1.1.1‘shaws,’ woods, thickets: ‘sheen,’ beautiful.Insummer, when the shaws be sheenAnd leaves be large and long,It is full merry in fair forestTo hear the fowlës song,2.2.2‘hee,’ high. Cf. 84.2.To see the deer draw to the dale,And leave the hillës hee,And shadow them in the leavës green,Under the greenwood tree.3.3.3‘can,’ did.It befel on Whitsuntide,Early in a May morning,The sun up fair can shine,And the briddës merry can sing.4.‘This is a merry morning,’ said Little John,‘By him that died on tree;A more merry man than I am oneLives not in Christiantë.5.‘Pluck up thy heart, my dear master,’Little John can say,‘And think it is a full fair timeIn a morning of May.’6.‘Yea, one thing grieves me,’ said Robin,‘And does my heart much woe;That I may not no solemn dayTo mass nor matins go.7.7.2i.e., since I took the sacrament.‘It is a fortnight and more,’ said he,‘Syn I my Saviour see;To-day will I to Nottingham,With the might of mild Marie.’8.8.1‘milner son,’ = miller’s son: cp. 24.3.8.5‘slon,’ slay.Then spake Much the milner son,Ever more well him betide!‘Take twelve of thy wight yeomen,Well weapon’d by thy side.Such one would thyselfë slon,That twelve dare not abide.’9.‘Of all my merry men,’ said Robin,‘By my faith I will none have,But Little John shall bear my bow,Till that me list to draw.’10.10.4‘lyne,’ tree: so ‘lynd’ in 23.2. Cf. 76.4, 78.3, etc.‘Thou shall bear thine own,’ said Little John,‘Master, and I will bear mine,And we will shoot a penny,’ said Little John,‘Under the greenwood lyne.’11.11.4i.e., I will give you odds of three to one.‘I will not shoot a penny,’ said Robin Hood,‘In faith, Little John, with thee,But ever for one as thou shootës,’ said Robin,‘In faith I hold thee three.’12.Thus shot they forth, these yeomen two,Both at bush and broom,Till Little John won of his masterFive shillings to hose and shoon.13.13.1‘ferly,’ strange.A ferly strife fell them between,As they went by the way,Little John said he had won five shillingsAnd Robin Hood said shortly nay.14.14.1‘lied,’ gave the lie to.With that Robin Hood lied Little John,And smote him with his hand;Little John waxëd wroth therewith,And pulled out his bright brand.15.15.2‘by,’ aby, atone for.‘Were thou not my master,’ said Little John,‘Thou shouldest by it full sore;Get thee a man where thou wilt,For thou gettest me no more.’16.16.4‘ilkone’ = each one: cf. 30.2.Then Robin goes to Nottingham,Himself mourning alone,And Little John to merry Sherwood,The paths he knew ilkone.17.17.2Another form of ‘certain without leasing’ = forsooth without lying. Cf. 81.2.When Robin came to Nottingham,Certainly withouten layn,He prayed to God and mild MaryTo bring him out safe again.18.He goes into Saint Mary church,And kneeled down before the rood;All that ever were the church within,Beheld well Robin Hood.19.Beside him stood a great-headed monk,I pray to God woe he be!Full soon he knew good Robin,As soon as he him see.20.20.4‘sparred,’ shut: ‘everychone,’ every one (cf. 16.4).Out at the door he ran,Full soon and anon;All the gates of Nottingham,He made to be sparred everychone.21.21.2i.e., make ready: cf.Guy of Gisborne, 5.1.‘Rise up,’ he said, ‘thou proud sheriff,Busk thee, and make thee bown;I have spied the kingës felon,For sooth he is in this town.22.22.4‘And’ = if: ‘it will be your fault if he escapes us.’‘I have spied the false felon,As he standës at his mass;It is long of thee,’ said the monk,‘And ever he fro us pass.23.23.1‘traitor’ is genitive: cf. ‘milner son,’ 8.1, and ‘mother son,’ 24.3.‘This traitor name is Robin Hood,Under the greenwood lynd;He robbëd me once of a hundred pound,It shall never out of my mind.’24.24.2‘radly,’ quickly: ‘yare,’ ready.24.3See notes 8.1, 23.1.Up then rose this proud sheriff,And radly made him yare;Many was the mother son,To the kirk with him can fare.25.25.1‘throly thrast,’ strenuously pressed.25.2‘wone,’ plenty.In at the doors they throly thrast,With stavës full good wone;‘Alas, alas!’ said Robin Hood,‘Now miss I Little John.’26.26.3‘Thereas’ = where. Cf. 72.3.But Robin took out a two-hand swordThat hangëd down by his knee;Thereas the sheriff and his men stood thickest,Thitherward would he.27.Thrice throughout them he ran thenFor sooth as I you say,And wounded many a mother son,And twelve he slew that day.28.His sword upon the sheriff headCertainly he brake in two;‘The smith that thee made,’ said Robin,‘I pray God work him woe.’29.29.3‘But if’ = unless.‘For now am I weaponless,’ said Robin,‘Alas! against my will;But if I may flee these traitors fro,I wot they will me kill.’30.30.2Cf. 16.4. Probably six stanzas are lost here.Robin into the churchë ran,Throughout them everilkone,..........31.Some fell in swooning as they were dead,And lay still as any stone;None of them were in their mindBut only Little John.32.32.1‘rule,’ behaviour, conduct.‘Let be your rule,’ said Little John,‘For his love that died on tree;Ye that should be doughty men;It is great shame to see.33.‘Our master has been hard bestood,And yet scapëd away;Pluck up your hearts and leave this moan,And hearken what I shall say.34.34.2‘securly’ = surely.‘He has servëd Our Lady many a day,And yet will, securly;Therefore I trust her speciallyNo wicked death shall he die.35.‘Therefore be glad,’ said Little John,‘And let this mourning be;And I shall be the monkës guide,With the might of mild Marie.’36......‘We will go but we two;And I meet him,’ said Little John,.....37.37.1‘tristel-tree,’ trysting-tree.‘Look that ye keep well our tristel-tree,Under the leavës smale,And spare none of this venisonThat goës in this vale.’38.38.2‘on fere,’ in company.38.3‘Much emës house,’ the house of Much’s uncle.Forth then went these yeomen two,Little John and Much on fere,And lookëd on Much emës house,The highway lay full near.39.39.2‘at a stage’: ? from an upper story.Little John stood at a window in the morning,And lookëd forth at a stage;He was ware where the monk came riding,And with him a little page.40.‘By my faith,’ said Little John to Much,‘I can thee tell tidingës good;I see where the monkë comës riding,I know him by his wide hood.’41.41.2‘hand,’ gallant.41.3‘spyrrëd . . . at,’ asked . . . of. (Cf. Scottish ‘speir.’)41.4‘friende’ is plural.They went into the way, these yeomen both,As curteis men and hend;They spyrrëd tidingës at the monk,As they had been his friende.42.‘Fro whence come ye?’ said Little John,‘Tell us tidingës, I you pray,Of a false outlaw, called Robin Hood,Was taken yesterday.43.‘He robbed me and my fellows bothOf twenty mark in certain;If that false outlaw be taken;For sooth we would be fain.’44.‘So did he me,’ said the monk,‘Of a hundred pound and more;I laid first hand him upon,Ye may thank me therefore.’45.‘I pray God thank you,’ said Little John,‘And we will when we may;We will go with you, with your leave,And bring you on your way.46.‘For Robin Hood has many a wild fellow,I tell you in certain;If they wist you rode this way,In faith ye should be slain.’47.As they went talking by the way,The monk and Little John,John took the monkës horse by the head,Full soon and anon.48.48.4‘For’ = for the purpose that. Cp. ‘for’ inChild Waters, 28.6, First Series, p. 41.John took the monkës horse by the head,Forsooth as I you say;So did Much the little page,For he should not scape away.49.49.3‘of him agast,’ afraid of the consequences to him.By the gullet of the hoodJohn pulled the monkë down;John was nothing of him agast,He let him fall on his crown.50.Little John was sore aggrieved,And drew out his sword on high;This monkë saw he should be dead,Loud mercy can he cry.51.51.2‘bale,’ trouble.‘He was my master,’ said Little John,‘That thou hast brought in bale;Shall thou never come at our king,For to tell him tale.’52.John smote off the monkës head,No longer would he dwell;So did Much the little page,For fear lest he would tell.53.There they buriëd them both,In neither moss nor ling,And Little John and Much in fereBare the letters to our king.54.54.4‘see,’ protect......He kneelëd down upon his knee:‘God you save, my liegë lord,Jesus you save and see!55.‘God you save, my liegë king!’To speak John was full bold;He gave him the letters in his hand,The king did it unfold.56.56.2Cf.Gest, 234.2.The king read the letters anon,And said, ‘So mote I the,There was never yeoman in merry EnglandI longëd so sore to see.57.57.4‘after’: ‘by,’ as we should say.‘Where is the monk that these should have brought?’Our king can say:‘By my troth,’ said Little John,‘He died after the way.’58.The king gave Much and Little JohnTwenty pound in certain,And made them yeomen of the crown,And bade them go again.59.59.4‘dere,’ injury.He gave John the seal in hand,The sheriff for to bear,To bring Robin him to,And no man do him dere.60.60.4‘yede’ ( = gaed), went.John took his leave at our king,The sooth as I you say;The next way to NottinghamTo take, he yede the way.61.61.2‘sparred’: cp. 20.4.When John came to NottinghamThe gatës were sparred each one;John callëd up the porter,He answerëd soon anon.62.‘What is the cause,’ said Little John,‘Thou sparrës the gates so fast?’‘Because of Robin Hood,’ said the porter,‘In deep prison is cast.63.63.4‘sauten,’ assault.‘John and Much and Will Scathlock,For sooth as I you say,They slew our men upon our wallës,And sauten us every day.’64.64.1Cp. 41.3.Little John spyrred after the sheriff,And soon he him found;He opened the kingës privy sealAnd gave him in his hond.65.When the sheriff saw the kingës seal,He did off his hood anon;‘Where is the monk that bare the letters?’He said to Little John.66.