^'aunced  to  the 
noble  dignitie  of  an  erle." 

In  the  MS.  note  (Bib.  Har.  1233)  is  the  following  pas- 
sage :  "  It  is  said  that  he  was  of  noble  blootl  no  lesse  then 
an  earle."  Warner,  in  his  Albions  England,  already  cited, 
calls  him  "  a  county."     Tlie  titles  of  Mundys  two  plays 

*  Alias  R.  (I.  the  sciin iloii.s  and  inalisiiant  uditor  of  that  degraded 
piiblicalion. 


NOTES  AND   ILLUSTllATIONS.  XXV 

are  :  "  The  downfall,"  and  "  The  death  of  Robert  earle  of 
Huntington."  He  is  likewise  introduced  in  that  character 
in  the  same  authors  INIetropolis  coronata,  hereafter  cited.  In 
his  epitaph  we  shall  tind  him  expressly  stiled  "  Robert  earl 
of  Huntingtun." 

In  "  A  pleasant  commodie  called  Looke  about  you," 
printed  in  1 600,  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  wTong 
about  his  wardship."     He  is  described  as 

"  A  gallant  youth,  a  proper  gentlemaa  ;" 

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,  honors  best  flowing  bloome." 

and  calls  him 

" an  honourable  youth, 

Vertuous  and  modest,  Huntingtons  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.  Percys  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  authoiily  cited  by  Graftiiu,  in  1569,  a?  then  "oMe  and  auiicieiil" 
I'.iUit  have  bocn.at  least,  of  equal  autiqiiily  uith  llie  imosI  ancient  poems 
that  Dr.  P.  is  aciiiuiiuad  with. 


% 


XXVI 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


"  THE  PEDIGREE  OF  ROBIN  HOOD  EARL  OF  HUNTINGTON. 

Richard  Pitzgil-crpRoisia 
I.  bert  de    Clare, 

Walthcof  earl  of  r^udith  countess  of         earl  of  Brien. 


Northumberland 
and  Huntington. 


Huntingdon,  the 
conqueror's  niece. 


II.  I  2  III 

Simon   de   S.=j=Maud=^DaTid  I.  king 
of  Scots,  earl 


Alice=Robert  Fitzgilbert 


lis  1.  earl  of 
Northampton 
and  Hunting- 
don  


i 


of  Huntingdon. 


Henry  earl  of=f=Ada  daugh- 
ter of  Wil- 


N  orthuniber- 
land  and  Hun- 
tingdon. 


r 


Simon S.lisII.=f=Isabel  dau.  of 


earl  of  North- 
ampton and 
Huntington. 


Robert  Bossu 
earl  of  Leices- 
ter. 


v..       I 
Malcolm  H  .  king 
of  Scots,   earl  of 
Northumberland 
and  KuntingdoD. 


vn. 


liam  earl  of 

Warren.      Gilbert  deGaunfc=r=Roisia 
earloflCymeand 
Lindsey  came  in 
■with     the     con- 
queror. 


1 

Walter  de   Gaunt 
earl  of  Lind- 
sey. 
Gilbert  de  GauntszpAvis 
earl  of  Lincoln. 


dau. 


William  earl  of  Huntingdon. 


Simon  S.  lis  IIL  earl  of  Hun-=Alice  heii'ess. 
tingdon  and  Northton.  ob.  s. 
p.  1184. 

IX. 

David  earl  of '  Carrick'  and  Hunting- 
don, son  of  Henry  IV.  (above)  earl 
and  of  Ada.  ob.  1219. 


and  heir  of 
\\"illiam  de 
Romara  e. 
of  Lincoln. 

Ralf  Fitzooth  a=pMaiid 

Norman,    lord 

of  Kyme. 


Philip  Fitzooth, 
lord  of  Kyme, 
ob.  s.  p. 


John  sirnamed  Scot  his  son,  earl 
of  Angus  and  Huntingdon,  ob.  s. 

p.  i23r. 


William  Fitzooth=pa  daughter  of 
brought  up  by  Ro-     ~  ~ 

bert  earl  of  Oxford 


I 

Robert  Fitzooth,  commonly  caUed  Robin  Hood, 

pretended  earl  of  Huntington,  ob.  12r4  [1217]."  * 


Payn  Beau- 
champ  and 
ladyRoisia  dc 
Vere. 


Stukeleys  Palseographia  Britannica,  No.  II.  p.  115.     In   an  inter- 


NOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  XXVU 

(E)  "  In  his  youdi  he  is  reported  to  have  been  of  a  wdld 
and  extravagant  disposition,  Sec."]  Graftons  pamphlet,  after 
supposing  him  to  have  been  "  advaunced  to  the  noble  dignitie 
of  an  erle,"  continued  thus :  "  But  afterw'ardes  he  so  prodi- 
gally exceeded  in  charges  and  expences,  tliat  he  fell  into  great 
debt,  by  reason  whereof,  so  many  actions  and  sutes  were  com- 
menced against  him  whereunto   he  answered  not,  that  by 

leaved  copy  of  Robin  Hoods  garland  formerly  belonging  to  Dr.  Stiike- 
Iey,and  now  in  the  possession  of  Francis  Douce  esquire,  opposite  the  2d 
page  of  the  1st  song,  is  the  following  note  in  his  own  hand : 

"  Guy  earl  of  Warwick. 

George  Gamwell  Joaima=p 

of  Gamwell  hall  masna  I  Fitz  Odoth 


esq.  I ' 

Robin  Fitz  Odoth 

Gamwell  the  kings  forester  in  Yorkshire, 
mentioned  in  Camden. 

See  my  answer.  No.  II.  of  lady  Roisia, 
where  is  Robin  Hoods  true  pedigree." 

The  doctor  seems,  by  this  pedigree,  to  have  founded  our  heros  preten- 
sions on  his  descent  from  Roisia,  sister  of  Robert  Fitzgilbert,  husband 
of  Alice,  youngest  daughter  of  Judilh,  countess  of  Huntingdon  ;  which, 
whatever  It  might  do  in  those  times,  would  scarcely  be  thought  sutlicient 
to  support  such  a  claim,  at  present.  Beside,  though  John  the  Scot  dyed 
without  issue,  he  left  three  sisters,  all  marryed  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  es- 
teemed, was  a  professed  antiquary,  and  a  beneficed  clergyman  of  the 
churcli  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  editors  power  to  supply  the  deficiency.  Perhaps,  indeed, 
the  doctor  might  think  himself  intitled  to  expect  that  his  own  authority 
would  be  deemed  sufiicient  :  upon  that,  however,  they  must  be  content 
forest.  Sit  fides  peties  auctorem  !  Mr  Parkin,  who  published  "A  reply 
to  the  peevish,  weak,  and  malevolent  objections  brought  by  Dr.  Stuke- 
ley, In  his  Origines  Roystonianie,  No.  2."  (Norwich,  174.S.  4to.)  terms 
"  his  pedigree  of  Robin  Hood,  quite  jocose,  an  original  indeed  !"  (see  pp. 
27,  32.) 

Otho  and  Fitz-Otho,itmust  be  confessed,  were  couunon  names  among 


XXVIll  XOTES   AND   I  LLUSTR  ATIOVS. 

order  of  lawe  he  was  outlawed."*  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  K.  Hen.  III.  "  Hoc  intempore,"  says  he, 
"  de  exheredatis  surrexit  &  caput  erexit  ille  famosissimus 
siccarius  Robertus  Hode  &  littill  Johanne  cum  eorum  com- 
plicibus."  (p.  774.)  Tlie  Sloune  MS.  .says  he  was"  so  ryotous 
tliat  he  lost  or  sould  his  patrimony  &  for  debt  became  an 
outlawe:"  and  the  Harleian  note  mentions  his  "  having 
wasted  his  estate  in  riotous  courses."  Tlie  former  authority, 
however,  gives  a  different,  tliough,  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  witli  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  Robin  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  tliere  was  a  wager  laj  d  about  tlie 
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. 

the  Aiiglo-Nonnans,  ||  but  no  such  name  as  Olhes,  Ooth,  Fitz-Otlii'S,  or 
Fitz-Ooth,  has  been  elsewhere  met  with.  Philip  de  Kime,  also,  was 
certainly  a  considerable  landholder  in  the  county  of  Lincoln,  in  llie  time 
of  king  Henry  II.  but  it  no  where  appears,  except  from  Dr.  Stiikeley, 
that  his  surname  was  Fitz-Ooth. 

The  doctor  likewise  informs  us  that  the  arms  of  Ralph  Fitz-Ooth,  and 
consequently  of  our  hero  were,  "  g.  two  beudlets  ensjrailed,  o." 
•   Graftons  chronicle,  p.  85.  t  CoUec.  I.  .54. 

II  "  Filius  Roberti  filii  Odonis  est  in  custodia  Domini  Regis,  et  est  vj 
anuurum,  ct  ipse  cs;  lieres  decime  partis  unius  iniliiis,  ct  vi.\  possunt 
inde  habere  victum  suum  ipse  et  mater  sua."  Rotulus  de  vidius,  &c.  (31 
H.  2.)  MSS.  Har.  624. 


NOTES  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  XXIX 

So  the  marke  being  found  out,  one  of  them,  both  to  make  his 
hart  fliynt  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 
money  agayne,  save  to  him  which  at  the  poynt  of  shooting  so 
up])raided  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  be- 
taking himselfe  to  lyve  in  the  woods,"  &c.* 

Tliat  he  lurked  or  infested  the  woods  is  agreed  by  all. 
"  Circa  haec  tempora,"  says  Major,  "  Robertus  Hudus  Anglus 
&  parvxis  Joaimes,  latrones  famatissimi,  in  nemoribus  latue- 
runt." 

Dr.  Stukeley  says  that  "  Robin  Hood  took  to  this  wild 
way  of  life,  in  imitation  of  his  grandfather  Geoftrey  de  Man- 
deville;  who  being  a  favorer  of  Maud  empress,  K.  Stephen 
took  him  prisoner  at  S.  Albans,  and  made  him  give  up  the 
tower  of  London,  Walden,  Plessis,  kc.  upon  which  he  lived 
on  plunder."  (MS.  note  in  his  copy  of  Robin  Hoods 
garland.) 

(F)  "  Of  these  he  chiefly  affected  Barnsdale,  Sec."] 
"  Along  on  the  lift  bond,"  says  Leland,  "  a  iii.  miles  of 
betwixt  Milburne  and  Feribridge  I  saw  the  wooddi  and 
famose  forrest  of  Barnesdale,  wher  thay  say  that  Robyn 
Hudde  lyvid  like  an  outlaw."     Itinerary,  V.  101. 

"  They  haunted  about  Barnsdale  forrest,  Compton  [r. 
Plompton]  parke,t  and  such  other  places."     MS.  Sloane. 

"  His  principal  residence,"  says  Fuller, "  was  in  Shirewood 

•  See  Robiu  Hoods  progress  to  Nottinsham,  part  IL  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 


XXX  NOTKS   AND   I  LLUSTR  ATIO'NS. 

forrest  in  this  county  [Notts],  though  he  had  another  haunt 
(he  is  no  fox  that  hatli  but  one  hole)  near  the  sea  in  the 
North-riding  in  Yorkshire,  where  Robin  Hoods  bay  still  re- 
tainelh  his  name  :  not  that  he  was  any  pirat,  but  a  liuid-thief, 
wlio  retreated  to  those  unsuspected  parts  for  liis  security." 
Worthies  of  England,  p.  320. 

In  Thorotons  Nottinghamshire,  p.  505.  is  some  account  of 
the  ancient  and  present  stale  of  Sherwood  forest;  but  one 
looks  in  vain,  through  that  dry  detail  of  land-owners,  for  any 
particulars  relating  to  our  hero.  "  In  anno  domini  1194, 
king  Richard  tlie  first,  being  a  hunting  in  the  forrest  of  Sher- 
wood, did  chase  a  hart  out  of  the  forrest  of  Sherwood  into 
Bamesdale  in  Yorkshire,  and  because  lie  could  not  tliere 
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  diat  he  might  safely  retome 
into  forrest  againe,  which  hart  was  afterwards  called  a  hart- 
royall  proclaimed.  (Manwoods  Forest  laws,  1598,  p.  25. 
from  "  an  auncient  recorde"  found  by  hira  in  the  tower  of 
Nottingham  castle.)* 

keeping  of  deer.  It  was  disafforested  or  disparkcd,  by  Henry  flie  8tli. 
See  Camdens  Britannia,  by  bishop  Gibson,  who  seems  to  confound  tliis 
park  with  Inglewood  forest,  a  district  of  sixteen  miles  in  length,  reaching 
from  Carlile  to  Ptnrith,  where  the  kings  of  England  used  to  hunt,  and 
Edward  I.  is  reported  to  have  killed  200  bucks  in  one  day.  Ibi. 

*  Anno  1194]  Vicesimanona  die  mensis  »n«r?(!  Richardus  rex  AnglisB 
profectits  est  videre  Clipestone,  4'  forrestas  de  Sirewode,  quat  ipse 
nunquam  vidcrat  antea  :  &  placwrunt  ei  multnvt,  ^  eodem  die  rediit 
ad  Notinghani."     R.  de  Hoveden  Annales,  p.  736. 

Drayton,  (Polyolbion,  song  26.)  introduces  Sherwood  in  the  character 
of  a  nymph,  who,  out  of  disdain  at  the  preference  shewn  by  the  poet  to 
a  sister-forest, 

"  All  self  praise  set  apart,  deterininetli  to  sing 
That  lusty  Kobin  Hood,  wlio  long  time  like  a  king 
Within  her  compass  liv'd,  and  «hen  he  list  to  range, 
For  some  rich  booty  set,  or  else  liis  air  to  change. 
To  Sherwood  still  retir'd,  his  only  standing  court." 


NOTES   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  XXXl 

(*F)  "  Here  he  either  found,"  &c.]  After  being  outlawed, 
Grafton  tells  us,  "  for  a  lewde  shift,  as  his  last  refuge,  [he] 
gatliered  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. 

(G)  "  Little  John,  William  Scadlock,  George  a  Green, 
pinder  of  Wakefield,  Much  a  millers  son,  and  a  certain  monk 
or  friar  named  Tuck."]  Of  these  the  preeminence  is  incon- 
testably  due  to  Little  John,  whose  name  is  almost  constantly 
coupled  with  that  of  his  gallant  leader,  "  Robertus  Hode  & 
littill  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 
outlaw,"  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  (KK)  (LL). 

With  respect  to  frier  Tuck,  "  thogh  some  say  he  was  an 
other  kynd  of  religious  man,  for  that  tlie  order  of  freyTS  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  20  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  ftier  Tuck  be  the  same  person  who,  in  one  of  the  oldest 
songs,  is  called  the  curtail  frier  of  Fountains-dale,  he  must 
necessaryly  have  been  one  of  the  monks  of  that  abbey,  which 


XXXll  NOTES   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

was  of  the  Cistertian  order.  However  this  may  be,  frier 
Tuck  is  frequently  noticed,  by  old  wTiters,  as  one  of  the  com- 
panions of  Robin  Hood,  and  as  such  was  an  essential  clia- 
racter  in  the  morris  dance,  (see  note  (FF).  lie  is  tlius  men- 
tioned by  Skelton,  laureat,  in  his  "  goodly  interlude"  of 
Magnificence,  written  about  the  year  1300,  and  with  an 
evident  allusion  to  some  game  or  practice  now  totally  forgotten 
and  inexplicable : 

"  Another  bade  shave  lialfe  my  berde, 
And  boyes  to  the  pyleiy  gan  me  plucke, 
Aud  wolde  have  made  me  freer  Tucke, 
To  prechc  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  gi'een,  meaning  perhaps 
the  town-green,  in  which  the  pound  or  pinfold  stood  of  which 
he  had  the  care.  He  has  been  particularly  celebrated,  and 
"  As  good  as  George  a  Green"  is  still  a  common  saying.* 
Drayton,  describing  the  progi'ess  of  the  river  Calder,  in  the 
west  riding  of  Yorkshire,  has  the  following  lines  : 

"  It  chanc'd  she  in  her  coarse  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  ti^ht,  tliat  every  freemans  song 

Can  tell  you  of  the  same;  quoth  slie,  be  talk'd  on  long. 

For  ye  were  merry  lads,  and  those  were  merry  days." 

Thus,  too,  Richard  Bralhwayte,  in  his  poetical  epistle  "  to  all 

•  It  occurs  in  "  Tarltons  ncwes  out  of  purgatory,"  1030,  4to,  (entered 
on  the  stationers  books  in  1500). 


XOTES   AND   ILLUSTRATION'S.  XXXlll 

true-bred  northeme  sparks  of  the  generous  society  of  the  Cot- 
toneers"  (Strappado  for  the  divell,  1615): 

"  Bill  haste,  my  muse,  in  colours  to  display 
Some  auncient  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  loo, 

Which  fame  hath  blaz'd  with  all  that  did  belong, 

Unto  that  towne  in  many  gladsome  sung. 

The  pindars  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  scene 

Yearly  presented  upon  Wakefield  greene, 

Where  lovely  Jugge  and  lustie  Tib  would  go. 

To  sec  Tom-lively  turne  upon  the  toe ; 

Hob,  Lob,  and  Crowde  the  fidler  would  be  there. 

And  many  more  I  will  not  speake  of  here. 

Good  god!  how  glad  hath  been  this  hart  of  mine. 

To  see  that  towne,  which  hath,  in  former  time, 

So  flourish'd  ai:d  so  gloried  in  her  name. 

Famous  by  th'  pindar  who  first  rais'd  the  same ! 

Yea,  I  have  paced  ore  that  greene  and  ore 

And  th'  more  I  saw't  I  tooke  delight  the  more, 

"  For  where  we  take  contentment  in  a  place, 

"  A  whole  dales  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  rcduc'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  gricv'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  quafte, 

"  But  suffer  none  to  carry  up  their  statl'c 

Upon  their  shuuklcrs,  whilst  they  past  through  town, 


XW'.V  NOTES   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

For  if  they  did  he  soon  would  beat  them  downe ; 
(So  valiant  was  the  soiiter)  aud  from  hence 
Twixt  Robin  Hood  and  him  grew  th'  difference  ; 
Which,  cause  it  is  by  most  stage-poets  writ. 
For  brevity  I  tliought  good  to  omit." 

In  tlie  latter  part  of  this  extract,  honest  Richard  evidently 
alludes  to  "  A  pleasant  conceyted  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,  v.ith  other  trash,  in  the  late 
edition  of  Dodsleys  Old  plays;  only  it  imluckily  happens 
that  Robin  Hood  is  almost  the  only  person  who  has  no  dif- 
ference with  tlie  souter  (or  shoe-maker)  of  Bradford.  The 
play  in  short,  (or  at  least  that  part  of  it  which  we  have  any 
concern  wnth)  is  founded  on  the  ballad  of  Robin  Hood  and 
the  pinder  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  30,000  Scots  not  5000  had  escaped,  comes 
\vith  his  royal  captive  in  disguise  to  Bradford,  where  they 
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  liistory;" 
and  very  gravely  sits  down,  and  debates  his  opinion  in  form. 

"  The  histoiy  of  George  a  Green,  pindar  of  the  town  of 
Wakefield,"  4to.  no  date,t  is  a  modern  production,  chiefly 

•  It,  likewise,  gives  the  proverb  noticed  in  a  preceding  page  thus : 
"  Were  he  as  good  as  George  a  Greene,  I  would  strike  him  sure." 

t  There  is  an  edition,  in  1700,  8vo. 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  XX'vV 

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  muudi, 
Ubi  socii  sunt  jucundi, 
Mecuiii  statu!  peragraie 
Geor^ii  fustem  visitare." 

"  Turning  tlience,  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,  lest  you  should  miss  it, 

George's  club  I  meant  to  visit. 

"  Veni  Wakefield  perama'num, 

Ubi  qua^rens  Georgium  Greenum, 

Nou  inveni,  sed  in  lignum 

Fixum  reperi  Georgii  signnm, 

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  white 
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  hind,"* 

Scottish  poems,  i.  122. 


XXXVl  NOTES   A\D  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

As  no  mention  is  made  of  Adam  Bell,  Clim  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  Percys  Reliques, 
and  among  pieces  of  ancient  popular  poetry,  it  is  to  be  con- 
cluded that  they  flourished  at  differentperiods,  or  at  leasthad 
no  connection  with  each  other.  In  a  poem,  however,  intitled, 
"  Adam  Bell,  Clim  of  the  Clough,  and  young  William  of 
Cloudesley,  the  second  part,"  1616. 4to.  b.  l.(Bib.  Bod.  Art. 
L.  71.  being  a  more  modern  copy  than  that  in  SeldenC.  39. 
which  wants  the  title,  but  was  probably  printed  with  tlie  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  fnlliers  heart,  my  boy. 

Said  William  of  Cloudesley  then, 
When  i  was  young  i  cai'd  not  for 

Tlie  brass  of  sturdiest  men. 
The  pinder  of  Wakefield,  George  a  Green, 

I  try'il  a  sommers  day. 
Yet  he  nor  i  were  victors  made 

Nor  victor'd  went  away. 
Old  Robiu  Hood,  nor  Litlle  John, 

Amou<;st  their  merry  men  all, 
Nor  fryer  Tuck,  so  stout  and  \oung. 

My  courage  could  appall." 

(II)  "  iNIarian."]  Who  or  whatever  this  lady  was,  it  is  ob- 
servable that  no  mention  of  her  occurs  either  in  the  Lytell 
geste  of  Robyn  Hode,  or  in  any  other  poem  or  song  con- 
cerning him,  except  the  not  very  old  ballad  of  Robin  Hoods 
golden  prize,  where  she  is  barely  named,  and  a  still  more 
modern  one  of  no  merit  (see  part  II.  song  24).*     She  is  an 

*  Surely  the  "  lady"  alluded  to  in  the  old  May -game  cannot  be  our 
maid  Marian.  The  earliest  notice  of  her  occurs  in  Barclay's  liyloyes, 
about  1500,  where  she  is  evidently  connected  with  Robin  Hood.  See 
note  (Y). 


NOTES  AND   ILLUSTUATION  S.  XXXVU 

important  character,  however,  in  the  two  old  plays  of  Tlie 
death  and  downfall  of  Robert  earl  of  Huntington,  written 
before  1 600,  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 
(FF.) 

In  the  First  part  of  K.  Henry  IV.  Falstaff  says  to  the 
hostess, — "  Tliere's  no  more  faith  in  thee  than  in  a  stew'd 
prune ;  nor  no  more  truth  in  thee  tlian  in  a  drawn  fox ;  and 
for  womanhood,  maid  Marian  may  be  tlie  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  ISIS,  to  this 
purpose,  but  shall  produce  only  one  :* 

"  Good  Robin  Hood  was  living  then, 

Wliich  now  is  quite  forgot, 
And  so  was  fayre  maid  Marian,  &c." 

Mr.  Steevens,  too,  after  citing  the  old  play  of  The  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  "  Shakspeare 
speaks  of  maid  Marian  in  her  degraded  state,  when  she  was 
represented  by  a  strumpet  or  a  clown :"  and  refers  to  figure  2 
in  the  plate  at  the  end  of  the  play,  with  Mr.  Toilets  obser- 

•  Without  "  the  ancient  songs,"  to  which  the  doctor  refers,  are  con- 
fined to  his  "old  MS."  he  evidently  asserts  what  he  would  probably  lind 
it  difiicult  to  prove.  As  for  the  passage  he  produces,  it  seems  nothing  to 
the  purpose  ;  as,  in  the  lirst  place,  it  is  apparently  not  "  ancient ;"  and, 
in  the  second,  it  is  apparently  not  from  a  "  song  of  Robin  Hood." 


XXXVIU  NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

vations  on  it.  The  wdow,  in  sir  W,  Davenants  Love  and 
honour,  says :  "  I  have  been  mistress  Marian  in  a  maurice 
ere  now;"  and  Mr.  Warton*  quotes  an  old  piece,  intitled 
"  Old  Meg  of  Herefordshire  for  a  maid  Marian,  and  Here- 
ford town  for  a  morris- dance:  or  12  morris-dancers  in  Here- 
fordshire of  1200  years  old,"  London,  1609,  quarto  :  which 
is  dedicated,  he  says,  to  one  Hall,  a  celebrated  tabourer  in 
that  country .f     See  note  (FF). 

(I)  "  His  company,  &c."]  See  tlie  entire  passage  quoted 
from  Major  in  a  subsequent  note.  "By  such  bootyes  as  he 
could  gel,"  says  the  writer  of  the  Sloane  MS.  "his  company 
encreast  to  an  hundred  and  a  halfe." 

(J) — "  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  jNIuchel  [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  anotlier  that  was  old  &  welthy, 
whereupon  Robin,  understanding   when   the   maryage-day 

*  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  ;  (Car- 
pent.  Du  Cange,  v.  Robinet-Pcntccoste.)''  adds  "  Our  old  character  of 
Mayd  Marian  may  be  hence  illustrated."  (His.  En.  po.  i.  245.)  Tliis, 
indeed,  seems  sufficiently  plausible;  but  unfortunately  the  Robin  and 
Marian  of  Anglers  are  not  the  Robin  and  Marian  of  Sherwood.  The 
play  is  still  extant.  See  Fabliaux  ou  contes,  Paris,  irsi.  ii.  144.  There 
arc,  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. 

+  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  wores." 


NOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  XXXIX 

should  be,  came  to  the  church  as  a  begger,  &:  having  his  o\\-n 
company  not  fiu-  of,  which  came  in  so  soone  as  they  liard 
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  toge}'ther."  (See  part  II. 
song  8.)  This  MS.  of  which  great  part  is  merely  the  old 
legend  or  Lytell  geste  of  RobjTi  Hode  turned  into  prose,  ap- 
pears to  have  been  written  before  the  year  1600. 

(K)  "  In  shooting,  &c."]  MS.  Sloan.  Grafton  also  speaks 
of  our  heros  "  excelljTig  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 
Hoods '  peregrinations,  he,  attended  by  his  trusty  mate  Little 
John,  went  to  dine  [at  \Miitby-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  ai-e  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  verj'  far  for  the 
flight  of  an  arrow,  and  is  a  circumstance  that  will  stagger 


xl  NOTES  AXD  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

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  ver)'  pillars  are 
mentioned,  and  the  fields  called  by  tlie  aforesaid  names,  in 
the  old  deeds  for  that  ground,  now  in  the  possession  of  Mr. 
Thomas  \Vatson."  (History  of  Whitby,  York,  1779.  p.  146.)* 
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."  f 
See  note  (KK). 

*  "  The  quarry  from  whence  kins;  Wolferc  fetched  stones  for  his  royal 
structure  (i.e.  Peterborough]  was  undoubtedly  tliat  of  Bernach  near  unto 

Stamford And  I  find   in  the  charter  of  K.  Edward  the  Confessor, 

which  lie  granted  to  tlie  abbot  of  Ramsey,  that  llie  abbot  of  Ramsey 
slionid  s;ive  to  the  abbot  and  convent  of  I'etcrburgh  4000  eeles  in  the 
time  of  Lent,  and  in  consideration  thereof  the  abbot  of  Pelerburgh  should 
give  to  the  abbot  of  Ramsey  as  much  freestone  from  his  pitts  in  Bernack, 
and  as  nuidi  ragstone  from  his  pitts  in  Peterbnrgh  as  he  should  need. 
Nor  did  the  abbot  of  Pelerbiirgh  from  these  pits  furnish  only  that  but 
other  abhies  also,  as  that  of  St.  Edmunds-Bury  :  in  memory  whereof 
there  arc  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  tlie  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  w  ay  without  paying 
toll ;  and  in  some  old  terrars  they  are  called  S.  Edmunds  stones.  These 
stones  are  nicked  in  their  tops  after  the  manner  of  arrows, probably 
enough  in  memory  of  S.  Edniiind,  who  was  shot  to  death  with  arrows 
by  the  Danes."     Guntons  History  of  the  church  of  Peterburgh,  ItJSG,  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."  (Archjeo- 
logia,  vol.  viii).  According  to  tradition,  he  adds.  Little  John  shot  an 
arrow  from  the  Old-bridge,  Dublin,  to  the  present  site  of  St.  Michaels 
church,  a  distance  not  exceeding,  he   believes,  that  mentioned  by  Mr. 


NOTES  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  xli 

(L)  "  An  outlaw,  in  those  times,  being  deprived  of  protec- 
tion, owed  no  allegiance,  &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  pacis  sunt,  quia 
a  tempore  quo  utlagatus  est  caput  gerit  lupinum,  ita  ut  im- 
pune  ab  omnibus  interlici  possit.  (1.  2.  c.  35.)     In  the  great 

Barrington.  (Historical  essay  on  the  dress  of  the  ancient  and  modern 
Irish,  p.  129.) 

What  Mr.  Baniugton "  thinks" may  be  true  enough,  perhaps, of  the Tox- 
ophilitt  society  and  other  modern  archers;  but  people  should  not  talk  of 
Robin  Hood  who  never  shot  in  his  bow.  The  above  ingenious  writers 
censure  of  Dr.  Hanmers  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,  p.  207.  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  editors  possession,  intitled 
"  Aime  for  the  archers  of  St.  George's  lields,  containing  the  names  of 
all  the  marks  in  the  same  fields,  with  their  true  distances  according  to 
the  dimensuration  of  the  line.  Formerly  gathered  by  Richard  Hannis, 
and  now  corrected  by  Thomas  Bick,  and  others.  London,  Printed  by 
N.  Howell  for  Robert  Minehard  and  Benjamin  Brownsmith,  and  are  to 
be  sold  at  the  sign  of  the  man  in  the  moon  in  Blackman  street,  1664." 
16mo.  where  the  distance  from  Alpha  to  BicTts  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  Shakspeare's 
Second  part  of  K.  Henry  IV.  act  3,  scene  2,  where  it  is  say'd  that  Old 
Double  "would  have  clapp'd  i'the  clout  at  twelve  score;  and  carry 'd  jou 
a  forehand  shaft  a  fourteen  nad  fourteen  and  a  half:"  and  the  notes  upon 
the  passage  in  Steevens's  edition,  1793.  It  is  probable  after  all,  that  the 
word  forty  in  Drayton  is  an  error,  of  the  transcriber  or  pressman,  for 
fourteeii. 

Whatever  Robin  Hoods  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  shot." 


Xlii  NOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

* 

roll  of  the  exchequer,  in  the  7th  year  of  king  Richard  I.  is 
an  allowance  by  writ,  of  two  marks,  to  Tliomas  de  Prest- 
wude,  for  bringing  to  Westminster  tlie  head  of  William  de 
Elleford  an  outlaw.  (See  Madoxes  History  of  the  Exche- 
quer, 1 36.)  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  (S). 
(M) 

"  how, 

.    •     .    .     they  could  disconrse 
The  freezing  hours  away  !"] 

