“ Beloved of lord and knight.
The earl of Huntington, nobly born,
That came of noble blood,
To Marian went, with a good intent,15
By the name of Robin Hood. [Pg 373]
With kisses sweet their red lips did meet,
For she and the earl did agree;
In every place, they kindly embrace,
With love and sweet unity.20
But fortune bearing these lovers a spight,
That soon they were forc'd to part,
To the merry green-wood then went Robin Hood,
With a sad and sorrowfull heart. ”

“ And Clorinda sung "Hey derry down!
The bumkins are beaten, put up thy sword, Bob,
And now let's dance into the town."180
Before we came in, we heard a strange shouting,
And all that were in it look'd madly;
For some were on bull-back, some dancing a morris,
And some singing Arthur-a-Bradley.
And there we see Thomas, our justices clerk,185
And Mary, to whom he was kind;
For Tom rode before her, and call'd Mary madam,
And kiss'd her full sweetly behind:
And so may your worships. ”

“ Thought it no boot to stay,130
But, as their master had them taught,
They run full fast away.
"O stay, O stay," Will Stutly said,
"Take leave ere you depart;
You ne'er will catch bold Robin Hood,135
Unless you dare him meet."
"O ill betide you," said Robin Hood,
That you so soon are gone;
My sword may in the scabbard rest,
For here our work is done."140
"I little thought," Will Stutly said,
"When I came to this place,
For to have met with Little John,
Or seen my master's face." ”

“ Might not the ballads under consideration have a basis in the exploits of a real person, living in the forests, somewhere and at some time? Or, denying individual existence to Robin Hood, and particular truth to the adventures ascribed to him, may we not regard him as the ideal of the outlaw class, a class so numerous in all the countries of Europe in the middle ages? We are perfectly contented to form no opinion upon the subject ”

“ Bishops sheriffs, and game-keepers, the only enemies he ever had, have relinquished their ancient grudges, and Englishmen would be almost as loath to surrender his exploits as any part of the national glory. His free life in the woods, his unerring eye and strong arm, his open hand and love of fair-play, his never-forgotten courtesy, his respect for women and devotion to Mary, form a picture eminently healthful and agreeable to the imagination, and commend him to the hearty favor of all genial minds. ”

“ The one of them was bold Robin Hood,
And the other was Little John so free.
"Oh! pedlar, pedlar, what is in thy pack,
Come speedilie and tell to me?"10
"I've several suits of the gay green silks,
And silken bow-strings two or three."
"If you have several suits of the gay green silk,
And silken bow-strings two or three,
Then it's by my body," cries Little John,15
"One half your pack shall belong to me."
"O nay, o nay," says the pedlar bold,
"O nay, o nay, that never can be;
For there's never a man from fair Nottingham
Can take one half my pack from me."20 ”

“ ROBIN HOOD.
There is no one of the royal heroes of England that enjoys a more enviable reputation than the bold outlaw of Barnsdale and Sherwood. His chance for a substantial immortality is at least as good as that of stout Lion Heart, wild Prince Hal, or merry Charles. His fame began with the yeomanry full five hundred years ago, was constantly increasing for two or three centuries, has extended to all classes of society, and, with some changes of aspect, is as great as ever. ”

“ LITTLE JOHN AND THE FOUR BEGGERS.
"From an old black-letter copy in the collection of Anthony à Wood: the full title being, A new merry song of Robin Hood and Little John, shewing how Little John went a begging, and how he fought with the four beggers. The tune is, Robin Hood and the Begger." Ritson's Robin Hood, ii. 132.
All you that delight to spend some time,
With a hey down, down, a down, down,
A merry song for to sing,
Unto me draw neer, and you shall hear
How Little John went a beggìng. ”

“ Whether as the unsubdued leader of the Saxon peasantry, or insurgent against the tyranny of Henry or Edward, it is inconceivable that we should not hear something of him from the chroniclers. If, as Thierry says, "he had chosen Hereward for his model," it is unexplained and inexplicable why his historical fate has been so different from that of Hereward. The hero of the Camp of Refuge fills an ample place in the annals of his day; his achievements are also handed down in a prose romance which presents many points of resemblance to the ballads of Robin Hood. ”