‘He is so fain of him,’ said Little John,‘For sooth as I you say,He has made him abbot of Westminster,A lord of that abbay.’67.The sheriff made John good cheer,And gave him wine of the best;At night they went to their bed,And every man to his rest.68.When the sheriff was on sleep,Drunken of wine and ale,Little John and Much for soothTook the way unto the jail.69.Little John callëd up the jailor;And bade him rise anon;He said Robin Hood had broken prison,And out of it was gone.70.The porter rose anon certain,As soon as he heard John call;Little John was ready with a sword,And bare him to the wall.71.‘Now will I be porter,’ said Little John,‘And take the keys in hond’;He took the way to Robin Hood,And soon he him unbound.72.He gave him a good sword in his hand,His head therewith for to keep,And thereas the wall was lowestAnon down can they leap.73.73.4‘comyn’ = commons’:i.e.the town bell.By that the cock began to crow,The day began to spring;The sheriff found the jailor dead,The comyn bell made he ring.74.74.4‘warison,’ reward.He made a cry throughout all the town,Whether he be yeoman or knave,That could bring him Robin Hood,His warison he should have.75.‘For I dare never,’ said the sheriff,‘Come before our king;For if I do, I wot certainFor sooth he will me hing.’76.76.2‘sty,’ alley.The sheriff made to seek Nottingham,Both by street and sty,And Robin was in merry Sherwood,As light as leaf on lynd.77.77.4‘Quite thee,’ acquit yoursle,i.e.reward me. But the BafordMS.reads ‘Quit me.’Then bespake good Little John,To Robin Hood can he say,‘I have done thee a good turn for an evil;Quite thee when thou may.78.‘I have done thee a good turn,’ said Little John,‘For sooth as I you say;I have brought thee under green wood lyne;Farewell, and have good day.’79.‘Nay, by my troth,’ said Robin Hood,‘So shall it never be:I make thee master,’ said Robin Hood,‘Of all my men and me.’80.80.4‘keep I be,’ I care to be.‘Nay, by my troth,’ said Little John,‘So shall it never be;But let me be a fellow,’ said Little John,‘No nother keep I be.’81.81.4‘fain,’ glad.Thus John gat Robin Hood out of prison,Certain withouten layn;When his men saw him whole and sound,For sooth they were full fain.82.They filled in wine, and made them glad,Under the leavës smale,And gat pasties of venison,That goodë was with ale.83.Then wordë came to our kingHow Robin Hood was gone,And how the sheriff of NottinghamDurst never look him upon.84.84.2‘hee’: see 2.2.Then bespake our comely king,In an anger hee:‘Little John has beguiled the sheriff,In faith so has he me.85.‘Little John has beguiled us both,And that full well I see;Or else the sheriff of NottinghamHigh hangëd should he be.86.86.3‘grith,’ peace (Norse, ‘grið’).‘I made them yeomen of the crown,And gave them fee with my hand;I gave them grith,’ said our king;‘Throughout all merry England.87.87.2See 56.2.‘I gave them grith,’ then said our king;‘I say, so mote I the,Forsooth such a yeoman as he is oneIn all England are not three.88.‘He is true to his master,’ said our king;‘I say, by sweet Saint John,He lovës better Robin HoodThan he does us each one.89.89.2i.e.whether on the road, or housed.‘Robin Hood is ever bound to him,Both in street and stall;Speak no more of this matter,’ said our king;‘But John has beguiled us all.’90.Thus ends the talking of the monk,And Robin Hood i-wis;God, that is ever a crownëd king,Bring us all to his bliss!ROBIN HOOD AND THE POTTERThe Textis modernised, as far as is possible, from aMS.of about 1500 in the University Library at Cambridge (Ee. 4, 35). The ballad was first printed therefrom by Ritson in hisRobin Hood(1795), vol. i. p. 81, on the whole very accurately, and with a few necessary emendations. He notes that the scribe was evidently ‘a vulgar and illiterate person’ who ‘irremediably corrupted’ the ballad. In several places, however, a little ingenuity will restore a lost rhyme.The Story, of an outlaw disguising himself in order to gain information from his enemies, is common to the legends of Hereward the Saxon, Wallace, Eustace the monk, and Fulk Fitz Warine, the first three of whom assumed the guise of a potter at one time or another.The ballad ofRobin Hood and the Butcheris a tale similar to this; and part of the Play of Robin Hood is based on this ballad (see Introduction, p. xxiii.).ROBIN HOOD AND THE POTTER1.Insummer, when the leavës spring,The blossoms on every bough,So merry doth the birdës singIn woodës merry now.2.Hearken, good yeomen,Comely, courteous, and good;One of the best that ever bare bow,His name was Robin Hood.3.Robin Hood was the yeoman’s name,That was both courteous and free;For the love of Our LadyAll women worshipped he.4.But as the good yeoman stood on a day,Among his merry meynë,He was ware of a proud potterCame driving over the lee.5.5.4‘pavage,’ road-tax.‘Yonder cometh a proud potter,’ said Robin,‘That long hath haunted this way;He was never so courteous a manOne penny of pavage to pay.’6.‘I met him but at Wentbridge,’ said Little John,‘And therefore evil mote he thee!Such three strokës he me gave,That by my sides cleft they.7.7.4‘wed,’ pledge, wager.‘I lay forty shillings,’ said Little John,‘To pay it this same day,There is not a man among us allA wed shall make him lay.’8.8.2‘and,’ if.‘Here is forty shillings,’ said Robin,‘More, and thou dare say,That I shall make that proud potter,A wed to me shall he lay.’9.9.2‘toke,’ gave.9.3‘breyde,’ rushed, leapt.There this money they laid,They toke it a yeoman to keep.Robin before the potter he breydeAnd bade him stand still.10.Hands upon his horse he laid,And bade the potter stand full still;The potter shortly to him said,‘Fellow, what is thy will?’11.‘All this three year and more, potter,’ he said,‘Thou hast haunted this way,Yet were thou never so courteous a manOne penny of pavage to pay.’12.‘What is thy name,’ said the potter,‘’Fore pavage thou ask of me?’‘Robin Hood is my name,A wed shall thou leave me.’13.13.4‘tene,’ harm.‘Wed will I none leave,’ said the potter,‘Nor pavage will I none pay;Away thy hand fro my horse!I will thee tene else, by my fay.’14.The potter to his cart he went,He was not to seek;A good two-hand staff he hent,Before Robin he leaped.15.Robin out with a sword bent,A buckler in his hand;The potter to Robin he wentAnd said, ‘Fellow, let my horse go.’16.16.3i.e.thereat laughed Robin’s men.Together then went these two yeomen,It was a good sight to see;Thereof low Robin his men,There they stood under a tree.17.17.3‘ackward,’ back-handed (?).Little John to his fellows said,‘Yon potter will stiffly stand’:The potter, with an ackward stroke,Smote the buckler out of his hand.18.18.4‘yede,’ went.And ere Robin might get it againHis buckler at his feet,The potter in the neck him took,To the ground soon he yede.19.19.4‘slo,’ slay.That saw Robin his menAs they stood under a bough;‘Let us help our master,’ said Little John,‘Yonder potter else will him slo.’20.20.1‘a breyde,’ haste.These yeomen went with a breyde,To their master they came.Little John to his master said‘Who hath the wager won?’21.‘Shall I have your forty shillings,’ said Little John,‘Or ye, master, shall have mine?’‘If they were a hundred,’ said Robin,‘I’ faith, they been all thine.’22.22.4‘let,’ stop, hinder.‘It is full little courtesy,’ said the potter,‘As I have heard wise men say,If a poor yeoman come driving on the wayTo let him of his journey.’23.23.3‘And,’ if.‘By my troth, thou says sooth,’ said Robin,‘Thou says good yeomanry;And thou drive forth every day,Thou shalt never be let for me.24.‘I will pray thee, good potter,A fellowship will thou have?Give me thy clothing, and thou shalt have mine;I will go to Nottingham.’25.25.3‘But,’ unless.25.4‘yode,’ went.‘I grant thereto,’ said the potter;‘Thou shalt find me a fellow good;But thou can sell my pottës well,Come again as thou yode.’26.‘Nay, by my troth,’ said Robin,‘And then I beshrew my head,If I bring any pottës again,And any wife will them chepe.’27.Then spake Little John,And all his fellows hend;‘Master, be well ware of the sheriff of Nottingham,For he is little our friend.’28.28.1‘Heyt war howt,’ a call to horses while driving, like the modern ‘Gee up.’‘Heyt war howt,’ said Robin;‘Fellows, let me alone;Through the help of Our Lady,To Nottingham will I gone.’29.Robin went to Nottingham,These pottës for to sell;The potter abode with Robin’s men,There he fared not ill.30.Though Robin drove on his way,So merry over the land:Here is more, and after is to sayThe best is behind.31.When Robin came to Nottingham,The sooth if I should say,He set up his horse anon,And gave him oats and hay.26.4‘chepe,’ bargain for, buy.32.32.4‘hansel’ is a gift, especially an ‘earnest’ or instalment; ‘mare’ probably is ‘more’; but the meaning of the whole phrase is uncertain.In the midst of the town,There he showed his ware;‘Pottës, pottës,’ he gan cry full soon,‘Have hansel for the mare!’33.33.2‘chaffare,’ merchandise.Full often against the sheriff’s gateShowëd he his chaffare;Wives and widows about him drewAnd chepëd fast of his ware.34.34.1‘great chepe’ = great bargain.Yet, ‘Pottës, great chepe!’ cried Robin,‘I love evil thus to stand.’And all that saw him sellSaid he had be no potter long.35.35.4‘thee,’ thrive.The pottës that were worth pence five,He sold them for pence three;Privily said man and wife,‘Yonder potter shall never thee.’36.Thus Robin sold full fast,Till he had pottës but five;Up he them took off his carAnd sent them to the sheriff’s wife.37.37.1‘fain,’ glad.Thereof she was full fain;‘Gramercy, sir,’ then said she;‘When ye come to this country againI shall buy of thy pottës, so mote I thee.’38.‘Ye shall have of the best,’ said Robin,And sware by the Trinity;Full courteously she gan him call,‘Come dine with the sheriff and me.’39.‘God amercy,’ said Robin,‘Your bidding shall be done.’A maiden in the pottës gan bear,Robin and the sheriff wife followed anon.40.40.3‘could of courtesy,’ knew how to be courteous.40.4‘gret,’greeted.When Robin into the hall came,The sheriff soon he met;The potter could of courtesy,And soon the sheriff he gret.41.