(Cymbeline,  act  3.  scene  3  :)  The  chief  subjects  of  our  heros 
conversation  are  supposed,  by  a  poetical  genius  of  the  16th 
century,  to  have  been  the  commendation  of  a  forest-life,  and 
the  ingratitude  of  mankind. 

"  I  have  no  talcs  of  Robin  Hood,  though  mal-content  was  he 
In  better  daies,  first  Richards  daits,  and  liv'd  in  woods  as  we 
A  Tymon  of  the  world  ;  but  not  devoutly  was  he  soc, 
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  goc. 

Those  daies  begot  some  mal-contents,  the  principall  of  whonie 
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  jnster  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,  meaiie,  melt,  as  syrens,  foxes,  stones, 
Yea  even  the  best  that  bctterd  them  heard  but  aloofe  our  moues. 
And  rcdily  the  churles  could  prie  and  prate  of  our  amis, 
ForgclfnU  of  their  owue.     .     .     . 

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  fuide  me  true,  but  I  will  trust  no  frend. 
Not  one  I  knewe  that  wisht  me  ill,  nor  any  workt  me  well. 
To  lose,  laeke,  live,  lime,  trends,  in  yncke,  an  hell,  an  hell,  an  hell! 
Then  happie  we  (quoth  Robin  Hood)  in  merry  Sherwood  that  dwell.* 


•   Warners  Albions  England,  1602,  p.  132.     It  is  part  of  the  hermits 
speech  to  the  earl  of  Lancaster. 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  xliii 

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,  vrith 
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  aitillery  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 
number  armed  with  muskets.*  The  loss  sustained  firom 
this  change  by  the  people  at  large  seems  irreparable.  An- 
ciently, the  use  of  the  bow  or  bill  q\ialified  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  wliich  means  the  people  fi-om 
time  to  time  preserved  the  very  little  liberty  they  had,  and 
wliich  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 

*  Sir  Roger  Williams,  in  his  Brief e  discourse  ofwarre,  1590,  has  a 
chapter  "  To  prooue  bow-men  the  worst  shot  vsed  in  these  dales."  Sir 
John  Smythe,  however,  was  of  a  ditferent  opinion.  See  his  "  Discourses 
concerning  the  formes  and  elfects  of  divers  sorts  of  weapons,  &c.  As 
also,  of  the  great  sufficiencie,  excelleucie,  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. 


XllV  NOTES  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

"  tlie  glorious  revolution,"  to  deprive  them  of  arms  as  was 
formerly  bestowed  to  enforce  their  use  and  practice.*  The 
following  extract  from  Hales  Ilistoria  placitomm  corona;  (i. 
118.)  will  serve  to  shew  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  sue  ...  of  divers 
felonies,  whereupon  the  .sheriff  mandavit  commissionem  suam 
Henrico  de  Clyderawe  &  aliis  ad  capiendum  praedictum  H. 
\'escy,  &  salvo  ducendum  usque  ciustrum  de  Ebor."  \'escy 
would  not  -submit  to  an  arrest,  but  fled,  &:  inter  fugiendum 
shot  with  his  bow  and  arrows  at  his  pursuers,  but  in  the  end 
was  kild  by  Clyderawe  :"  to  which  may  be  added  a  remark- 
able passage  in  Harisons  "  Description  of  England,"  (pre- 
fixed to  Holinsheds  chronicle,  1587,)  to  prove  how  much  it 
had  declined  in  the  16th.  "  In  times  past,"  says  he,  "  the 
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 
countriemen  were  woont  to  doo  at  everie  time  of  need. 
Certes  the  Frenchmen  and  Rutters  f  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 

•  "  A  prince,  who  fills  the  throne  with  a  disputed  title,  darts  not  arm 
his  subjects;  the  only  method  of  sccnrine;  a  people  fully,  both  against 
domestic  oppression,  and  foreign  conquest."  Humes  Ussays,  ("  Of  the 
Protestant  succession.") 

t  Flemings. 


NOTES  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 


xlv 


with  France,  the  breech*  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  K.  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  tieldes." 
(N) 

"  All  clad  in  Lincoln  green — "] 

This  species  of  cloth  is  mentioned  by  Spenser  (Faerie  queene, 
VI.  ii.  5.) 

"  All  in  a  woodmans  jacket  lie  was  clad 

Of  Lincolne  greene,  belay'd  with  silver  lace  ; 

And  on  his  head  an  hood  with  aglets  spiad, 

And  by  his  side  his  hunters  hoiue  he  hanging  had." 

It  is  likewise  noticed  by  our  poet  himself,  in  another  place: 

"  Swains  in  shepherds  gray,  and  gyrles  in  Lincolne  greene." t 

See  Polyolbion,  song  XXV.  where  tlie  marginal  note  says, 
"  Lincolne  anciently  dyed  the  best  green  in  England."  Thus 
Coventrj'  had  formerly  the  reputation  of  dying  the  best  blue. 
See  Rays  Proverbs,  p.  178.  Kendal  greene  is  equally  famous, 
and  appears  to  have  been  cloth  of  a  similar  quality.  This 
colour  was  adopted  by  foresters  to  prevent  their  being  too 
readyly  discovered  by  the  deer.  See  Sir  John  Wynnes  His- 
tory of  Uie  Guedir  family,  (Barringtons  Miscellanies,)  p.  419. 
Thus  tlie  Scotish  highlanders  used  to  wear  brown  plaids  to 

•  Breeches. 

t  Thus  also  in  part  IT.  ballad  1. 

"  She  got  on  her  holyday  kirtlc  and  gown, 
They  were  of  a  light  Lincolne  green." 


Xlvi  NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

prevent  their  being  distins:uislied  among  the  heath.  It  is 
needless  to  obser\'e  tliat  green  has  ever  been  the  favourite 
dress  of  an  archer,  hunter,  &c.  See  note  (UD).*  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 
thirteentli  century.  Thus,  in  an  old  fabliau,  transprosed  by 
M.  Le  Grand  (Fabliaux  ou  contes,  iv.  13.)  "  II  mit  done 
son  surcot  fourre  d'ecureuil,  et  sa  belle  robe  d'Estanfortteinte 
en  verd."  Estanfort  is  Stamford,  in  Lincolnshire.!  This 
cloth  is,  likewise,  often  mentioned  by  tlie  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,  tliis  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  alltsion,  as  it  has  been 
facetiously  conjectured,  to  the  parliality  shewn  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 
pepper-mint,  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  Robin  Hood,  I  wot  not  how, 

I  must  goe  raunge  in  woodmens  wyse, 
Cladde  in  a  cole  of  grcene  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  Flanders,  which 
may  be  tlie  place  here  meant.  The  above  conjecture,  therefore,  will  be 
received  for  no  more  than  it  is  worth. 


NOTES   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  xlvii 

(O) 

"  From  wealthy  abbots  chests,  &c."] 

"  But  who,"  exclaims  Dr.  Fuller,  having  cited  this  pass^e, 
"  made  him  a  judge  ?    or  gave  him  a  commission  to  take 
where  it  might  be  best  spared,  and  give  where  it  was  most 
wanted  ?"     That  same  power,  one  may  answer,  which  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  tliat  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  tjTant),  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  parts 
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- 
fering  the  superfluities  of  the  rich  to  the  necessities  of  the 
poor ;  by  relieving  the  oppressed,  and  even,  when  necessary, 
destroying  the  oppressor.   Tliese  are  the  objects  of  tlie  social 

*  When  Bnlas,  or  Felix,  the  robber,  was  brought  before  Papinian,  the 
latter  asked  him  why  he  gave  himself  np  to  robbing  and  spoiling :  "  And 
why,  sir,"  was  the  answer,  "  are  you  '  a  governor.'"  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," 


Xlviii  NOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

union,  and  every  individual  may,  and  to  the  utmost  of  his 

power  should,  endeavour  to  promote  them.    Had  our  Robin 

Hood  been,  like  INI'Donald  of  Barrisdale,  a  reader  of  \'irgiJ, 

he,  as  well  as  that  gallant  chief,  might  have  inscribed  on  his 

baldric, 

"  Hre  tibi  ciuiit  artes;  pacis  componere  mores, 
Parceic  subjcctis,  <jl  debullaie  superbos."* 

(*0)  "  But  it  is  to  be  remembered,"  &c.]  The  passage 
fixim  Majors  work,  which  has  been  already  quoted,  is  here 
given  entire,  (except  as  to  a  single  sentence  introduced  in 
another  place).  "  Circa  haec  tempoi-a  [s.  Ricardi  I.]  ut 
auguror,  Robertus  Iludus  &  Parvus  Joannes  latrones  fama- 
tissimi,  in  nemoribus  latuerunt,  solum  opulentum  virorum 
bona  diripientes.  Nullum  nisi  eos  invadentem  vel  resistentem 
pro  suarum  rerum  tuitione  occiderunt.  Centum  sagitlarios 
ad  pugnam  aptissimos  Robertus  latrociniis  aluit  quos  400 
viri  fortissimi  invadere  non  audebant.  Faeminam  nullum 
opprimi  permisit,  nee  pauperum  bona  sunipuit,  verum  eos 

•    See  Pennants  Tour  in  Scotland  MDCCLXXII.  part  I.  p.  404.   The 
original  reading,  wliether  altered  by  mistake  or  design,  is — 

"  pacisque  imponere  morem." 

One    might,  to   the   same   purpose,  address  our  hero  in   tlie   words  of 
Plautus ;    (Trinummus,  Act  IV.  scene  i.) 

"  Atque  hanctuam  gloriam  jam  ante  auribus  accepcram,  ct  nobiles  apud 

homines, 
Paupcribus  te  parccre  solitum,  divites  damnare  atque  domare. 
Abi,  laiido.  scis  ordine,  ut  a>quom'st, 
Traclare  homines,  hoc  dls  dignum'st,  semper  mendiiis  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. — 1  applaud  your  justice 
In  treating  men  according  to  their  merits. — 
'Tis  worthy  of  the  gods  to  liave  respect 
Unto  the  poor." 


NOTES  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  xlix 

ex  abbatum  bonis  ablatis  opipare  pavit.  Viri  rapinara  im- 
probo  sed  latronum  omnium  humanissimus  &  princeps  erat." 
(Majoris  Britanniae  historia.     Edin.  1740,  p.  128.) 

Stowe,  in  his  Annales,  1592,  p.  227.  gives  an  almost 
literal  version  of  the  above  passage;  Richard  Robinson 
versifies  it ;  *  and  Camden  slightly  refers  to  it. 

(P) — "  has  had  the  honour  to  be  compared  to  the  illus- 
trious Wallace,  &c."]  In  the  first  volume  of  Pecks  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  Alnwicensis  de  bello  Scotico 
apud  Dumbarr,  tempore  rigis  Edwardi  I.  dictamen  sive 
rithmus  Latinus,  quo  de  Willielmo  Wallace,  Scotico  illo 
Robin  Whood,plura  sed  invidiosecanit:"  and  in  the  margin 
are  the  following  date  and  reference  :  22.  Julii  1304.  32.  E. 
1.  Regist.  Prem.  fol.  59.  a."  Tliis,  it  may  be  observed,  is 
the  first  known  instance  of  our  heros  name  being  mentioned 
by  any  writer  whatever;  and  affords  a  strong  and  respectable 
proof  of  his  early  popularity. 

(Q) — «  the  abbot  of  St.  IMarys  in  York"]  "  In  the  year 
1088  Alan  earl  of  Richmond  founded  here  a  stately  abbey 

*    "  Richard  Coeiir  de  Lyon  cald  a  king  and  conquerour  was. 
With  Phillip  king  of  France  who  did  unto  Jerusalemm  passe  : 


In  this  kings  time  was  Robyn  Hood,  that  archer  and  outlawe, 
And  little  John  his  partener  eke,  unto  them  which  did  drawe 
One  hondred  tall  and  good  archers,  on  whom  fouie  hondred  men, 
Were  their  power  never  so  strong,  could  not  give  onset  then ; 
The  abbots,  monkes,  and  carles  rich  these  onely  did  molest, 
And  reskewd  woemen  when  they  saw  of  theeves  them  so  opprest; 
Restoring  poore  mens  goods,  and  eke  abundantly  releeved 
Poore  travellers  which  wanted  food,  or  were  with  sicknes  greeved." 

(Third  assertion,  &c.  (quoted  elsewhere.) 


1 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


for  black  monks  to  tlie  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  1.550/.  7*-.  9d.  Dugd.  2850/.  Is.  5d.  Speed." 
Willis's  Mitred  abbeys,  i.  214.  The  abbots  in  our  heros 
time  were — 

Robert  de  Ilarpsham  (el.  1184)  ob.  1198. 
Robert  de  Longo  Campo.  ob.  1239. 
William  Rondele.  ob.  1244. 
Tlio.  de  Wharterhille.  ob.  1258. 
(R) — '*  the  sheriff  of  Nottinghamshire"]    Ralph  Murdach 
was  sherif  of  Derby  and  Nottinghamshires  in  the  1  st  year  of 
king  Richard  I.  and  for  the  7  years  preceding,  and  William 
Brewerre  in  his  6th  year,  between  which  and  the  1st  no  name 
appears  on  the  roll.     See  Fullers  Worthies,  &c. 

In  tlie  year  1 195,  Hubert  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  jus- 
ticiary of  all  England,  sent  throughout  the  kingdom  this  form 
of  oatli :  that  all  men  of  the  realm  of  England  would  keep 
the  peace  of  the  lord  the  king  to  their  power ;  and  that  tliey 
would  neitlier  be  thieves  nor  robers,  nor  the  receivers  of 
such,  nor  consent  to  them  in  any  thing ;  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  tlie 
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,  rol)- 
bers,  theives,  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  everj-  county,  who  by  the  oatli  of  true  men 
of  tlie  vicinages  took  many  and  put  them  in  the  kings  prisons ; 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  ll 

but  many,  being  forewarned,  and  conscious  of  evil,  left  their 
houses  and  possessions,  and  fled.  (Ji.de  Hovedeji,  p.  757.) 

(S) — "  an  anecdote  preserved  by  Fordun,  &c."]  "  De  quo 
eciam  qusedam  commendabiha  recitantur,  sicut  patuit  in  hoc, 
quod  cum  ipse  quondam  in  Bai-nisdale  iram  [f.  ob  iram] 
regis  &  fremitum  principis,  missam,  ut  solitus  erat,  devotissime 
audiret,  nee  aliqua  necessitate  volebat  interrumpere  officium, 
quadam  die  cum  audiret  missam,  a  quodam  vicecomite  & 
ministris  regis,  ssepius  per  prius  ipsum  infestantibus,  in  ilia 
secretissimo  loco  nemorali,  ubi  missae  interfuit,  exploratus, 
venientes  ad  eum  qui  de  suis  hoc  perceperunt,  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,  quem  coluit  reveritus,  cum  paucis- 
simis,  qui  tunc  forte  ei  affuerunt,  inimicos  congressus  &  eos 
de  facili  devicit,  et  de  eorum  spoliis  ac  redemptione  ditatus, 
ministros  ecclesiae  &  missas  semper  in  majori  veneratione 
semper  &  de  post  habere  praeelegit,  attendens  quod  wlgariter 
dictum  est: 

Hunc  deus  exaudit,  qui  missam  saepius  audit." 
J.  De  Fordun  Scotichronicon,  a  Hearne.  Ox.  1722.  p.  774. 

Tliis  passage  is  found  in  no  otliercopy  of  Forduns  chronicle 
than  one  in  the  Harleian  library.  Its  suppression  in  all  tlie 
rest  may  be  fairly  accounted  for  on  the  principle  which  is 
presumed  to  have  influenced  the  conduct  of  the  ancient  En- 
glish historians.     See  note  (a). 

(T) — "a  proclamation  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 


Hi  NOTES  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

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  seene :  But  of  this  promise  no  man  enjoyed  any 
benefite.  For  the  sayd  Robert  Hood,  being  afterwai-des 
troubled  witli  sicknesse,  &c."  (p.  85.)  See  note  (L). 

(U)  "  At  length,  the  infirmities  of  old  age  increasing  upon 
him,  &c."]  Thus  Grafton  :  "  The  sayd  Robert  Hood,  beyng 
troubled  with  sicknesse,  came  to  a  certain  nonry  in  Yorkshire 
called  Bircklies  [r.  Kircklies],  where  desiryng  to  be  let 
blood,  he  was  betrayed  and  bled  to  death."  Tlie  Sloane 
MS.  says  that  "  [Being]  dystempered  with  could  and  age, 
he  had  great  payne  in  his  lymmes,  his  bloud  being  corrupted, 
therfore,  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  pliysique  &  surgery ;  who,  perceyving 
him  to  be  Robyn  Hood,  Sc  waying  hcwe  fel  an  enimy  he 
was  to  religious  persons,  toke  reveng  of  him  for  her  owne 
howse  and  all  others  by  letting  him  bleed  to  deatli.  It  is 
also  sayd  that  one  sir  Roger  of  Doncaster,  bearing  grudge  to 
Robyn  for  some  injury,  incyted  tlie  priores,  with  wliome  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  beytrayed  &  made 
bleed  to  death." 

Kirkleys,  Kirklees  or  Kirkleghes,  formerly  Ruthale,  in  the 
deanry  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  Maiy  and  St. 
James,  by  Reynerus  Flandrensis  in  the  reign  of  king  Henry 
II.     Its  revenues  at  the  dissolution  were  somewhat  about 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  lui 

£.20  and  the  site  was  granted  (36  Hen.  8.)  to  John  Tasburgh 
and  Henry  Savill,froin  whom  it  came  to  one  of  the  ancestors 
of  Sir  George  Armytage  bart.  the  present  possessor.  The  re- 
mains of  the  building  (if  any)  are  very  inconsiderable,  and 
its  register  has  been  searched  after  in  vain.  See  Tanners 
Notitia,  p.  674.  Thoresbys  Ducatus  Leodiensis,  p.  91. 
Hearnes  "  Account  of  several  antiquities  in  and  about  the 
miiversity  of  Oxford,"  at  the  end  of  Lelands  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  tlie  lady  from  whom  our  hero  ex- 
perienced such  kind  assistance.  See  Thoresby  and  Hearne 
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  venison."  (Worthies,  p.  320.)  See  the 
following  note. 

(V)  "  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.  "  Kirkley  monasterium  monialium, 
ubi  Ro :  Hood  nobilis  ille  exlex  sepultus."  Lelands  Collec- 
tanea, i.  54.  "  Kirkleys  Nunnery,  in  the  Woods  whereof 
Robin  Hoods  grave  is,  is  between  Halifax  and  Wakefield 
upon  Calder."  Letter  firom  Jo.  Savile  to  W.  Camden,  Illus. 
viro  epis.  1691. 


as  Caldor  comes  along, 


It  chancd  she  iu  her  course  on  '  Kirkley'  cast  her  eye, 
Where  merry  Robin  Hood,  that  honest  thief,  doth  lie." 

(Poly-Olbion,  Song  28.) 
VOL.  I.  6 


liv  NOTES  AND   ILLUSTUATIONS. 

See  also  Camdens  Britannia,  1695,  p.  709. 

In  the  second  volume  of  Dr.  Stukeleys  Itinerarium  curiosum 
is  an  engraving  of  "  tlie  prospect  of  Kirkley's  abby,  where 
Robin  Hood  dyed,  from  the  footway  leading  to  Ileartishead 
church,  at  a  quarter  of  a  mile  distance.  A.  The  New  Hall. 
B.  The  Gatehouse  of  the  Nunnciy.  C.  T\\e  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  • 
Yorksliire  antiquitys.  p.  54.  of  tlie  drawings.  E.  Kirkall, 
sculp."  It  makes  plate  99  of  the  above  work,  but  is  un- 
noticed in  the  letter  press. 

According  to  the  Sloanc  MS.  the  prioress,  after  "  letting 
him  bleed  to  death,  buryed  him  under  a  great  stone  by  the 
hywayes  syde :"  which  is  agreeable  to  the  account  in  Graftons 
chronicle,  where  it  is  said  that,  after  his  death,  "  the  prioresse 
of  the  same  place  caused  him  to  be  buried  by  the  highway- 
side,  wliere  he  had  used  to  rob  and  spoyle  those  that  passed 
that  way.  A  nd  vpon  his  grave  the  sayde  prioresse  did  lay  a 
very  fayre  stone,  wherein  the  names  of  Robert  Hood,  William 
of  Goldesborougl;,  and  others  were  graven.  And  the  cause 
why  she  buryed  him  there  was,  for  that  the  common  passengers 
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  die  life  of  the  sayd  outlawes. 
And  at  eyther  ende  of  flie  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  tlie 
inscription  scarce  legible."  Thoresbys  Ducatus  Leodiensis, 
fo.  1715,  p.  91.  In  the  Appendix,  p,  576.  is  the  following 
note,  with  a  reference  to  "  page  91 :" 


NOTES   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  Iv 

"  Amongst  the  papers  of  the  learned  Dr.  Gale,  late  dean 
of  Yorke,  was  found  this  epitaph  of  Robin  Hood  : 

Hear  untrfrnrati  tris  laiti  stfait 
latf  robf rt  carl  of  l^untingtuu 
tifa  arcir  brr  af  ffit  sa  gcutr 
an  ptpl  ftaultr  tm  rotin  l^ruii 
sicfe  tttlalDf  a?  fjt  an  ij  mm 
bil  rnglanir  nibr  si  agni. 

otiit  24  [r.  14]  Sal  iif&mtris  1247. 

The  genuineness  of  this  epitaph  has  been  questioned.  Dr. 
Percy,  in  the  first  edition  of  his  "  Reliques  of  ancient  En- 
glish   poetry,"  (1765,)  says   "  It   must   be  confessed   this 
epitaph  is  suspicious,  because  in  the  most  ancient  poems  of 
Robin  Hood,  there  is  no  mention  of  this  imaginary  earldom." 
Tliis  reason,  however,  is  by  no  means  conclusive,  the  most 
ancient  poem  now  extant  having  no  pretension  to  the  antiquity 
claimed  by  the  epitaph  :    and  indeed    the   doctor   himself 
should  seem  to  have  aftei-ward  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 
editors  part,  though  he  does  not  pretend  to  say  that  the  lan- 
guage of  this  epitaph  is  that  of  Henry  the  thirds  time,  nor 
indeed  to  determine  of  vi'hat  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  Thoresbys  time,  though  then  scarce  legible,  is   evident 
from  his  own  words :  and  it  shoidd  be  remembered,  as  well 


Ivi  NOTES  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

that  the  last  century  was  not  the  Jera  of  imposition,  as  that 
Dr.  Gale  was  botli  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  Tliomas  Gent,  of  York, 
in  his  "  List  of  religious  houses,"  annexed  to  "  The  ancient 
and  modem  state  of"  that  famous  city,  1730,  l-2mo.  p.  234. 
informs  us  that  he  had  been  told,  "  Tliat  his  [Robin  Hoods] 
tombstone,  having  his  effigy  thereon,  was  order'd,  not  many 
years  ago,  by  a  certain  knight  to  be  placed  as  a  haith-stone 
in  his  great  hall.  When  it  was  laid  over-night,  the  next  morn- 
ing it  was  '  surprizingly '  removed  [on  or  to]  one  side ;  and 
so  three  times  it  was  laid,  and  as  successively  turned  aside. 
The  knight,  thinking  he  had  done  wrong  to  have  brought  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.  Tins  is  the  second  instance  of  a 
miracle  wrought  in  favour  of  our  hero  ! 

In  Coughs  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.  Tliat 
printed  in  Thoresby  Ducat.  Leod.  576,  firom  Dr.  Gale's 
papers  was  never  on  it.*     Tlie  late  sir  Samuel  Armitage, 

•  That  this  epitaph  had  been  printed,  or  was  well  known,  at  least, 
lon^  before  the  publication  of  Mr.  Thoresbys  book,  if  not  before  either 
he  or  Dr.  Gale  was  born,  appears  from  (he  "  true  tale  of  Robin  Hood" 
by  Martin  Parker,  written,  if  not  printed,  as  early  as  1631.  (See  volume 
I.  p.  127.)  That  dates,  about  this  period,  were  frequently  by  ides  and 
kalends,  see  Madoxes  Formulare  Anyliranum,  (Dissertation),  p.  xxx. 
Even  Arabic  lii;ures  are  produced  in  some  of  still  greater  antiiiuily,  see 
Collectanea  de  rebvs  Hibernwit,  ii.  331.  Robert  Groslhe.id  bishop  of 
Lincoln  makes  use  of  these  figures  about  tile  year  1240.  Astles  Uriijhi 
ofwritijii/,  p.  188. 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  Ivil 

owner  of  the  premises,  caused  the  ground  under  it  to  be  dug 
a  yard  deep,  and  found  it  had  never  been  disturbed ;  so 
that  is  was  probably  brought  from  some  other  place,  and  by 
vulgar  tradition  ascribed  to  Robin  Hood"  (refers  to  "  Mr. 
Watsons  letter  in  Antiquary  society  minutes").  This  is  pro- 
bably the  tomb-stone  of  Elisabeth  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 : 
Therefore,  his  grave  bedew  with  tears. 
And  offer  for  his  soul  your  prayers."* 

(W)  "  Various  dramatic  exliibitions."]  The  earlyest  of 
these  performances  now  extant  is,  "  The  playe  of  Robyn 
Hode,  very  proper  to  be  played  in  Maye  games,"  which  is 
inserted  in  tlie  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  "  The  famous  chronicle 
of  king  Edward  the  first,  sirnamed  Edward  Longshankes, 
&c."  by  George  Peele,  printed  in  1393. 

*  In  "The  travels  of  Tom  Thumb  over  England  and  Wales"  [by  Mr. 
Robert  Dodsley],  p.  106.  is  another  though  inferior  version. 

"  Here,  imder  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." 


Iviii  NOTES  AND   ILLUSTllATIONS. 

"  Lluellen wecle  get  tlie  next  dale  from  Brecknocke  the  booke 

of  Robin  Hood,  the  frier  lie  sliall  instruct  ns  in  liis  raiise,  and  weele 
even  here  .  .  .  wander  like  irregulers  up  and  down  the  wilderncssc,  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  Lluellen  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  geutle  Robin  Hood, 

You  are  not  so  well  accompanied  I  hope, 

Bui  if  a  potter  come  to  plaie  his  part, 

Youle  give  him  stripes  or  welcome  good  or  worse.  [Exit. 

Enter  Lluellen,  Meredith,  frier,  Elinor,  and  their  traine.  They  are  all 
clad  in  greene,  &c.  sing,  <Src»  Blyth  and  bonny,  the  song  ended,  Lluellen 
speaketh. 

Luelleu.     Why  so,  I  see,  my  mates  of  olde. 
All  were  not  lies  that  Bedlams  [beldams]  told; 
Of  Robin  Hood  and  little  John, 
Frier  Tucke  and  maide  Marian." 

Mortimer,  as  a  potter,  afterwards  fights  the  frier  -witli 
"  flailes." 

2.  "  The  downfall  of  Robert  earle  of  Huntington,  after^vard 
called  Robin  Ilood  of  merrie  Sherwodde :  with  his  love  to 
chaste  Matilda,  the  lord  Fitzwaters  daughter,  afterwardes  his 
feire  maide  Marian.  Acted  by  the  right  honourable,  tlie  earle 
of  Notingham,  lord  high  admirall  of  England,  his  ser^'ants. 
^  Imprinted  at  London,  for  William  Leake,  1601."  4to. 
b.  1. 

3.  "  Tlie  death  of  Robert,  earle  of  Huntington,  otherwise 
called  Robin  Hood  of  men-ie  Sherwodde  :  witli  the  lament- 
able tragedie  of  chaste  Matilda,  his  faire  maid  Marian,  poy- 
soned  at  Dunmowc,  by  king  John.  Acted,  &.c.  1[  Imprinted 
&c.  [as  above]  1601."  4to.  b.  1. 


NOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


lix 


Tliese  two  plays,  usually  called  the  first  and  second  part 
of  Robin  Hood,  were  always,  on  the  authority  of  Kirkman, 
falsely  ascribed  to  Tliomas  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  the  8th ;  the  poet  Skelton  being  die  dramatist,  and 

acting  the  part  of  chorus.  The  introductory  scene  commences 

thus : 

"  Enter  sir  John  Eltam,  and  knocke  at  Skeltons  doore. 

Sir  John.    Howe,  maister  Skelton  !  what,  at  stiulie  hard  ? 

[opens  the  doore. 
Skclt.  Welcome  and  wisht  for,  honest  sir  John  ElCam, — 
Twill  trouble  you  after  your  great  atl'airs, 

[i.  e.  the  surveying  of  certain  maps  which  his  majesty  had 
employed  him  in; 

*  In  "  a  large  folio  volume  of  accounts  kept  by  Mr.  Philip  Henslowc, 
who  appears  to  have  been  proprietor  of  the  Rose  theatre  near  the  Banksidc 
in  Southwark,"  he  has  entered — 

ISQt'^S      "  ^''^  *''^^'  P""^'  °^  Robin  Hood,  by  Anthony  Mundy. 

The  second  part  of  the  downfall  of  earl  Huntington,  sirnaraed 
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.  Cheatlle,  upon  the 
mending  of  the  first  part  of  Robart  Hoode,  the  sum  of  xs."  and  afterwards 
— "  For  mending  of  Robin  Hood  for  the  corte."  See  Malones  edition 
of  "  The  plays  and  poems  of  AVilliain  Shakspeare,"  1790,  vol.  i.  part  II. 
(Emendations  and  additions.) 


Ix  NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

To  take  the  paine  that  I  intended  to  iiitreate  you  to. 
About  rchearsall  of  your  promis'd  play. 

Elt.  Nay.iiiaster  Skeltoii ;  for  the  kins;  bimselfe. 
As  wee  were  partins;,  bid  mee  take  great  lieede 
Wee  faile  not  of  our  day  :  therefore  I  pray 
Scnde  for  the  rest,  that  now  we  may  rehearse. 

Skel.  O  they  are  readie  all,  and  drest  to  play. 
What  part  play  you? 

Elt.  Why,  I  play  little  John, 
And  came  of  purpose  with  this  greene  sutc. 

Skel.  Holla,  my  masters,  little  John  is  come. 
[At  every  doore  all  the  players  runne  out  ;  some  crying  where?  where  1 
others,  Welcome,  sir  John :  amony  other  the  boyes  and  clowne. 
Skel.  Faith,  little  Tracy,  you  are  somewhat  forward. 
What,  our  .(laid  Marian  leaping  like  a  lad  ! 
If  you  remember,  Robin  is  your  love. 
Sir  Thomas  Mantle  yonder,  not  sir  John. 