“ Then he fell on his knee;50
"A boon, a boon," cries Little John,
"Master, I beg of thee."
"What is that boon," quoth Robin Hood,
"Little John, thou begs of me?" [Pg 311]
"It is to burn fair Kirkley-hall,55
And all their nunnery."
"Now nay, now nay," quoth Robin Hood,
"That boon I'll not grant thee;
I never hurt woman in all my life,
Nor man in woman's company.60
"I never hurt fair maid in all my time,
Nor at my end shall it be;
But give me my bent bow in my hand,
And a broad arrow I'll let flee;
And where this arrow is taken up,65
There shall my grave digg'd be. ”

“ Thus, the adventure of Robin Hood and the Monk befell on "a morning of May." Robin Hood and the Potter, and Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne begin, like Robin Hood and the Monk, with a description of the season when leaves are long, blossoms are shooting, and the small birds are singing, and this season, though called summer, is at the same time spoken of as May in Robin Hood and the Monk, which, from the description there given, it needs must be. [Pg xxvii] The liberation of Cloudesly by Adam Bel and Clym of the Clough is also achieved "on a merry morning of May." ”

“ This outlaw was weary of the wood-side,
And chasing of the fallow-deere. [Pg 330]
"The fisher-men brave more mony have
Than any merchants two or three;10
Therefore I will to Scarborough go,
That I a fisherman brave may be."
This outlaw called his merry men all,
As they sate under the green-wood tree:
"If any of you have gold to spend,15
I pray you heartily spend it with me."
"Now," quoth Robin Hood, "Ile to Scarborough go,
It seems to be a very faire day;"
He tooke up his inne at a widdow-womans house,
Hard by upon the water gray:20
Who asked of him, "Where wert thou borne? ”

“ You meet with bold Robin Hood."40
"We be content, thou bold outlàw,
Our valour here to try,
And will make you know, before we do go,
We will fight before we will fly. [Pg 214]
"Then, come draw your swords, you bold outlàws,45
No longer stand to prate,
But let us try it out with blows,
For cowards we do hate.
"Here is one of us for Will Scarlock,
And another for Little John,50
And I myself for Robin Hood,
Because he is stout and strong." ”

“ But securely established as Robin Hood is in popular esteem, his historical position is by no means well ascertained, and his actual existence has been a subject of shrewd doubt and discussion. "A tale of Robin Hood" [1] is an old proverb for the idlest of stories, yet all the materials at our command for making up an opinion on these questions are precisely of this description. ”

“ A Play of Robin Hood was considered "very proper for a May-game," but if Robin Hood was peculiarly prominent in these entertainments, the obvious reason would appear to be that he was the hero of that loved green-wood to which all the world resorted, when the cold obstruction of winter was broken up, "to do observance for a morn of May." ”

“ Or, a pleasant relation how a young gentleman, being in love with a young damsel, she was taken from him to be an old knights bride: and how Robin Hood, pittying the young mans case, took her from the old knight, when they were going to be marryed, and restored her to her own love again. ”

“ Nothing is more deceptive than popular [Pg xxxv] legends; and the "legends," we speak of, if they are to bear that name, have no claim to antiquity at all. They do not go beyond the ballads. They are palpably of subsequent and comparatively recent origin. It was absolutely impossible that they should arise while Robin Hood was a living reality to the people. The archer of Sherwood who could barely stand King Edward's buffet, and was felled by the Potter, was no man to be playing with rocking stones. ”

“ There Robin, and Will, and Little John,
They fought most manfully,
Till all their winde was spent and gone,
Then Robin aloud did cry:60
"O hold, O hold," cries bold Robin,
"I see you be stout men;
Let me blow one blast on my bugle horn,
Then Ile fight with you again."
"That bargain's to make, bold Robin Hood,65
Therefore we it deny;
Thy blast upon the bugle horn
Cannot make us fight or fly. ”