‘Lo, sir, what this potter hath give you and me;Five pottës small and great!’‘He is full welcome,’ said the sheriff,‘Let us wash, and go to meat.’42.As they sat at their meat,With a noble cheer,Two of the sheriff’s men gan speakOf a great wager;43.Of a shooting was good and fine,Was made the other day,Of forty shillings, the sooth to say,Who should this wager win.44.Still then sat this proud potter,Thus then thought he;‘As I am a true Christian man,This shooting will I see.’45.45.3‘prest,’ quickly.When they had fared of the best,With bread, and ale, and wine,To the butts they made them prest,With bows and bolts full fine.46.The sheriff’s men shot full fast,As archers that were good;There came none near nigh the markBy half a good archer’s bow.47.47.3‘And,’ if.Still then stood the proud potter,Thus then said he;‘And I had a bow, by the rood,One shot should ye see.’48.‘Thou shall have a bow,’ said the sheriff,‘The best that thou will choose of three;Thou seemest a stalwart and a strong,Assay[ed] shall thou be.’49.The sheriff commanded a yeoman that stood them by,After bows to wend;The best bow that the yeoman brought,Robin set on a string.50.‘Now shall I wot and thou be good,And pull it up to thine ear.’‘So God me help,’ said the proud potter,‘This is but right weak gear.’51.To a quiver Robin went,A good bolt out he took;So nigh unto the mark he went,He failëd not a foot.52.All they shot about again,The sheriff’s men and he;Of the mark he would not fail,He cleft the prick in three.53.The sheriff’s men thought great shameThe potter the mastery won;The sheriff laughed and made good game,And said, ‘Potter, thou art a man.54.54.1,2Two lines missing in theMS.; so 57.3...........‘Thou art worthy to bear a bowIn what place that thou go.’55.‘In my cart I have a bow,Forsooth,’ he said, ‘and that a good;In my cart is the bowThat gave me Robin Hood.’56.‘Knowest thou Robin Hood?’ said the sheriff;‘Potter, I pray thee tell thou me.’‘A hundred turn I have shot with him,Under his trystell-tree.’57.‘I had liefer nor a hundred pound,’ said the sheriff,And sware by the Trinity,‘.....That the false outlaw stood by me.’58.58.1‘rede,’ advice.‘And ye will do after my rede,’ said the potter,‘And boldly go with me,And tomorrow, ere we eat bread,Robin Hood will we see.’59.59.1‘quite’ = requite.59.4‘dight,’ prepared.‘I will quite thee,’ quoth the sheriff,‘I swear by God of might.’Shooting they left and home they went,Their supper was ready dight.60.60.2‘busked,’ made ready.60.3‘ray’ = array.Upon the morrow, when it was day,He busked him forth to ride;The potter his cart forth gan ray,And would not leave behind.61.He took leave of the sherriff’s wife,And thanked her of all thing:‘Dame, for my love and you will this wear,I give you here a gold ring.’62.62.2‘yield it thee,’ reward thee for it.‘Gramercy,’ said the wife,‘Sir, God yield it thee.’The sheriff’s heart was never so light,The fair forest to see.63.63.3‘prest,’ freely.And when he came into the forest,Under the leavës green,Birdës there sang on boughës prest,It was great joy to see.64.64.3‘awit’: either = wit, know, or = await.‘Here it is merry to be,’ said Robin,‘For a man that had ought to spend;By my horn I shall awitIf Robin Hood be here.’65.Robin set his horn to his mouth,And blew a blast that was full good;That heard his men that there stood,Far down in the wood.66.66.2,3Two lines omitted in theMS.66.4‘wood,’ mad.‘I hear my master blow,’ said Little John,..........They ran as they were wood.67.When they to their master came,Little John would not spare;‘Master, how have you fare in Nottingham?How have you sold your ware?’68.‘Yea, by my troth, Little John,Look thou take no care;I have brought the sheriff of Nottingham,For all our chaffare.’69.‘He is full welcome,’ said Little John,‘This tiding is full good.’The sheriff had liefer nor a hundred poundHe had never seen Robin Hood.70.‘Had I wist that before,At Nottingham when we were,Thou should not come in fair forestOf all this thousand year.’71.‘That wot I well,’ said Robin,‘I thank God that ye be here;Therefore shall ye leave your horse with usAnd all your other gear.’72.72.1A duplicated deprecation: ‘I protest—God forbid!’72.3,4Two lines omitted in theMS.; so 74.3,4.‘That fend I god’s forbode,’ quoth the sheriff,So to loose my good;..........73.‘Hither ye came on horse full high,And home shall ye go on foot;And greet well thy wife at home,The woman is full good.74.‘I shall her send a white palfrey,It ambleth, by my fay,..........75.75.3‘Nere’ = ne were, were it not.‘I shall her send a white palfrey,It ambleth as the wind;Nere for the love of your wife,Of more sorrow should you sing!’76.Thus parted Robin Hood and the sheriff;To Nottingham he took the way;His wife fair welcomed him home,And to him gan she say:77.‘Sir, how have you fared in green forest?Have ye brought Robin home?’‘Dame, the devil speed him, both body and bone;I have had a full great scorn.78.‘Of all the good that I have led to green wood,He hath take it fro me;All but this fair palfrey,That he hath sent to thee.’79.With that she took up a loud laughing,And sware by him that died on tree,‘Now have you paid for all the pottësThat Robin gave to me.80.‘Now ye be come home to Nottingham,Ye shall have good enow.’Now speak we of Robin Hood,And of the potter under the green bough.81.‘Potter, what was thy pottës worthTo Nottingham that I led with me?’‘They were worth two nobles,’ said he,‘So mote I thrive or thee;So could I have had for themAnd I had there be.’82.‘Thou shalt have ten pound,’ said Robin,‘Of money fair and free;And ever when thou comest to green wood,Welcome, potter, to me.’83.Thus parted Robin, the sheriff, and the potter,Underneath the green wood tree;God have mercy on Robin Hood’s soul,And save all good yeomanry!ROBIN HOOD AND GUY OF GISBORNEThe Text.—The only text of this ballad is in the Percy Folio, from which it is here rendered in modern spelling. Although the original is written continuously, it is almost impossible not to suspect an omission after 2.2. Child points out, however, that the abrupt transition is found in other ballads (seeAdam Bell, 2.2), and Hales and Furnivall put 2.3,4in inverted commas as part of Robin’s relation of his dream. Percy’s emendation was:
1.1.1‘shaws,’ woods, thickets: ‘sheen,’ beautiful.Insummer, when the shaws be sheenAnd leaves be large and long,It is full merry in fair forestTo hear the fowlës song,2.2.2‘hee,’ high. Cf. 84.2.To see the deer draw to the dale,And leave the hillës hee,And shadow them in the leavës green,Under the greenwood tree.3.3.3‘can,’ did.It befel on Whitsuntide,Early in a May morning,The sun up fair can shine,And the briddës merry can sing.4.‘This is a merry morning,’ said Little John,‘By him that died on tree;A more merry man than I am oneLives not in Christiantë.5.‘Pluck up thy heart, my dear master,’Little John can say,‘And think it is a full fair timeIn a morning of May.’6.‘Yea, one thing grieves me,’ said Robin,‘And does my heart much woe;That I may not no solemn dayTo mass nor matins go.7.7.2i.e., since I took the sacrament.‘It is a fortnight and more,’ said he,‘Syn I my Saviour see;To-day will I to Nottingham,With the might of mild Marie.’8.8.1‘milner son,’ = miller’s son: cp. 24.3.8.5‘slon,’ slay.Then spake Much the milner son,Ever more well him betide!‘Take twelve of thy wight yeomen,Well weapon’d by thy side.Such one would thyselfë slon,That twelve dare not abide.’9.‘Of all my merry men,’ said Robin,‘By my faith I will none have,But Little John shall bear my bow,Till that me list to draw.’10.10.4‘lyne,’ tree: so ‘lynd’ in 23.2. Cf. 76.4, 78.3, etc.‘Thou shall bear thine own,’ said Little John,‘Master, and I will bear mine,And we will shoot a penny,’ said Little John,‘Under the greenwood lyne.’11.11.4i.e., I will give you odds of three to one.‘I will not shoot a penny,’ said Robin Hood,‘In faith, Little John, with thee,But ever for one as thou shootës,’ said Robin,‘In faith I hold thee three.’12.Thus shot they forth, these yeomen two,Both at bush and broom,Till Little John won of his masterFive shillings to hose and shoon.13.13.1‘ferly,’ strange.A ferly strife fell them between,As they went by the way,Little John said he had won five shillingsAnd Robin Hood said shortly nay.14.14.1‘lied,’ gave the lie to.With that Robin Hood lied Little John,And smote him with his hand;Little John waxëd wroth therewith,And pulled out his bright brand.15.15.2‘by,’ aby, atone for.‘Were thou not my master,’ said Little John,‘Thou shouldest by it full sore;Get thee a man where thou wilt,For thou gettest me no more.’16.16.4‘ilkone’ = each one: cf. 30.2.Then Robin goes to Nottingham,Himself mourning alone,And Little John to merry Sherwood,The paths he knew ilkone.17.17.2Another form of ‘certain without leasing’ = forsooth without lying. Cf. 81.2.When Robin came to Nottingham,Certainly withouten layn,He prayed to God and mild MaryTo bring him out safe again.18.He goes into Saint Mary church,And kneeled down before the rood;All that ever were the church within,Beheld well Robin Hood.19.Beside him stood a great-headed monk,I pray to God woe he be!Full soon he knew good Robin,As soon as he him see.20.20.4‘sparred,’ shut: ‘everychone,’ every one (cf. 16.4).Out at the door he ran,Full soon and anon;All the gates of Nottingham,He made to be sparred everychone.21.21.2i.e., make ready: cf.Guy of Gisborne, 5.1.‘Rise up,’ he said, ‘thou proud sheriff,Busk thee, and make thee bown;I have spied the kingës felon,For sooth he is in this town.22.22.4‘And’ = if: ‘it will be your fault if he escapes us.’