Clow.  But,  master,  sir  J^hn  is  my  fellowe,  for  I  am  Much  the  millers 
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,  [1]  eriter  first  kiny  Richard  with  drum  and  auncient, 
giving  Ely  a  purse  and  sceptre,  his  mother  and  brother  John,  Chester, 
Lester,  Lacie,  others  at  the  kings  appointment,  doing  reverence.  The 
king  goes  in :  presently  Ely  ascend.i  the  chaire,  Chester,  John,  and  the 
queene  part displeasantly.  [2]  A'tt^erRoBERT,  ear le  of  Huntington, 
leading  Marian;  folloues  himli  arman,  and  after  M  arm  an,  the  prior; 
Warman  ever  faltering  and  making  ciirtsie,  taking  gifts  of  the  prior 
behinde  and  his  master  before.  Prince  John  enters,  ojf'ereth  to  take 
Marian;  Queen  Elinor  enters,  offering  to  jmll  Robin  from  her;  but  they 
infolde  each  other,  and  sit  doivne  within  the  curteines.  [3]  Jf'artnan 
with  the  prior,  sir  Hugh  Lacy,  lord  Sentloe,  and  sir  (lilbert  liroghtun 
folde  hands,  and  drawing  the  curteins,  all  {but  the  prior)  enter,  and 
are  kindely  received  by  Robin  Hoode." 

During  the  exliibition  of  the  second  part  of  the  dumb- 
shew,  Skelton  instructs  the  audience  as  follows : 

"  This  youth  that  leads  yon  virgin  by  the  lian<l 
Is  our  carle  Robert,  or  jour  Robin  Hoode, 
That  in  those  dales,  was  earle  of  Huntington; 
The  ill-fac't  mi.ser,  brib'd  in  cither  hand. 
Is  Warman,  once  the  steward  of  his  house. 


NOTES   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  Ixi 

Who,  Judas  like,  betraies  his  liberall  lord, 
Into  the  hands  of  that  relentlesse  prior, 
Calde  Gilbert  Hoodc,  nncle  to  Huntington. 
Those  two  that  seeke  to  part  these  lovely  friends. 
Are  Elenor  the  qiieene,  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  tney  lov'd,  and  now  it  is  agreed. 
This  day  they  must  be  troth-plight,  after  wed : 
At  Huutingtons  faire  house  a  feast  is  lielde. 
But  envie  turnes  it  to  a  house  of  teares. 
For  those  false  guestes,  conspiring  with  the  prior ; 
To  whom  carle  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  sherif,  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; 

Your  plate  and  jewels  '  i  wil'  straight  packe  up, 

And  toward  Notingham  convey  them  hence. 

At  Rowford,  Sow  tham,  Wortley,  Hothersfield, 

Of  all  your  cattell  mony  shall  be  made. 

And  I  at  Mansfield  w  ill  attend  your  comming ; 

Where  weele  determine  which  waie's  best  to  take. 


Ixii  NOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Rob.  Well,  be  it  so ;  a  gods  name,  let  it  be ; 
And  if  I  can,  Marian  shall  come  with  mcc. 

John.  Else  care  will  kill  her;  therefore  if  jou  please. 
At  th' utmost  corner  of  the  garden  wall, 
Soone  in  the  evening  waite  for  Marian, 
And  as  I  goc  i!e  tell  her  of  the  place. 
Your  horses  at  the  Bell  shall  readie  bee, 
I  meane  Belsavage,*  whence,  as  citizens 
That  '  meane '  to  ride  for  pleasure  some  smrll  way, 
You  shall  set  foorth." 

Tlie  company  now  enters,  and  Robin  charges  them  with 
the  conspiracy,  and  rates  their  treacherous  proceeding.  Little 
John  in  attempting  to  remove  the  goods  is  set  upon  by  ^\  ar- 
man  and  the  sherif ;  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  WTong;  his  goods  are  his  : 
You  only  must  extend  upon  the  carles. 

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-houses  all  his  beards  be  solde ;" 
and  gives  Warman  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 
so  much  enraged  at  the  deception  that  he  breaks  the  head  of 
Elys  messenger.     Sir  Hugh,  brotlier  to  lord  Lacy,  and  stew- 

*  That  is,  the  inn  so  called,  upon  Ludgatehill.  The  modern  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  inscri])tion,  La  belle  sauvage.  Some,  indeed,  assert  that  the  inn 
once  belonged  to  a  lady  Arabella  Savage ;  and  others,  that  its  name, 
originally  The  bell  and  savage,  arose  (like  The  George  and  blue  boar)  from 
the  Junction  of  two  inns,  with  those  respective  signs.  Non  nostrum  est 
lantas  componere  lites. 


NOTES  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  IxHl 

ard  to  Ely,  who  had  been  deeply  concerned  in  Huntingtons 
ruin  is  killed  in  a  brawl,  by  prince  John,  whom  Ely  orders 
to  be  arrested;  but  the  prince,  producing  letters  from  the 
king,  revoking  Elys  appointment,  "  lifts  up  his  drawne 
sworde"  and  "  Exit,  cum  Lester  and  Lacy,"  in  triumph. 
Then,  "  Enter  Robin  Hoode,  Matilda,  at  one  door,  litde 
John,  and  Much  the  millers  sonne  at  another  doore."  After 
mutual  congratulations,  Robin  asks  if  it  be 

" possible  that  Warmans  spite 

Should  stretch  so  farre,  that  he  doth  hunt  the  lives 
Of  bonnie  Scarlet,  and  his  brother  Scathlock. 
Mrcch.     O,  I,  sir.     Warman  came  but  yesterday  to  take  charge  of  the 
jaile  at  Notinghara,  and  this  dale,  he  saies,  he  will  hang  the  two  out- 
lawes.     .     .     . 

Rob.     Now,  by  my  honours  hope,  .  .  . 
He  is  too  blame  :  say,  John,  where  must  they  die  ? 

John.    Yonder's  their  mothers  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  mothers, 
Was  wishing  her  to  patience  for  their  deaths." 

Here  "  Enter  frier  Tucke ;"  some  conversation  passes,  and 
the  fiier  skeltonizes  ;  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  friers  speacht 

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  1  blowe  this  home,  come  both  and  heipe  mee. 

John.     Take  heed,  my  lord  :  the  villane  Warman  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  readic  when  I  call  for  yee. 
For  I  will  save  their  lives,  if  it  may  bee.  .  .  . 


Ixiv  NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Enter  Warman,  Scarlet  and  Scathhck  bounde,  frier  Tuck  as  their 
confesior,  officers  with  halberts. 

TVar.    Master  frier,  be  briefe,  delay  no  time. 
Scarlet  and  Scatlock,  never  hope  for  life  ; 
Here  is  tlie  place  of  execution, 
And  you  must  answer  lawe  for  what  is  done. 

■year.     Well,  if  there  be  no  remedie,  we  must : 
Though  it  ill  seemeth,  Warman,  thou  shouldst  bee. 
So  bloodie  to  pursue  our  lives  thus  cruellic. 

Scat.     Our  mother  savM  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.  .  .  . 

If'ar.     Ye  were  first  outlawcs,  then  ye  proved  thceves.  .  .  . 
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  sherifs  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  sherif  was  to  become  his  deputy.  The 
sherif  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  sherif  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  vdth  them,"  and  \vith  the  sherifs 
leave,  and  his  mans  help,  unbinds  them :  then,  sounds  his 
horn ;  and  "  Enter  little  .Tohn,  Much  .  .  .  Fight ;  the  frier, 
making  as  if  he  helpt  the  sheriffe,  knockes  down  his  men, 
crying,  Keepe  the  kings  peace.  Sheriffe  [perceiving  that  it  is 
"  the  outlawed  earle  of  Huntington"]  runnes  away,  and  his 

*  She  is  called  the  widow  Scarlet ;  so  that  Scatlilocke  was  the  elder 
brother.  In  fact,  however,  it  was  mere  i;inorance  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;  ScallUock,  Scadlock, 
Scarlock,  Scarlet. 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  IxV 

men."   (See  the  ballad  of  "  Robin  Hood  rescuing  the  widows 
sons,"  part  II.  num.  xxiii.) 

"  Fri.    Farewell,  earle  Robert,  as  I  am  true  frier, 
I  had  rather  be  thy  claike,  then  serve  the  prior. 

Hob.    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  kings  retnrue, 
And  being  outlawed,  leade  an  outlawes  life.  .  .  . 

John.     1  like  your  honours  purpose  exceeding  well. 

Bob.     Nay,  no  more  honour,  I  pray  thee,  little  John  ; 
Henceforth  I  will  be  called  Robin  Hoode, 
Matilda  shall  be  my  maid  Marian." 

Tlien  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  INIatilda,  tells  him  that  she  is 

li\dng  in  an  adulterous  state,  for  that 

"—Huntington  is  excommunicate, 

And  till  his  debts  be  paid,  by  Romes  decree. 

It  is  agreed,  absolv'd  he  caunot  be ; 

And  that  can  never  be.— So  never  wife,"  &c. 

Fitzwater,  on  this,  flies  into  a  passion,  and  accuses  the  prince 
of  being  already  marryed  to  "  earle  Chepstowes  daughter." 
They  "  fight;  John  falles."  Tlien  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,  IMatilda,  all  in  greene, 
.  .  .  Much, little  John;  all  the  men  with  bowes  and  arrowes.* 

*  In  "  The  booke  of  the  inventary  of  the  goods  of  my  lord  admeralles 
men  tacken  the  10  of  Marche  in  the  yeare  1598,"  are  the  following  proper- 
ties 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. 
Itein,  i  halte  for  Robin  Hoode,  i  hobihorse. 
Item,  Roben  Hoodes  sewtle. 
Item,  the  fryers  trusse  in  Roben  Hoode." 

Malones  Shak.  II.  ii.  (Emen.  &  ad.) 


IXVl  NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Hob.     Wind  once  inoic,  jolly  huntsmen,  all  yonr  liorns. 
Whose  shrill  5onn(i,  with  the  ecchoins;  wods  assist. 
Shall  ring  a  sad  knell  for  the  fearefidl  deere, 
Before  onr  feathered  shafts,  deaths  winged  darts, 
Bring  sodaine  summons  for  their  fatall  ends. 

Scar.     Its  ful  seavcn  years  since  we  were  outlawed  first. 
And  wealthy  Sherewood  was  our  heritage  : 
For  all  those  yeares  we  raigned  uncontrolde, 
From  Barnsdale  shrogs  to  Notinghanis  red  cliffes. 
At  Blithe  and  Tickhill  were  we  welcome  guests : 
Good  George  a  Greene  at  Bradford  was  our  friend. 
And  wanton  Wakeficlds  pinner  lov'd  us  well.* 
At  Barnsley  dwcls  a  potter,  tongh  and  strong. 
That  ne%er  brookt  we  brethren  should  have  wrong. 
The  nunnes  of  Farnsficld  (pretty  nuiines  they  bee) 
Gave  napkins,  shirts,  and  bands  to  him  and  mce. 
Bateman  of  Kendall  gave  us  Kendall  greene ; 
And  Sharpe  of  Leedes  sharpe  anows  for  us  made. 
At  Rotlierham  dwelt  our  bowycr,  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. 

ScatJi.     In  merry  Mansfield,  on  a  wrestling  day, 
Prizes  there  were,  and  yeomen  came  to  play. 
My  brother  Scarlet  and  niyselfe  were  twainc  ; 
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. 
Tlicre  by  sir  Doncastcr  of  '  Hothersfield,' 
We  were  bewraied,  beset,  and  furst  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. 

"  Joh.     First,  no  man  must  presume  to  call  our  master. 
By  name  of  earle,  lorde,  baron,  knight,  or  squire  : 
But  simply  by  tlie  name  of  Robin  Hoode. 

That  faire  Matilda  henceforth  change  her  name, 
'  And'  by  maid  Marians  name,  be  only  cald. 

*  George  a  Greene  and  Wakefields  pinner,  were  one  and  the  same 
person.     The  shoemaker  of  Bradford  is  anonymous. 


NOTES   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  Ixvii 

Thirdly,  no  yeoman  following  Robin  Hoode 
In  Sheiewod,  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  towues. 

Fiftly,  you  never  shall  the  poore  man  wrong. 
Nor  spare  a  priest,  a  usurer,  or  a  clarUe. 

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  greencwod  merrily. 
And  let  the  light  roes  bootlcsse  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  tlie  prior  and  sir  Doncaster,  to  serve 
an  execution  on  Robin,  in  disguise.  Jinny,  the  widow 
Scarlets  daughter,  coming  in,  on  her  way  to  Sherwood,  is 
persuaded  by  the  frier  to  accompany  him,  "  disguised  in 
habit  hke  a  pedlers  mort."  Fitzwater  enters  like  an  old  man : 
— sees  Robin  sleeping  on  a  green  bank,  Marian  strewing 
flowers  on  him ;  pretends  to  be  blind  and  hungxy,  and  is 
regaled  by  them.  In  answer  to  a  question  why  the  fair 
Matilda  (Fitzwaters  daughter)  had  changed  her  name,  Robin 
tells  him  it  is 

"  Because  she  lives  a  spotlesse  maiden  life  : 
And  shall,  till  Robins  outlawe  life  have  ende. 
That  he  may  lawfully  take  her  to  wife; 
Which,  if  king  Richard  come,  will  not  be  long." 

"  Enter  fiier  Tucke  and  Jinny  like  pedlers  singing,"  and 
afterward  "  Sir  Doncaster  and  others  weaponed." — Tlie  frier 
discovers  the  plot, and  a  fray  ensues.  The  scene  then  changes 
to  the  court,  where  the  prior  is  informed  of  six  of  his  bams 
being  destroyed  by  fire,  and  of  the  different  execrations  of  all 


Ixviii  NOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

ranks  upon  him,  as  tlie  undoer  of  "  the  good  lord  Robert, 
earle  of  Iluntiniiton;"  that  the  convent  of  St.  Marys  had 
elected  "  Okie  father  Jerome"  prior  in  his  place ;  and  lastlv 
a  herald  brings  his  sentence  ofbanishment,  which  is  confirmed 
by  tlie  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  so  be  sent.  Tie 
then  introduces  a  description  of  his  matchless  valour  in  the 
holy  land.  John  not  only  refuses  the  ransom-money,  but 
usurps  the  stile  of  king :  upon  which  Lester  grows  furious, 
and  rates  the  whole  company.  Tlie  following  is  part  of  the 
dialogue : 

"  Joh.    {to  Lester)  Daiest  Ihoii  aftempt  thus  proudly  in  onr  sight  ? 
Lest.    What  is"t  a  subject  ilaies,  that  I  dare  not? 
Sals.     Dare  subjects  dare,  their  soveraigue  beiug  by  1 
Lest-     O  god,  that  my  true  soveraigne  were  ny ! 
Qtt.    Lester,  lie  is. 
Lest.     Madam,  by  god,  you  ly. 
Chest.     Unmamicr'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  hnn  protection  and  service.  On  their 
departure : 

"  Joh,     Skclton,  a  worde  or  two  beside  the  play. 

Fri.     Now,  sir  John  Eltam,  what  ist  you  would  say, 

John.     Melhinks  I  see  no  jeasts  of  Robin  Hoode, 
No  merry  moricos  of  frier  Tuck, 
No  pleasant  skippin;;s  up  and  downc  the  wodde. 
No  liuntini;  songs,  no  conrsing  of  the  biicke : 
Pray  god  this  play  of  ours  may  have  good  lucke. 
And  the  king's  majestic  mislike  it  not ! 

Fri.     Ami  if  he  doc,  what  can  we  doe  to  that? 
I  proniis'd  him  a  play  of  Robin  Hoo<le, 
His  honorable  life,  in  merry  Slicrewod  ; 
His  majestic  himselfe  survaid  the  plot. 


NOTES   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  Ixix 

And  bad  me  boldly  write  it,  it  was  good. 

For  merry  jcasis,  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  Notinghain, 

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  reproaches 
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  dogs  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 
fetches  him  a  halter;*  in  which  he  is  about  to  hang  himself, 
but  is  prevented  by  Fitzwater,  and  some  of  Robin  Hoods 
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  striped  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  commelh  my  (-ovenant  out, 

My  master  gives  me  my  fee : 
Then  Robin  He  weare  thy  Kendall  greene, 

And  wend  to  the  greenewodde  with  thee."t 

•  Which,  by  the  way,  nas  termed  a  hempen  caudle.  See  the  second 
part  of  K.  H.  VI.  act  4,  scene  7.  Lord-chance  lor  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  liave  yet  some  friends  left:" 
at  the  bottom  of  the  barrel,  liowexer,  he  found  a  halter:  wliicli  changed 
his  countenance,  and  is  even  thought  to  have  hastened  his  death. 

+  See  the  baUad  of  "  The  jolly  pinder  of  Wakefield,"  Part  IL 
Num.  in. 

VOL.  1.  f 


IXX  NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

He  assumes  the  name  of  Woodnet,  and  is  detected  by  Scath- 
locke  and  frier  Tucke.  The  prince  and  Scathlocke  fight, 
Scallielocke  grows  weary,  and  the  fiier  takes  his  place. 
Marian  enters,  and  perceivin<i  the  frier,  parts  the  combatants. 
Robin  enters,  and  .lolin  submits  to  him.  IMucli  enters, 
running,  witli  information  of  tlie  approach  of"  tlie  king  and 
twelve  and  twen'ty  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  INIatilda.  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  Shenvood.  A  few  extracts  may 
not  be  unacceptable. 

"  Sc.  iiii.  Winde  homes.  Enter  king,  queene,  &c.  Frier 
Tuck  can-ying  a  stags  head,  dauncing."  The  frier  has  been 
sent  for  to  read  the  following  inscription  upon  a  copper  ring 
round  the  stags  neck  : 

"  When  Harold  Haie-foote  raigned  king. 
About  my  nccke  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/' 

"  Tliat  Harold,  being  Goodwins  sonne  of  Kent,* 
Hunted  for  pleasure  once  within  this  wood. 
And  singled  out  a  faire  and  stately  stagge, 
Whicli,  foote  to  foote,  the  king  in  running  caught; 
And  sure  this  was  the  stagge. 
King.     It  was  no  doubt. 

*  Fitzwater  confonnds  one  man  with  another ;  Harold  Harefoot  was 

the  son  and  successor  of  Canute  the  great. 


NOTES   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  Ixxi 

Chester.     But  some,  my  lord,  afiirme. 
That  Julius  Ciiesar,  many  years  before, 
Toolce  such  a  stagge,  and  such  a  poesie  writ:"* 

Upon  which  his  majesty  very  sagaciously  remarks, 

"  It  should  not  he  in  Julius  Caesars  time : 
There  was  no  English  used  in  this  land 
Untill  the  Saxons  came,  and  tliis  is  writ 
In  Saxon  characters." 


*  This  tradition  is  referred  to,  and  the  inscription  given  in  Rays 
Itineraries,  ir60,  p.  153.—"  We  rode  through  a  bushet  or  common  cal- 
led Rodwell-hake,  two  miles  from  Leeds,  where  (according  to  the  \nil£ar 
tradition)  was  once  found  a  stag,  with  a  ring  of  brass  about  its  neck, 
having  this  inscription : 

When  Julius  Cffisar  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.  i.  p.  250.)  Mrs. 
Midnight,  in  a  letter  "  To  the  venerable  society  of  antiquarians," 
containing  a  description  of  Caesars  camp,  on  Windsor  forest,  has  the 
following  passage :  "  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  Czesar'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 
again.  However,  as  she  continually  increased  in  strength  and  in  hulk, 
as  well  as  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 
not  bediscover'd  till  after  she  was  kill'd,  and  then  to  the  surprize  of  the 
virtuosi,  it  appear'd  with  this  inscription: 

When  Julius  C»sar  reigned  here. 
Then  was  I  a  little  deer; 
If  any  man  should  me  take. 
Let  me  go  for  Cjesar's  sake. 

"  This  collar,  which  is  of  pure  gold,  I  am  told  weighs  thirty  ounces, 
and  as  the  blood  of  the  creature  stiU  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 
lucnbratioDS  of  the  above  learned  body,  it  most  probably  never  came 


Ixxii  NOTES  AXD  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

The  next  quotation  may  be  of  service  to  Dr.  Percy,  who 
has  been  pleased  to  question  our  heros  nobihty,  because 
"  the  most  ancient  poems  make  no  mention  of  this  earldom," 
and  tlie  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. 

into  their  possession  ;  which  is  very  much  to  be  lamented,  as  it  would 
have  been  an  admirable  companion  for  Hardecnutes  chamber-pot,  King 
Edward  thr  firsts  finger,  and  other  similar  curiosities. 

Juvenal  des  Vrsins  gravely  relates  that  in  the  year  1390,  a  hart  was 
takecn  at  Senlis,  with  a  chain  about  his  neck,  inscribed  "  Ccesar  hoc 
me  donavit.'" 

Upton,  to  be  even  with  him,  supposes  a  hart  to  have  been  taken  at 
Baoshot  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  jeo  fitis  petis, 
Cest  coler  suz  man  col  ad  mys."t 

This  dictator  perpetuo,  in  fact,  seems  to  have  collared  every  hart  he 
took.  The  family  of  Poinpei  in  Italy  use  two  harts  for  their  supporters, 
on  whose  collars  were  the  letters  N.  M.  T.  in  memory  of  one,  on  whose 
collar  were  these  words :  "  Nemo  Me  Tanyat,  Coesaris  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 
tliem."  Natnrall  liistoiie,  (by  Holland),  IGOl.  (B.  8.  c.  32.)  Pausanias, 
moreover,  speaking  of  one  Leocydas,  w  ho  fought  for  the  Megalopolitans, 
in  conjunction  with  Lydiades,  against  the  Lacedajmonians  (about  the 
year  243  before  Chrisl),  says  he  was  reported  to  be  the  descendant  in  the 
ninth  degree  of  that  Arcesilaus,  who  living  in  Lycosura  saw  that  stag 
which  is  sacred  to  the  goddess  Dcspoine  worn  out  with  old  age.  This 
stag,  be  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.    (B.  8,  c.  10.) 


•   Histoire  de  Charles  VI.  +  Upton,  de  re  militari,  p.  119. 


NOTES  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  Ixxui 

"  Enter  Rohen  Hoode. 

King.    How  now,  caile  Robert! 

Fri.    A  forfct,  a  foifet,  my  liege  lord, 
My  masters  lawes  are  on  record, 
The  court-roll  here  your  grace  may  see. 

King.     I  pray  thee,  frier,  read  them  mee. 

Fri.     One  sliall  suthce,  and  this  is  hee. 
No  man  that  commcth  in  this  wod. 
To  feast  or  dwell  with  Robin  Hood. 
Shall  call  him  earle,  lord,  knight,  or  squire. 
He  no  such  titles  doth  desire, 
But  Robin  Hood,  plain  Robin  Hoode, 
That  honest  yeoman,  stout  and  good. 
On  paine  of  forfelling  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,* 
and  liberally  entertained  by  him  and  his  yeomanrj',  would 
take  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 

*  Robin,  in  the  old  legend,  expresses  his  regard  for  this  order  of  men 
(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  rayrthes  can. 
Or  yf  he  be  a  pore  man. 

Of  my  good  he  shall  have  some." 


Ixxiv  NOTES   AND   ILLl'STRATIONS. 

to  the  king.     His  departing  scene,  and  last  dying  speech  are  1 

beautifiil  and  pathetic. 

"  Rob.    Inough,  iiiough,  Fitzwater,  take  your  child. 
My  flying  frost,  which  no  sunncs  heat  can  thawe. 
Closes  the  powers  of  all  my  outward  parts  ; 
My  freezing  blood  runues  back  unto  ray  heart. 
Where  it  assists  death,  which  it  would  resist: 
Only  my  love  a  little  hinders  death. 
For  he  beholds  her  eyes,  and  cannot  smite. 


ATat.    O  let  mee  looke  for  ever  in  thy  eyes. 
And  lay  my  warme  breath  to  thy  bloodlesse  lips. 
If  my  sight  can  rcstraine  deaths  tyrannies. 
Or  keep  lives  breath  within  thy  bosome  lockt." 

He  desires  to  be  buryed 

"  At  Wakefield,  underneath  the  abbey-wall ; 

directs  the  manner  of  his  funeral ;  and  bids  his  yeomen, 

"  For  holy  dirges,  sing  '  him'  wodmens  songs." 

The  king,  upon  the  earls  death,  expresses  his  sorrow  for 
the  tragical  event ;  ratifies  the  will ;  repeats  the  directions 
for  the  fimeral ;  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  solemne  dirge  : 

"  Wcepc,  wcepe,  ye  wod-mcn  waile, 
Vour  hands  with  sorrow  wring  ; 
Your  master  Robin  Hood  lies  deade, 
Therefore  sigh  as  you  sing. 

Here  lies  his  primer,  and  his  beades. 
His  bent  bowe,  and  his  arrowes  keene, 
His  good  sworde  and  his  holy  crosse : 
Now  cast  on  flowers  fresh  and  greene. 

And,  as  they  fall,  shed  teares  and  say, 
Well  a,  well  a  day,  well  a,  well  a  day  ! 
Thus  cast  yec  flowers  and  sing, 
And  on  to  Wakefield  take  your  way." 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  IxXV 

The  poet  then  prosecutes  the  legend  of  Matilda,  who  is 
finally  poisoned,  by  the  procurement  of  king  John,  in  Dun- 
mow-prior}'. 

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  INIarian,  or  connected  in  any  shape  with  the  history 
of  Robin  Hood,  is  thus  related  by  Stow,  under  the  year 
1213  :  "  Tlie  clironicle  of  Dunmowsayth,  this  discord  arose 
betwixt  the  king  and  his  barons,  because  of  Mawd  called  the 
feire,  daughter  to  Robert  Fitzwalter,  whome  the  king  loved, 
but  her  father  would  not  consent;   and  tliereupon  ensued 

waiTe  tlirou^hout  England Wliilst   Mawd  tlie  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  Draytons  heroical  epistles  pass  between  king  John 
and  Matilda.     He  has  also  ^TOtten  her  legend. 

4.  "  Robin  Hood's  penn'orths,  by  Wm.  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  Jolles,  knight,  to 
the  high  office  of  lord  maior  of  London,  and  taking  his  oath 
for  the  same  authoritie,  on  Monday  being  die  30.  day  of 
October,  1615.  Performed  in  heartie  affection  to  him,  and 
at  the  bountifiiU  charges  of  his  worthy  brethren  the  truely 
honourable  society  of  drapers,  the  first  that  received  such 
dignitie,  in  this  citie.  Devised  and  written  by  A.  M. 
[Anthony  Mundy]  citizen  and  draper  of  London."  1615. 
4to. 

•  This  play  is  entered  in  master  Henslows  account-book  with  the 
date  of  December  1600.  See  Malones  Shakspeare,  Vol.  IL  Part  IL 
fEinen.  &  ad.) 


IXXVl  NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

This  is  one  of  the  pageants  formerly  usual  on  Lord-mayors- 
day,  and  of  which  several  are  extant,  wTitten  as  well  by  our 
author  INIundy,*  as  by  Middleton,  Dekker,  Heywood,  and 
other  hackney  dramatists  of  that  period.  They  were  thousjht 
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  1723-4.  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  tlieir  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  mases  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  op- 
pression 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 


•  "  The  triumphes  of  reunited  Britannia.  A  pageant  in  lionour  of  sir 
Leonard  Holliday  lord  mayor."    1605. 

t  Henry  Fitz-Alwine  Fiiz-Liefstane,  gold-smith,  first  mayor  of  London, 
was  appointed  to  that  office  hy  K.  Richard  I.  in  1189,  and  continued 
therein  till  the  15th  of  K.  John,  1212,  when  he  "  deceased,  and  was 
buried  in  the  priorie  of  the  holy  trinitie,  nearo  unto  Alilgate."  (Stows 
Survay,  1598.  p.  4!8.)  His  relationship  with  Robin  Hood  is  merely 
poetical,  and  iMVinte<i  by  Miindy  "  for  the  nonce;"  though  it  is  by  no 
means  improbable  tliat  they  were  acquainted,  and  that  our  hero  might 
ha\e  occasionally  dined  at  tlic  mansion  house  on  a  hird  mayors  day. 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  IxXvii 

Much  the  millers  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 
deliver  testimonie,  were  then  used  by  them  in  their  killing  of 

deere 

Afterward,  [viz.  after  "  Fitz-Alwines  speech  to  the  lord 
maior  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  peacefiill  sleepes  reinaiue, 

But  triumphes  and  ttreat  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  honours  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  millers  sonne  ; 

And  ere  ought  else  could  be  done, 

The  froUicke  frier  came  tripping  in. 

His  heart  upon  a  merrie  pinne. 


Ixxviii  NOTES  AND  ILLl'STKATIONS. 

Master  (quoth  he)  in  yonder  brake, 

A  deerc  is  liid  for  Marians  sake, 

Bid  Scalhlock,  John,  or  honest  Brand, 

That  hath  the  happy  hitlinf;  hand, 

Shoote  rif;hl  and  have  him  :  and  see,  my  lord, 

The  deed  performed  with  the  word. 

For  Robin  and  his  bow-men  bohl. 

Religiously  did  ever  holdc, 

Not  emptie-handed  to  be  seene, 

Were't  but  at  feasting  on  a  greene ; 

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  cunuiug  all  be  tride  a. 

Then  goe  we  merrily,  merrily  on, 

To  the  greenwood  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  l:e  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]. 

Onr  lives  are  wholly  given  to  hunt. 
And  hannt  the  merry  greene-wood  [a]  ; 

Where  our  best  service  is  daily  spent. 
For  our  master  Robin  Hood  [a]." 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  Ixxix 

6.  "  Robin  Hood  and  his  pastoral  May  games."     1624. 

7.  "  Ilobin  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  16th  century  to  the  restoration. 
But  neither  Langbaine,  who  mentions  both,  nor  any  other 
person,  pretends  to  have  ever  seen  either  of  them.  Tlie 
former,  indeed,  may  possibly  be  "  The  playe  of  Robyn 
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 
specifyed  are  of  Chetwoods  own  invention,  which  appears  to 
have  been  abundantly  fertile  in  every  species  of  forgery  and 
imposture. 

8.  "  Tlie  sad  shepherd,  or  a  tale  of  Robin  Hood." 