“ Where Robin Hood preparèd stood15
All company to assail. [Pg 377]
The king was higher than the rest,
And Robin thought he had
An abbot been whom he had seen;
To rob him he was glad.20
He took the kings horse by the head,
"Abbot," says he, "abide;
I am bound to rue such knaves as you,
That live in pomp and pride."
"But we are messengers from the king,"25
The king himself did say;
"Near to this place his royal grace
To speak with thee does stay."
"God save the king," said Robin Hood,
"And all that wish him well;30
He that does deny his sovereignty,
I wish he was in hell." ”

“ The beggar answer'd cankerdly,
"I have no money to lend.
"Thou art as young a man as I,
And seems to be as sweir;
If thou fast till thou get from me,55
Thou shalt eat none this year."
"Now, by my truth," says good Robin,
"Since we are 'sembled so,
If thou have but a small farthing,
I'll have it e'er thou go.60
"Therefore, lay down thy clouted cloak,
And do no longer stand,
And loose the strings of all thy pocks,
I'll ripe them with my hand.
"And now to thee I make a vow,65
If thou make any din, [Pg 191]
I shall see if a broad arrow,
Can pierce a beggar's skin." ”

“ King Edward easily got the better of the rebels and took exemplary vengeance upon them. Many of the leaders were at once put to death, and the lives of all their partisans were in danger. Is it impossible then, asks Mr. Hunter, that some who had been in the army of the Earl, secreted themselves in the woods and turned their skill in archery against the king's subjects or the king's deer; "that these were the men who for so long a time haunted Barnsdale and Sherwood, and that Robin Hood was one of them, a chief amongst them, being really of a rank originally somewhat superior to the rest?" ”

“ FRYER.
Here is a huckle duckle, an inch above the buckle; [Pg 425]
She is a trul of trust, to serve a frier at his lust,
A prycker, a prauncer, a terer of shetes,
A wagger of buttockes when other men slepes.
Go home, ye knaves, and lay crabbes in the fyre,
For my lady and I wil daunce in the myre,120
For veri pure joye.
ROBYN HODE.
Lysten, to [me] , my mery men all,
And harke what I shall say;
Of an adventure I shall you tell,
That befell this other daye.
With a proude potter I met,
And a rose garlande on his head,
The floures of it shone marvaylous freshe ”

“ The ballad of King Edward and Robin Hood is but one version of an extremely multiform legend, of which the tales of King Edward and the Shepherd and King Edward and the Hermit are other specimens; and any one who will take the trouble to examine will be convinced that all these stories are one and the same thing, the personages being varied for the sake of novelty, and the name of a recent or of the reigning monarch substituted in successive ages [Pg xxiv] for that of a predecessor. (See King Edward the Fourth and the Tanner of Tamworth.) ”

“ An old patcht coat the beggar had on,
Which he daily did use to wear;
And many a bag about him did wag,
Which made Robin to him repair. [Pg 253]
"God speed, God speed," said Robin Hood,25
"What countryman? tell to me:"
"I am Yorkshire, sir; but, ere you go far,
Some charity give unto me."
"Why, what wouldst thou have?" said Robin Hood,
"I pray thee tell unto me:"30
"No lands nor livings," the beggar he said,
"But a penny for charitie."
"I have no money," said Robin Hood then,
"But [am] a ranger within the wood;
I am an outlaw, as many do know,35
My name it is Robin Hood. ”

“ A fool and a taborer seem also to have been indispensable; but the other dancers had neither names nor peculiar offices, and were unlimited in number. The Morris then, though it lost in allegorical significance, would gain considerably in spirit and variety by combining with the other shows. Was it not natural, therefore, and in fact inevitable, that the old favorites of the populace, Robin Hood, Friar Tuck, and Little John, should in the course of time displace three of the anonymous performers in the show? ”