‘I have spied the false felon,As he standës at his mass;It is long of thee,’ said the monk,‘And ever he fro us pass.23.23.1‘traitor’ is genitive: cf. ‘milner son,’ 8.1, and ‘mother son,’ 24.3.‘This traitor name is Robin Hood,Under the greenwood lynd;He robbëd me once of a hundred pound,It shall never out of my mind.’24.24.2‘radly,’ quickly: ‘yare,’ ready.24.3See notes 8.1, 23.1.Up then rose this proud sheriff,And radly made him yare;Many was the mother son,To the kirk with him can fare.25.25.1‘throly thrast,’ strenuously pressed.25.2‘wone,’ plenty.In at the doors they throly thrast,With stavës full good wone;‘Alas, alas!’ said Robin Hood,‘Now miss I Little John.’26.26.3‘Thereas’ = where. Cf. 72.3.But Robin took out a two-hand swordThat hangëd down by his knee;Thereas the sheriff and his men stood thickest,Thitherward would he.27.Thrice throughout them he ran thenFor sooth as I you say,And wounded many a mother son,And twelve he slew that day.28.His sword upon the sheriff headCertainly he brake in two;‘The smith that thee made,’ said Robin,‘I pray God work him woe.’29.29.3‘But if’ = unless.‘For now am I weaponless,’ said Robin,‘Alas! against my will;But if I may flee these traitors fro,I wot they will me kill.’30.30.2Cf. 16.4. Probably six stanzas are lost here.Robin into the churchë ran,Throughout them everilkone,..........31.Some fell in swooning as they were dead,And lay still as any stone;None of them were in their mindBut only Little John.32.32.1‘rule,’ behaviour, conduct.‘Let be your rule,’ said Little John,‘For his love that died on tree;Ye that should be doughty men;It is great shame to see.33.‘Our master has been hard bestood,And yet scapëd away;Pluck up your hearts and leave this moan,And hearken what I shall say.34.34.2‘securly’ = surely.‘He has servëd Our Lady many a day,And yet will, securly;Therefore I trust her speciallyNo wicked death shall he die.35.‘Therefore be glad,’ said Little John,‘And let this mourning be;And I shall be the monkës guide,With the might of mild Marie.’36......‘We will go but we two;And I meet him,’ said Little John,.....37.37.1‘tristel-tree,’ trysting-tree.‘Look that ye keep well our tristel-tree,Under the leavës smale,And spare none of this venisonThat goës in this vale.’38.38.2‘on fere,’ in company.38.3‘Much emës house,’ the house of Much’s uncle.Forth then went these yeomen two,Little John and Much on fere,And lookëd on Much emës house,The highway lay full near.39.39.2‘at a stage’: ? from an upper story.Little John stood at a window in the morning,And lookëd forth at a stage;He was ware where the monk came riding,And with him a little page.40.‘By my faith,’ said Little John to Much,‘I can thee tell tidingës good;I see where the monkë comës riding,I know him by his wide hood.’41.41.2‘hand,’ gallant.41.3‘spyrrëd . . . at,’ asked . . . of. (Cf. Scottish ‘speir.’)41.4‘friende’ is plural.They went into the way, these yeomen both,As curteis men and hend;They spyrrëd tidingës at the monk,As they had been his friende.42.‘Fro whence come ye?’ said Little John,‘Tell us tidingës, I you pray,Of a false outlaw, called Robin Hood,Was taken yesterday.43.‘He robbed me and my fellows bothOf twenty mark in certain;If that false outlaw be taken;For sooth we would be fain.’44.‘So did he me,’ said the monk,‘Of a hundred pound and more;I laid first hand him upon,Ye may thank me therefore.’45.‘I pray God thank you,’ said Little John,‘And we will when we may;We will go with you, with your leave,And bring you on your way.46.‘For Robin Hood has many a wild fellow,I tell you in certain;If they wist you rode this way,In faith ye should be slain.’47.As they went talking by the way,The monk and Little John,John took the monkës horse by the head,Full soon and anon.48.48.4‘For’ = for the purpose that. Cp. ‘for’ inChild Waters, 28.6, First Series, p. 41.John took the monkës horse by the head,Forsooth as I you say;So did Much the little page,For he should not scape away.49.49.3‘of him agast,’ afraid of the consequences to him.By the gullet of the hoodJohn pulled the monkë down;John was nothing of him agast,He let him fall on his crown.50.Little John was sore aggrieved,And drew out his sword on high;This monkë saw he should be dead,Loud mercy can he cry.51.51.2‘bale,’ trouble.‘He was my master,’ said Little John,‘That thou hast brought in bale;Shall thou never come at our king,For to tell him tale.’52.John smote off the monkës head,No longer would he dwell;So did Much the little page,For fear lest he would tell.53.There they buriëd them both,In neither moss nor ling,And Little John and Much in fereBare the letters to our king.54.54.4‘see,’ protect......He kneelëd down upon his knee:‘God you save, my liegë lord,Jesus you save and see!55.‘God you save, my liegë king!’To speak John was full bold;He gave him the letters in his hand,The king did it unfold.56.56.2Cf.Gest, 234.2.The king read the letters anon,And said, ‘So mote I the,There was never yeoman in merry EnglandI longëd so sore to see.57.57.4‘after’: ‘by,’ as we should say.‘Where is the monk that these should have brought?’Our king can say:‘By my troth,’ said Little John,‘He died after the way.’58.The king gave Much and Little JohnTwenty pound in certain,And made them yeomen of the crown,And bade them go again.59.59.4‘dere,’ injury.He gave John the seal in hand,The sheriff for to bear,To bring Robin him to,And no man do him dere.60.60.4‘yede’ ( = gaed), went.John took his leave at our king,The sooth as I you say;The next way to NottinghamTo take, he yede the way.61.61.2‘sparred’: cp. 20.4.When John came to NottinghamThe gatës were sparred each one;John callëd up the porter,He answerëd soon anon.62.‘What is the cause,’ said Little John,‘Thou sparrës the gates so fast?’‘Because of Robin Hood,’ said the porter,‘In deep prison is cast.63.63.4‘sauten,’ assault.‘John and Much and Will Scathlock,For sooth as I you say,They slew our men upon our wallës,And sauten us every day.’64.64.1Cp. 41.3.Little John spyrred after the sheriff,And soon he him found;He opened the kingës privy sealAnd gave him in his hond.65.When the sheriff saw the kingës seal,He did off his hood anon;‘Where is the monk that bare the letters?’He said to Little John.66.‘He is so fain of him,’ said Little John,‘For sooth as I you say,He has made him abbot of Westminster,A lord of that abbay.’67.The sheriff made John good cheer,And gave him wine of the best;At night they went to their bed,And every man to his rest.68.When the sheriff was on sleep,Drunken of wine and ale,Little John and Much for soothTook the way unto the jail.69.Little John callëd up the jailor;And bade him rise anon;He said Robin Hood had broken prison,And out of it was gone.70.The porter rose anon certain,As soon as he heard John call;Little John was ready with a sword,And bare him to the wall.71.‘Now will I be porter,’ said Little John,‘And take the keys in hond’;He took the way to Robin Hood,And soon he him unbound.72.He gave him a good sword in his hand,His head therewith for to keep,And thereas the wall was lowestAnon down can they leap.73.73.4‘comyn’ = commons’:i.e.the town bell.By that the cock began to crow,The day began to spring;The sheriff found the jailor dead,The comyn bell made he ring.74.74.4‘warison,’ reward.He made a cry throughout all the town,Whether he be yeoman or knave,That could bring him Robin Hood,His warison he should have.75.‘For I dare never,’ said the sheriff,‘Come before our king;For if I do, I wot certainFor sooth he will me hing.’76.76.2‘sty,’ alley.The sheriff made to seek Nottingham,Both by street and sty,And Robin was in merry Sherwood,As light as leaf on lynd.77.77.4‘Quite thee,’ acquit yoursle,i.e.reward me. But the BafordMS.reads ‘Quit me.’Then bespake good Little John,To Robin Hood can he say,‘I have done thee a good turn for an evil;Quite thee when thou may.78.‘I have done thee a good turn,’ said Little John,‘For sooth as I you say;I have brought thee under green wood lyne;Farewell, and have good day.’79.‘Nay, by my troth,’ said Robin Hood,‘So shall it never be:I make thee master,’ said Robin Hood,‘Of all my men and me.’80.80.4‘keep I be,’ I care to be.‘Nay, by my troth,’ said Little John,‘So shall it never be;But let me be a fellow,’ said Little John,‘No nother keep I be.’81.81.4‘fain,’ glad.Thus John gat Robin Hood out of prison,Certain withouten layn;When his men saw him whole and sound,For sooth they were full fain.82.They filled in wine, and made them glad,Under the leavës smale,And gat pasties of venison,That goodë was with ale.83.Then wordë came to our kingHow Robin Hood was gone,And how the sheriff of NottinghamDurst never look him upon.84.84.2‘hee’: see 2.2.Then bespake our comely king,In an anger hee:‘Little John has beguiled the sheriff,In faith so has he me.85.‘Little John has beguiled us both,And that full well I see;Or else the sheriff of NottinghamHigh hangëd should he be.86.86.3‘grith,’ peace (Norse, ‘grið’).‘I made them yeomen of the crown,And gave them fee with my hand;I gave them grith,’ said our king;‘Throughout all merry England.87.87.2See 56.2.‘I gave them grith,’ then said our king;‘I say, so mote I the,Forsooth such a yeoman as he is oneIn all England are not three.88.‘He is true to his master,’ said our king;‘I say, by sweet Saint John,He lovës better Robin HoodThan he does us each one.89.89.2i.e.whether on the road, or housed.‘Robin Hood is ever bound to him,Both in street and stall;Speak no more of this matter,’ said our king;‘But John has beguiled us all.’90.Thus ends the talking of the monk,And Robin Hood i-wis;God, that is ever a crownëd king,Bring us all to his bliss!
1.
1.1‘shaws,’ woods, thickets: ‘sheen,’ beautiful.
Insummer, when the shaws be sheen
And leaves be large and long,
It is full merry in fair forest
To hear the fowlës song,
2.
2.2‘hee,’ high. Cf. 84.2.