The  story  of  our  renowned  archer  cannot  be  said  to  have 
been  wholely  occupyed  by  bards  v\4thout  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  has  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:  [1]  "  Robin  Hood,  the  chief  woodman  [i.  e. 
forester],  master  of  tlie  feast.  [2]  Marian,  his  lady,  the 
mistress.  [3]  Friar  Tuck,  the  chaplain  and  steward.  [4] 
Little  John,  bow-bearer.     [5,  6]  Scarlet,  Scathlocke,*  two 

*  Jonson  was  led  into  this  mistake  by  the  old  play  of  Robin  HoimI. 
See  before,  p.  Ixiv. 


Ixxx 


NOTES  AXD  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


brothers,  huntsmen.  [7]  George  a  Green,  huisher  of  tlie 
bower.  [8]  Much,  Robin  Hoods  bailiff  or  acater."  The  rest 
are,  the  guests  invited,  the  witch  of  Paplewick,  her  daughter, 
the  swin'ard  her  son.  Fuck  Hairy  or  Robin  Goodfellow 
their  hind,  and  lastly  a  devout  hermit.  "  The  scene, 
Sherwood,  consisting  of  a  landscape  of  a  forest,  hills,  valleys, 
cottages,  a  castle,  a  river,  ])astures,  herds,  flocks,  all  full  of 
country  simplicity  ;  Robin  Hoods  bovver,  his  well,  &c." 
"The  argument  of  the  first  act"  is  as  follows:  "  Robin 
Hood,  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 
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  iT,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  mean  time  Marian  is  come  from  hunt- 
ing ....  Robin  Hood  enquires  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  INIaudlin  tlie  witch  of  Paple- 
wick, whom  one  of  the  huntsmen  met  i'  the  morning  at  the 
rouzing  of  the  deer,  and  is  confirmed  by  her  being  tlien  in 
Robin  Hoods  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 


NOTES  AXD  ILLUSTRATIONS.  IXXXl 

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  tlie  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  dispatcheth  out  his 
woodmen  to  hunt  and  take  her :  which  ends  the  act."  The 
third  act  was  designed  to  be  taken  up  with  the  chace  of  the 
witch,  her  various  schemes  to  elude  the  pursuers,  and  the 
discovery  of  Earine  in  the  swineherds  enchanted  oak.  No- 
thing more  of  the  authors  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.* 

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,  1661."     4to. 

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  die  sherifs  messenger,  become 
loyal  subjects. 

*  This  play  appears  to  have  been  performed  upon  the  stage  after  the 
restoration.  The  prologue  and  epilogne  (spoken  by  Mr.  Portlock)  are 
to  be  found  in  num.  1009  of  the  Sloane  MSS.  It  was  republished,  with 
a  continuation  and  notes,  by  Mr.  Waldron,  of  Drury-lane  theatre,  in 
1783. 


Ixxxii  XOTF.S   AXD   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

10.  "Robin  Hood.  An  opera,  as  it  is  perform'd  at  Lee's 
and  Harpers  great  theatrical  booth  in  liartholomew-feir." 
1730.     8vo. 

11.  "  Robin  Hood."     1751.     8vo. 

This  was  a  ballad-farce,  acted  at  Drury-lane  tlieatre ;  in 
which  the  foUowinij  favourite  sono;  was  originally  smig  by 
Mr.  Beard,  in  tlie  character  of  Robin  Hood. 

As  blithe  as  the  linnft  sin^s  in  the  green  wood. 

So  blitlic  we'll  wake  the  morn  ; 
And  through  the  w  ide  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  meiTy  Sherwood, 

Or  vanquish,  boys,  or  die. 

Our  hearts  they  are  stout,  and  onr  bows  they  are  good, 

As  well  their  masters  know  ; 
They're  cnll'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  shaft  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  ? 

12.  "  Robin  Hood ;  or,  Sherwood  forest:  a  comic  opera. 
As  "  performed  at  the  theatre-royal  in  Covent-gai-den.  By 
Leonard  Mac  Nally,  esq."     1784.     8vo. 

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  tlie  subject  of  Robin  Hood,  under  the  title  of 
Tlie  foresters,  has  been  long  expected  from  the  elegant  autlior 


NOTES  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  Ixxxiil 

of  The  school  for  scandal.  Tlie  first  act,  said  to  have  been 
written  many  years  ago,  is,  by  those  who  have  seen  or  heard 
it,  spoken  of^vith  admiration* 

(X) — "  innumerable  poems,  rimes,  songs  and  ballads."] 
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  parfitli  mi  paternoster,  as  the  preist  it  singeth, 
But  I  can  ryms  of  Roben  Hode,  and  '  Randolf '  erl  of  Chester, 
But  of  our  lorde  or  our  lady  I  lerne  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. 

+  1st  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  non- 
sensical evidence,  he  supposes  to  have  been  written  by  Randal  Higden, 
the  compiler  of  the  Polychronicon.  Of  course,  if  this  absurd  idea  were 
at  all  founded,  the  rimes  of  Robin  Hood  must  likewise  allude  to  certain 
Yorkshire  or  Nottinghamshire  plays,  written  by  himself.  The  "  Ran- 
dolf 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  pa- 
triot, and  dyed  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 : 


Ixxxiv  NOTES  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Fordun,  the  Scotish  historian,  who  ^^Tote  about  1340, 
speaking  of  Rol)in  Hood  and  Little  Jolin,  and  their  accom- 
phces,  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  jNIair  (or  Major),  whose  history  was  published  by  him- 
self in  1521,  observes  that  "  The  exploits  of  this  Robert  are 
celebrated  in  songs  throughout  all  Britain."  t  So,  likewise, 
raaister  Johne  Bellendene,  the  translator  of  "  that  noble  clerk 
maister  Hector  Boece  "  (Boisor  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/'J     Whatever  may  have  been  the 

"  I  can  iiouzt  perfiitli  my  patei-noster  as  a  prest  it  sj  ngeth : 

I  cau  ryiiies  of  Robyn  Hood,  of  Rondolf  eil  of  Chestre, 

Ac  of  oiire  lorde  iie  of  oiire  ladi  the  leste  that  ever  was  maked." 

fSee  also  Caligula,  A.  XI.) 

The  speaker  himself  could  have  (old  Mr.  Warton  he  was  no  frier  : 

"  I  have  ben  prieste  &  person  passynge  thyrty  winter, 
\et  can  I  nether  solfe,  ne  singe,  ne  sayntes  lyves  read  ; 
But  I  can  find  in  a  tielde  or  in  a  furlong  an  hare. 
Better  than  in  Beatus  vir  or  in  Beati  oniues 
Construe  one  clause  well,  &  kenne  it  to  my  parishens." 

*  "  De  qnibus  stolidum  wigus  hianter  in  comcediis  &  traga-diis  pru- 
rienter  festum  faciunt,  «S;  super  ceteras  '  romancias  minios  &  bardanos 
cantitare  delectantur."  Scolichronicou  (a  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  chivahy,  but— a  vulgar  ballad,  at  this  day. 

t  "  Rebus  hujus  Roberti  gestis  tota  Britannia  in  cantibus  utitur." 
Majoris  Britannia?  historia,  Edin.  1740.  p.  128. 

i  Hystiiry  of  Scotland,  Edin.  1511.  fo.  The  word  "  waithman"  was 
probably  suggested  by  Andrew  of  Wyntown  (see  before,  note (B.)  It  seems 
equivalent  to  the  English  vagabond,  or,  perhaps,  outlaw.  VVaith  is 
waif;  and  it  is  to  be  remembered  that,  in  the  technical  language  of  the 


XOTES  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  IxXXV 

nature  of  the  compositions  alluded  to  by  the  above  wTiters, 
several  of  the  pieces  printed  in  the  present  collection  are  un- 
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  subject 
we  now  possess ;  *  but  a  legend,  apparently  of  the  same 
species,  was  once  extant,  of,  perhaps,  a  still  earlyer  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  hand-writing  as  old  as  Henry  the  6ths  time. 
It  exhibits  the  chaiacters  of  our  hero  and  his  fidus  Achates  in 
the  noblest  point  of  view. 

"  He  sayd  Robyn  Hod  ....  yne  the  presoD, 
And  owght  off  hit  was  gon. 

The  porter  rose  a-non  certeyn. 

As  soiie  as  he  bard  Johan  call  ; 
Lytjil  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  bond  ; 
He  toke  the  way  to  Robyn  Hod, 

And  sone  he  hyme  unboiid. 

He  gatfe  hym  a  good  swerd  in  his  bond. 
His  bed  ther-with  for  to  kepe; 


English  courts,  a  woman  is  said  to  be  waived,  and  not  outlawed.  "  In 
our  auld  Scottish  langage,"  says  Skene,  "  ane  Vothman  is  ane  out-law, 
or  ane  fugitive  fra  the  lawes."  (De  verborum  significations,  Edin.  1597) 
It  is  from  jjaeXan,  venari,  fuyare.  See  Lyes  Dictionary.  The  pas- 
sage above  quoted  does  not  occur  in  Boises  original  work. 

*  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,  lac.  is  "  a  book  of  Robin 
Hood  and  Little  John."  Captain  Cox  of  Coventry  appears  to  have  had 
a  copy  of  some  old  edition :  see  Lanehams  Letter  from  Killingworth, 
1575. 


VOL.   I. 


g 


IxXXvi  NOTES   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS, 

And  ther  as  the  wallis  wer  lowest. 
Anon  down  ther  they  lepe. 


To  Robyn sayd : 

I  have  <ione  the  a  god  tome  for  an  .  . 

Quit  me  when  thow  may ; 
I  have  done  the  a  gode  tome,  sayd  lytyll  [Johan], 

Forsothe  as  I  the  saye; 

1  have  browghte  the  under  the  grcn  wod  .  .  . 
Farewell  &  have  godo  daye. 

Nay,  be  my  trowthe,  sa)d  Robyn, 

So  schall  it  never  bee  ; 
I  make  the  master,  sayd  Robyn, 

Otr  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.  ^^'ilhelm  Bedweil  found  in  the 
ancient  MS.  lent  him  by  his  much  honoured  good  friend 
M.  G.  Withers,  whence  he  extracted  and  published  "  The 
tumament  of  Tottenham,"  a  poem  of  the  same  age,  and  which 
seemed  to  him  to  be  done  (perhaps  but  transcribed)  by  sir 
Gilbert  Pilkington,  formerly,  as  some  had  tl\ought,  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  sixteenth  century  is  evident  from  tiie  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  1570,t  says: 

*  "  Description  of  the  town  of  Totttiiham-hii;h-crosse,  &c."  London, 
(1631,4to.)1781,8vo.  The  invaluable  MS.  alluckd  to  has  been  since  dis- 
covered ;  and  the  entire  poem,  of  which  Mr.  Rilson  lias  here  given  a 
fragment,  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix.     Ed. 

t  The  book,  under  the  same  title,  printed  by  Wynken  dc  Worde,  in 
1517,  is  a  different  translation  in  prose. 


NOTES  AND   ILLUSTRATION'S.  IxXXvii 

"  I  write  no  jeste  lie  tal«  of  Robin  Huod." 

Again : 

"  For  goodlie  scripture  is  not  -worth  au  hawe. 
But  tales  are  loved  ground  of  ribandry ; 
And  many  are  so  blinded  with  their  foly, 
That  no  scriptur  thinke  they  so  tnic  nor  gode. 
As  is  a  foolish  jest  of  Robin  Hodc." 

Again : 

"  And  of  all  fables  and  jestes  of  Robin  Hood, 
Or  oilier  trifles." 

The  same  Barclay,  in  the  fourth  of  his  Egloges,  subjoined 
to  the  last  edition  of  The  ship  of  foles,  but  originally  printed 
soon  after  1500,  has  the  following  passage : 

"  Yet  would  I  gladly  heare  some  nieiy  fit 

Of  niaide  Marion,  or  els  of  Robin  Hood, 

Or  Benteleyes  ale,  which  chafoih  well  the  blood. 

Of  Perte  of  Norwich,  or  Sauce  of  Wilberton, 

Or  buckishe  Joly  *  well  stuffed  as  a  Ion." 

Robert  Braham,  in  his  epistle  to  the  reader,  prefixed  to 
Lydgates  Troy-book,  1555,  is  of  opinion  that  "  Caxtons  re- 
cueil"  [of  Troy]  is  "  worthye  to  be  numbred  amongest  tlie 
trifelinge  tales  and  barrayne  luerdries  of  Robyn  Hode  and 
Bevys  of  Hampton."  (See  Ames's  Typographical  antiquities, 
by  Herbert,  p.  849.) 

"  For  one  that  is  sand  blynd,"  says  sir  Thomas  Chaloner, 
"  woulde  take  an  asse  for  a  moyle,  or  anotiier  prayse  a  rime 
of  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  hys- 

*    Mr.  Warton  reads  Toby,   and  so,  perhaps,  it  may  be  in  former  edi- 
tions. 


IxXXviii  NOTES  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

tories,  of  Canterburye  tales,  or  a  fit  of  lloben  Hode."    (Ser-        I 
mens,  sig.  A.  iiii.)  ^ 

Tlie  following  lines,  from  a  poem  in  the  Hyndford  MS. 
compiled  in  1568,  afford  an  additional  proof  of  our  heros 
popularity  in  Scotland  : 

"  Thair  is  no  story  that  I  of  licir, 
.  Of  Jobne  nor  Rvljene  Hudc, 

Nor  zit  of  Wallace  wicbt  but  weir, 
Tbat  me  thinkcs  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  Uius  address  "  old  Winken 
de  Word :" 

"  Come,  sit  we  down  under  this  hawthorn-tree. 
The  morrows  light  shall  lend  us  day  enough, 
And  let  us  tell  of  Gaweii,  or  sir  Guy, 
Of  Robin  Hood,  or  of  old  Clem  a  Clongh." 

Richard  Johnson,  who  wrote  "  The  histor)'  of  Tom 
Tliumbe,"  in  prose,  (London,  1621,  12mo.  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  llood,  little  John,  the  fiyer,  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 
tale,  by  John  Ilepwith,  gentleman,  printed  in  1641,  4to.  the 
author  says, 

"  Let  us  talke  of  Robin  Hoode, 

And  little  John  in  merry  Shirewoode,&c."* 

*  Honest  Barnaby,  i.  e.  Richard  Brathwaytc,  who  wrote  or  travelled 
ab<int  16-H),  was  well  acquainted  with  our  heros  story. 

"  Veni  Nottirinhani  tyrones 
Sherwoodense.s  sunt  lalronts. 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  Ixxxix 

Of  one  very  ancient,  and  undoubtedly  once  very  popular, 
song  this  single  line  is  all  that  is  now  known  to  exist : 

"  liobtn  l^oolr  in  Uarnslialc  stooti." 

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  plaintifs  close,  &c.  Plea,  Liberum  tenementura 
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, 
tliat  defendant  entered,  &c.  by  command  of  sir  John.  De- 
murrer: and  adjudged  against  plaintif,  on  the  ground  of  the 

Instar  Robin  Hood,  &  servi 
Scarlet  &  Joannis  Paivi ; 
Passim,  sparsim,  peculantur, 
Cellis,  sylvis  depraedautur. 

"  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  ofpeacc  to  Oxford,  had  the  kin^s  answer  scaled  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  majesty  replied,  What  is  that  to  you,  who  are  but  to  carry  what  I 
send,  and  if  I  will  send  the  song  of  Uobin  Hood  and  Little  John,  you 
must  carry  it?  To  which  the  commissioners  only  said,  that  the  business 
about  which  they  cainc  was  of  somewhat  more  consequence  than  that 
song."    [Memorials,  p.  115.) 


XC  NOTES  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

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  tlie  plea  or  replication  should  be 
certain  to  all  intents,  because  it  is  traversable.  Here,  there- 
for, he  should  have  stated  sir  Johns  seisin,  as  well  as  the  lease 
at  will ;  which  is  not  done  here  :  "  mfS  tCUt  tin  conif  i\  USt 
ffplif  Robin  Whood  in  Bamwood  stood,  absque  hoc  q[  tiff, 
p  COmmantrcmfUt  sir  John.  Quod  nota.  Per  Fenner,  Wil- 
liams et  Crook  jiisttrjs  sole  en  court.  dSt  jutrgtitrnt  tionc 
accordant.    Yelv.  p  trcf." 

In  the  case  of  Bush  v.  Leake,  B.  R.  Trin.  23  G.  3.  BuUer, 
justice,  cited  the  case  of  Coulthurst  v.  Coultliurst,  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  Bamwood,  in  the  preceding  quotations, 
ought  to  be  Barnsdale.*  Witli  respect  to  Whood,  the  reader 
will  see,  under  note  (P),  a  remarkable  proof  of  tlse  antiquity 

*  There  is,  in  fact,  sneh  a  place  as  Barnwood  forest,  in  Biickinuliani- 
shire ;  but  no  one,  except  Mr.  Hearne,  has  hitherto  supposed  that  pari 
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  s<ing  now  lost  (see  vol.  ii.  p.  40) :  and  it  is 
not  a  little  remarkable  that  Jetteries,  Serjeant,  on  the  trial  of  Pilkington 
and  others,  for  a  riot,  in  1C83,  by  a  similar  confusion,  quotes  the  line  in 
question  thus: 

"  Robin  Hood  upon  Greendale  stood."    (State-trials,  iii.  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,  inrrcnl  amon^  the  pea- 


NOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  XCl 

of  lliat  pronunciation,  which  actually  prevails  in  the  metro- 
polis at  this  day.  See  also  the  word  "  whodes  in  note  (EE). 
So,  likewise.  Bale,  in  his  Actes  of  English  votaries,  1560, 
says,  "  the  monkes  had  their  cowles,  caprones  or  whodes ;" 
and  in  Stows  S«7Tflj/,1598,  p.  120,  have  "  a  fooles  whoode." 
This  celebrated  and  important  line  occurs  as  tlie  first  of  a 
foolish  mock-song,  inserted  in  an  old  morality,  intitled  "  A 
new  interlude  and  a  mery  of  tlie  nature  of  the  iiii  elementes," 
supposed  to  have  been  printed  by  John  Rastall  about  1520 ; 
where  it  is  thus  introduced  : 

"  Hu[mani/te].    let  us  some  Iiisty  balet  syng. 

Ynglnorance].     Nay,  syr,  by  the  hevyn  kyng : 
For  me  thynkyth  it  seivyth  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  ? 

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. 

Hu.    Then  a  feleshyp,  let  us  here  it. 
Yng.    But  there  is  a  l)ordon,  thou  must  here  it, 

Or  ellys  it  wyll  not  be. 
Hu.     Than  begyn,  and  care  not  for    .     .     . 

Downe  downe  downe,  &c. 


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 — o  was  he. 


XCU  NOTES  AND   I  L  L  LSTR  ATION  S. 

n 

Yny.    Robyii  Hixie  in  Barnysdale  etode. 
And  kilt  liyin  tyl  a  iiiapvll  Ihyslyll; 
Than  cam  uur  lady  &  s«fte  sayul  Audrewc: 
Slepyst  thou,  wakyst  thou,  Gelfrcy  Coke  J  • 

A  c.  wyntcr  the  water  was  depe, 
I  can  not  tell  you  how  brode  ; 
He  toke  a  gose  nek  in  his  haiide. 
And  over  the  water  he  went. 

He  start  up  to  a  thystell  top, 
And  cut  hyin  downe  a  holyu  clobbc ; 
He  stroke  the  wren  betwene  the  hornys. 
That  fyre  sprange  out  of  the  pygges  taylc. 

Jak  boy  is  thy  bow  i-broke. 
Or  hath  any  man  done  the  wryguldy  wrange  ? 
He  pUikkyd  muskyllys  out  of  a  wyllowe, 
And  put  rhem  in  to  bis  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  byides  in  niery  Englond, 
So  merely  pypys  the  mery  botell." 

"  The  lives,  stories,  and  giftes  of  men  which  are  contained 
in  tlie  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. 

Gwalter  Lynne,  printer,  in  his  dedication  to  Ann,  duchess 
of  Somerset,  of  "  The  true  beliefe  in  Christ  and  his  sacra- 
mentes,"  1550,  says,  "  I  woulde  wyshe  tharfore  that  al  men, 
women,  and  chyldren,  would  read  it.    Not  as  they  haue  l)eiie 

*  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  tliou,  Jefifery  Cooke?" 

occurs,  likewise,  in   a  medley  of   a   similar  description,  in   rdiiiiiielia. 
1609. 


NOTES   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  XCIII 

here  tofore  accustomed  to  reade  the  fained  stoiyes  of  Robin- 
hode,  Clem  of  die  Cloughe,  wy  th  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  Lo^ie,  about  1599,  says,  in 
one  of  his  "  Hymnes  or  sacred  songs,"  printed  in  tliat  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  ScoUand.  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. 

Suft'er  all  slander  against  god  and  his  truth. 

And  praise  the  old  fashion  in  king  Arthur's  days. 

Of  abbays  and  monasteries  how  it  is  great  ruth 

To  have  them  plucked  down,  and  so  the  eldest  says; 

And  how  it  was  merry  when  Robin  Hoods  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  stripILog,  to  lead  Volans  dance. 

With  roguing  Gangweeke,  a  goodly  remembrance. 

With  beads  in  every  band,  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.  Ramseys  Practice  of  the  divell.  b.  1. 

All  the  entne  poems  and  songs  known  to  be  extant  will 
be  found  in  the  follo\ving  collection ;  but  many  more  may 
be  traditionally  preserved  in  different  pans  of  the  country 
which  would  have  added  considerably  to  its  value.*     That 

•  In  "  SeracKtus  rxdens,  or  a  discourse  between  Jest  and  Earnest," 
a  periodical  paper,  against  the  whigs,  published  in  1681,  and  collected 
and  republished  in  1713,  (No.  34)  Jest  begins  singing: 

"  Bills,  hows,  and  axes,  quoth  Robin  Hood, 
But  I  have  not  time  to  lelX; 


XCIV  NOTES   AND   ILLUSTRATION'S. 

some  of  these  idemical  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  infered  firom  a  passage  in  Webbes  Discourse 
of  English  poetrie,  printed  in  1586.  "  If  I  lette  passe," 
says  he,  "  the  unaccountable  rabble  of  ryming  ballet-makers, 
and  compylers  of  sencelesse  sonets,  who  be  most  busy  to 
stufTe  every  stall  full  of  grosse  devises  and  unlearned  pam- 
phlets, I  trust  I  shall  with  the  best  sort  be  held  excused. 

Youder's  the  sheriff  aud  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  eighth  of  May,  called  the  Furry -day,  si\p- 
posed  Floras  day,  not,  it  is  imagined,  "  as  many  have  thought,  in  remem- 
brance of  some  festival  instituted  in  honour  of  that  goddess,  but  rather 
from  the  garlands  commonly  worn  on  that  day."  (See  the  same  publi- 
cation for  June  and  October,  1790.)  This  verse  was  the  wi  ole  that  Mr. 
Urbaus  correspondent  could  then  recollect,  but  he  thought  he  might  be 
afterward  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  lo  do  with  the  thing.     But  the  fact  is,  that  the  first  eight  days  of 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  XCV 

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,  ice.  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  miglit  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 

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 
tor  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  Rumbclow,  was  an  ordinary  chorus  to 
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  battle  of  Bannock-burn. 

To  lengthen  this  long  note :  Among  the  Harloian  MSS.  (num.  367.)  Is 
the  fragment  of  "  a  tale  of  Robin  Hood  dialouge-wise  beetweeue  Watt 
and  Jeffry.  The  morall  is  the  overtlirowe  of  the  abbyes ;  the  like  being 
attempted  by  the  Puritane,  w  hich  is  the  wolfe,  and  the  politician,  which 
is  the  fox,  agaynst  the  bushops.  Robin  Hood,  bushop  ;  Adam  Bell, abbot ; 
Little  John,  coUeauges  of  the  university."  This  seems  to  have  been  a 
common  mode  of  satyrizing  both  the  old  church  and  the  reformers.  In 
another  MS.  of  the  same  collection,  (N.  207)  written  about  1532,  is  a 
tract  entitled  "  The  banckett  of  John  the  reve,  unto  Peirs  Ploughman, 
Laurens  Laborer, Thomlyn  Tailyor,and  Hobb  of  the  HiUe,  with  others:" 
being,  as  Mr.  Wanley  says,  a  dispute  concerning  transubstantiation  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  praise. 
The  object  of  its  satire  seems  to  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  Walpole. 


XCVI  NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

(poeticall,  I  should  say)  heades,  I  woulde  vvyshe,  at  their 
■worshipfull  comencements,  might,  in  steede  of  lawrell,  be 
gorgiously  garnished  with  fayre  greene  bailey,  in  token  of 
their  good  affection  to  our  Englishe  malt."  Tlie  chief  object 
of  this  satire  seems  to  be  William  Elderton,  the  drunken 
ballad-maker,  of  whose  compositions  all  but  one  or  two  have 
unfortunately  perished.* 

Most  of  the  songs  inserted  in  the  second  of  these  volumes 
were  common  broad-sheet  ballads,  printed  in  the  black  letter, 
with  wood  cuts,  between  the  restoration  and  the  revolution  ; 
though  copies  of  some  few  have  been  found  of  an  earlyer 
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  spuit  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  tlie 
times,"  he  says,  "  is  certain."     None  of  these  songs,  it  is  be- 


•  Chatterton,  in  his  "Memoir?  of  a  sad  dog,"  represents  "  baron 
Otranto"  (mcanine;,  the  honorable  Horace  Walpole,  now  earl  of  Orford) 
when  on  a  visit  to  "  sir  Stentor,"  as  highly  pleased  with  Robin  Hoods 
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  w  hich  we  now  have,  but  there  is  sutficient  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  liave  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, 
10  whom  the  names  and  places  he  should  mentinn  in  it  are  familiar,  would 
belie\e  and  declare  tliey  liad  heard  it  from  llieir  earliest  years."  (Bos- 
wcHs  Journal,  p.  486.) 


I 


NOTES   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  XCVll 

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  tlie  modem  ones,  of  Bow  or  Aldermary  church-yard, being 
taken  from  the  collection  of  old  ballads,  1723,  where  it  is 
placed  at  the  head  of  Robin  Hoods  birth  and  breeding.  Tlie 
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."  12mo. 
On  the  back  of  the  title-page  is  the  following  Grub-street  ad- 
dress : 

"  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 ; 


XOVlll  \OTKR   AND    ILLUSTRATION'S. 

Which  large  ailflitioii  iired?  iiiusl  please,  I  know, 

All  ihe  ingeniou.-i  '  yediiuii '  of  the  bow. 
To  read  how  Robin  Hood  and  Little  John, 

Brave  Scarlet,  Stntcly,  valiant,  bold  and  free, 
Each  of  them  bravely,  fairly  pl.iy'd  the  man, 

Wliile  they  did  reign  beneath  the  green  wood  tree; 
Bisliops,  friars,  likewise  many  more, 
Parted  with  their  gold,  for  to  increase  their  store, 
Bnt  never  would  they  rob  or  wrong  the  poor." 

The  last  seven  lines  are  not  by  the  autlior  of  tlie  first  six, 
but  were  added  afterward;  perhaps  when  the  twenty -four 
songs  were  increased  to  twenty-seven.* 

(Y) — "  has  given  rise  to  divers  proverbs:"]  Proverbs, in 
all  countries,  are,  generally  speaking,  of  very  great  antiquity ; 
and  therfor  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  upward  of  500  years,  which  is  no 

»  The  following  note  is  inserted  in  the  fourth  edition  of  the  Reliques 
of  ancient  English  poetry,  published  in  July  1795  (vol.  L  p.  xcvii) : 

"  Of  the  24  songs  in  what  is  now  c;illed  "  Robin  Hood's  garland," 
many  are  so  modern  as  not  to  be  found  in  Pepy's  collection  completed 
only  in  1700.  In  the  [editors]  folio  MS.  are  ancient  fragments  of  the  fol- 
lowing, viz.— Robin  Hood  and  the  beggar.— Robin  Hood  and  the  butcher. 
—Robin  Hood  and  fryer  Tucke.— Robin  Hood  and  the  piudar.— 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  difterent  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  cirenmstance  of  its  comprising  fragments  of  the 
above  ballads  is  no  proof  of  a  higlier  antiquity  ;  any  more  tlian  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  tlie  MS.  coidd  be  collated,  it  would  probably  turn  out  that  many  of  its 
contents  have  been  inaccurately  and  unfaithfidly  transcribed,  by  some  il- 
literate person,  from  printed  copies  still  extant,  and,  consequently,  that 
it  is,  so  far,  of  no  authority.     See  Ihe  advertisement  prefixed. 


I 


NOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  XCIX 

modern  date.  Tliey  are  here  arranged,  not,  perliaps,  accord- 
ing to  their  exact  chronological  order,  but  by  the  age  of  the 
authorities  tliey  are  taken  from. 

1.  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  charabre  of  stars 

All  matters  there  he  mars ; 

Clapping  his  rod  on  the  horde. 

No  man  dare  speake  a  word  ; 

For  he  hath  all  the  saying, 

Without  any  renaying : 

He  roUeth  in  his  recordes, 

He  saith,  How  say  ye  my  lordes  ? 

Is  not  my  reason  good  'i 

Good  even,  good  Robin  Hood."* 

2.  Many  men  talk  of  Robin  Hood  that  never  shot  in  his 
bow. 

"  Tliat  is,  many  discourse  (or  prate  rather)  of  matters 
wherein  they  have  no  skill  or  experience.  Tliis  proverb  is 
now  extended  all  over  England,  though  originally  of  Not- 
tinghamshire extraction,  where  Robin  Hood  did  principally 
reside  in  Sherwood  forrest.  He  was  an  arch  robber,  and 
withal  an  excellent  archer  ;  tliough  surely  the  poet  f  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 

*  Mr.  Warton  has  mistaken  and  misprinted  this  line  so  as  to  make  it 
absolute  nonsense. 

"  Is  not  my  reason  good? 

Good — even  good— Robin  Hood." 

(His.  En.  po.  vol.  ii.) 
+  Draytons  Poly-Olbion,  song  26,  p.  122.     (Supra  p.  xii.) 


/ 

C  NOTES   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

higher  than  the  breast,  and  within  less  tlian  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. 
Fullers  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  Ed- 
ward Coke  in  his  3d  Institute,  p.  197.  See  also  note  (W). 
It  is  thus  noticed  by  Jonson,  in  "  The  king's  entertainment 
at  Welbeck  in  Nottinghamshire,  1633  :" 

"  This  is father  Fitz-Ale,  herald  of  Derby,  &c. 

He  can  fiy  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  stones  of  him  show, 
(Though  he  ne'er  shot  in  his  bow) 
Than  au'  men  or  believe,  or  kno.v. 