To see the deer draw to the dale,
And leave the hillës hee,
And shadow them in the leavës green,
Under the greenwood tree.
3.
3.3‘can,’ did.
It befel on Whitsuntide,
Early in a May morning,
The sun up fair can shine,
And the briddës merry can sing.
4.
‘This is a merry morning,’ said Little John,
‘By him that died on tree;
A more merry man than I am one
Lives not in Christiantë.
5.
‘Pluck up thy heart, my dear master,’
Little John can say,
‘And think it is a full fair time
In a morning of May.’
6.
‘Yea, one thing grieves me,’ said Robin,
‘And does my heart much woe;
That I may not no solemn day
To mass nor matins go.
7.
7.2i.e., since I took the sacrament.
‘It is a fortnight and more,’ said he,
‘Syn I my Saviour see;
To-day will I to Nottingham,
With the might of mild Marie.’
8.
8.1‘milner son,’ = miller’s son: cp. 24.3.
8.5‘slon,’ slay.
Then spake Much the milner son,
Ever more well him betide!
‘Take twelve of thy wight yeomen,
Well weapon’d by thy side.
Such one would thyselfë slon,
That twelve dare not abide.’
9.
‘Of all my merry men,’ said Robin,
‘By my faith I will none have,
But Little John shall bear my bow,
Till that me list to draw.’
10.
10.4‘lyne,’ tree: so ‘lynd’ in 23.2. Cf. 76.4, 78.3, etc.
‘Thou shall bear thine own,’ said Little John,
‘Master, and I will bear mine,
And we will shoot a penny,’ said Little John,
‘Under the greenwood lyne.’
11.
11.4i.e., I will give you odds of three to one.
‘I will not shoot a penny,’ said Robin Hood,
‘In faith, Little John, with thee,
But ever for one as thou shootës,’ said Robin,
‘In faith I hold thee three.’
12.
Thus shot they forth, these yeomen two,
Both at bush and broom,
Till Little John won of his master
Five shillings to hose and shoon.
13.
13.1‘ferly,’ strange.
A ferly strife fell them between,
As they went by the way,
Little John said he had won five shillings
And Robin Hood said shortly nay.
14.
14.1‘lied,’ gave the lie to.
With that Robin Hood lied Little John,
And smote him with his hand;
Little John waxëd wroth therewith,
And pulled out his bright brand.
15.
15.2‘by,’ aby, atone for.
‘Were thou not my master,’ said Little John,
‘Thou shouldest by it full sore;
Get thee a man where thou wilt,
For thou gettest me no more.’
16.
16.4‘ilkone’ = each one: cf. 30.2.
Then Robin goes to Nottingham,
Himself mourning alone,
And Little John to merry Sherwood,
The paths he knew ilkone.
17.
17.2Another form of ‘certain without leasing’ = forsooth without lying. Cf. 81.2.
When Robin came to Nottingham,
Certainly withouten layn,
He prayed to God and mild Mary
To bring him out safe again.
18.
He goes into Saint Mary church,
And kneeled down before the rood;
All that ever were the church within,
Beheld well Robin Hood.
19.
Beside him stood a great-headed monk,
I pray to God woe he be!
Full soon he knew good Robin,
As soon as he him see.
20.
20.4‘sparred,’ shut: ‘everychone,’ every one (cf. 16.4).
Out at the door he ran,
Full soon and anon;
All the gates of Nottingham,
He made to be sparred everychone.
21.
21.2i.e., make ready: cf.Guy of Gisborne, 5.1.
‘Rise up,’ he said, ‘thou proud sheriff,
Busk thee, and make thee bown;
I have spied the kingës felon,
For sooth he is in this town.
22.
22.4‘And’ = if: ‘it will be your fault if he escapes us.’
‘I have spied the false felon,
As he standës at his mass;
It is long of thee,’ said the monk,
‘And ever he fro us pass.
23.
23.1‘traitor’ is genitive: cf. ‘milner son,’ 8.1, and ‘mother son,’ 24.3.
‘This traitor name is Robin Hood,
Under the greenwood lynd;
He robbëd me once of a hundred pound,
It shall never out of my mind.’
24.
24.2‘radly,’ quickly: ‘yare,’ ready.
24.3See notes 8.1, 23.1.
Up then rose this proud sheriff,
And radly made him yare;
Many was the mother son,
To the kirk with him can fare.
25.
25.1‘throly thrast,’ strenuously pressed.
25.2‘wone,’ plenty.
In at the doors they throly thrast,
With stavës full good wone;
‘Alas, alas!’ said Robin Hood,
‘Now miss I Little John.’
26.
26.3‘Thereas’ = where. Cf. 72.3.
But Robin took out a two-hand sword
That hangëd down by his knee;
Thereas the sheriff and his men stood thickest,
Thitherward would he.
27.
Thrice throughout them he ran then
For sooth as I you say,
And wounded many a mother son,
And twelve he slew that day.
28.
His sword upon the sheriff head
Certainly he brake in two;
‘The smith that thee made,’ said Robin,
‘I pray God work him woe.’
29.
29.3‘But if’ = unless.
‘For now am I weaponless,’ said Robin,
‘Alas! against my will;
But if I may flee these traitors fro,
I wot they will me kill.’
30.
30.2Cf. 16.4. Probably six stanzas are lost here.
Robin into the churchë ran,
Throughout them everilkone,
.....
.....
31.
Some fell in swooning as they were dead,
And lay still as any stone;
None of them were in their mind
But only Little John.
32.
32.1‘rule,’ behaviour, conduct.
‘Let be your rule,’ said Little John,
‘For his love that died on tree;
Ye that should be doughty men;
It is great shame to see.
33.
‘Our master has been hard bestood,
And yet scapëd away;
Pluck up your hearts and leave this moan,
And hearken what I shall say.
34.
34.2‘securly’ = surely.
‘He has servëd Our Lady many a day,
And yet will, securly;
Therefore I trust her specially
No wicked death shall he die.
35.
‘Therefore be glad,’ said Little John,
‘And let this mourning be;
And I shall be the monkës guide,
With the might of mild Marie.’
36.
.....
‘We will go but we two;
And I meet him,’ said Little John,
.....
37.
37.1‘tristel-tree,’ trysting-tree.
‘Look that ye keep well our tristel-tree,
Under the leavës smale,
And spare none of this venison
That goës in this vale.’
38.
38.2‘on fere,’ in company.
38.3‘Much emës house,’ the house of Much’s uncle.
Forth then went these yeomen two,
Little John and Much on fere,
And lookëd on Much emës house,
The highway lay full near.
39.
39.2‘at a stage’: ? from an upper story.
Little John stood at a window in the morning,
And lookëd forth at a stage;
He was ware where the monk came riding,
And with him a little page.
40.
‘By my faith,’ said Little John to Much,
‘I can thee tell tidingës good;
I see where the monkë comës riding,
I know him by his wide hood.’
41.
41.2‘hand,’ gallant.
41.3‘spyrrëd . . . at,’ asked . . . of. (Cf. Scottish ‘speir.’)
41.4‘friende’ is plural.
They went into the way, these yeomen both,
As curteis men and hend;
They spyrrëd tidingës at the monk,
As they had been his friende.
42.
‘Fro whence come ye?’ said Little John,
‘Tell us tidingës, I you pray,
Of a false outlaw, called Robin Hood,
Was taken yesterday.
43.
‘He robbed me and my fellows both
Of twenty mark in certain;
If that false outlaw be taken;
For sooth we would be fain.’
44.
‘So did he me,’ said the monk,
‘Of a hundred pound and more;
I laid first hand him upon,
Ye may thank me therefore.’
45.
‘I pray God thank you,’ said Little John,
‘And we will when we may;
We will go with you, with your leave,
And bring you on your way.
46.
‘For Robin Hood has many a wild fellow,
I tell you in certain;
If they wist you rode this way,
In faith ye should be slain.’
47.
As they went talking by the way,
The monk and Little John,
John took the monkës horse by the head,
Full soon and anon.
48.
48.4‘For’ = for the purpose that. Cp. ‘for’ inChild Waters, 28.6, First Series, p. 41.
John took the monkës horse by the head,
Forsooth as I you say;
So did Much the little page,
For he should not scape away.
49.
49.3‘of him agast,’ afraid of the consequences to him.
By the gullet of the hood
John pulled the monkë down;
John was nothing of him agast,
He let him fall on his crown.
50.
Little John was sore aggrieved,
And drew out his sword on high;
This monkë saw he should be dead,
Loud mercy can he cry.
51.
51.2‘bale,’ trouble.
‘He was my master,’ said Little John,
‘That thou hast brought in bale;
Shall thou never come at our king,
For to tell him tale.’
52.
John smote off the monkës head,
No longer would he dwell;
So did Much the little page,
For fear lest he would tell.
53.
There they buriëd them both,
In neither moss nor ling,
And Little John and Much in fere
Bare the letters to our king.
54.
54.4‘see,’ protect.
.....
He kneelëd down upon his knee:
‘God you save, my liegë lord,
Jesus you save and see!
55.
‘God you save, my liegë king!’
To speak John was full bold;
He gave him the letters in his hand,
The king did it unfold.
56.
56.2Cf.Gest, 234.2.
The king read the letters anon,
And said, ‘So mote I the,
There was never yeoman in merry England
I longëd so sore to see.
57.
57.4‘after’: ‘by,’ as we should say.
‘Where is the monk that these should have brought?’
Our king can say:
‘By my troth,’ said Little John,
‘He died after the way.’
58.
The king gave Much and Little John
Twenty pound in certain,
And made them yeomen of the crown,
And bade them go again.
59.
59.4‘dere,’ injury.
He gave John the seal in hand,
The sheriff for to bear,
To bring Robin him to,
And no man do him dere.
60.
60.4‘yede’ ( = gaed), went.
John took his leave at our king,
The sooth as I you say;
The next way to Nottingham
To take, he yede the way.
61.
61.2‘sparred’: cp. 20.4.
When John came to Nottingham
The gatës were sparred each one;
John callëd up the porter,
He answerëd soon anon.
62.
‘What is the cause,’ said Little John,
‘Thou sparrës the gates so fast?’
‘Because of Robin Hood,’ said the porter,
‘In deep prison is cast.
63.
63.4‘sauten,’ assault.
‘John and Much and Will Scathlock,
For sooth as I you say,
They slew our men upon our wallës,
And sauten us every day.’
64.
64.1Cp. 41.3.
Little John spyrred after the sheriff,
And soon he him found;
He opened the kingës privy seal
And gave him in his hond.
65.
When the sheriff saw the kingës seal,
He did off his hood anon;
‘Where is the monk that bare the letters?’
He said to Little John.
66.
‘He is so fain of him,’ said Little John,
‘For sooth as I you say,
He has made him abbot of Westminster,
A lord of that abbay.’
67.
The sheriff made John good cheer,
And gave him wine of the best;
At night they went to their bed,
And every man to his rest.
68.
When the sheriff was on sleep,
Drunken of wine and ale,
Little John and Much for sooth
Took the way unto the jail.
69.
Little John callëd up the jailor;
And bade him rise anon;
He said Robin Hood had broken prison,
And out of it was gone.
70.
The porter rose anon certain,
As soon as he heard John call;
Little John was ready with a sword,
And bare him to the wall.
71.
‘Now will I be porter,’ said Little John,
‘And take the keys in hond’;
He took the way to Robin Hood,
And soon he him unbound.
72.
He gave him a good sword in his hand,
His head therewith for to keep,
And thereas the wall was lowest
Anon down can they leap.
73.
73.4‘comyn’ = commons’:i.e.the town bell.
By that the cock began to crow,
The day began to spring;
The sheriff found the jailor dead,
The comyn bell made he ring.
74.
74.4‘warison,’ reward.
He made a cry throughout all the town,
Whether he be yeoman or knave,
That could bring him Robin Hood,
His warison he should have.
75.
‘For I dare never,’ said the sheriff,
‘Come before our king;
For if I do, I wot certain
For sooth he will me hing.’
76.
76.2‘sty,’ alley.
The sheriff made to seek Nottingham,
Both by street and sty,
And Robin was in merry Sherwood,
As light as leaf on lynd.
77.
77.4‘Quite thee,’ acquit yoursle,i.e.reward me. But the BafordMS.reads ‘Quit me.’
Then bespake good Little John,
To Robin Hood can he say,
‘I have done thee a good turn for an evil;
Quite thee when thou may.
78.
‘I have done thee a good turn,’ said Little John,
‘For sooth as I you say;
I have brought thee under green wood lyne;
Farewell, and have good day.’
79.
‘Nay, by my troth,’ said Robin Hood,
‘So shall it never be:
I make thee master,’ said Robin Hood,
‘Of all my men and me.’
80.
80.4‘keep I be,’ I care to be.
‘Nay, by my troth,’ said Little John,
‘So shall it never be;
But let me be a fellow,’ said Little John,
‘No nother keep I be.’
81.
81.4‘fain,’ glad.
Thus John gat Robin Hood out of prison,
Certain withouten layn;
When his men saw him whole and sound,
For sooth they were full fain.
82.
They filled in wine, and made them glad,
Under the leavës smale,
And gat pasties of venison,
That goodë was with ale.
83.
Then wordë came to our king
How Robin Hood was gone,
And how the sheriff of Nottingham
Durst never look him upon.
84.
84.2‘hee’: see 2.2.
Then bespake our comely king,
In an anger hee:
‘Little John has beguiled the sheriff,
In faith so has he me.
85.
‘Little John has beguiled us both,
And that full well I see;
Or else the sheriff of Nottingham
High hangëd should he be.
86.
86.3‘grith,’ peace (Norse, ‘grið’).
‘I made them yeomen of the crown,
And gave them fee with my hand;
I gave them grith,’ said our king;
‘Throughout all merry England.
87.
87.2See 56.2.
‘I gave them grith,’ then said our king;
‘I say, so mote I the,
Forsooth such a yeoman as he is one
In all England are not three.
88.
‘He is true to his master,’ said our king;
‘I say, by sweet Saint John,
He lovës better Robin Hood
Than he does us each one.
89.
89.2i.e.whether on the road, or housed.
‘Robin Hood is ever bound to him,
Both in street and stall;
Speak no more of this matter,’ said our king;
‘But John has beguiled us all.’
90.
Thus ends the talking of the monk,
And Robin Hood i-wis;
God, that is ever a crownëd king,
Bring us all to his bliss!
The Textis modernised, as far as is possible, from aMS.of about 1500 in the University Library at Cambridge (Ee. 4, 35). The ballad was first printed therefrom by Ritson in hisRobin Hood(1795), vol. i. p. 81, on the whole very accurately, and with a few necessary emendations. He notes that the scribe was evidently ‘a vulgar and illiterate person’ who ‘irremediably corrupted’ the ballad. In several places, however, a little ingenuity will restore a lost rhyme.
The Story, of an outlaw disguising himself in order to gain information from his enemies, is common to the legends of Hereward the Saxon, Wallace, Eustace the monk, and Fulk Fitz Warine, the first three of whom assumed the guise of a potter at one time or another.
The ballad ofRobin Hood and the Butcheris a tale similar to this; and part of the Play of Robin Hood is based on this ballad (see Introduction, p. xxiii.).
1.Insummer, when the leavës spring,The blossoms on every bough,So merry doth the birdës singIn woodës merry now.2.Hearken, good yeomen,Comely, courteous, and good;One of the best that ever bare bow,His name was Robin Hood.3.Robin Hood was the yeoman’s name,That was both courteous and free;For the love of Our LadyAll women worshipped he.4.But as the good yeoman stood on a day,Among his merry meynë,He was ware of a proud potterCame driving over the lee.5.5.4‘pavage,’ road-tax.‘Yonder cometh a proud potter,’ said Robin,‘That long hath haunted this way;He was never so courteous a manOne penny of pavage to pay.’6.‘I met him but at Wentbridge,’ said Little John,‘And therefore evil mote he thee!Such three strokës he me gave,That by my sides cleft they.7.7.4‘wed,’ pledge, wager.‘I lay forty shillings,’ said Little John,‘To pay it this same day,There is not a man among us allA wed shall make him lay.’8.8.2‘and,’ if.‘Here is forty shillings,’ said Robin,‘More, and thou dare say,That I shall make that proud potter,A wed to me shall he lay.’9.9.2‘toke,’ gave.9.3‘breyde,’ rushed, leapt.There this money they laid,They toke it a yeoman to keep.Robin before the potter he breydeAnd bade him stand still.10.Hands upon his horse he laid,And bade the potter stand full still;The potter shortly to him said,‘Fellow, what is thy will?’11.‘All this three year and more, potter,’ he said,‘Thou hast haunted this way,Yet were thou never so courteous a manOne penny of pavage to pay.’12.‘What is thy name,’ said the potter,‘’Fore pavage thou ask of me?’‘Robin Hood is my name,A wed shall thou leave me.’13.13.4‘tene,’ harm.‘Wed will I none leave,’ said the potter,‘Nor pavage will I none pay;Away thy hand fro my horse!I will thee tene else, by my fay.’14.The potter to his cart he went,He was not to seek;A good two-hand staff he hent,Before Robin he leaped.15.Robin out with a sword bent,A buckler in his hand;The potter to Robin he wentAnd said, ‘Fellow, let my horse go.’16.16.3i.e.thereat laughed Robin’s men.Together then went these two yeomen,It was a good sight to see;Thereof low Robin his men,There they stood under a tree.17.17.3‘ackward,’ back-handed (?).Little John to his fellows said,‘Yon potter will stiffly stand’:The potter, with an ackward stroke,Smote the buckler out of his hand.18.18.4‘yede,’ went.And ere Robin might get it againHis buckler at his feet,The potter in the neck him took,To the ground soon he yede.19.19.4‘slo,’ slay.That saw Robin his menAs they stood under a bough;‘Let us help our master,’ said Little John,‘Yonder potter else will him slo.’20.20.1‘a breyde,’ haste.These yeomen went with a breyde,To their master they came.Little John to his master said‘Who hath the wager won?’21.‘Shall I have your forty shillings,’ said Little John,‘Or ye, master, shall have mine?’‘If they were a hundred,’ said Robin,‘I’ faith, they been all thine.’22.22.4‘let,’ stop, hinder.‘It is full little courtesy,’ said the potter,‘As I have heard wise men say,If a poor yeoman come driving on the wayTo let him of his journey.’23.23.3‘And,’ if.‘By my troth, thou says sooth,’ said Robin,‘Thou says good yeomanry;And thou drive forth every day,Thou shalt never be let for me.24.‘I will pray thee, good potter,A fellowship will thou have?Give me thy clothing, and thou shalt have mine;I will go to Nottingham.’25.25.3‘But,’ unless.25.4‘yode,’ went.‘I grant thereto,’ said the potter;‘Thou shalt find me a fellow good;But thou can sell my pottës well,Come again as thou yode.’26.‘Nay, by my troth,’ said Robin,‘And then I beshrew my head,If I bring any pottës again,And any wife will them chepe.’27.Then spake Little John,And all his fellows hend;‘Master, be well ware of the sheriff of Nottingham,For he is little our friend.’28.28.1‘Heyt war howt,’ a call to horses while driving, like the modern ‘Gee up.’‘Heyt war howt,’ said Robin;‘Fellows, let me alone;Through the help of Our Lady,To Nottingham will I gone.’29.Robin went to Nottingham,These pottës for to sell;The potter abode with Robin’s men,There he fared not ill.30.Though Robin drove on his way,So merry over the land:Here is more, and after is to sayThe best is behind.31.When Robin came to Nottingham,The sooth if I should say,He set up his horse anon,And gave him oats and hay.26.4‘chepe,’ bargain for, buy.32.32.4‘hansel’ is a gift, especially an ‘earnest’ or instalment; ‘mare’ probably is ‘more’; but the meaning of the whole phrase is uncertain.In the midst of the town,There he showed his ware;‘Pottës, pottës,’ he gan cry full soon,‘Have hansel for the mare!’33.33.2‘chaffare,’ merchandise.Full often against the sheriff’s gateShowëd he his chaffare;Wives and widows about him drewAnd chepëd fast of his ware.34.34.1‘great chepe’ = great bargain.Yet, ‘Pottës, great chepe!’ cried Robin,‘I love evil thus to stand.’And all that saw him sellSaid he had be no potter long.35.35.4‘thee,’ thrive.The pottës that were worth pence five,He sold them for pence three;Privily said man and wife,‘Yonder potter shall never thee.’36.Thus Robin sold full fast,Till he had pottës but five;Up he them took off his carAnd sent them to the sheriff’s wife.37.37.1‘fain,’ glad.Thereof she was full fain;‘Gramercy, sir,’ then said she;‘When ye come to this country againI shall buy of thy pottës, so mote I thee.’38.‘Ye shall have of the best,’ said Robin,And sware by the Trinity;Full courteously she gan him call,‘Come dine with the sheriff and me.’39.‘God amercy,’ said Robin,‘Your bidding shall be done.’A maiden in the pottës gan bear,Robin and the sheriff wife followed anon.40.40.3‘could of courtesy,’ knew how to be courteous.40.4‘gret,’greeted.When Robin into the hall came,The sheriff soon he met;The potter could of courtesy,And soon the sheriff he gret.41.‘Lo, sir, what this potter hath give you and me;Five pottës small and great!’‘He is full welcome,’ said the sheriff,‘Let us wash, and go to meat.’42.As they sat at their meat,With a noble cheer,Two of the sheriff’s men gan speakOf a great wager;43.Of a shooting was good and fine,Was made the other day,Of forty shillings, the sooth to say,Who should this wager win.44.Still then sat this proud potter,Thus then thought he;‘As I am a true Christian man,This shooting will I see.’45.45.3‘prest,’ quickly.When they had fared of the best,With bread, and ale, and wine,To the butts they made them prest,With bows and bolts full fine.46.The sheriff’s men shot full fast,As archers that were good;There came none near nigh the markBy half a good archer’s bow.47.47.3‘And,’ if.Still then stood the proud potter,Thus then said he;‘And I had a bow, by the rood,One shot should ye see.’48.‘Thou shall have a bow,’ said the sheriff,‘The best that thou will choose of three;Thou seemest a stalwart and a strong,Assay[ed] shall thou be.’49.The sheriff commanded a yeoman that stood them by,After bows to wend;The best bow that the yeoman brought,Robin set on a string.50.‘Now shall I wot and thou be good,And pull it up to thine ear.’‘So God me help,’ said the proud potter,‘This is but right weak gear.’51.To a quiver Robin went,A good bolt out he took;So nigh unto the mark he went,He failëd not a foot.52.All they shot about again,The sheriff’s men and he;Of the mark he would not fail,He cleft the prick in three.53.The sheriff’s men thought great shameThe potter the mastery won;The sheriff laughed and made good game,And said, ‘Potter, thou art a man.54.54.1,2Two lines missing in theMS.; so 57.3...........‘Thou art worthy to bear a bowIn what place that thou go.’55.‘In my cart I have a bow,Forsooth,’ he said, ‘and that a good;In my cart is the bowThat gave me Robin Hood.’56.‘Knowest thou Robin Hood?’ said the sheriff;‘Potter, I pray thee tell thou me.’‘A hundred turn I have shot with him,Under his trystell-tree.’57.‘I had liefer nor a hundred pound,’ said the sheriff,And sware by the Trinity,‘.....That the false outlaw stood by me.’58.58.1‘rede,’ advice.‘And ye will do after my rede,’ said the potter,‘And boldly go with me,And tomorrow, ere we eat bread,Robin Hood will we see.’59.59.1‘quite’ = requite.59.4‘dight,’ prepared.‘I will quite thee,’ quoth the sheriff,‘I swear by God of might.’Shooting they left and home they went,Their supper was ready dight.60.60.2‘busked,’ made ready.60.3‘ray’ = array.Upon the morrow, when it was day,He busked him forth to ride;The potter his cart forth gan ray,And would not leave behind.61.He took leave of the sherriff’s wife,And thanked her of all thing:‘Dame, for my love and you will this wear,I give you here a gold ring.’62.62.2‘yield it thee,’ reward thee for it.‘Gramercy,’ said the wife,‘Sir, God yield it thee.’The sheriff’s heart was never so light,The fair forest to see.63.63.3‘prest,’ freely.And when he came into the forest,Under the leavës green,Birdës there sang on boughës prest,It was great joy to see.64.64.3‘awit’: either = wit, know, or = await.‘Here it is merry to be,’ said Robin,‘For a man that had ought to spend;By my horn I shall awitIf Robin Hood be here.’65.Robin set his horn to his mouth,And blew a blast that was full good;That heard his men that there stood,Far down in the wood.66.66.2,3Two lines omitted in theMS.66.4‘wood,’ mad.‘I hear my master blow,’ said Little John,..........They ran as they were wood.67.When they to their master came,Little John would not spare;‘Master, how have you fare in Nottingham?How have you sold your ware?’68.‘Yea, by my troth, Little John,Look thou take no care;I have brought the sheriff of Nottingham,For all our chaffare.’69.‘He is full welcome,’ said Little John,‘This tiding is full good.’The sheriff had liefer nor a hundred poundHe had never seen Robin Hood.70.‘Had I wist that before,At Nottingham when we were,Thou should not come in fair forestOf all this thousand year.’71.‘That wot I well,’ said Robin,‘I thank God that ye be here;Therefore shall ye leave your horse with usAnd all your other gear.’72.72.1A duplicated deprecation: ‘I protest—God forbid!’72.3,4Two lines omitted in theMS.; so 74.3,4.‘That fend I god’s forbode,’ quoth the sheriff,So to loose my good;..........73.‘Hither ye came on horse full high,And home shall ye go on foot;And greet well thy wife at home,The woman is full good.74.‘I shall her send a white palfrey,It ambleth, by my fay,..........75.75.3‘Nere’ = ne were, were it not.‘I shall her send a white palfrey,It ambleth as the wind;Nere for the love of your wife,Of more sorrow should you sing!’76.Thus parted Robin Hood and the sheriff;To Nottingham he took the way;His wife fair welcomed him home,And to him gan she say:77.‘Sir, how have you fared in green forest?Have ye brought Robin home?’‘Dame, the devil speed him, both body and bone;I have had a full great scorn.78.‘Of all the good that I have led to green wood,He hath take it fro me;All but this fair palfrey,That he hath sent to thee.’79.With that she took up a loud laughing,And sware by him that died on tree,‘Now have you paid for all the pottësThat Robin gave to me.80.‘Now ye be come home to Nottingham,Ye shall have good enow.’Now speak we of Robin Hood,And of the potter under the green bough.81.‘Potter, what was thy pottës worthTo Nottingham that I led with me?’‘They were worth two nobles,’ said he,‘So mote I thrive or thee;So could I have had for themAnd I had there be.’82.‘Thou shalt have ten pound,’ said Robin,‘Of money fair and free;And ever when thou comest to green wood,Welcome, potter, to me.’83.Thus parted Robin, the sheriff, and the potter,Underneath the green wood tree;God have mercy on Robin Hood’s soul,And save all good yeomanry!
1.
Insummer, when the leavës spring,
The blossoms on every bough,
So merry doth the birdës sing
In woodës merry now.
2.
Hearken, good yeomen,
Comely, courteous, and good;
One of the best that ever bare bow,
His name was Robin Hood.
3.
Robin Hood was the yeoman’s name,
That was both courteous and free;
For the love of Our Lady
All women worshipped he.
4.
But as the good yeoman stood on a day,
Among his merry meynë,
He was ware of a proud potter
Came driving over the lee.
5.
5.4‘pavage,’ road-tax.
‘Yonder cometh a proud potter,’ said Robin,
‘That long hath haunted this way;
He was never so courteous a man
One penny of pavage to pay.’
6.
‘I met him but at Wentbridge,’ said Little John,
‘And therefore evil mote he thee!
Such three strokës he me gave,
That by my sides cleft they.
7.
7.4‘wed,’ pledge, wager.
‘I lay forty shillings,’ said Little John,
‘To pay it this same day,
There is not a man among us all
A wed shall make him lay.’
8.
8.2‘and,’ if.
‘Here is forty shillings,’ said Robin,
‘More, and thou dare say,
That I shall make that proud potter,
A wed to me shall he lay.’
9.
9.2‘toke,’ gave.
9.3‘breyde,’ rushed, leapt.
There this money they laid,
They toke it a yeoman to keep.
Robin before the potter he breyde
And bade him stand still.
10.
Hands upon his horse he laid,
And bade the potter stand full still;
The potter shortly to him said,
‘Fellow, what is thy will?’
11.
‘All this three year and more, potter,’ he said,
‘Thou hast haunted this way,
Yet were thou never so courteous a man
One penny of pavage to pay.’
12.
‘What is thy name,’ said the potter,
‘’Fore pavage thou ask of me?’
‘Robin Hood is my name,
A wed shall thou leave me.’
13.
13.4‘tene,’ harm.
‘Wed will I none leave,’ said the potter,
‘Nor pavage will I none pay;
Away thy hand fro my horse!
I will thee tene else, by my fay.’
14.
The potter to his cart he went,
He was not to seek;
A good two-hand staff he hent,
Before Robin he leaped.
15.
Robin out with a sword bent,
A buckler in his hand;
The potter to Robin he went
And said, ‘Fellow, let my horse go.’
16.
16.3i.e.thereat laughed Robin’s men.
Together then went these two yeomen,
It was a good sight to see;
Thereof low Robin his men,
There they stood under a tree.
17.
17.3‘ackward,’ back-handed (?).
Little John to his fellows said,
‘Yon potter will stiffly stand’:
The potter, with an ackward stroke,
Smote the buckler out of his hand.
18.
18.4‘yede,’ went.
And ere Robin might get it again
His buckler at his feet,
The potter in the neck him took,
To the ground soon he yede.
19.
19.4‘slo,’ slay.
That saw Robin his men
As they stood under a bough;
‘Let us help our master,’ said Little John,
‘Yonder potter else will him slo.’
20.
20.1‘a breyde,’ haste.
These yeomen went with a breyde,
To their master they came.
Little John to his master said
‘Who hath the wager won?’
21.
‘Shall I have your forty shillings,’ said Little John,
‘Or ye, master, shall have mine?’
‘If they were a hundred,’ said Robin,
‘I’ faith, they been all thine.’
22.