We  likewise  meet  with  it  in  Epigrams,  &c.  1654  : 

"  In  Virtutera. 

"  Vertne  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  Woods  collection, 
he  has  written, 

"  There  be  some  that  prate 

Of  Robin  Hood,  and  of  his  bow. 

Which  never  shot  therein,  1  trow." 


Ray  gives  it  thus : 

"  Many  talk  of  Ro 
And  many  talk  of 

which  Kelly  has  varyed,  but  without  authority. 


"  Many  talk  of  Robin  Hood,  that  never  shot  in  his  bow. 
And  many  talk  of  little  John,  that  never  did  him  know  :" 


XOTES   A^'D  TLl.USTRA'riO\S.  CI 

Camdens  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  do\TOfall  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  Dycers  Dreame  &c."  1 560. 
4to.  b.  1. 

"  Your  sodain  stormes  and  thuudre  claps,  your  boasts  and  braggs  so  londe  : 
Hath  doone  no  harme  tliogh  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. 

Moiti  pailau  di  Oilando 

Chi  non  viddtio  mai  siio  brando. 

3.  To  overshoot  Robin  Hood. 

"And  lastly  and  chiefly,  they  cry  out  with  open  mouth  as 
if  they  had  overshot  Robin  Hood,  that  I'lato  banislied  them 
[i.e.  poets]  out  of  his  commonwealth."  Sir  P.  Sidneys  De- 
fence of  poesie. 

4.  Tales  of  Robin  Hood  are  good  [enough]  for  fools. 
This  proverb  is  inserted  in   Camdens  Remains,  printed 

originally  in  1605;    but  the  word  in  brackets  is  supplyed 
from  Ray. 

5.  To  sell  Robin  Hoods  pennyvForths. 

•  In  Chorchyards  "  Replication  onto  Camels  objection,"  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  Launcclot  rie  Lake, 
Hath  taujjht  you  full  oft  your  verses  to  make." 

VOL.  I.  h 


CU  NOTES   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

"  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,  ^^'hither- 
soever  he  came,  he  carried  a  fair  along  with  him ;  chapmen 
crowding  to  buy  his  stollen  commodities.  But  seeing  The 
receiver  is  as  bad  as  the  tliief,  and  such  buyers  are  as  bad  as 
receivers,  the  cheap  pennyworths  of  plundered  goods  may  in 
fine  prove  dear  enough  to  their  consciences."  Fullers  Worthies, 
p.  315. 

This  saying  is  alluded  to  in  the  old  nortli-country  song  of 
Randal  a  Bamaby: 

"  All  men  said,  it  became  me  well. 

And  Robin  Hoods  pennyworths  1  did  sell." 

6.  Come,  turn  about,  Robin  Hood. 

Implying  that  to  challeii'j;e  or  defy  our  hero  must  have 
been  the  ne  plus  ultra  of  courage.  It  occurs  in  Wit  and 
drollery,  1661. 

"  Oh  Love,  whose  power  and  might, 

No  creature  ere  withstood. 
Thou  forcest  me  to  write, 

Come  turn  about  Robin-hood." 

7.  As  crook'd  as  Robin  Hoods  bow. 

That  is,  we  are  to  conceive,  when  bent  by  himself.  Tlie 
following  stanza  of  a  modern  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  age. 

Her  teeth  were  like  tobacco  peg?. 

Besides  she  had  two  bandy  legs. 

Her  back  more  crook'd  than  Robin  Hoods  bow. 

Purblind  and  decrepid,  unable  to  go ; 

Altho'  her  years  were  sixty  three. 

She  sniil'd  at  the  humours  of  Soosthe  Bue." 


NOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  CllI 

8.  To  go  round  by  Robin  Hoods  barn. 

This  saying,  wliich  now  first  appears  in  print,  is  used  to 
imply  the  going  of  a  short  distance  by  a  circuitous  metliod, 
or  the  farthest  way  about. 

(Z) — "  to  swear  by  him,  or  some  of  his  companions,  ap- 
pears to  have  been  a  usual  practice."]  The  earlyest  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  VIII.  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.  Tliey  shall  not 
come  this  way,  said  the  one.  But  they  shall,  said  the  other. 
Then  said  the  other,  &  if  tliat  thou  make  much  to  doe,  I  will 
put  my  finger  in  thy  mouth.  A  turd  thou  wilt,  said  the  other. 


CIV  NOTES  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

And  as  they  were  at  their  contention,  another  man  of  Gottam 
came  from  tlie  market,  \rith  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  rne,  said  he  that  had  the  meale,  and  lay  my  sack 
upon  my  shoulder.  Tiiey  did  so ;  and  he  went  to  the  one 
side  of  the  bridge,  and  unloosed  the  mouth  of  the  sacke,  and 
did  sliake  out  all  his  meale  uito  the  river.  Kow,  neighbours, 
said  the  man,  how  much  meale  is  there  in  my  sacke  now  ? 
Marry,  there  is  none  at  all,  said  tliey.  Now,  by  my  faith, 
said  he,  even  as  much  wit  is  in  your  two  heads,  to  strive  for 
that  thnig  you  have  not.  \Miich  was  the  wisest  of  all  tliese 
three  persons,  judge  you."* 

"  By  the  bare  scalp  of  Robin  Hoods  fet  frier," 
is  an  oatli  put  by  Shakspeare  into  the  mouth  of  one  of  his 
outlaws  in  the  Two  gentlemen  of  \'erona,  act  4.  scene  1. 
"  Robin  Hoods  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. 

(AA) — "  his  songs  have  been  prefered  not  only,  on  the 
most  solemn  occasion,  to  the  psalms  of  David,  but  in  feet  to 
the  new  testament."]  "[On  Friday,  March  9th.  1733]  was 
executed  at  Northampton  AMlliam  Alcock  for  tlie  murder  of 
his  wife.  He  never  own'd  t!ie  fact,  nor  was  at  all  concern'd 
at  his  approaching  death,  refusing  the  prayers  and  assistance 

»  See  the  orisjinal  story,  in  wliiili  two  biollieis,  of  «lioiii  one  liad 
wished  for  a*  many  oxen  as  he  saw  stars,  the  oilier  for  a  pasture  as  wide 
as  tlie  firmament,  kill  each  other  about  the  pasturage  of  the  oxen,  (from 
Camer.  oper.  siibscis.  cent.  1.  c.  92.  p.  4'29)  in  \VHnle\^  Little  world  of 
man,  ediiion  of  1774.  p.  426.  Canierarius,  it  seems,  had  the  story  from 
Scardeonius  de  rhiris  riiuhiis  Pataviiiis ;  wheme  it  is  also  relaied  in  the 
notes  to  Upton  di-  studiomilitari ;  and  .in  older,  of  the  like  kind,  is  tu  the 
Faceti*  of  Poi^gius. 


NOTES  AND   ILLUSTUaTIONS.  CV 

of  any  persons.  In  the  morning  he  rlrank  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,*  &c.  and  swore,  kick'd  and  spurn 'd  at  every  person 
that  laid  hold  of  the  cart;  and  before  he  was  turn'd  off,  took 
oft' 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  persons  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,  volume 
III.  page  154.) 

To  this  maybe  added, that  at  Edinburgh, in  1565,"  Sandy 
Stevin  menstrall"  [i.e.  musician]  was  convinced  of  blasphemy, 
alledging,  That  he  would  give  no  moir  credit  to  The  new 
testament,  tlien  to  a  tale  of  Robin  Hood,  except  it  wer  con- 
firmed be  the  doctours  of  the  church."  (Knox's  Historie  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, — 

*  "  Derry  down  is  the  burden  of  th€  old  songs  of  the  Druids  sung  by 
their  Bards  and  Vaids,  to  call  the  people  to  their  religious  asseniblys  in 
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.  Stukely,  in  his  copy  of 
Robin  Hoods  garland.     "  Paul,  Paul,  thou  art  beside  thyself!" 


CVI  NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

"  Their  frantyke  foly  is  so  pevisshe, 
Tliat  they  contempne  in  Englisshe, 

To  have  the  new  testament ; 
But  a?  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  tlie  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  stmnt. 
Thus  dothe  alyens  us  loutte. 
By  that  ye  spreade  aboute, 

After  that  old  sorte  and  wonte. 
You  allowe  they  saye, 
Legenda  aurea, 

Roben  Hoode,  Bevys,  &  Gower, 
And  all  bagage  be  syd, 
But  gods  word  ye  may  not  abyde. 

These  lyese  are  your  chnrche  '  dower.' " 

See,  also,  before,  p.  Ixxxv.* 

So,  in  Laurence  Ramseys  Practise  of  the  divell,  (n.  d.  4to. 
b.l.) 

"  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." 

(BB)  "  His  servnce  to  the  word  of  god."]  "  I  came  once 
myselfe,"  says  bishop  Latimer,  (in  his  sixtli  sermon  before 

•  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  prajers  :  "  Now,  lord,  thou  seest  that  many  people  go 
away  from  hearing  thy  word ;  but  liad  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.  15«. 


NOTES  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  CVU 

king  Edward  VI.)  "to  a  place, riding  on  a  jomeylionaevvard 
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  gatlier  for  Robin  Hoode,  I 
pray  you  let  them  not.  I  was  fayne  there  to  geve  place  to 
Robin  Hoode.  1  thought  my  rochet  shoulde  have  bene  re- 
garded, thoughe  I  were  not ;  but  it  woulde  not  serve,  it  was 
feyne  to  geve  place  to  Robin  Hoodes  men. 

"  It  is  no  laughying  matter,  my  frendes,  it  is  a  weepyng 
matter,  a  hea\7  matter,  under  the  pretence  for  gatherynge  for 
Robin  Hoode,  a  tray  tour*  and  a  theefe,to  put  out  a  preacher, 
to  have  his  office  lesse  esteemed,  to  preferre  Robin  Hoode 
before  the  ministration  of  gods  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  pre- 
ferre Robin  Hoode  to  gods  worde.  If  the  bishoppes  had 
bene  preachers,  there  shoulde  never  have  bene  any  such 
thing,  &c." 

(CC)— "  may  be  called  the  patron  of  archery."]  The  bow 
and  arrow  makers,  in  particular,  have  always  held  his  memory 


•  The  bishop  grows  scurrilous.  "I  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  strans^e  for  me  to  make 
myself  a  Robin  Hood,  a  Kett,  or  a  Cade?") 


CVlll  NOriiS   AND   I  LLUSTIIATIONS. 

in  tlio  Utmost  reverence.  Thus,  in  the  old  ballad  of  Loudons 

ordiiiHiy : 

"  TUe  hosiers  will  diae  at  the  Leg, 

The  diapeis  at  the  sign  of  tlie  Brush, 
Tilt  Iklclicrs  to  Rubin  Ho«id  will  j;o, 
And  the  spcndtlirill  to  Beggars-busli."* 

Tlie  picture  of  our  hero  is  yet  a  common  sign  in  the 
country,  and,  before  hanging-signs  were  abolislied  in  London, 
must  have  been  still  more  so  in  the  city;  there  being  at  pre- 
sent no  less  than  a  dozen  alleys,  courts,  lanes,  &c.  to  which 
he  or  it  has  given  a  name.  (See  Baldwins  New  complete 
guide,  1770.)  The  Kobin-Hood-society,  a  club  or  assembly 
for  public  debate,  or  school  for  oratory,  is  well  known.  It 
was  held  at  a  public  house,  wliich  had  once  borne  the  sign, 
and  still  retained  the  name  of  tliis  great  man,  in  Butcher-row, 
near  Temple-bar. 

It  is  verj'  usual,  in  the  nortli  of  England,  for  a  publican, 
whose  name  fortunately  happens  to  be  John  Little,  to  have 
the  sign  of  Robin  Hood  and  his  constant  attendant,  with  this 
quibbling  subscription  : 

You  gentlemen,  and  yeomen  good. 
Come  in  and  drink  with  Robin  Hood; 
If  Robin  Hood  be  not  at  liome, 
Ci>ine  in  and  drink  wiili  Little  John.t 

An  honest  countryman,  admiring  the  conceit,  adopted  the 

•  This  ballad  seems  to  have  been  written  in  imitation  of  a  song  in  Hey- 
voods  Rape  of  Lucrece,  1630,  beginning— 

"The  gentry  to  the  Kings-head, 
The  nobles  to  the  crown,  &c." 

+    In  Arnolds  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  w  ith  Robin  Hood ; 
If  Robin  Ho.id  abroad  i?  gone, 
Pray  st:iv  and  drink  with  little  John." 


NOTES  AND   ILLUSTIIATIOXS.  CIX 

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  green, 
Under  a  tree  with  liis  drawn  bow  that  stood. 
Which  in  a  chequer'd  flag  far  oft'  was  seen ; 
It  was  the  picture  of  old  Robin  Hood." 

(DD) — "  the  supernatural  povpers  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  amuse- 
ment. 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  K.  Arthur."  (Watsons  His- 
tory of  Halifax,  p.  27.) 

At  Birchover,  six  miles  south  of  Bakewell,  and  four  from 
Haddon,  in  Derbyshire,  among  several  singular  groupes  of 
rocks,  are  some  stones  called  Robin  Hoods  stride,  being  two 
of  the  highest  and  most  remarkable.  The  people  say  Robin 
Hood  lived  here. 

(EE) — "  having  a  festival  allotted  to  him,  and  solemn 
games  instituted  in  honour  of  his  memory,  &.c."]  These 
games,  which  were  of  great  antiquity,  and  different  kinds, 
appear  to  have  been  solemnized  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  tlie  sake  of  aiiui.^emeiit. 


ex  NOTES  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

"  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,  liad  their 
severall  mayinges,  and  did  fetch  in  INIaj'poles,  with  divers 
warlike  shewes,  witli  good  archers,  morrice-dancers,  and  other 
devices  for  pastime  all  tlie  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  INIaypole  in  Comhill,  before 
the  parish,  church  of  S.  Andrew,  tlierefore  called  Undershafte) 
by  meane  of  an  insurrection  of  youthes  against  alianes  on 
Mayday,  1517,  the  ninth  of  Ilenrj'  the  eight,  have  not  beene 
so  freely  used  as  afore."     (Survay  of  London,  1398.  p.  72.) 

Tlie  disuse  of  these  ancient  pastimes,  and  the  consequent 
"  neglect  of  archerie,"  are  thus  pathetically  lamented  by 
Richard  Niccolls,  in  his  Londons  artillery,  1616  : 

"  How  is  it  that  our  London  hath  laid  downe 

This  worthy  practise,  wliich  was  once  the  crowne 

Of  all  her  pastime,  when  her  Robin  Hood 

Had  wont  each  yeare,  when  May  did  clad  the  wood. 

With  lustie  grccne,  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  tlien  a  manly  sight  and  trim. 

To  see  a  youth  of  cleane  compacted  lim,  A  description 

Who,  with  a  comely  grace,  in  his  left  hand  of  one  drawing 

Holding  his  bow,  did  take  his  stedfast  stand,  a  bow. 

Setting  his  left  leg  somewhat  foorth  before. 

His  arrow  with  his  right  hand  nocking  sure. 

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."* 

*  This  description  is  finely  illustrated  by  an  excellent  wood  cut  at  the 
head  of  one  of  Anthony  a  Woods  old  ballads  iu  the  Ashmoleian  museum. 
The  frontispiece  to  Gervas  Markhams  Archerie,  1634,  is,  likewise,  a  man 
draw  iiig  a  how. 


NOTES  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  CXI 

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  tlie  observance  of  May.     Some 
short  time   after  his  coronation,  says  Hall,  he   "  came  to 
Westminster,  with  the  queue,  and  all  their  traine :  and  on  a 
tjTne  being  there,  his  grace  therles  of  Essex,  ^^'ilshire,  and 
other  noble  menne,  to  the  numbre  of  twelve,  came  sodainly 
in  a  momyng  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 
an-owes,   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  certajTi  daunces 
and  pastime  made  thei  departed."    (Hen.  \'III.  fo.  6,  b.) 
The  same  author  gives  the  following  curious  account  of  "  A 
mai}'nge"  in  the  7th  year  of  this  monarch  (1316):  "  Tlie 
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,  &c  the  kyng  was 
content.     Then  he  whisteled,  and  all  the  ii.  C.  archers  shot 
&  losed  at  once;  and  then  he  whisteled  again,  and  they 
likevs^se  shot  agayne ;  their  arrowes  whisteled  by  craft  of  the 
head,  so  that  the  noyes  was  straunge  and  great,  and  muehe 
pleased  the  kyng,  the  quene,  and  all  the  company.     All 


CXll  NOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

these  archers  were  of  the  kynges  garde,  and  had  thus  appa- 
reled themselves  to  make  solace  to  the  kynge.  Tlien  Robyn 
Hood  desyred  the  kyng  and  queue  to  come  into  the  grene 
wood,  and  to  se  how  the  outlawes  lyve.  The  kj-ng  de- 
maunded  of  the  quene  and  her  ladyes,  if  they  durst  adven- 
ture to  go  into  the  wood  witli  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,  ver)'  well  made  and 
covered  with  Houres  and  swete  herbes,  which  the  kyng  muche 
praised.  Then  sayd  RobjTi  Hood,  Sir,  outlawes  brekefastes 
is  venyson,  and  therefore  you  must  be  content  with  such  fare 
as  we  use.  Tlien  the  kyng  and  quene  sate  doune,  and  were 
sened  with  venyson  and  ^yne  by  Robyn  Hood  and  his  men, 
to  their  great  contentacion.  Then  tlie  kyng  departed  and 
his  cor.ipany,  and  Robyn  Hood  and  his  men  them  con- 
duicted ;  and  as  they  were  retumyng,  there  met  with  them 
two  ladyes  in  a  ryche  chariot  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  \\-ith  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.) 

Tliat  this  sort  of  Alay-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  amicient  order  societie  and   unitio  laudable  of  prince 
Arthiire  and  his  knightly  armory  of  the  round  table.  .   .  Traiulattd  and 


NOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  CXui 

"  And,  lieare  because  of  archery  I  do  by  penne  explane, 
The  use,  the  prottet,  and  the  praise,  to  England  by  the  same, 
Myselte  remembreth  of  a  cliildc  in  contreye  native  mine,  (1553) 

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, 
III  shooting,  yearely  this  with  solempne  feast  was  by  the  gnylde 
Or  brotherhood  of  townsmen  don,  with  sport,  with  joy,  and  love. 
To  protfet  which  in  present  tyme,  and  afterward  did  prove." 

The  games  of  Robin  Hood  seem  to  have  been  occasion- 
ally of  a  dramatic  cast.  Sir  John  Paston,  in  the  time  of 
K.  Edward  IV.  complaining  of  the  ingratitude  of  his  ser- 
vants, mentions  one  who  had  promised  never  to  desert  him, 
"  and  ther  uppon,"  says  he,  "  1  have  kepyd  hym  thys  iii 
yer  to  pleye  seynt  Jorge,  and  Robyn  Hod  and  the  shryf  off 
Notyngham,*  and  now  when  I  wolde  have  good  horse  he  is 
goon  into  Bernysdale,  and  I  withowt  a  keeper." 

collected  by  R.  R.  London,  Imprinted  by  John  Wolfe  dwelling  in  Dis- 
tafi'e-lane  ueere  the  siirne  of  the  (!astle.  1583."  4lo.  b.  1.  It  appears 
from  this  publication  that  on  the  revival  of  London  archery  in  queen 
Elizabeths  time,  "  the  v\orshipfull  socyety  of  archers,"  instead  of  calling 
themselves  after  Robin  Hood  and  his  companions,  took  the  names  of 
"  the  magnificent  prince  Arthure  and  his  knightly  traine  of  the  round 
table."  It  is,  probably,  to  one  of  the  annual  meetings  of  this  identical 
society,  tiiat  m.ister  Shallow  alludes,  in  The  second  part  of  K.  Henry  IV. 
"  I  remember,"  says  he,  "  at  Mile-end  green  [their  usual  place  of  exer- 
cise,]—I  was  then  Sir  Dagonet  in  Arthur's  shew,  &c."  (See  also  Stee- 
ven.s's  Shakspeare,  1793.  ix.  142.)  The  successors  of  the  above  "friendly 
and  frank  fellowship"  assumed  the  ridiculous  appellations  of  duke  of 
Shoreditch,  marquis  of  Clarkenwell,  earl  of  Pancridge,  &c.  See  Woods 
Bownians  glory,  1682. 

•  Meaning  that  his  sole  or  chief  employment  had  been  in  Christmas 
or  May-games,  Whitsun-ales,  and  such  like  idle  diversions.  See  Oii- 
ginal  letters,  &c.  ii.  134. 

In  an  old  circular  wood  cut,  preserved  on  the  title  of  Robin  Hoods 
Garland,  1670,  as  well  as  on  that  of  Adam  Bell,  &c.  printed  at  New- 
castle in  1772,  is  the  apparent  repiesentation  of  a  may  game,  consisting 
of  the  following  personages:  i.  A  bishop.  2.  Robin  Hood.  3.  The 
potter  (or  begger).  4.  Little  John.  5.  Frier  Tuck.  6.  Maid  Marian. 
Figures  2  and  4  are  distinguished  by  their  bows,  and  dilterent  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. 


CXIV  NOTES  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

In  some  old  accounts  of  the  church-wardens  of  Saint  He- 
lens at  Abingdon,  Berks,  for  the  year  1556,  there  is  an  entry 
For  setting  up  Robins  Hoodes  Bower;  I  suppose,  says  War- 
ton,  for  a  parish  interlude.  (See  History  of  English  poetrj', 
ii.  175.)* 

At  lord  FitzwiUiams's  at  Richmond,  there  's,  or  lately  was,  a  curious 
painting,  by  Vinckenboonis,  representing  old  Richmond  palace,  with  a 
group  of  niorris-dancors.  It  has  been  badly  ent;raved  by  Godfrey,  who 
reduced  the  figures  to  too  small  a  scale.  Mr.  Douce  has  a  tracing  from 
the  original  picture  with  all  the  figures  distinctly  marked.  Sec  a  poem 
at  the  end  of  Hall's  Downfall  of  May-games,  1661.  4to. 

•  The  precise  purpose  or  meaning  of  setting  up  Robin  Hoods  bower 
has  not  been  satisfactorily  ascertained.  Mr.  Hearne,  in  an  attempt  to 
derive  the  name  of  "  The  Chiltern  country"  (Clltejin,  Saxon)  from 
silex,  a  flint,  has  the  following  words:  "  Certe  Silcestriam,  &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)  be- 
fore he  retired  into  the  north  parts,  frequently  robing  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  to  cus- 
tom, the  mind  with  sports)  certain  countrymen,  with  whom  we  had 
accidentallj-  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  Lcland  in  his  Itinerary,  called  Frith,  by  which 
name  the  Anglo-Saxons  themselves  spoke  of  thickets.  For  although 
pfliiS  in  reality  signlfys  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  pjlloCJ":  and  that  Maydenhead-thicket  was  esteemed 
among  the  greater  woods  Leiand  himself  is  a  witness.     Rightly  therefor 


NOTES   AND   ILLUSTRATIONS.  CXV 

In  some  places,  at  least,  these  games  were  nothing  more 
in  effect,  than  a  morris-dance,  in  which  Robin  Hood,  Little 
John,  Maid  INIarian,  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  taborer,  and  the  dancers,  who  were  more 
or  less  numerous.    Thus  Warner : 

"  At  Paske  began  our  morrise,  and  ere  penticost  our  May, 

Tho  Roben  Hood,  liell  John,  frier  Tucke,  and  Marian  deftly  play. 

And  lard  and  ladie  ^ang  till  kirke  with  lads  and  lasses  gay."t 

Perhaps  the  clearest  idea  of  these  last-mentioned  games, 

did  Robin  Hood  (as  ppi<S-bena)  reckon  himself  to  abide  there  in 
security.  (Clironicon  de  Dunstaple,  p.  387.)  What  he  means  by  all 
this  is,  doubtless,  sutficiently  obscure  :  the  mere  name,  however,  of  Robin 
Hoods  bower  seems  a  very  feeble  authority  for  concluding  that  gallant 
outlaw  to  have  robed  or  skulked  in  the  Chiltern-hiindreds. 

It  may  seem,  perhaps,  from  a  passage  in  Brownes  Britannias  Pasto- 
rals (Song  4),  that  Bobin  Hoods  bower  was  prepared  for  the  reception 
of  himself  and  his  Marian,  as  king  and  queen  of  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  bagpipes  strains." 

*  See  Steevenses  Shakspeare,  1793.  x.  18C. 

+  Albions  England,  1602,  p.  I'il.  It  is  part  of  the  "  Northerne  mans 
speech  against  the  friers."     He  adds : 

"  At  Baptis-day  with  ale  and  cakes  bout  bonfires  neighbours  stood. 
At  Martle  masse  wa  turnd  a  crabbc,  thiike  told  of  Roben  Hood, 
Till  after  long  time  myrke,  when  blest  were  windowes,  dares  and  lights. 
And  pails  were  fild,  and  hathes  were  swept,  gainst  fairie  elves  and  sprits  : 
Rock  and  plow  Mondaies  gams  .  .  .  with  saint-feasts  and  kirk-lights." 

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  clowns  similics  in 
All's  well  that  ends  well  ('ct  2,  scene  2). 


CXVl  TfOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

about  the  beginning  of  the  16th  century,  will  be  derived 
from  some  curious  extracts  given  by  Mv.  Lysons,  in  his  valu- 
able work  intitled  "  The  environs  of  London,"  (\'ol.  I.  1792. 
p.  226)  from  the  contemporary  accounts  of  the  "  church- 
wardens of  the  parish  of  Kingston  upon  Tliames." 

"  Robin  Hood  and  May-game. 

"  23  Hen.  7.  To  the  raenstorell  upon  May-day  0  0     4 

For  paynting  of  the  mores  garments  and  for 

sarten  gret  leveres  * 0  2     4 

For  paynting  of  a  bannar  for  Robin  Hode  0  0     3 

For  2  jM.  &  i  pyimys 0  0  10 

For  4  plyts  and  ^  of  laun  for  the  mores  gar- 
ments        0211 

For  orsedenf  for  the  same 0  0  10 

*  "  The  word  livery  was  formerly  used  to  signify  any  thing  delivered  ; 
see  the  Northumberland  household  book,  p.  60.  IT  it  ever  bore  such  an 
acceptation  at  that  time,  one  might  be  induced  to  .suppose,  from  the  fol- 
lowing entries,  that  it  here  meant  a  badge,  or  something  of  that  kind  : 

15  C.  of  leveres  for  Robin  Hode 050 

For  leveres,  paper  and  sateyn 0    0  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  tv>o  troops,  the  one  in  winter  livery,  tlie  other 
in  the  habit  of  the  spring.  See  Brands  Popular  antiquities,  p.  2G1." 
This  quotation  is  misapplied.  Liveiies,  in  the  present  instance,  are 
pieces  of  paper  or  sateyn  «itli  some  device  thereon,  which  were  distri- 
buted for  money  among  the  spectators.  So  in  a  passage  which  will  be 
shortly  quoted  from  J  acke  Drums  entertainment:  "Well  said,  my  boyes, 
I  must  have  my  lords  livory ;  what  is't '!  a  May-pole  V  See  also  Stubs'g 
Anatomie  nf  abuses,  1583,  sig.  M.  2.  6.  and  Skeltons  Don  Quixote,  part 
2.  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- 


NOTES   AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  CXVU 

For  a  goun  for  tlie  lady 0     0     8 

For  bellys  for  the  dawnsars 0     0  12 

24  Hen.  7.  For  little  John's  cote 0     8     0 

1  Hen.  8.  For  silver  paper  for  tlie  mores  dawnsars     0     0     7 

For  Kendall  for  Robyn  Hode's  cote     ..013 

For  3  yerds  of  white  for  the  frere's*  cote  .030 

For  4  yerds  of  kendall  for  mayde  Marian's  f 

hukej 034 

For  saten  of  sypers  for  die  same  huke  ..006 

For  2  payre  of  glovys  for  Robin  Ilode  and 

mayde  Maryan 0     0     3 

For  6  brode  arovys 0     0     6 

ram.  Mr.  Steevens  thinks  that  this  orseden  is  the  Arse-dine  of  old  Joan 
Trash,  in  Jonsons  Bartkolomew-fair,  and  means  flame-coloured  jmint, 
used  to  hobby-horses.  The  4  giants  for  the  revived  Midsummer  shew  at 
Chester,  in  1668,  were  "  to  be  cullered  tinsille  arsedine."  (MSS.  Har. 
2150.  fo.  373,  b.) 

"  *  The  friar's  coat  was  generally  of  russet,  as  it  appears  by  the  fol- 
lowing extracts  .  .  .  ."  The  coat  of  this  mock  frier  would,  doubt- 
less, be  made  of  the  same  stutf  as  that  of  a  real  one. 

"  t  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.  Steeven's  note  to  a  passage  in  Shakspere's  Heury  IV. 
This  character  in  the  morris-dances  was  generally  represented  by  a  boy. 
See  Strutt's  view  of  customs  and  manners,  vol.  iii.  p.  150.  It  appears 
by  one  of  the  extracts,  given  above,  that  at  Kingston  it  was  performed 
by  a  woman,  who  was  paid  a  shilling  each  year  for  her  trouble." 

"  I  Mr.  Steevens  suggests,  ivith  great  probability,  ihm  this  word  may 
have  the  same  meaning  as  howve  or  houve,  used  by  Chaucer  for  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  head- 
dress." Mr.  Steevens  was  never  less  happy  than  he  is  in  this  very  pro- 
bable conjecture.  The  word  howve  or  houve,  in  Chaucer,  is  a  mere  va- 
riation of  hood  :  and  maid  Maiians  head-dress  must,  to  be  sure,  have  been 
"  very  fine"  when  made  of  4  yards  of  broad  cloth  !  A  huke  is  a  womans 
gown  or  habit.  (Huke,  palla,  toga,  pallium  Btlgicis  feminis  usitatum. 
Shin.)    Skeltou  mentions  it  in  his  Elinour  Rumming  : 

"  Her  huke  of  Lyncole  grene." 

"  All  women  in  generall,"  says  Moryson,  speaking  of  the  Netherlands, 
"  when  they  goe  out  of  the  house,  put  on  a  hoykc  or  vaile,  which  covers 

VOL.  I.  i 


CXVm  NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

To  mayde  Marjan  for  her  labour  for  two 

years 020 

To  Fygge  the  taborer 0     6     0 

.  Kec*  for  RobjTi  Hod's  gaderyng  4  marks* 

5  Hen.  8.  Rec^  for  Robin  Hood's  gaderj-ng  at 

Croydon 094 

11  Hen.  8.    Paid  for  three  broad  yerds  of  rosett 

for  makyng  the  frer's  cote 0     3     6 

Shoes  for  the  mores  daunsars,  the  frere  and 

mayde  Maryan  at  7^  a  payre    ....     0     5     4 
13  Hen.  8.  Eight  yerds  of  fustyan  for  the  mores 

daunsars  coats 0160 

A  dosyn  of  gold  skynnes  for  the  morresf      .     .     0     0  10 
13  Hen.  8.  Hire  of  hats  for  Robynhode  .     .     .     0     0  16 

Paid  for  the  hat  that  was  lost      ....     0     0  10 

16  Hen.  8.  Rec*  at  the  church-ale  and  Robyn- 
hode all  things  deducted 3  10     6 

Paid  for  6  yerds  I  of  satyn  for  Robyn 

Hode's  cotys 0  12     6 

For  makyng  the  same 0     2     0 

For  3  ells  of  locrami 0     16 

their    heads,   and  han£;s  downe  vpon  their  backs  to  their  legges,   &c." 
(Itinerary,  1617,  p.irt  3,  p.  169.) 

Sir  John  Ciillum  seems  to  have  mistaken  Rose  Sparkes  "  best  hook" 
lor  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  Blounts  Glosographia,  nothing  can  be  more  com- 
pletely absurd.     Marian  is  Mary. 

"And  Marians  nose  looks  rede  and  raw." 

"  *  It  appears  that  this,  as  well  as  other  games,  was  made  a  parish 
concern." 

"  t  Probably  gilt  leather,  the  pliability  of  which  was  particularly  ac- 
commodated to  the  motion  of  the  dancers." 

"  t  A  sort  of  coarse  linen." 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  CXIX 

21  Hen.  8.    For  spunging  and  brushing  Robyn- 

hode's  cotys 002 

28Hen.8.  Fivehatsand4porsesforthedaunsars     0     0     4^ 

4  yerds  of  cloth  for  the  fole's  cote    ...     0     2     0 

2  ells  of  worstede   for  mayde   Maryans 

kyrtle 068 

For  6  payre  of  double  soUyd  showTie   ..046 

• To  the  mynstrele 0  10     8 

To  the  fiyer  and  the  piper  for  to  go  to 

Croydon 008 

29  Hen.  8.  Mem.  Lefte  in  the  keping  of  the 

wardens  nowe  beinge. 
A  frj'ers  cote  of  russet  and  a  kyrtele  of  a  worstyde  weltj'd 
with  red  cloth,  a  mowrens  *  cote  of  buckram,  and  4  morres 
daunsars  cotes  of  white  fustian  spangelyd  and  two  gryne 
saten  cotes  and  a  dysardd's  t  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.  Toilets  win- 
dow we  find  neither  Robin  Hood  nor  Little  John,  though 
Marian  and  the  frier  are  stil  distinguished  performers.]:  But 
in  the  scene  of  one,  introduced  in  the  old  play  of  Jacke 


"  *  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  forthe  dressesof  the  ancient  mummers.  One  of  the  figures 
in  Mr.  Toilet's  window,  is  supposed  to  be  a  morisco." 

"  +  Disard  is  an  old  word  for  a  fool." 

j  In  Ben  Jonsons  "  Masque  of  the  metamorphosed  gipsies,"  presented 


CXX  NOTES  AND   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Drums  entertainment,  first  printed  in  1601,  there  is  not  tlie 

least  symptom  of  any  of  the  four*     " The  taber  and  pipe 

strike  up  a  morrice.     A  shoute  witliin  :  A  lord,  a  lord,  a  lord, 

who !  t 

Ed.  Oh,  a  morrice  is  come,  observe  our  country  sports, 
Tis  Whitson  tyde,i  and  we  must  frolick  it. 

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  Holloway. 
Since  we  are  come  hither,  let's  spare  for  no  leather, 

To  dance  for  the  honour  of  Holloway. 

Ed.  Well  said,  my  boyes,  I  must  have  my  lords  livory :  what  is't  ?  a 


to  K.  James  in  1621,  (the  very  date,  by  the  way,  which  appears  on  Mr. 
Toilets  window,  we  have  the  following  dialogue  between  Cochret  and  Clod  : 

"Coc.  Oh  the  lord!  what  be  these?  .  .  . 

Clo.  They  should  be  morris-dancers  by  their  gingle,  but  they  have  no 
napkins. 
Coc.  No,  nor  a  hobby-horse. 

Clo.  Oh,  he's  often  forgotten,  that's  no  rule ;   but  there    is  no  tnaid 
Marian  nor  friar  amongst  them,  which  is  the  surer  mark. 
Coc.  Nor  a  fool  that  I  see."    (Toilets  Memoir.  J 

•  Neither  is  any  notice  taken  of  them,  where  the  characters  of  the 
morris-dance  are  mentioned,  in  The  two  noble  kinsmen,  by  Shakspeare 
and  Fletcher. 

+  This  was  a  usual  cry  on  occasions  of  mirth  and  jollity.  Thus,  in  the 
celebration  of  St.  Stephens  day,  in  the  Inner-Temple  hall,  as  we  find  it 
described  in  Dugdales  Origines  jnridiciales :  "Supper  ended,  the  con- 
stable-marshall  '  presenteth'  himself  with  drums  afore  him,  mounted 
upon  a  scaffold,  born  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.) 

t  "  'Tis  meet  we  all  go  forth. 

To  view  the  sick  and  feeble  parts  of  France  : 
And  let  us  do  it  with  no  show  of  fear  ; 
No,  with  no  more,  that  if  we  heard  that  England 
Were  busied  with  a  Whitsun  morris-dance." 

Shak.  K.  Hen.  V.  act  II.  scene  4. 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  CXXl 

maypole  ?    Troth,  'twere  a  good  body  for  a  courtiers  impreza,  if  it  had 
but  this  life,  Frustra  florescit.     Hold  cousin,  hold. 

He  gives  the  fool  money, 

Foole.  Thankes,  cousin,  when  the  lord  my  fathers  audit  comes,  wee'l 
repay  you  againe.     Your  benevolence  too,  sir. 

Mam.  What  1  a  lords  sonne  become  a  begger  I 

Foole.  Why  not?  when  beggers  are  become  lords  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  necde  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. 
TTie  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  association  they 
no  longer  derived  any  advantage.* 

An  old  writer,  describing  a  country  bridal  shew,  exhibited 
before  Q.  Ehzabeth,  at  Kenilworth  castle,  in  1575,  mentions 
"  a  lively  raoris  dauns,  according  too  the  auncient  manner, 
six  daunsers,  mawd  Marion,  and  the  fool." 

Stubses  chapter,  upon  "Lords  of  mis-rule,"  (Anatomie  of 
abuses,  1583J  contains  a  singular  description  of  a  grand 
parochial  morris-dance,  which  is  worthy  of  perusal. 

It  is  observable  that,  in  the  sham  2d  part  of  lludihras, 
published  1663,  this  place  is  said  to  be 

"  Highly  famed  for  Hocktide  games." 


*  Perhaps  also,  Robin  Hood  and  his  party  had  never  appeared  in  com- 
pany with  the  morris  dancers  but  at  one  particular  period,  in  the  be- 
ginning of  May,  whereas  we  find  that  Whitsuntide  was  no  less  devoted 
to  the  latter. 


CXXll  NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

(Greys  edition  of  Hudibras,  ii,  90.)  Of  what  nature  these 
were  (at  Kingston)  we  are  not  informed.  See  Plots  Natural 
history  of  Oxfordshire ;  Lelands  Collectanea,  V. ;  Koss. 

Hocktide  or  Hock-dai/  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  tlie 
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  Rohj/n  Hode, 
Little  John,  the  frere  and  mayde  Muryan,  were  fitted  out 
at  the  same  time  with  the  mores  daunsurs,  and,  consequently, 
it  would  seem,  united  with  them  in  one  and  the  same  ex- 
hibition.* 

"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."     Ilolinshed,  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 
satisfactory  or  consequential  can  be  discovered.  The  curious 
reader,  at  the  same  time,  may  consult  Spelmans  Glossary, 
voce  Maiuma,  and  Ducange,  vv.  Majuma,  Maius. 


*  It  must  be  confessed,  that  no  other  direct  anthority  has  been  met 
■with  for  constituting  Robin  Hood  and  Little  John  integral  characters 
of  the  morris-dancc.  That  maid  Marian,  however,  and  the  frier,  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  unaccountable. 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  CXXUI 

In  an  old  manuscript  musick  book  given  lately  by  Mr. 
Dalzsel  to  the  advocates  library  are  the  following  scraps  of 
songs  about  Robin  Hood. 


jj,^ 


"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,  joly,  &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  Shakspeare,  v. 
425.  (edition,  1778)  or  viii.  596.  (edition,  1793).  See  also 
Mr.  Waldrons  notes  upon  the  Sad  Shepherd,  1783,  p.  255. 
Morris-dancers  are  said  to  be  yet  annually  seen  in  Norfolk,* 
and  make  tlieir  constant  appearance  in  Lancashire,  t 

•  This  county  would  seem  to  have  been  famous  for  their  exertions  a 
couple  of  centuries  ago.  Will  Kemp  the  player  was  a  celebrated  morris- 
dancer;  and  in  the  Bodleian  library  is  the  following  scarce  and  curious 
tract  by  him :  "  Kemps  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  tille-page  is  a  wooden-cut-figiirc  of  Kemp 
as  a  morris-dancer,  preceded  by  a  fellow  with  a  pipe  and  drum,  whom 
he,  in  the  book,  calls  Thomas  Slye  his  taberer.— See,  in  Richard  Brath- 
waytes  Remains  after  death,  1618,  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. 


CXXIV  NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

In  Scotland,  "  Tlie  game  of  Robin  Hood  was  celebrated 
in  the  month  of  INIay.  The  populace  assembled  previous  to 
the  celebration  of  this  festival,  and  chose  some  respectable* 
member  of  the  corporation  to  officiate  in  the  character  of 
Robin  Hood,  and  another  in  tliat  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  tliis 
field  they  probably  amused  tliemselves  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 
E^itated  with  religious  controversy,  it  was  found  necessary 
to  repress  the  game  f  of  Robin  Hood  by  public  statute.  Tlie 
populace  were  by  no  means  willing  to  relinquish  tlieir  fa- 


*  "  Council  register,  v.  1.  p.  30." 

+  "Mary,  parliament  6.  c.  61.  A.  D.  1555."  "  Anentis  Robert  Hnde, 
and  abbot  of  Unreason.  Item,  It  is  statute  and  ordained,  tliat  in  all 
times  dimming,  na  maner  of  person  be  chosen  Robert  Hude,  nor  Little 
John,  abbot  of  unreason,  queenis  of  Maij,  nor  uthemise,  noiither  in 
burgh,  nor  to  landwart,  in  onie  time  to  cum  :  and  gif  ony  provest, 
baillies,  councell,  and  comnuinitie,  chuse  sik  ane  personage  as  Robert 
Hude,  Little  John,  abbotis  of  unreason,  orqueenis  of  Maij,  within  burgh, 
the  chusers  of  sik  sail  tine  their  freedome  for  the  space  of  live  zeires ; 
and  utherwise  salbe  punished  at  the  queenis  grace  will ;  and  the  ac- 
ceptar  of  sik  like  office  sail  be  banished  foorth  of  the  realme  :  and  gif 
ony  sik  persones  ....  beis  chosen  out-with  burgh,  and  uthers  landward 
towucs,  the  chusers  sail  pay  to  onr  soveraine  ladie  ten  poundes,  and 
their  persones  [be]  put  in  waird  there  to  rcmaine  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  over  the  Christinas  gambols,  and 
promoted  mirth  and  jolity  at  that  festive  season."  Northumberland 
household  book,  (notes,)  p.  441. 


NOTES  AKD  ILLUSTRATIONS.  CXXV 

vourite  amusement.  Year  after  year  the  magistrates  of 
Edinburgh  were  obliged  to  exert  their  authority*  in  repres- 
sing this  game;  often  ineffectually.  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  sti-angers ;  and  one  of  the 
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  f  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  tiimult.  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  tliey  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  tlie  pro- 
fanation of  the  sabbath,  by  making  J  of  Robin  Hood  plays." 
(Arnots  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  ever-green  : 

*  "  Council  register,  v.  4.  p.  4.  30." 
+  "  Knox's  history,  p.  270." 

%    "  Book  of  universal   kirk,  p.  414."     See  also   Keiths  History  of 
Scotland,  p.  216. 


CXXVl  NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

"  In  May  qiilicn  men  zcid  everichone 
With  Robene  Hoid  ami  Littill  Joline, 
To  bring  in  bowis  and  biikin  bubbynis : 
Now  all  sic  game  is  fastlingis  gone, 
Bot  gif  it  be  amangis  cloviu  Robbynis." 

(FF) — "  His  bow,  and  one  of  his  arrows,  his  chair,  his 
cap,  and  one  of  his  slippers  were  preserved  till  within  the 
present  century."  "  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  *  No- 
tingham,'  we  took  horse  and  went  to  visit  the  well  and 
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,  verj'  fomially  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."  (Bromes  Travels  over  England,  &c. 
1700,  p.  83.) 

"  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 
shewni  a  chair,  a  bow,  and  arrow,  ail  said  to  have  been  his 
[Robin  Hoods]  property."  (p.  82.) 

"  I  was  pleased  with  a  slipper,  belonging  to  the  famous 
Robin  Hood,  shewn  me,  fifty  years  ago,  at  St.  Anns  well, 
near  Nottingham,  a  place  upon  the  borders  of  Sherwood 
forest,  to  which  he  resorted."  (Journey  from  Bu-mingham  to 
London,  by  W.  Hutton.   Bir.  1785,  p.  174.) 

(GG) — "  not  only  places  which  afforded  him  security  or 
amusement,  but  even  the  well  at  which  he  quenched  his 
thirst,  still  retain  his  name."]   Robin-hoods-bay  is  botli  a 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  CXXVH 

bay  and  a  village,  on  the  coast  of  Yorkshire,  between  Whitby 
and  Scarborough.  It  is  mentioned  by  Leland  as  "  a  fiscber 
tounlet  of  20.  bootes  caullid  Robyn  Huddes  bay,  a  dok  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,  tliat  fearing  for  his 
safety,  he  foimd  it  necessary  to  desert  his  usual  haunts,  and, 
retreating  northward,  to  cross  the  moors  that  surrounded 
\Miitby,  [one  side  whereof  happens,  a  little  unfortunately, 
to  lye  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  tlie  whole  power  of  the 
English  nation  at  defiance.  Tlie  chief  place  of  his  resort 
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  Hoods  bay.  There 
he  fi-equently  went  a  fishing  in  the  summer  season,  even 
when  no  enemy  appeared  to  annoy  him,  and  not  far  firom 
that  place  he  had  buts  or  marks  set  up,  where  he  used  to 
exercise  his  men  in  shooting  with  the  long-bow."* 


•  History  of  Whitby,  York,  1779,  p.  146.  "  It  was  ahvays  believed," 
adds  tlie  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  houcs  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  Guisbrougb,  which 


CXXVllI  NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Near  Gloucester  is  "  a  famous  hill,"  called  "  Robin  Hoods 
hill ;"  concerning  which  there  is  a  very  foolish  modem  song. 
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- 
wallis)  is  a  very  handsome  stone  arch,  erected  by  the  lord 
Carlisle,  where  passengers  from  the  coach  frequently  drink 
of  the  fair  water,  and  give  tlieir  charity  to  two  people 
who  attend  there."  (Gents  History  of  York.  York,  1730, 
p.  234.*) 

Though  there  is  no  attendance  at  present,  nor  is  the  water 
altogetlier  so  fair  as  it  might  and  should  be,  the  case  was 
othei-wise  in  the  days  of  honest  Barnaby. 

"  Veni  Doncaster,  &c. 

Ncscit  sitis  artem  modi, 
Puteum  Robert!  Hoodi 
Veai,  &  liqnente  vena 


likewise  bear  the  name  of  Robin  Hoods  buts ;   and  others,  it  is  ima- 
gined, may  be  met  with  in  other  parts. 

*  Epigram  on  Robin  Hoods  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  latronibns  hospita  sylvae 

Heu  nimium  sociis  nota,  Robine,  tuis. 
Me  pudet  innocuos  latices  fudis«e  scelestis, 

Jamqiie  viatori  pocula  tuta  fero. 
En  pietatis  honos !  Comes  hanc  mihi  Carliolensis 

jEdem  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  18th 
and  20th  of  February,  1761,  at  the  deep  tragedy  of  beautiful,  eloquent, 
tender-hearted,  but  unfortunate  Jane  Shore,.  .  .  .  uttered  and  performed 
at  his  benefit"  .  .  .  (being  then  sctatis  70,  and  far  declined  into  the  vale 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  CXXIX 

Vincto*  catino  catena, 
ToUens  sitim,  parcum  odi, 
Solvens  obolura  custodi. 

"  Thence  to  Doncaster,  &c. 

Thirst  knowes  neither  meane  nor  measure, 

Robin  Hoods  well  was  my  treasure ; 

In  at  common  dish  enchained, 

I  my  furious  thirst  restrained : 

And  because  I  drunk  the  deeper, 

I  paid  two  farthings  to  the  keeper." 

He  mentions  it  again : 

"  Nunc  longinqnos  locos  odi. 
Vale  fons  Roberti  Hoodi. 

"  Now  I  hate  all  foreign  places 
Robin  Hoods  well,  and  his  chaces." 

A  different  well,  sacred  either  to  Robin  Hood,  or  to  St. 
Ann,  has  been  already  mentioned. 

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:  |{ 

Whose  tomb  at  Kirkleys  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." 

•  "  Viventes  venaj,  spine,  catinusque  catense. 

Sunt  Robin  Hoodi  nota  trophaja  sui." 
t  "A  well,  thorne,  dish,  hung  in  an  iron  chaine, 

For  monuments  of  Robin  Hood  remaine." 


§  He  dyed  in  1778,  aged  87. 
I  "  Omnes  agnovere  dcam;  la:tique  receptant 
Alcaeura  musae  comitem,  ponuntur  Izlcchi 
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." 


CXXX  NOTES   AND  ILLUSTUATIONS. 

"  Not  far  [off  Bitham,  in  Lincolnshire]  is  Rob)/n  Iluddes 
eras,  a  limes  of  the  shires."     Lelands  Itinerary,  I.  25. 

(HH) — "  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  them- 
selves, it  seems,  in  English  names,  which  are  bestowed  upon 
them  at  the  discretion  or  caprice  of  ilie  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, 
relates  the  following  anecdote  : 

"  The  reader  will  excuse  my  giving  him  another  instance 
. . .  .which  still  more  strikingly  displays  the  extreme  sensi- 
bility of  these  islanders,  in  respect  to  their  kings  dignity. 
Robin  Hood  (who  seemed  to  act  as  prime  minister,  and  ne- 
gotiated 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,  ungxiardedly 
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  Madagascai-ian  cot- 
tages. Our  countryman  was  soon  struck  with  the  impropriety 
of  his  behaviour,  followed  and  overtook  the  disputant,  and 
having  made  all  proper  concessions,  the  affair  was  happily 
terminated."* 

*  Voyage  from  Englaud  to  India,  1773,  p.  8.    In  a  subsequent  page. 


NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS.  CXXXl 

(II)  "After  his  death  his  company  was  dispersed."]  Tliey 
and  their  successors,  disciples  or  followers,  are  supposed  to 
have  been  aftervvard  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  1 3  E. 
1.  [c.  14.]  for  preventing  of  robbery,  murders,  burning  of 
houses,  &c.     Also  the  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  whence  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.) 

this  great  man  is  employed  in  a  commerce  of  a  more  delicate,  indeed,  but, 
according  to  European  notions,  less  honorable  nature,  which  he  manages 
with  cousnmmate  address. 


CXXXll  NOTES  AND  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

These  Roberdsmen  are  mentioned  in  Pierce  the  ploughmans 
crede,  written  about  1400  : 

"  And  right  as  Robartesmen  raken  abonte."  * 

Mr.  Warton,  who  had  once  tliought  that  the  friers  Robertines 
were  liere  meant,  observes  that  "  the  expression  of  Robin 
hoodes  men,  in  bishop  Latimers  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  concludnig  tliat  these  people 
were  so  named  after  Robin  Hood. 

(KK) — "the  honour  of  little  Johns  death  and  burial  is 
contended  for  by  rival  nations."]  I.  By  England.  At  the 
village  of  Hathersage,  about  6  miles  from  Castleton,  in  Derby- 
shire, is  Little  Johns  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;  but,  meeting 
afterward  with  many  unlucky  accidents,  he  carefully  replaced 
them ;  partly  at  tlie  intercession  of  the  sexton,  who  had  taken 
them  up  for  him,  and  who  had  in  like  manner  been  visited 
with  misfortunes :  upon  restoring  tlie  bones  all  these  troubles 
ceased.  Such  is  the  tradition  at  Castleton.  E.  Hargrove,  in 
his  "Anecdotes  of  archery,"  York,  1792,  asserts,  Uiat  "  the 
grave  is  distinguished  by  a  large  stone  placed  at  the  head, 
and  another  at  tlie  feet ;  on  each  of  which  are  yet  some  re- 
mains of  the  letters  I.  L."  (p.  26.)t    II.  By  Scotland.    "In 

*  They  likewise  seem  alluded  to  in  the  Vision,  fo.  1,  b. 

"  And  ryse  wyth  ribaudy  as  Rebertes  knaves." 

+  "  On  a  loose  paper,  in  Mr.  Ashmole's  hand  writing,  in  the  museum 
at  Oxford,  is  the  following  little  anecdote  : 
"  The  famous  Little  John  (Robin  Hood's  companion)  lyes  buried  in 


xoTF.s  AND  ir.LusTRATio^rs.         cxxxiii 

Murray  laiid"  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  pepiU.  He  hes 
bene  fourtene  ftit  of  hycht  *  witli  square  membris  effering 
thairto.  Vi.  zeris,"  continues  he,  "  afore  the  cumyng  of  this 
werk  to  lycht  we  saw  his  hanche-bane,  als  mekill  as  the  hail! 
bane  of  ane  man  :  for  we  schot  our  arme  in  the  mouth  thairof 
Be  quhilk  apperis  how  Strang  and  square  pepill  grew  in  our 
regioun  afore  thay  were  effeminat  with  lust  and  intemperance 
ofmouth."f  III.  By  Ireland.  "  There  standeth,"  as  Stani- 
hurst  relates,  "  in  Ostmantowne  greene  an  hillocke,  named 
little  John  his  shot.  Tlie  occasion,"  he  says,  "  proceeded  of 
this. 

"  In  the  yeere  one  thousand  one  hundred  foure  score  and 
nine,  tliere  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  beti-ayed  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 


Fethersedge  chmch-yard,  in  the  peak  of  Dcrbyfliirc,  one  stone  at  his 
head,  another  at  his  feet,  and  part  of  his  bow  hangs  up  in  the  chancell. 
Anno  1652."    H.  E[Ilis].     European  magazine,  October,  1794.  p.  295. 

*  This  seems  the  established  size  of  an  ancient  hero.  Tlie  grave  of 
Oawin,  king  Artliurs  nephew,  discovered  in  the  time  of  William  llie 
Conqueror,  was,according  to  AIalmcsbur\ ,"  (jKatuordecim pedes lonyum ." 
(De  gestis  regnm,  I.  3.)  Bois,  from  the  above  circumstance,  conceives 
<iur  "  Litil  Jhon  "  to  have  been  so  called  "per  ii'oniam."  Sec  his  original 
work,  fo.  ix. 

+  Historic  of  Scotland,  translatit  be  maister  Johne  Bcllcndcn,  Edin. 
ir>4\,  fo.  The  luxury  of  his  countrymen  will  appear  a  strange  complaint, 
in  the  mouth  of  a  Scotishmnn  of  the  ICth  century,  to  such  as  believe, 
with  tlie  late  Dr.  Johnson,  tiiat  they  learned  to  plant  kail  from  Crom- 
wells  soldiers,  and  that  "  when  they  had  not  kail  they  probably  had 
nothing."     (Junrney  to  the  Western  Islands,  p.  55.^ 

VOL.  I.  k 


CXXXIV  NOTES   .WD   I  LLUS  IIIATIONS. 

tlie  realme  l)y  sailing  into  Ireland,  where  he  sojornied  for  a 
few  dales  at  Dublin.  The  citizens  being  doone  to  under- 
stand the  wandering  outcast  to  be  an  excellent  archer,  re- 
quested him  hartilie  to  trie  how  far  he  could  shoot  at  randon  ; 
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."'*'  Tlius  Stanihurst,  who  is  quoted  by  Dr.  llanmer  in 
his  Chronicle  of  Ireland,  p.  179.  but  i\Ir.  Walker,  after  ob- 
serving that  "  poor  Little  John's  great  practical  skill  in  archery 
could  not  save  liini  from  an  ignominious  fate,"  says,  "  it  ap- 
peared, from  some  records  in  the  Soutl.well  family,  that  he 
was  publicly  executed  for  robbery  on  Arbor-hill,  Dublin. "f 

(KK) — "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  tlie  close  of 
the  twelfth  century.  Little  John  may  have  obtained  that  of 
Nailor  from  his  original  profession. 

("  Ye  boasted  woithies  of  ihc  knuckle, 
To  Maggs  and  to  the  Nailor  truckle.") 

But  however  this,  or  the  fact  itself  may  be,  a  bow,  said  to 

•  Description  of  Ireland,  in  Holinshcd.-  chronicle,  1587. 

t  Historical  essay,  &c.  p.  129.  This  .lilegation  demands  what  tlie 
lawyers  call  a  profcrt  in  curiam.  It  is,  however,  certain  th.it  tlicre  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  Kobyn 
Hodes  pagentes,  which  named  hymselfe  Grenelef."  (Fabyans  chroniile, 
15.59.)    Therefore,  beware  of  couiuerfeits! 


NOTES    A\»    ILLUSTRATIOXS.  CXXXV 

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  Sloan  MS. 
Those,  indeed,  who  recollect  the  equivocal  meaning  of  tlie 
word  may  think  that  this  production  has  not  been  altogether 
confined  to  the  grave  of  Little  John. 


F.Mi  OF  THF.  LIVE,  F.TC. 


v,.;«-^'ti,--.-«%'j»«>   t.^.-it.   *'■'*    'Li 


Or.i.J*        •!«(.....-  ;f  ■•-,- I      ;te     ...It*'* 


ROBIN    HOOD. 


PART  I. 


I. 


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  ^^'illiam  Copland  ;  a  copy 
of  which  is  among  the  late  Rlr.  Garricks  old  plays,  now  in  the 
British  Museum,  The  full  title  of  the  first  edition  is  as  follows  : 
VOL.  I.  B 


I  A   LYTELL  GESTE 

"  Here  beginneth  a  mery  geste  of  Robyn  Hode  and  his  raeyne, 
and  of  the  proude  sheryfe  of  Notyngham  ;"  and  the  printers 
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  Coplands 
edition  is  added  "  a  newe  playe  for  to  be  played  in  INIaye  games 
very  plesaunte  and  full  of  pastynie  ;"  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 
Worde,  probably  in  1489  ;  and  totally  unknown  to  Ames  and 
Herbert.  Another  edition  was  printed  at  Edinburgh  by  Androw 
Myllar  and  Walter  Chepman  in  1508,  a  fragment  whereof  is  in 
the  Advocates  library  there.  This  is,  probably,  the  edition  noticed 
among  the  tales  enumerated  in  Wedderburns  Complainte  of 
Scotland,  printed  at  St.  Andrews  in  1549,  under  the  title  of 
"  Robene  Hude  and  litil  Jhone."  Among  the  doctors  numerous 
literary  curiosities  was  likewise  another  edition,  "  printed,"  after 
Coplands,  "  for  Edward  White,"  (4to.  black  letter,  no  date, 
but  entered  in  the  Stationers  books  13  ^lay,  1594)  which  hath 
been  collated,  and  every  variation  worthy  of  notice  either  adopted 
or  remarked  in  the  margin.  The  only  desertion  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  yeman, 
His  name  was  Robyn  Hode. 


or   ROBYN    IIODE.  3 

Robyn  was  a  proiide  outlawe, 

Whyles  he  walked  on  grounde, 
So  curteyse  an  outlawe  as  he  was  one 

Was  never  none  yfounde.  „---''^ 

Robyn  stode  in  Bernysdale, 

And  lened  hym  to  a  tree,  lo 

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.  co 

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  abbot] 

That  may  paye  for  the  best ; 
Or  some  knyght  or  some  squyere 

That  dwelleth  here  by  west. 

T.  25.     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  so 

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. 

Robyn  loved  our  dere  lady, 

For  doute  of  dedely  synne  ; 
Wolde  he  never  do  company  harme 

That  ony  woman  was  ynne. 

Mayster,  than  sayd  Lytell  Johan,  40 

And  we  our  horde  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  ; 
fBut  loke  ye  do  no  housbonde  harme  50 

That  tylleth  with  his  plough ; 


£ 


OF   ROBYN    IIODE.  O 

No  more  ye  shall  no  good  yeman, 
That  walketh  by  grene  wode  shawe, 

Ne  no  knyght,  ne  no  squy^r. 
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.^V 

This  worde  shall  be  holde,  sayd  Lytyll  Johan,  60 

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,  70 

Up-chaunce  ye  mowe  them  mete. 

*  This  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  occured  ;  though, 
it  is  believed,  there  is  a  field  so  called  not  far  from  Doncaster. 


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,  so 

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  90 

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.  84.  all  his.  PCC. 


OF  ROBYN  HODE.  -7 

Welcome  be  thou  to  grene  wood, 

Hende  knyg-ht  and  fre  ; 
My  mayster  hath  abyden  you  fastynge, 

Syr,  all  these  oures  thre. 

Who  is  your  mayster?  sayd  the  knyght.        loo 

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,  no 

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. 

V.  105.  So  R.  [Rastall.]  all  thre.  W.  C.  [de  Worde  and 
Copland.]       V.  108.  this.  R.  that.  W.  C.       V.  Ill    ere.  R. 


A  LYTELL  GESTE 

Then  answered  the  gentyll  knyght,  i.o 

With  wordes  fayre  and  fre, 
God  the  save,  good  Robyn, 

And  all  thy  fayre  meyne. 

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  fay  led  never  so  lytell  a  byrde,  i.w 

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  countre. 
As  good  a  dyner  I  shall  the  make, 

As  thou  hast  made  to  me. 

Gramercy,  knyght,  sayd  Robyn,  uo 

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,  iso 

Ne  let  not  for  no  blame. 

Tell  me  trouth,  sayd  Robyn, 

So  god  have  parte  of  the, 
I  have  no  more  but  ten  shillings,  sayd  the  knyght, 

So  god  have  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,  360 

The  trouthe  tell  thou  me, 
Yf  there  be  no  more  but  ten  shillings, 

Not  one  peny  that  I  se. 

Lytell  Johan  spred  downe  his  mantell 

Full  fayre  upon  the  grounde, 
And  there  he  founde  in  the  knyghtes  cofer 

But  even  halfe  a  pounde. 

V.  147.  to  pay.  R,  pay.  W.  C.       V.  150.  Robyn.  R.  Robyn 
Hoode.  VV.  C. 


10 


A   LYTELL  GESTE 


Lytyll  Johan  let  it  lye  full  styll, 
And  went  to  his  mayster  full  lowe. 

What  tydynge  Johan  ?  sayd  Robyn.  170 

"  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,        iso 

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  ijo 

May  amend  his  state. 


OF  ROBYX    IIODE.  11 

Within  two  or  tlire  yere,  Robyn,  he  sayd, 

My  neyghbores  well  it  '  kende,' 
Foure  houdreth  pounde  of  good  money 

Full  wel  than  myght  I  spende. 

Now  have  I  no  good,  sayd  the  knyght, 

But  my  chyldren  and  my  w^fe  ; 
God  hath  shapen  such  an  ende, 

Tyll  god  '  may  amende  my  lyfe.' 

In  what  maner,  sayd  Robyn,  coo 

Hast  thou  lore  thy  ryches  ? 
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  LancastshjTe, 

And  a  squyre  bolde  ; 
For  to  save  hjm  in  his  ryght  210 

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. 

V.  192.  two  yere.  R.      V.  193.  knowe.  OCC.       V.  109.  it 
may  amende.  OCC.       V.  208.  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,  220 

What  shall  fall  of  the  ? 
Hastely  I  wyll  me  buske,  sayd  the  knyght, 

Over  the  salte  see. 

And  se  where  Cryst  was  quycke  and  deed, 

On  the  mounte  of  Caluare. 
Fare  well,  frende,  and  have  good  daye. 

It  may  noo  better  be 

Teeres  fell  out  of  his  eyen  two, 
He  wolde  haue  gone  his  waye — 

Farewell,  frendes,  and  have  good  day,  2.10 

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 

Grete  host  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." 

V.  227.  not.  W.  C.  V.  232.  by.  W.  C,  V.  233,  So  R. 
knowe  me.  W,  C.  The  fragment  of  Rastalls  edition  ends  with 
V.  238. 


OF   ROBYN   HODE.  13 

For  ruthe  then  wepte  Lytell  Job  an,  240 

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  ?      cod 

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,  2O0 

To  seche  all  Englond  thorowe. 
Yet  founde  I  never  to  my  pay, 

A  moch  better  borowe. 

V.  241.  also.  PCC.  V.  242.  Wyme.  PCC. 


14 


A    LYTELL  GESTE 


3-0 


Come  now  forthe,  Lytell  Johan, 

And  goo  to  my  tresour^. 
And  brynge  me  foure  hondred  pounde. 

And  loke  that  it  well  tolde  be. 

Forthe  then  wente  Lytell  Johan, 

And  Seathelocke  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'  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, 

*  i.  e.  By  so  many  score  to  the  hundred  ;  or  three  hundred 
for  one.  It  is  certainly  a  very  hyperbolical  expression  :  But  lie 
measures  the  cloth  in  the  same  way. 

V.  279.  helpe.  W.  wrappc.  C. 


280 


OF  ROEYN   HODE.  15 

And  of  every  handfull  that  he  met 

He  lept  ouer  fotes  thre. 
What  devilkyns  draper,  sayd  litell  Much,      290 

Thynkyst  thou  to  be  ? 

Scathelocke  stoode  full  sty  11  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,  sno 

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  :  sio 

God  brynge  hym  out  of  tene  ! 

V.  303.  leuc.  W.  lende.  C. 


16  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  FYTI  E. 


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    IJODE.  17 

Then  spake  that  gentyll  knyght, 

To  Lytel  Johan  gan  he  saye,  in 

To  morowe  I  must  to  Yorke  toune, 

To  Saynt  Mary  abbay  ; 

And  to  the  abbot  of  that  place 

Foure  liondred  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.  20 

[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,  so 

And  suffreth  honger  and  colde 
And  many  a  sory  nyght : 

The  prior,  in  an  abbey,  was  the  officer  immediately  under  the 
lot  ;  in  priories  and  conventual  cathedrals  he  was  the  superior. 
VOL.  I.  C 


18  A    LYTELL  GESTE. 

It  were  grete  pyt^,  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  ;  40 

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  liy  selerer, 

Sterte  forthe  full  bolde. 
The  high  justyce  of  Englonde 

The  abbot  there  dyde  holde. 

*  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  Tlome  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  cliappell  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,  canonized  in  1262  ;  and  Richard, 
bishop  of  St.  Andrews  in  Calabria,    See  Draytons  I'oly-Olbion, 
Song  24. 
\ 


OF   ROBYX   HODE.  19 

The  liye  justyce  and  many  mo 

Had  take  into  their  honde  50 

Holy  all  the  knyghtes  det, 

To  put  that  knyght  to  wronge. 

They  denied  the  knyght  wonder  sore, 

The  abbot  and  hys  meyne  : 
"  But  he  come  this  ylke  day 

Dyshervte  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.  60 

Tlian  bespake  that  gentyll  knyght 

Untyll  hys  meyne, 
Now  put  on  your  symple  wedes 

That  ve  brou2;ht  fro  the  see. 

[They  put  on  their  symple  wedes,] 

And  came  to  the  gates  anone, 
The  porter  was  redy  hymselfe. 

And  welcomed  them  even,'chone. 

Welcome,  syr  knyght,  sayd  the  porter. 

My  lorde  to  mete  is  he,  7i) 

And  so  is  many  a  gentyll  man. 
For  the  love  of  the. 


20  A    LYTELL  GESTE 

The  porter  swore  a  full  grete  othe, 

By  god  that  made  nie, 
Here  be  the  best  coresed  hers 

That  ever  yet  sawe  I  me. 

Lede  them  into  the  stable,  he  sayd, 

That  eased  myght  they  be. 
They  shall  not  come  therm,  sayd  the  knyght. 

By  god  that  dyed  on  a  tre.  so 

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.  90 

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   UOBYN   IIODE.  "21 

Thy  daye  is  broke,  sayd  the  justyce, 

Londe  getest  thou  none. 
"  Now,  good  syr  justyce,  be  my  frende, 

And  fende  me  of  ray  fone."  loo 

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  curteys^, 
And  holde  my  londes  in  thy  honde 

Tyll  I  have  made  the  gree ; 

And  I  wyll  be  thy  true  servaunte, 

And  trewely  serve  the,  no 

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 ;  120 


22  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 ;  li.) 

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  eurteysye ; 

In  joustes  and  in  tournemerit 

Full  ferre  than  have  I  be, 
And  put  myselfe  as  ferre  in  pTees 

As  ony  that  ever  I  se.  i4» 

What  wyll  ye  gyve  more  ?  sayd  the  iustyce, 
And  the  knyght  shall  make  a  relevsc ; 

And  elles  dare  I  safly  swere 

Ye  holde  never  your  londe  in  pees. 

v.  123.  leue.  W.  Sende  us.  C.       V.  126.  loke.  W.  C. 


OF  KOBYN   HODE.  23 

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  gyve  a  thousande  more, 
Yet  were  '  ye'  never  the  nere ;  i5o 

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.  160 

The  abbot  sat  styll,  and  etc  no  more, 

For  all  his  ryall  chere, 
He  caste  his  hede  on  his  sholder, 

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. 


V.  148.  grete.  W.  get.  C.      V.  150.  thou.  PCC. 


24  A   LVTELL  GESTE 

"  Syr  abbot,  and  ye  men  of  lawe, 

Now  have  I  holde  my  daye,  170 

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.'  180 

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  holpc  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,  lyo 

The  good  yeman  lent  it  me, 

As  I  came  by  the  way. 

V.  180.  Uterysdale.  O.  CC.  Wierysdale  is  the  name  of  a  forest 
in  Lancashire  :  though  it  appears,  in  a  subsequent  part  of  this 
poem,  that  the  knights  castle  was  in  Nottinghamshire. 


OF   ROEYX    IIODE.  25 

This  knyglit  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,  200 

And  every  arowe  an  elle  longe, 

AVith  pecocke  well  ydyght, 
Inocked  all  with  whyte  sylver, 

It  was  a  semly  syght. 

He  purveyed  hym  an  hondreth  men, 

Well  harneysed  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,  210 

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  yemen,  \'' 

Of  all  the  west  countree. 

V.  207.  sute.  C. 


26  A   LYTELL  GESTE 

A  full  fayre  game  there  was  upset, 

A  whyte  bull  up  ipyg:ht ; 
A  grete  courser  with  sadlc  and  brydil, 

With  golde  burneyshed  full  bryght ;  220 

A  pay  re  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  yeman, 

In  place  where  that  he  stode,  C3'> 

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  shcnde  that  company. 

They  sholdred  all,  and  made  hym  rome, 

To  wetc  what  he  wolde  say. 
He  toke  the  yeman  by  the  honde. 

And  gave  hym  all  the  playe ;  cio 

V.  218. 1  up  pyght.  W.  up  ypyght.  C.       V.  234.  feiu.  W.  in 
fere.  C. 


1 


OF   ROBYN    HODE.  27 

He  g'ave  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  taryed  this  gentyll  knyght, 

Tyll  that  playe  was  done, 
So  longe  abode  Robyn  fastynge, 

Thre  homes  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  anoue, 

And  sayd  he  wolde  them  mete. 

Thre  tymes  Lytell  Johan  shot  about, 

And  alway  cleft  the  wande,  jo 

The  proude  sheryf  of  Notyngham 
By  the  markes  gan  stande. 

\'.  6.  shote.  W.       V.  10.  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  born, 

And  where  is  thy  wonnynge  wan  ?  20 

"  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,  so 

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. 

V.  19.  thou  wast.  C.  wast  thou.  \Vh. 


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  niede.  40 

Now  so  god  me  helpe,  sayd  Lytel  Johan, 

And  be  my  trewe  lewt^, 
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.  so 

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  tovvne. 
I  make  myn  avowe  to  god,  sayd  Lytell  Johan, 

I  had  lever  to  cracke  thy  crowne.  60 

V.  41.  Ge.  VV.  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,  70 

And  there  he  made  a  large  lyveray 
Both  of  ale  and  wyne. 

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. 

Lvtell  Johan  ete,  and  Lytell  [Johan]  dronkc, 

The  whyle  that  he  wolde. 
The  sheryfe  had  in  his  kechyn  a  coke, 

A  stoute  man  and  a  bolde.  no 

I  make  myn  avovve  to  god,  sayd  the  coke, 

Thou  arte  a  shrewde  hynde, 
In  an  hou sholde  to  dwel. 

For  to  ask  thus  to  dyne. 


OF   ROBYN   HODE. 


31 


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  ;  <?o 

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  fle, 
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.  loo 

I  make  myn  avowe  to  god,  sayd  Lytell  Johan, 

And  be  my  trewe  lewte. 
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 ; 


'C- 


"^  i.  e.  while  n  man  might  have  walked  two  milej  and  upward. 


32  A    LYTELL  GE9TE 

And  every  yere  of  Robyn  Hode 

Twenty  marke  to  thy  fee.  no 

Put  up  thy  swerde,  sayd  the  coke, 

And  fclowes  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.  120 

The  dyde  them  to  the  tresure-hous, 

As  fast  as  they  niyght  gone. 
The  lockes  that  were  of  good  stele 

They  brake  them  everychone  ; 

They  toke  away  the  sylver  vessel). 

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  ;  iso 

And  dyde  them  strayt  to  Robyn  Hode, 

Under  the  grene  wode  tre. 

Y.  121.  hyed.  C. 


i 


OF  ROBYN   HODE.  33 

"  God  the  save,  my  dere  mayster. 

And  Cryst  the  save  and  se." 
And  than  sayd  Robyn  to  Lytell  Johan, 

Welcome  myght  thou  be  ; 

And  also  be  that  fayre  yeman 

Thou  bryng-est  there  with  the. 
What  tydynges  fro  Notyngham  ? 

Lytell  Johan,  tell  thou  me.  340 

"  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  trenyte. 
It  was  never  by  his  good  wyll. 

This  good  is  come  to  me. 

Lytell  Johan  hym  there  bethought, 

On  a  shrewed  wyle,  150 

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  : 

V.  ISO.whyle.  W. 
VOL.  I.  D 


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  ?  iCo 

"  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,  mayster, 

Of  sexty  and  well  mo,  170 

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  mayster, 

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 !"  iso 

V.  163.  syght.  W.  sightes.  C. 


OF   ROBYN   HODE.  35 

Styll  stode  the  proude  sheryf, 

A  sory  man  was  he  : 
"  Wo  worthe  the,  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  ;  190 

And  whan  the  sheryf  se  his  vessell, 

For  sorowe  he  myght  not  ete. 

Make  good  chere,  sayd  Robyn  Hode, 

Sheryfe,  for  charyte, 
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,         200 

His  kyrtell  and  his  cote  a  pye, 

That  was  furred  well  fyne, 
And  take  him  a  grene  mant^ll, 

To  lappe  his  body  therin. 

V.  183.  wo  the  worth.  W. 


36  A   LYTELL  GESTE 

Robyn  commaiinded  his  wyght  yong  men, 

Under  the  grene  wood  tie, 
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,  210 

No  wonder  it  was  in  grene  wode, 
Tho  his  sydes  do  smerte. 

Make  glad  chere,  sayd  Robyn  Hode, 

Sheryfe,  for  charyte, 
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.  S20 

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  Charyte,  sso 

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,  240 

Now  have  the  sheryf  iswore  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  Notyngharae, 
He  was  fayne  that  he  was  gone, 

And  Robyn  and  his  mery  men 
Went  to  wode  anone. 


38  A   LYTKLL  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,  lo 

For  I  dare  saye,  and  saufly  swere, 
The  knyght  is  trewe  and  trust. 

Take  thy  bowe  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.  eo 

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. 

V.  19.  such.  W. 


OF  ROEYN  HODE.  39 

They  went  up  to  the  Sayles, 

These  yemen  all  thre  ;  so 

They  loked  est,  they  loked  west, 

They  niyght  no  man  se. 

But  as  '  they'  loked  in  Beinysdale, 

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.  w 

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. 

Brethern,  sayd  Lytell  Johan, 

Here  are  no  more  but  we  thre ;  so 

But  we  brynge  them  to  dyner, 

Our  mayster  dare  we  not  se. 

V.  33.  he.  Old  copies. 


40  A   LVTELL  CitSTE 

Bende  your  bowes,  sayd  Lytell  Johan, 

Make  all  yon  prese  to  stonde, 
The  formost  monke,  his  lyt'e  and  his  dcth 

Is  closed  in  my  honde. 

Abyde,  chorle  monke,  sayd  Lytell  Johan, 

No  ferther  that  thou  gone  ; 
Yf  thou  doost,  by  dere  worthy  god, 

Thy  deth  is  in  my  honde.  60 

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 ;  70 

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  the  monke  to  fore  the  brest, 

To  the  grounde  that  he  can  gone. 

V.  54.  you.  W.  Make  you  yonder  preste.  C. 
V.  75.  set.  '  shet'  ? 


OF  ROBYN   IIODE.  41 

Of  fyfty  two  wyght  yonge  men, 

There  abode  not  one, 
Saf  a  lytell  page,  and  a  grome 

To  lede  the  somers  with  Johan.  so 

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.  90 

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  biowe  a  horns,  sayd  Robin, 

That  felaushyp  may  us  knowe ; 
Seven  score  of  wyght  yemen. 

Came  pryckynge  on  a  rowe,  100 

V.  77.  yemen.  C.       V.  80.  Lytell  Johan.  0.  CC. 


42  A  LYTELL  G  ESTE 

And  everych  of  them  a  good  mantell, 

Of  scarlet  and  of  raye, 
All  they  came  to  good  Robyn, 

To  ^vyte  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.  no 

*'  Where  is  your  abbay,  whan  ye  are  at  home, 

And  who  is  your  avowe?" 

Saynt  Mary  abbay,  sayd  the  monke, 

Though  I  be  syniple  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.  ico 

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. 

V.  108.  thcni.  O.  CC. 


OF   ROBYN    HODE.  43 

Have  no  doute,  mayster,  sayd  Lytell  Johan, 

Ye  liave  no  nede  I  saye, 
This  monke  it  hath  brought,  I  dare  well  sweve, 

For  he  is  of  her  abbay. 

And  she  was  a  borowe,  sayd  Robyn, 

Betwene  a  knyght  and  me,  iso 

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  me. 

The  monke  swore  a  full  grete  othe. 

With  a  sory  ehere, 
Of  the  borowehode  thou  spekest  to  me, 

Herde  I  never  ere.  140 

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  : 

V.  136.  to.  W. 


44  A   LYTELL  OESTE 

And  thou  art  made  her  messengere, 

My  money  for  to  pay,  i5o 

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 ;  160 

And  yf  I  fynde  more,  sayd  Robyn, 

I  wys  thou  shake  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,  170 

And  he  tolde  out  of  the  monkes  male, 
Eyght  hundreth  pounde  and  more. 

V.  149.  nade.  W.  not  in  C.        V.  172.  Eyght  pounde.  W. 


OF   ROBYN   IIODE.  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  woman. 

That  ever  yet  founde  I  me.  i80 

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  wyne,  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  sylver, 

Come  thou  agayne  to  me,  190 

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. 

V.  187.  to.  W. 


46  A   LVTELL  GESTE 

Whether  be  ye  away?  sayd  Robyn. 

"  Syr,  to  maners  in  this  londe, 
Too  rekeii  with  our  reves, 

That  have  done  moch  wronge."  eoo 

"  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  V  sayd  Robyn , 

The  soth  must  we  see. 
By  our  lady,  than  sayd  the  monke, 

That  were  no  curteysye, 

To  bydde  a  man  to  dyner. 

And  syth  hym  bete  and  bynde.  210 

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.  220 

V.  205.  corser.  W,  courser.  C. 


or  ROBYN   IIODE.  47 

Grete  well  your  abbot,  saycl  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  sty  11, 

And  speke  we  of  that  knyght, 
Yet  he  came  to  holde  his  day 

Whyle  that  it  was  lyght. 

He  dyde  hym  streyt  to  Bernysdale, 

Under  the  grene  wode  tre,  2.10 

And  he  founde  there  Robyn  Hode, 

And  all  his  mery  meyne. 

The  knyght  lyght  downe  of  his  good  palfray, 

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."  240 

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 

AVolde  have  had  my  londe." 

Hast  thou  thy  lond  agayne  ?  sayd  Robyn, 
Treuth  than  tell  thou  me.  250 

Ye,  for  god,  sayd  the  knyght, 
And  that  thanke  I  god  and  the. 

But  take  not  a  grefe,  I  have  be  so  longe  ; 

I  came  by  a  wrastelynge, 
And  there  I  dyd  holpe  a  pore  yeman, 

With  wronge  was  put  behynde. 

Nay,  for  god,  sayd  Robyn, 

Syr  knyght,  that  thanke  I  the  ; 
What  man  that  helpeth  a  good  yeman, 

His  frende  than  wyll  I  be.  c6o 

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  ; 

V.  249.  gayne.  W. 
V.  253.  But  take  not  a  grefe,  sayd  the  knyght. 
That  I  have  be  so  longe.  O.  CC. 


OF   ROEYN   HODE.  49 

And  yf  I  toke  it  twyse, 

A  shame  it  were  to  me :  270 

But  trewelv,  g;entyll  knyght, 

VVelcom  arte  thou  to  me. 

Whan  Robyu  had  tolde  his  tale,- 

He  leuo;h  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.  280 

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  pound e, 

The  mouke  over-tolde  it  me. 

Have  here  foure  hondred  pounde, 

Thou  gentyll  knyght  and  trewe,  290 

And  bye  hors  and  harnes  good. 

And  gylte  thy  spores  all  newe  : 

V.  269. 1  twyse.  W.       Y.  280.  thi  trusty.  C. 
VOL.  I.  E 


50  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."  Soo 

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  fay  re  play  ; 

V.  302.  this  care.  W.       V.  303.  syt.  W. 


OF  ROBYN   HODE.  51 

That  all  the  best  archers  of  the  north 

Sholde  come  upon  a  day,  lo 

And  '  he'  that  shoteth  *  alder'  best 
The  game  shall  here  away. 

"  He  that  shoteth  '  alder'  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  Avhji;e, 
The  heade  and  the  feders  of  ryche  rede  golde, 

In  Englond  is  none  lyke."  20 

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, 

Trewe  and  yf  he  be." 

Whan  they  had  theyr  bowes  ibent, 

Theyr  takles  fedred  fre,  30 

Seven  score  of  wyght  yonge  men 

Stode  by  Robyns  kne. 

V.  11.  And  that  shoteth  al  ther  best.  W. 

And  they  that  shote  al  of  the  best.  C. 
V.  13.  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  archere 

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."  40 

The  fourth  outlawe  his  bowe  gan  bende, 

And  that  was  Robyn  Hode, 
And  that  behelde  the  proude  sheryfe, 

All  bv  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  ;  50 

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. 

V.  46.  thev  slist.  W.  he  clefle.  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.  60 

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,  70 

Thou  sholdest  leve  me  a  better  wedde 

Than  thy  tre  we  lewte. 

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.  so 

V.  80.  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  w,as  full  grete  pyte. 

Mayster,  then  sayd  Lytell  Johan, 

If  ever  thou  lovest  me,  go 

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.  joo 

I  wolde  not  that,  sayd  Robyn, 

Johan,  that  thou  were  slawe, 
For  all  the  golde  in  raery  Englond, 

Though  it  lay  now  on  a  rawe 

V.  100.  That  I  after  eate  no  bread.  C. 


OF  UOBYN  HODE. 


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,  no 

Many  a  tyme  he  layd  hym  downe, 

And  shot  another  whyle. 

Then  was  there  a  fayre  cast^ll, 

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.  120 

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 ; 


A    LV  n:i.L  GKSTE 

I  love  no  man  in  all  this  worlde 

So  mocli  as  I  do  the  ;  1.30 

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  anne  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."  ho 

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, 


OFROBYN   nODE.  57 

Full  faste  came  to  the  hye  sheryfe, 

The  countre  up  to  rout, 
And  they  beset  the  knyghts  castell, 

The  walles  all  about. 

The  proude  sheryf  loude  gan  crye, 

And  sayd,  Thou  tray  tour  knyght,  lo 

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  woU  say  to  the."  20 

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. 

V.  14.  thou.  W. 


58 


A  LYTELL  GESTE 


"  He  wolde  avowe  that  he  had  done, 

To  mayntayne  the  outlawes  stronge,  .w 

He  wolde  be  lorde,  and  set  you  at  nought, 
In  all  the  north  londe." 

I  woll  be  at  Notyngham,  sayd  the  kynge, 

Within  this  fourtynyght, 
And  take  I  wyll  Robyn  Hode, 

And  so  I  ^vyll  that  knyght. 

Go  home,  thou  proud  sheryf, 

And  do  as  I  bydde  the, 
And  ordayne  good  archeres  inowe, 

Of  all  the  wyde  countree.  4o 

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,  so 

The  proud  sheryfe  of  Notyngham, 

Therfore  he  had  grete  tene. 

V.  38.  the  bydde.  OCC. 


OF  ROBTN   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,  60 

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  h)Tn  that  dyed  on  a  tre, 
He  had  lever  than  an  hondrede  pounde. 

That  Robyn  Hode  had  he. 

Then  the  lady,  the  knyghtes  wyfe, 

A  fayre  lady  and  fre,  70 

She  set  her  on  a  gode  palfray, 

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  meyn^. 

V.  64.  honde  and  fote.  W.  foote  and  hande.  C. 
V.  68.  That  he  had  Robyn  Hode.  W. 


60  A   LYTELL  GESTB 

**  God  the  save,  good  Robyn  Hode, 

And  all  thy  company  ; 
For  our  dere  ladyes  love, 

A  bone  graunte  thou  me.  m 

Let  thou  never  my  wedded  lorde 

Shamfully  slayne  to  be ; 
He  is  fast  ibounde  to  Notyngham  warde, 

For  the  love  of  the." 

Anone  then  sayd  good  Robyn, 

To  that  lady  fre, 
WTiat  man  hath  your  lorde  itake  ? 

The  proude  shirife,  than  sayd  she. 

[The  proude  sheryfe  hath  hym  itake] 

Forsoth  as  I  the  say ;  90 

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 ; 


V.  77.  God  the  good  Robyn.  W.  V.  79.  lady.  W.  V.  81. 
Late.  V.  82.  Shamly  I  slayne  be.  W.  V.  88.  For  soth  as 
I  the  say.  W.        V.  92.  your.  W.  You  may  them  over  take.  C. 


OF  ROr.YN   IIODE.  61 

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."  loo 

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,  no 

And  with  the  proud  sheryf,  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'  is  not  for  thy  good.  120 

V.  99.  100.  Shall  he  never  in  grene  wode  be  Nor  longer  dwell 
with  me.  W.  V.  108.  it.  W.  V.  120.  At.  W.  That.  C— 
good]  booto.  WIi. 


62  A   LYTKLL  GESTE 

Robyn  bent  a  good  bowe. 

An  arrowe  he  drewe  at  his  wyll, 

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  ;  130 

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.  uo 

"  Leve  thy  hors  the  behynde. 

And  lerne  for  to  renne  ; 
Thou  shalt  with  me  to  grene  wode. 

Through  myre,  mosse  and  fenne ; 

V.  138.  hoode.  W.  bande.  C. 


OF  ROBYN    IIODE.  63 


Thou  shalt  with  me  to  grene  wode, 

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  Hode,  yf  he  may. 

He  asked  men  of  that  countre, 

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,  lo 

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. 

V.  4.  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.  20 

The  kynge  was  wonder  wroth  withall, 

And  swore  by  the  trynyte, 
"  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,  30 

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  country 

May  have  the  knyghtes  londes, 
Whyle  Robyn  Hode  may  ryde  or  gone, 

And  here  a  bowe  in  his  hondes  ;  40 


OF  ROBYN   IIODE.  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,  50 

And  alway  slewe  the  kynges  dere, 

And  welt  them  at  his  wyll. 

Than  bespake  a  proude  fostere, 

That  stode  by  our  kyuges  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.  60 

And  I  wyll  be  your  ledes  man, 

And  lede  you  the  way, 
And  or  ye  come  to  Notyngham, 

Myn  hede  then  dare  I  lay, 

V.  59.  your.  OCC. 
VOL.   I.  F 


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,  7o 

Everych  of  them  in  monkes  wede, 

And  hasted  them  thyder  blyth. 

Our  kynge  was  grete  above  his  cole, 

A  brode  hat  on  his  crowne, 
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,  so 

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  HODE.  G7 

Robyn  toke  the  kynges  hors, 

Hastely  in  that  stede,  90 

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  shy  ft  have  not  we  ; 

And  ye  have  chyrches  and  rentes  both, 

And  gold  full  grete  plente ; 
Gyve  us  some  of  your  spendynge, 

For  saynt  Charyte.  *  100 

Than  bespake  our  cumly  kynge, 

Anone  than  sayd  he, 
I  brought  no  more  to  grene  wode, 

But  forty  pounde  with  me ; 

V.  96.  Under  the  grene  wode  tre.  W. 
*  This  saint  is  also  mentioned  by  Chaucer,  in  the  Sompnours 
tale  ;  by  Spenser,  in  his  5th  eclogue  ;  in  the  Downfall  of  Robert 
earl  of  Huntington,  1601  ;  and  in  one  of  Ophelias  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  MartjTology  on  the  first  of  August — Romae  passio 
sanctarum  virginum,  Fidei,  Spei,  et  Charitatis,  quae  sub  Hadriano 
principe  martyris  coronam  adeptag  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,  tlie  daughters  of  St.  Sopliia  (or  \Vi<dom). 
Nothing  can  be  too  absurd  for  superstition. 


68  A  LYTELL  GESTE 

I  have  layne  at  Notyngham, 

This  fourtynys^ht  with  our  kynge, 

And  spent  1  liave  full  moche  good, 
On  many  a  grete  lordynge ; 

And  I  have  but  forty  pounde, 

No  more  than  have  I  me,  no 

But  yf  I  had  an  hondred  pounde, 

I  would  greve  it  to  the. 


&" 


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  ;  loo 

But  well  the  greteth  Edwarde  our  kynge, 

And  sent  to  the  his  seals, 
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  : 

V.  1 12.  I  vouche  it  halfe  on  the.  W.        V.  125.  seale.  ('. 


OF   ROEy>f   IIODE.  69 

"  I  love  no  man  in  all  the  worlde 

So  well  as  I  do  my  kynge,  vm 

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  fay  re  by  the  honde, 
Many  a  dere  there  was  slayne, 

And  full  fast  dyghtande.  i4o 

Robyn  toke  a  full  grete  home, 

And  loude  he  gan  blowe, 
Seven  score  of  wyght  yonge  men. 

Came  redy  on  a  rowe, 

All  they  kneeled  on  theyr  kne, 

Full  fayre  before  Robyn. 
The  kynge  sayd  hymselfe  untyll, 

And  swore  by  saynt  Austyn, 

Here  is  a  wonder  semely  syght, 

Me  thynketh,  by  goddes  pyne;  iso 

His  men  are  more  at  his  byddynge, 

Then  my  men  be  at  myn. 


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.  160 

Make  good  chere,  sayd  Robyn, 

Abbot,  for  chary te  ; 
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,  170 

Our  kynge  was  never  so  sore  agast, 

He  wende  to  have  be  shente. 

Two  yerdes  there  were  up  set. 

There  to  gan  they  gauge ; 
By  fifty  pase,  our  kynge  sayd, 

The  merkes  were  to  longe. 

V.  160.  and  biowne.  W. 


OF  ROBYN   HODE.  71 

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,  lao 

And  yelde  it  to  his  mayster, 

Be  it  never  so  fyne, 
For  no  man  wyll  I  spare, 

So  drynke  I  ale  or  wyne. 

And  bere  a  buffet  on  his  hede, 

I  wys  ryght  all  bare. 
And  all  that  fell  in  Robyns  lote, 

He  smote  them  v?onder  sare. 

Twyse  Robyn  shot  aboute, 

And  ever  he  cleved  the  wande,  190 

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.  2otj 

V.  186.  A  wys.  W.    For  that  shall  be  his  fyne.  C. 
V.  192.  good  whyte.  W.  lilly  white.  C. 


72  A   LY'i'LLL  GESTE 

Than  bcspake  good  Gylberte, 

And  thus  ho  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,  210 

For  to  smyte  no  good  yeman, 
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  ;  220 

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  ROB\N   HODE.  73 

Robyn  behelde  our  coraly  kynge 

Wystly  in  the  face, 
So  dyde  syr  Richarde  at  the  Le, 

And  kneled  downe  in  that  place ; 

And  so  dyde  all  the  wylde  outlawes, 

Whan  they  se  them  knele.  230 

"  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  kynge, 

And  for  my  men  I  crave.  2+0 

Yes,  for  god,  than  sayd  our  kynge 

Thy  peticion  I  graunt  the. 
With  that  thou  leve  the  greue  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  ; 

V.  246.  And  therto  sent  I  me.  W. 


74  A   LYTELL  GESTE 

I  wyll  come  to  your  courte. 

Your  servyse  fur  to  se,  8.5o 

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  donue  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  meyn^. 

Yes,  for  god,  then  sayd  Robyn, 

Or  elles  I  were  a  fole ;  lo 

Another  day  ye  wyll  me  clothe, 

I  trowe,  ayenst  the  Yole. 

V.  9.  oood.  OCC. 


OF  ROBYN  HODE.  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.  20 

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  ;  so 

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. 

V.  16.  Another  had  full  sonc.  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 ;  40 

Than  every  man  to  other  gan  say, 

I  drede  our  kynge  be  slone ; 
Come  Robvn  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 ;  50 

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  bc'spake  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.  60 

V.  44.  Lefte  never  one.  AV.         V.  49.  lughe.  W. 


OF   ROBYN   IIODE.  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  gets  hym  grete  renowne. 

By  than  the  yere  was  all  agone, 

He  had  no  man  but  twayne  70 

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  the  best  archere, 

That  was  in  mery  Englonde.  m 

Alas  !  then  sayd  good  Robyn, 

Alas  and  well  a  woo  ! 
Yf  I  dwele  lenger  with  the  kynge, 

Sorowe  wyll  me  sloo. 

V.  74.  ft'ire.  \V.       V.  75.  commended  for.  C. 


A   LYTELL  GESTE 


Forth  than  went  Robyn  Hode, 
Tyll  he  came  to  our  kynge  : 

"  My  lorde  the  kynge  of  Englonde, 
Graunte  me  mvn  askynsre. 


» 


I  made  a  chapell  in  Bernysdale, 

That  seniely  is  to  se,  9'^ 

It  is  of  Mary  Magdalene, 

And  thereto  wolde  I  be ; 

I  myght  never  in  this  seven  nyght, 

No  tyme  to  slepe  ne  wynke, 
Nother  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."  ico 

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,  no 

There  he  herde  the  notes  small 

Of  byrdes  mery  syngynge. 

It  is  ferre  gone,  sayd  Robyn, 

That  I  was  last  here, 
Me  lyste  a  lytcll  for  to  shote 

At  the  donne  dere. 

Robyn  slews  a  full  grete  harte, 

His  home  than  gan  he  blow. 
That  all  the  outlawes  of  that  forest, 

That  home  coud  they  knowe,  120 

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  mayster, 

Under  this  grene  wode  tre. 

Robyn  dwelled  in  grene  wode, 

Twenty  yere  and  two,  iso 

For  all  drede  of  Edwarde  our  kynge, 

Agavne  wolde  he  not  2:00. 


'J 


80  LYTELL  GESTE  OF   UOBYX   IIODE. 

Yet  he  was  begyled,  I  wys, 

Through  a  wyoked  woman, 
The  pryoresse  of  Kyrkesly, 

That  nye  was  of  his  kynne, 

For  the  love  of  a  knyght, 

Syr  Roger  of  Donkester, 
That  was  her  owne  speciall, 

Full  evyll  mote  they  '  fare.'  i w 

They  toke  togyder  theyr  counsell 

Robyn  Hode  for  to  sle, 
And  how  they  niyght  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. 

Syr  Roger  of  Donkestere, 

By  the  pryoresse  he  lay,  i50 

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  outlaws. 

And  dyde  pore  men  moch  god. 

M.  138.  donkesley.  W.      V.  140.  tlie.  OCC 


II. 


ROBYN  HODE  [AND  THE  POTTER]. 


This  curious,  and  hitherto  unpublislied,  and  even  unheard  of 
old  piece  is  given  from  a  manuscript,  among  bishop  Mores  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 
seventh,  that  is  about  the  year  1500  ;  but  the  composition  (which 
he  has  irremediably  corrupted)  is  probably  of  an  earlyer  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.'" 

VOL.   I.  G 


82  ROBYX  nODE 


In  schomer,  when  the  leves  spryug, 

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  ;  lo 

For  the  loffe  of  owr  ladey. 
All  wemen  werschep  '  he.' 

Bot  as  the  god  yeman  stod  on  a  day, 

Among  hes  mery  maney, 
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.  20 

V.  12.  ye.       V.  16.  lefe.       V.  17.  syde. 


[and  the  pottkr].  83 

Y  met  hem  bot  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  shiUings,  seyde  Lytyll  John, 
To  pay  het  thes  same  day, 

Ther  ys  nat  a  man  among  hus  all 
A  wed  schall  make  hem  ley. 

Her  ys  forty  shillings,  seyde  Rob^n, 

Mor,  and  thow  dar  say,  so 

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  ?  40 

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, 

A',21.syde,       V,  27.  hys.       V.  28.  leffe.       V.  36.  A  bad 
hem  stond  stell.       V.  38.  the  potter. 


84  ROBYX   IIODE 

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  ;  so 

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  en  hes  honde  [therto] ; 

The  potter  to  Roben  he  went, 

And  seyde,  Felow,  let  mey  horse  go.  Co 

Togeder  then  went  thes  two  yeraen, 

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  hondo ; 

A'.  56.  leppyfl-        V.  65.  fclo«  Iio. 


[and  the  potter].  85 

And  ar  Roben  nieyt  get  hen  agen, 

Hes  bokeler  at  hes  fette,  70 

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  solo. 

Thes  yemen  went  with  a  breyde, 

To  '  ther'  master  they  cam. 
Leytell  John  to  hes  master  seyde, 

Ho  haet  the  wager  won  ?  so 

Schall  y  hafF  yowr  forty  shillings,  seyde  Lytel 
Or  ye,  master,  schall  hafFe  myne?        [John, 

YefFthey  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 ;  90 

And  thow  dreyffe  forthe  yevery  day, 
Thow  schalt  never  be  let  for  me. 

V.  69.  A.         V.  76.  seyde  hels.         V.  77.  went  yemen. 
V.  78.  thes,       V.  82.  lytl.       Y.  90.  yemerey. 


86  ROBYN   HODE 

Y  well  prey  the,  god  potter, 

A  felischepe  well  thow  haffe  ? 
GefFe  me  they  clothyng,  and  thow  schalt  hale 
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.  loo 

Nay,  be  mey  trowt,  seyde  Roben, 

And  then  y  bescro  mey  hede, 
Yeffe  y  bryng  eney  pottes  ayen, 

And  eney  weyfFe  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  ;  no 

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.* 

V.  97.  grat.       V.  100.  yede. 
*  This  stanza  is  misplaced  in  the  MS.  after  V.  96. 


[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.  120 


[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  !  potty s !  he  gan  crey  foil  sone, 

Haffe  hansell  for  the  mar. 

Foil  effen  agenest  the  screffeys  gate, 

Schowed  he  hes  chaffar  ;  i3o 

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. 

V.  135.  say. 


88  HOBVN    HUUE 

The  pottys  that  wer  werthe  pens  feyffe, 

He  solde  tham  for  pens  thre : 
Preveley  seyde  man  and  weyfle, 

Ywnder  potter  schall  never  the.  uo 

Thos  Roben  solde  foil  fast, 

Tell  he  had  pottys  hot  feyffe  ; 
Op  he  hem  toke  of  his  car, 

And  sende  hem  to  the  screffeys  weyffe. 

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  treneyte.  i5o 

Foil  corteysley  '  she'  gan  hem  call, 
Com  deyne  with  the  screfe  and  me. 

Godamarsey,  seyde  Roben, 

Yowr  bedyng  schall  be  doyn. 
A  mayden  yn  the  pottys  gan  ber, 

Roben  and  the  screffe  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.  160 

V.  146.  seyde  sche  s' than.       V.  148.  the.       V.  151.  he. 


[and  the  potter].  89 

"  Loketh  what  thes  potter  hayt  geffe  yow  and  me ! 

Feyffe  pottys  smalle  and  grete !" 
He  ys  fol  wellcom,  seyd  the  screffe, 

Let  OS  was,  and  '  go'  to  mete. 

As  they  sat  at  her  methe, 

With  a  nobell  cher, 
Two  of  the  screfFes  men  gan  speke 

Off  a  gret  wager, 

Was  made  the  thother  daye, 

Off  a  schotyng  was  god  and  feyne,  170 

Off  forty  shillings,  the  soyt  to  saye, 

Who  scholde  thes  wager  wen. 

Styll  than  sat  thes  prowde  potter, 

Thos  than  thowt  he, 
As  y  am  a  trow  Cerstyn  man, 

Thes  schotyng  well  y  se. 

Whan  they  had  fared  of  the  best. 

With  bred  and  ale  and  weyne. 
To  the  '  bottys  they'  made  them  prest. 

With  bowes  and  boltys  foil  feyne.  :8o 

The  screffes  men  schot  foil  fast, 

As  archares  that  weren  godde, 
Ther  cam  non  ner  ney  the  marke 

Bey  halfe  a  god  archares  bowe. 

V.  161.  Loseth.  V.  164.  to.  VV.  169.  170.  These  two 
lines  are  transposed  in  the  MS.  V.  179.  pottys  the.  V.  180. 
bolt  yt. 


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 ;       190 

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  potter, 

Thys  ys  bot  rygzt  weke  ger.  200 

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. 

V.  191.senyst. 


[and  the  potter].  91 

The  screfFes  men  thowt  gret  schame, 

The  potter  the  mastry  wan  ;  vio 

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.' 

Knowest  thow  Robyn  Hode  ?  seyde  the  screffe, 
Potter,  y  prey  the  tell  thou  me.  220 

"  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  trenite,  [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.  230 


V.  214.  goe.      V.  218.  that  Robyng  gaffe  me. 


92 


ROBYN   HODE 


Y  well  queyt  the,  kod  the  screffe, 

And  swer  be  god  of  meythe. 
Schetyng  thay  left,  and  hom  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  :  C40 

"  Dam,  for  mey  loffe,  and  ye  well  thys  wer, 

Y  gefFe  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.  c5o 

Her  het  ys  merey  to  be,  seyde  Roben, 
For  a  man  that  had  hawt  to  spende : 

Be  mey  home  '  we '  schall  awet 
Yeff  Roben  Hode  be  '  ner  hande.' 

V.  232.  mey  they.       V.  251.  se.       V.  254.  he. 


[and  the  pottek].  93 

Roben  set  hes  home  to  hes  mowthe, 
And  blow  a  blast  that  was  foil  god, 

That  herde  hes  men  that  ther  stode, 
Fer  downe  yn  the  wodde. 

I  her  mey  master,  seyde  Leytyll  John  : 

They  ran  as  thay  wer  wode.  260 

Whan  thay  to  thar  master  cam, 

Ley  tell  John  wold  not  spar  : 
"  Master,  how  hafFe  yow  far  yn  Notynggam  ? 

HafFe  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.  ^"o 

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." 

V.  255.  her.       V.  259.  For.       V.  265.  How  haff?. 
V.  266.  I  leyty.       V.  274.  He  had  west. 


94  ROBTN   HODE 

That  wot  y  well,  seyde  Roben, 

Y  thanke  god  that  y  be  lier ; 
Therfor  schall  ye  leffe  yowr  horse  with  hos, 

And  a'l  your  hother  ger.  m-. 

That  fend  I  godys  forbode,  kod  the  screfFe, 

So  to  lese  mey  godde. 
"  Hcther  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  weyade  ; 
Ner  for  the  lofFe  of  yowr  weyfFe, 

Off  mor  sorow  scholde  yow  seyng."  coo 

Thes  parted  Robyn  Hode  and  the  screfFe, 
To  Notynggam  he  toke  the  waye  ; 

Hes  weyfFe  feyr  welcomed  hem  horn, 
And  to  hem  gan  sche  saye; 

Seyr.  how  halFe  yow  fared  yn  grene  foreyst  ? 

HafFe  ye  browt  Roben  hom  ?  [bon, 

"  Dam,  the  deyell  spede  hem,  bothe  bodey  and 

Y  hafFe  hade  a  foil  grete  skorne. 


b' 


V.  279.  that  ye  be.       V.  284.  y.       V.  288.  The  MS.  repeats 
this  line  after  tlie  following  :  Ilet  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,  300 

All  bot  this  feyr  palfFrey, 
That  he  hayt  sende  to  the." 

With  that  sche  toke  op  a  lowde  lawhyng, 
And  swhar  be  hem  that  deyed  on  tre : 

"  Now  haffe  yow  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.  310 

"  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.  320 

V.  311.  bowhes.       V.  317.  be  tlier. 


96  ROEYN   IIODE  [aND  THE  POTTER]. 

Thes  partyd  Robyn,  the  screfFe,  and  the  potter. 

Ondernethe  the  grene  wod  tre. 
God  haffe  niersey  on  Roben  Hodys  solle, 

And  safFe  all  god  yemanrey ! 


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  necessarj'  from  the  narrow- 
ness of  the  page,  is  sufficiently  justifyed  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  debarasse  des 
voleurs")  may  be  found  in  Le  moyen  de  parvenir,  i.  304  (edit. 
1739). 

VOL.    I.  II 


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  ;  lo 

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.'  '.'o 

He  had  three  hats  upon  his  head, 

Together  sticked  fast. 
He  car'd  neither  for  wind  nor  wet. 

In  lands  where'er  he  past. 

V.  24.  wherV. 


AND  THE   BEUGAK.  99 

Good  Robin  cast  him  in  the  way, 

To  see  what  he  might  be, 
If  any  beggar  had  money, 

He  thought  some  part  had  he. 

Tarry,  tarry,  good  Robin  says. 

Tarry,  and  speak  with  me.  30 

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  beggar, 

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,  40 

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  monev  to  buy. 


100  nOBIN-   HOOD 

Sir,  you  must  lend  me  some  mon^y 

Till  we  meet  again.  so 

The  beggar  answer'd  cankardly, 
I  have  no  money  to  lend  : 

Thou  art  a  young  man  as  J, 

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  asembled  so. 
If  thou  hast  but  a  small  farthing, 

I'll  have  it  e'er  thou  go.  60 

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  ;  70 

Think  not  that  I  will  be  afraid, 
For  thy  nip  crooked  tree  ; 


AND   THE  BEGGAR.  101 

Or  that  I  fear  thee  any  whit, 

For  thy  curn  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.  so 

Good  Robin  bent  his  noble  bow, 

He  was  an  angery  man. 
And  in  it  set  a  broad  arrow ; 

Lo !  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  arrow 

In  flinders  flew  about. 

Good  Robin  bound  him  to  his  brand. 

But  that  prov'd  likewise  vain,  90 

The  beggar  lighted  on  his  hand 
With  his  pike-staff"  again  : 

[I]  wot  he  might  not  draw  a  sword 

For  forty  days  and  mair. 
Good  Robin  could  not  speak  a  word, 

His  heart  was  ne'er  so  sair. 


102  no  I!  IX  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.  loo 

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 ;  no 

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.  120 

V.  116.  closd.  We  might  read  : 

And  clos'd  were  [baith]  his  een. 


I 


AND  THE  BEGGAR.  103 


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,'  lo 

Yet  at  his  mouth  came  booking  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  sig-h'd  e'er  he  began 


To  tell  of  his  disgrace. 


m 


104  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  ;  so 

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."  4o 

"  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.  105 

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  50 

With  any  bluter  base  beggar. 

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,  60 

And  on  his  pyke-staff  first  hands  lay, 

Ye'll  speed  the  better  far." 

Now  leave  we  Robin  with  his  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  beggar. 

That  raked  o'er  the  hill. 
Who  never  mended  his  pace  more. 

Then  he  had  done  no  ill.  70 


lOU 


ROBIN    HOOD 


And  they  have  taken  another  way. 
Was  nearer  by  miles  three. 

They  stoutly  ran  with  all  their  mipjht. 

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  troe, 

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,  o" 

And  said,  False  '  carel,'  quit  thy  staff, 

Or  I  shall  be  thy  priest. 

\  .  71.  The  preceding  lines  of  this  stanza  are  wanting  in  the 
original. 


AND  THE   BEGGAR.  107 

His  pyke-staff  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.  loo 

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,  no 

You  have  great  sin  if  you  would  slay 

A  silly  poor  beggar. 

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  ; 


108  ROBIN  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.  120 

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,  130 

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  somethins:  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.  no 

V.  132.  gave,    bcgack. 


AND  THE   BEGGAR. 


109 


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  silver, 

That  I  have  gather'd  this  many  years, 

Under  this  clouted  cloak,  i5o 

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.  im) 

By  that  good  Robin  would  not  know 

That  they  had  gotten  coin, 
It  would  content  him  [well]  to  show 

That  there  they  had  him  slain. 

V.  153.  yeen.      . 


110  noiuN  HOOD 

They  said,  False  carel,  soon  have  done, 

And  tell  forth  thv  monev, 
For  the  ill  turn  that  thou  hast  done 

It's  but  a  simple  plee. 

And  vet  we  will  not  have  thee  back, 

Come  after  what  so  may,  170 

If  thou  will  do  that  which  thou  spak, 
And  make  us  present  pay. 

O  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,  leo 

Upon  this  ciOEik  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 : 

V.  171.  spok.      V.  177.  l.alf.      V.  183.  bound.      V.  186.  bag. 


.AND  THE   BEGGAR.  Ill 

AVherewith  he  blinded  them  so  close, 

A  stime  they  could  not  see  ;  190 

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  deaths, 
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.  200 

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,  1  fear, 

Hath  blown  into  your  een  ;  210 

But  I  have  a  good  pyke-staff  here 

Can  ripe  them  out  full  clean. 

V.  1"4.  rloatli.       V.  206.  thou. 


112  UOBIN   HOOD 

The  youug  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.  ceo 

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.  s'^o 

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  beagrar 

I  sent  you  for  right  now. 

V.  221.  speed.       V.  228.  cloaths.  ^ 

i 


AND  THE   BEGGAR.  1  13 

And  when  they  told  him  to  an  end, 

As  i  have  said  before, 
How  that  the  beggar  did  them  blind, 

What '  mister'  presses  more  ?  240 


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  cry'd,  Fy !  out!  for  shame! 

We're  sham'd  for  evermore. 

Altho  good  Robin  would  full  fain 

Of  his  wrath  revenged  be,  250 

He  smil'd  to  see  his  merry  young  men 

Had  gotten  a  taste  of  the  tree. 


VOL.   I. 


IV. 


ROBIN  HOOD  AND  GUY  OF  GISBORNE, 


is  reprinted  from  the  "  Reliques  of  ancient  English  poetry," 
published  by  Dr.  Percy,  (Vol.  I.  p.  81.)  who  there  gives  it  from 
his  "  folio  IMS."  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 
occured  concerning  him,  is  in  an  old  satyrical  piece  by  William 
Dunbar,  a  celebrated  Scotish  poet,  of  the  15th  century,  on  one 
"  Schir  Thomas  Nory,"  (JMS.  Maitland,  p.  3.  INISS.  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  knovvlege  of 
posterity. 


UOBIN   HOOD,  ETC.  115 

"  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  she." 

Gisborne  is  a  mavket-town  in  the  west  riding  of  the  county  of 
York,  on  the  borders  of  Lancashire. 

In  the  fourth  edition  of  the  publication  above  referred  to,  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  sliaws  beene  sheene,  and  shraddes  full 
And  leaves  both  large  and  longe,         [fayre, 

Itt's  merrye  walkyng  in  the  fayre  forrest 
To  heare  the  small  birdes  songe. 

The  woodweele  sang,  and  wold  not  cease, 

Sitting  upon  the  spraye. 
See  lowde,  he  wakened  Robin  Hood, 

In  the  greenwood  where  he  lay. 

Now,  by  my  faye,  sayd  jollye  Robhi, 

A  sweaven  I  had  this  night ;  lo 

I  dreamt  me  of  tow  wighty  yemen. 
That  fast  with  me  can  fight. 

Y,  1.  "It  should  perhaps  be  swards  :  i.  e.  the  surface  of  the 
ground  :  viz.  '  when  the  fields  are  in  their  beauty.'  "  Percy. 
Rather,  shrobbes  (shmbs).  The  plural  of  sward  was  never  used 
by  any  writer  whatever.     For  shaws  the  MS.  has  shales. 


1  16  ROBIN   HOOD 

Methoudit  thev  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.  20 

"  Buske  yee,  bowne  yee,  my  merry  men  all, 

And  John  shall  goe  with  mee. 
For  He  goe  seeke  yond  wighty  yeoman. 

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,  30 

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  capuU  hyde 

Topp  and  tayll  and  mayne. 


AND   GUY  OF  GISBOHNE.  117 

Stand  you  still,  master,  quoth  Little  John, 

Under  this  tree  so  grene, 
And  I  will  go  to  yond  wight  yeoman, 

To  know  what  he  doth  meane.  40 

"  Ah !  John,  by  me  thou  settest  noe  store, 

And  that  I  farley  finde  : 
How  ofFt  send  I  my  men  before, 

And  tarry  ray  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  :  5o 

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  sherifFe  with  seven  score  men 

Fast  after  him  is  gone.  60 


118  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 !  70 

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.  8.) 

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. 


t 


AND  GUY  OF  GISBORNE. 


119 


"  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,  90 

How  he  is  gone  to  the  wight  yeoman, 
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  yeman, 

And  of  my  morning  tyde. 
lie  lead  thee  through  the  wood,  sayd  Robin  ; 

Good  fellow,  lie  be  thy  guide.  joo 

I  seeke  an  outlawe,  the  straunger  sayd, 

Men  call  him  Robin  Hood ; 
Rather  lid  meet  with  that  proud  outlawe 

Than  fortye  pound  soe  good. 


\.  94.  Dr.  Percy,  by  the  marks  he  has  bestowed  on  this  line, 
seems  to  consider  it  as  the  yeomans  reply  :  but  it  seems  rather  a 
repetition  of  Robins  complimentary  address. 


120  RO£i:>'    HOOD 

"  Now  come  with  me,  thou  wighty  yeman 
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,  no 

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  piickes  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.  ico 

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  yeman, 

He  shot  within  the  garland  : 
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  ;         iso 
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  sworne  ; 
And  when  I  am  called  by  my  right  name 

I  am  Guy  of  good  Gisborne.  ho 

My  dwelling  is  in  this  wood,  sayes  Robin, 

By  thee  I  set  right  nought : 
I  am  Robin  Hood  of  Barnesdale, 

Whom  thou  so  long  hast  sought. 

He  that  had  neyther  beene  kythe  nor  kin, 
Might  have  seen  a  full  fayre  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 :  iso 

Yett  neither  Robin  Hood  nor  sir  Guy 
Them  fettled  to  flye  away. 


122  ROBIN   HOOD 

Robin  was  reachles  on  a  roote 

And  stumbled  at  that  tyde  ; 
And  Guy  was  quicke  and  nimble  withal), 

And  hitt  him  ore  the  left  syde. 

Ah,  deere  ladye,  sayd  Robin  Hood  tho, 

That  art  both  mother  and  may, 
I  think  it  was  never  mans  destinye 

To  dye  before  his  day.  iSo 

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." 

V.  158.  both.]  This  in  the  three  former  editions  of  the 
Reliques  is,  improperly,  altered  to  but. 

Y.  163,  awkwarde.]  So,  according  to  Percy,  reads  his  MS. 
He  has  altered  it  to  '  backward.' 

Y.  164.  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.  123 

Robin  pulled  forth  an  Irish  knife,  ] 

And  nicked  sir  Guy  in  the  face,  170 

That  he  was  never  on  woman  born 
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  capuU  hyde, 

That  cladd  him  topp  to  toe.  iso 

"  The  bowe,  the  arrowes,  and  little  home, 

Now  with  me  I  will  beare ; 
For  I  will  away  to  Barnesdale, 

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,  190 

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  yeoman, 

Cladd  in  his  capuU  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  :  200 

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  :  210 

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.  125 

Stand  abacke,  stand  abacke,  sayd  Robin  ; 

Why  draw  you  mee  so  neere  ? 
It  was  never  the  use  in  our  countrye, 

Ones  shrift  another  shold  heere.  £20 

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  ;  230 

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. 

V.  236.  Sic  PC.  quere  the  MS. 


/^:S. 


V. 


A  TRUE  TALE  OF  ROBIN  HOOU  : 

OR, 

A  briefe  touch  of  the  life  aud  death  of  that  re- 
nowned outlaw  Robert  earl  of  Huntingdon,  vulgarly 
called  Robin  Hood,  who  lived  and  dyed  in  A.  D. 
1198.*  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  satisfaction 
of  those  who  desire  truth  from  falshood. 

BY  MARTIN   PARKER. 


*  An  absurd  mistake,  scarcely  worth  notice  in  this  place,  and 
which  the  reader  will  have  it  in  his  own  power  to  correct. 


ROBIX   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  is  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  disaster, 
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  lead  within  these  hundred  years,  though  in  old  broken 
English,  much  to  the  same  sence  and  meaning."  He  gives  it 
thus  : 

''  Decembris  quarto  die,  11C8.  anno  regni  Richardi  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  something  more, 

' '  Tiiesc  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  lie,  "  thought  fit  to  leave  out."    Now,  under  this  precise 


128  A  TRUE  TALE 

gentlemans  favour,  one  would  be  glad  to  know  what  these  same 
"  superstitious  words"  were  ;  there  not  being  anything  of  the 
kind  in  Dr.  Gales  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,  lo 

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.  20 

V.  16.  our. 


OF  ROBIN  HOOD.  129 

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  ;  30 

And,  being  outlaw'd  by  his  prince, 

In  woods  he  liv'd  by  stealth.  ' 

The  abbot  of  Saint  Maries  rich, 

To  whom  he  mony  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.  40 

Among  the  rest  one  Little  John, 

A  yeoman  bold  and  free, 
Who  could  (if  it  stood  him  upon) 

With  ease  encounter  three. 

VOL.    I.  K 


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,  -so 

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,  C'^ 

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.  131 

For  such  as  they  the  country  fill'd 

With  bastards  in  those  days  :  70 

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.  eo 

The  widow  and  the  fatherless 

He  would  send  means  unto  ; 
And  those  whom  famine  did  oppress 

Found  him  a  friendly  foe. 


*  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,  90 

AVas  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  :  ico 

Which  being  done,  upon  his  horse 

He  set  him  fast  astride. 
And  with  his  face  towards  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. 


OF  ROBIN  HOOD.  133 

Thus  Robin  Hood  did  vindicate 

His  former  wrongs  receiv'd  :  no 

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.  i?o 

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  gi-eat : 


to' 


For  in  a  short  time  after  that 

The  kings  receivers  went  I'^o 

Towards  London  with  the  coyn  they  got, 

For's  highness  northern  rent : 


134  A  TRUE  TALE 

Bold  Robin  Hood  iind  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,  uo 

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,  iso 

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.  135 

That  such  a  worthy  man  as  he 

Should  thus  be  put  to  shift, 
Being  a  late  lord  of  high  degree, 

Of  living  quite  bereft.  jCo 

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  :  170 

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,  iso 


136  A   TRUE  TALF. 

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,  190 

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.  eoo 

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,  210 

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, 

Sirnamed  Coeur  de  Lyon, 
Went  to  defeat  the  Pagans  curst. 

Who  kept  the  coasts  of  Sion.  220 

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. 


138  A  TRUE  TALE 

He,  riding  down  towards  the  north, 

With  his  aforesaid  train,  230 

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. 
To  seek  what  means  he  could  to  pass 

From  out  of  Robins  ken.  c4o 

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  Warrington. 

The  bishop,  sore  inraged,  then 

Did,  in  king  Richards  name,  cso 

Muster  up  a  power  of  northern  men, 

These  outlaws  bold  to  tame. 


OF  ROBIN  HOOD.  139 

But  Robin  with  his  courtesie 

So  woa  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  :  260 

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,  c~o 

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, 


140 


A  TRUE  TAI.F, 


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. 


2B0 


But,  to  speak  true  of  Robin  Hood, 
And  wrong  him  not  a  jot, 

He  never  would  shed  any  mans  blood 
That  him  invaded  not. 


2yo 


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. 


300 


OF  ROBIN    HOOD.  141 

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,  310 

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,  aao 

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,  3:«o 

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.  340 

If  none  had  fled,  ail  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,  350 

In  melancholy  passion 

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.  i6o 

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  s-o 

Which  to  the  clergy  he  and  his 

Had  done  by  power  strong. 


144 


A  TRUE  TALE 


Thus  dyed  he  by  treachery, 

That  could  not  die  by  force : 
Had  he  liv'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.  sso 

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  dy'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,  390 

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    IIOOI).  145 

That  such  a  man  as  Robin  Hood 

Was  buried  in  that  place  ; 
And  how  he  lived  in  the  green  wood 

And  robbed  for  a  space.  400 

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,  410 

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  slioukl  be  buried  clean 

From  thooc  thut  came  behiu'i.  4->> 

VOL.  1.  L 


14G  A   TRUr  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  ;  -im 

None  dares  be  novjf  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  vi'ays 

Such  outlaws  to  prevent. 

In  those  days  men  more  barbarous  were, 

And  lived  less  m  awe  ; 
Now  (god  be  thanked)  people  fear 

More  to  offend  the  law.  no 

No  waring  guns  were  then  in  use, 

They  dreamt  of  no  sucli  thing  ; 
Our  Englishmen  in  fight  did  use 

The  gallant  gray-goose  wing  ; 


(il     ROBIN    HOOD. 


147 


111  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,  450 

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.  460 

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. 

\  .  460.  i.  c.  lluiii  he  could  oi/ieruisi'  have  htcii. 


I 


I4S  A    TRUE  TALI.  OF    lUlKlN    llOOi). 

Let  none  then  think  this  is  a  Ive, 
For,  if  'twere  put  to  th'  worst. 

They  may  the  truth  of  all  descry 
r  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. 


4*0 


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. 


4H0 


TIJK   KN  1)  Ol'    V(U,r.M£    I. 

D 


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