22.4‘let,’ stop, hinder.
‘It is full little courtesy,’ said the potter,
‘As I have heard wise men say,
If a poor yeoman come driving on the way
To let him of his journey.’
23.
23.3‘And,’ if.
‘By my troth, thou says sooth,’ said Robin,
‘Thou says good yeomanry;
And thou drive forth every day,
Thou shalt never be let for me.
24.
‘I will pray thee, good potter,
A fellowship will thou have?
Give me thy clothing, and thou shalt have mine;
I will go to Nottingham.’
25.
25.3‘But,’ unless.
25.4‘yode,’ went.
‘I grant thereto,’ said the potter;
‘Thou shalt find me a fellow good;
But thou can sell my pottës well,
Come again as thou yode.’
26.
‘Nay, by my troth,’ said Robin,
‘And then I beshrew my head,
If I bring any pottës again,
And any wife will them chepe.’
27.
Then spake Little John,
And all his fellows hend;
‘Master, be well ware of the sheriff of Nottingham,
For he is little our friend.’
28.
28.1‘Heyt war howt,’ a call to horses while driving, like the modern ‘Gee up.’
‘Heyt war howt,’ said Robin;
‘Fellows, let me alone;
Through the help of Our Lady,
To Nottingham will I gone.’
29.
Robin went to Nottingham,
These pottës for to sell;
The potter abode with Robin’s men,
There he fared not ill.
30.
Though Robin drove on his way,
So merry over the land:
Here is more, and after is to say
The best is behind.
31.
When Robin came to Nottingham,
The sooth if I should say,
He set up his horse anon,
And gave him oats and hay.
26.4‘chepe,’ bargain for, buy.
32.
32.4‘hansel’ is a gift, especially an ‘earnest’ or instalment; ‘mare’ probably is ‘more’; but the meaning of the whole phrase is uncertain.
In the midst of the town,
There he showed his ware;
‘Pottës, pottës,’ he gan cry full soon,
‘Have hansel for the mare!’
33.
33.2‘chaffare,’ merchandise.
Full often against the sheriff’s gate
Showëd he his chaffare;
Wives and widows about him drew
And chepëd fast of his ware.
34.
34.1‘great chepe’ = great bargain.
Yet, ‘Pottës, great chepe!’ cried Robin,
‘I love evil thus to stand.’
And all that saw him sell
Said he had be no potter long.
35.
35.4‘thee,’ thrive.
The pottës that were worth pence five,
He sold them for pence three;
Privily said man and wife,
‘Yonder potter shall never thee.’
36.
Thus Robin sold full fast,
Till he had pottës but five;
Up he them took off his car
And sent them to the sheriff’s wife.
37.
37.1‘fain,’ glad.
Thereof she was full fain;
‘Gramercy, sir,’ then said she;
‘When ye come to this country again
I shall buy of thy pottës, so mote I thee.’
38.
‘Ye shall have of the best,’ said Robin,
And sware by the Trinity;
Full courteously she gan him call,
‘Come dine with the sheriff and me.’
39.
‘God amercy,’ said Robin,
‘Your bidding shall be done.’
A maiden in the pottës gan bear,
Robin and the sheriff wife followed anon.
40.
40.3‘could of courtesy,’ knew how to be courteous.
40.4‘gret,’greeted.
When Robin into the hall came,
The sheriff soon he met;
The potter could of courtesy,
And soon the sheriff he gret.
41.
‘Lo, sir, what this potter hath give you and me;
Five pottës small and great!’
‘He is full welcome,’ said the sheriff,
‘Let us wash, and go to meat.’
42.
As they sat at their meat,
With a noble cheer,
Two of the sheriff’s men gan speak
Of a great wager;
43.
Of a shooting was good and fine,
Was made the other day,
Of forty shillings, the sooth to say,
Who should this wager win.
44.
Still then sat this proud potter,
Thus then thought he;
‘As I am a true Christian man,
This shooting will I see.’
45.
45.3‘prest,’ quickly.
When they had fared of the best,
With bread, and ale, and wine,
To the butts they made them prest,
With bows and bolts full fine.
46.
The sheriff’s men shot full fast,
As archers that were good;
There came none near nigh the mark
By half a good archer’s bow.
47.
47.3‘And,’ if.
Still then stood the proud potter,
Thus then said he;
‘And I had a bow, by the rood,
One shot should ye see.’
48.
‘Thou shall have a bow,’ said the sheriff,
‘The best that thou will choose of three;
Thou seemest a stalwart and a strong,
Assay[ed] shall thou be.’
49.
The sheriff commanded a yeoman that stood them by,
After bows to wend;
The best bow that the yeoman brought,
Robin set on a string.
50.
‘Now shall I wot and thou be good,
And pull it up to thine ear.’
‘So God me help,’ said the proud potter,
‘This is but right weak gear.’
51.
To a quiver Robin went,
A good bolt out he took;
So nigh unto the mark he went,
He failëd not a foot.
52.
All they shot about again,
The sheriff’s men and he;
Of the mark he would not fail,
He cleft the prick in three.
53.
The sheriff’s men thought great shame
The potter the mastery won;
The sheriff laughed and made good game,
And said, ‘Potter, thou art a man.
54.
54.1,2Two lines missing in theMS.; so 57.3.
.....
.....
‘Thou art worthy to bear a bow
In what place that thou go.’
55.
‘In my cart I have a bow,
Forsooth,’ he said, ‘and that a good;
In my cart is the bow
That gave me Robin Hood.’
56.
‘Knowest thou Robin Hood?’ said the sheriff;
‘Potter, I pray thee tell thou me.’
‘A hundred turn I have shot with him,
Under his trystell-tree.’
57.
‘I had liefer nor a hundred pound,’ said the sheriff,
And sware by the Trinity,
‘.....
That the false outlaw stood by me.’
58.
58.1‘rede,’ advice.
‘And ye will do after my rede,’ said the potter,
‘And boldly go with me,
And tomorrow, ere we eat bread,
Robin Hood will we see.’
59.
59.1‘quite’ = requite.
59.4‘dight,’ prepared.
‘I will quite thee,’ quoth the sheriff,
‘I swear by God of might.’
Shooting they left and home they went,
Their supper was ready dight.
60.
60.2‘busked,’ made ready.
60.3‘ray’ = array.
Upon the morrow, when it was day,
He busked him forth to ride;
The potter his cart forth gan ray,
And would not leave behind.
61.
He took leave of the sherriff’s wife,
And thanked her of all thing:
‘Dame, for my love and you will this wear,
I give you here a gold ring.’
62.
62.2‘yield it thee,’ reward thee for it.
‘Gramercy,’ said the wife,
‘Sir, God yield it thee.’
The sheriff’s heart was never so light,
The fair forest to see.
63.
63.3‘prest,’ freely.
And when he came into the forest,
Under the leavës green,
Birdës there sang on boughës prest,
It was great joy to see.
64.
64.3‘awit’: either = wit, know, or = await.
‘Here it is merry to be,’ said Robin,
‘For a man that had ought to spend;
By my horn I shall awit
If Robin Hood be here.’
65.
Robin set his horn to his mouth,
And blew a blast that was full good;
That heard his men that there stood,
Far down in the wood.
66.
66.2,3Two lines omitted in theMS.
66.4‘wood,’ mad.
‘I hear my master blow,’ said Little John,
.....
.....
They ran as they were wood.
67.
When they to their master came,
Little John would not spare;
‘Master, how have you fare in Nottingham?
How have you sold your ware?’
68.
‘Yea, by my troth, Little John,
Look thou take no care;
I have brought the sheriff of Nottingham,
For all our chaffare.’
69.
‘He is full welcome,’ said Little John,
‘This tiding is full good.’
The sheriff had liefer nor a hundred pound
He had never seen Robin Hood.
70.
‘Had I wist that before,
At Nottingham when we were,
Thou should not come in fair forest
Of all this thousand year.’
71.
‘That wot I well,’ said Robin,
‘I thank God that ye be here;
Therefore shall ye leave your horse with us
And all your other gear.’
72.
72.1A duplicated deprecation: ‘I protest—God forbid!’
72.3,4Two lines omitted in theMS.; so 74.3,4.
‘That fend I god’s forbode,’ quoth the sheriff,
So to loose my good;
.....
.....
73.
‘Hither ye came on horse full high,
And home shall ye go on foot;
And greet well thy wife at home,
The woman is full good.
74.
‘I shall her send a white palfrey,
It ambleth, by my fay,
.....
.....
75.
75.3‘Nere’ = ne were, were it not.
‘I shall her send a white palfrey,
It ambleth as the wind;
Nere for the love of your wife,
Of more sorrow should you sing!’
76.
Thus parted Robin Hood and the sheriff;
To Nottingham he took the way;
His wife fair welcomed him home,
And to him gan she say:
77.
‘Sir, how have you fared in green forest?
Have ye brought Robin home?’
‘Dame, the devil speed him, both body and bone;
I have had a full great scorn.
78.
‘Of all the good that I have led to green wood,
He hath take it fro me;
All but this fair palfrey,
That he hath sent to thee.’
79.
With that she took up a loud laughing,
And sware by him that died on tree,
‘Now have you paid for all the pottës
That Robin gave to me.
80.
‘Now ye be come home to Nottingham,
Ye shall have good enow.’
Now speak we of Robin Hood,
And of the potter under the green bough.
81.
‘Potter, what was thy pottës worth
To Nottingham that I led with me?’
‘They were worth two nobles,’ said he,
‘So mote I thrive or thee;
So could I have had for them
And I had there be.’
82.
‘Thou shalt have ten pound,’ said Robin,
‘Of money fair and free;
And ever when thou comest to green wood,
Welcome, potter, to me.’
83.
Thus parted Robin, the sheriff, and the potter,
Underneath the green wood tree;
God have mercy on Robin Hood’s soul,
And save all good yeomanry!
The Text.—The only text of this ballad is in the Percy Folio, from which it is here rendered in modern spelling. Although the original is written continuously, it is almost impossible not to suspect an omission after 2.2. Child points out, however, that the abrupt transition is found in other ballads (seeAdam Bell, 2.2), and Hales and Furnivall put 2.3,4in inverted commas as part of Robin’s relation of his dream. Percy’s emendation was: