Topic: Traditions of folk life reflected in ‘’Robin Hood Ballads’’
CONTENT:
1.INTRODUCTION
Chapter I William Caxton (1422 – 1491)
1.1 Folk Songs and ballads.
1.2 The Robin Hood ballads.
CHAPTER 2. Robin Hood balladas
2.1. Unique Features of the Medieval English and Scottish Ballads.
2.2 Different Kinds of Folklore.
CONCLUSION
REFERENCES
CONTENT:
1
1.INTRODUCTION…………………………………………..3
Chapter I William Caxton (1422 – 1491)……………..……..6
1.1 Folk Songs and ballads…………………………...………6
1.2 The Robin Hood ballads………………………………….7
CHAPTER 2. Robin Hood balladas………………………8
2.1. Unique Features of the Medieval English and Scottish
Ballads…………………………………………………………8
2.2 Different Kinds of Folklore………..……………………..9
CONCLUSION………………………...…………………….12
REFERENCES………………………………………………25
INTRODUCTION
2
The books tells the story of Robin Hood and his men. He's an outlaw and becomes
the people's hero. He fights for the poor yeoman and women. Robin Hood and his
men steal from the rich and give the money to the poor people. Robin and his
friends' live in the forest of Nottingham. He is against some churchmen who take
the money from the poor people, and above all the Sheriff of Nottingham. He
finally kills him. Robin Hood was also one servant of the king and he lives with
the king in the palace in London but he doesn't like the city and he goes to the
forest. He marries his love, Lady Marian in the forest. They live happily there for
many years. Eventually they get old. Marian dies first and Robin is alone,when he
is ill visit the prioress and Robin is killed by the prioress. In the end, Little John
that is a Robin Hood's men by his side when he dies and he buries him and put
“Here lies brave Robin Hood”.
Robin Hood, (12th century) an excellent archer and swordsman, is the
protagonist of this story. There are many different stories about where Robin Hood
came form and his history; his background isn't exactly set. All legends, though,
establish that he is a famous English outlaw, and is known to rob from the rich and
unworthy and use the money to help the poor and needy. Most people love Robin
Hood, except for a select few enemies, which include the Sheriff of Nottingham,
who appears in this story, and due to the nature of his job, is a natural enemy to an
outlaw. Robin lives in either Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire or Barnsdale in
Yorkshire
Robin Hood is not an epic hero. His birth and origin is highly debated and come
from various different sources with vastly different stories, and he doesn't receive
supernatural aid in any of his endeavors. Robin Hood is not a typical hero. First of
all, he is an outlaw, a criminal, which one would most often think of as an
antagonist, and also Robin doesn't always win the fights that he picks, and
oftentimes gets overpowered by his opponent. This doesn't mean that he doesn't
have any heroic traits, though. Like many heroes, Robin has band of men that are
loyal to him, known as the Merry Men. This group of men include Little John,
Friar Tuck, Will Scarlet, Much the Miller's Son, Alan a Dale, and of course, Maid
Marian, his true love. Although Robin is a criminal, he is known to steal from the
rich and give to the poor, which many find a heroic act. He is also very loyal in his
actions. Like many heroes, Robin has a specialty, and that is archery. He is a
famous champion archer, which is shown in this story, and his skills often come in
handy in his many legends.
Robin, his merry men, and some of the other characters are described as
yeomen. The term ‘yeoman’ is used extensively in the ballads but definition is not
easy, as the meaning had changed over the years. Originally, he could be a farmer
or leaseholder with a small income, or an employee of the estate such as a forester
or gamekeeper.
The yeoman brotherhood in the Robin Hood ballads operates in a self-serving
manner, and while individual desires are punished in favor of the communal
3
benefit of yeomen, the yeoman system of brotherly bonds negotiates a complex
system of shifting ideals in both urban and rural culture, where yeomen are
working out their social identity.
ROBIN HOOD: The son of Earl of Huntingdon. He is the leader and he believes
in justice and is friend of all good people. He helps the poor because he thinks it's
the right thing to do.
LADY MARIAN: Lord Fritwater's daughter. She is beautiful, confident, and
sincere in her love of Robin Hood. . She can use a bow quite well. She is a Robin
Hood's dear Lady. Later she becomes his wife.
SIR RICHARD OF THE LEE: He's big and strong. He's a good at fighting at a
staff and he is one of the best Robin Hood's men.
WILL SCARLET: He is also a very close man to Robin.
THE SHERIFF OS NOTTINGHAM: He's proud, mean and untrustworthy.
Robin Hood's worst enemy. People say he killed Robin's father. At the end of the
story Robin killed him.
FRIAR TUCK: He comes from Fountain Abbey. He's a heavy jolly man and he's
the best bowman in the country.
THE KING: a kind man. In the end he believed in Robin Hood and his cause and
was on his side.
17. Educative value and importance of Robinson Crusoe by D. Defoe i n
English and world Literature.
Daniel Defoe’s classic novel, “The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of
Robinson Crusoe”, is without doubt one of the most recognizable stories in our
culture. It is a book which has had hundreds, if not thousands, of editions. It has
been translated into over 100 languages, adapted for stage and screen more times
than it is possible to accurately record. It is a book which was an immediate
commercial success, accessible and readable by the masses. It was a novel at a
time when the form really was novel. Indeed, it’s often cited as the first ever
English novel.
Defoe’s book was instantly popular, inspiring a number of responses and
imitations which have continued to the present day. Its methodical and detailed
structure makes it the prototype of the English realist novel. It is still studied for its
interrogation of the limits of human resilience, and its treatment of ideas of
‘civilisation’ and ‘brutality’. In the 20th century, Robinson Crusoe was important
to post-colonial and Caribbean literature.
4
Robinson Crusoe is often described as the 'first modern novel' or the first 'novel in
the modern sense.'
The reasons for this have much to do with the culture of publishing as they do with
the culture of reading novels.
The short version is: in Defoe's time, there was no publishing industry. There was a
printing industry, but there was no mass literacy, and the distribution of printed
materials was generally done by the person who paid for the printing.
Defoe met and spoke at length with Alexander Selkirk specifically in order to write
a fictionalized account of his story. And it seems that Defoe's aim was to do more
than just inform or entertain. He recognized that books and newspaper articles
about adventure and especially survival and escape were very popular; some (like
Selkirk's) became a national sensation. So Defoe realized that people would buy a
story about the same thing. In fact, in the first edition, Defoe's name doesn't appear
at all - as if he wanted to leave the impression that this was yet another true
account.
So you have all the ingredients of a modern novel - an exciting and entertaining
tale, written to take account of the current fashion and public tastes, and sold with
the intent of making money from the sales. It's the first example of a fiction book
intentionally written and sold as a product.
Of all popular heroes of the English people, none has ever achieved an equal
name and fame with Robin Hood. For more than six hundred years, peasantry
have known songs and ballads of this famous outlaw. People have forgotten
kings and princes, but not Robin Hood and his band of bold followers in merry
Sherwood Forest.
We have no clear evidence of Robin Hood’s life history: all is in the mist of
legend and ancient history. There are some people studying the old ballads and
stories who say that Robin Hood was an actual leader in Sherwood Forest, a king
of a greenwood, a true a living figure, and there are others who say that the
doings of a famous band of outlaws have gathered about his name, and that no
real Robin Hood existed.
But it is quite certain that within a hundred years or time of the famous outlaw's
life his name was well known.
English literature is full of allusions to Robin Hood and his merrу men in
Sherwood Forest.
Robin Hood was a Saxon who stood out against the Norman lords. He never
plundered the poor men. He attacked and plundered the sheriff, barons, knights,
abbots, priors - the men who stood for the Norman rule and its cruelty.
5
Sherwood Forest, haunt of Robin Hood and his merry men is a great attraction to
visitors. Among the famous Sherwood trees there is the Major Oak, which is
more than 1000 years old. The Greendale Oak is even older – about 1500 years
old. There is also Robin Hood's Larder, the tree where he stored his food.
Chapter I William Caxton (1422 – 1491)
1.1 Folk Songs and ballads
THE LITERATURE OF THE 15th CENTURY
The Wars of the Roses. The death of Chaucer was a great blow to English
poetry. It took two centuries to produce a poet equal to him. The Hundred
Years' War ended, but another misfortune betel the country: in 1455 a feudal
war broke out between the descendants o Edward ni, which is known as the
Wars of the Roses. The feud turned into a bitter struggle for the crown, each
party splitting up into smaller parties that murdered every likely heir to the
throne. The commons tool little part in the struggle. Anarchy reigned, making
the exchange c! knowledge almost impossible. " deed, it was impossible for
other "; continue the work Chaucer had begun while the people suffered from
con tinual war and remained completely ignorant.
WILLIAM CAXTON (1422–1491)
In his early youth William Caxton was an apprentice to a company of London
dealers in silk and wool lei cloth. Later, he lived in Flanders in the town of
Bruges, where h worked as a hand-copier of book for the royal family. He was
learned man and translated French histories into English. Wheel on business in
Cologne , a German town, he learned tb art of printing. In 1476 Caxton set up
the first printing-press ii Westminster.
Two years later, after Caxton had attracted public notice, a second printingpress was set up at Oxford. During the next fifteen years Caxton printed sixtyfive works, both translations and originals. The works of Chaucer were also
printed with great care.
FOLK-SONGS AND BALLADS
Folk poetry flourished in England and Scotland in the 15th century.
Folk-songs were heard everywhere. A folk-song is a short poem in rhymed stanzas
usually set to a melody. The rhythm goes along with the subject dealt with in the
song. Thus mowing-songs, spinning-and weaving-songs were made up to the
measured motion of that kind of work. Harvest-songs and wedding-songs were set
to the measured motion of a dance.
The most interesting examples of folk poetry were the ballads. English and
Scottish ballads were either lyrical-epic poems (these were narratives), or
lyrical-dramatic poems (incidents in action). Ballads were either for singing or
6
for reciting. They were often accompanied by musical instruments (such as the
bagpipes in Scotland) and dancing. The ballad became the most popular form
of amusement in towns and villages because it was something intermediate
between a performance and a game.
As regards the content, the ballads may be divided into three groups:
historical, heroic, and romantic ballads. Historical ballads were based on a
historical fact, while heroic ballads were about people who were persecuted by
the law or by their own families. Among the most popular ones were those
about Robin Hood, who was an outlaw.
Ballads and songs express the sentiments and thoughts of a people, therefore
the author is not felt in them. They were handed down by word of mouth from
generation to generation.
The art of printing did not stop the creation of folk-songs and ballads. They
continued to develop till the 18th century.
1.2 The Robin Hood ballads
THE ROBIN HOOD BALLADS
The Robin Hood ballads, numbering some forty separate ballads, were
written down at various times but not earlier than in the 14th and 15th centuries.
Robin Hood, England's favourite hero, is a character partly historical, partly
legendary. He must have lived in the second half of the 12th century, during the
reign of Henry n and his Son Richard I (the Lion-Hearted). The older ballads tell
us much about the Saxon yeomen, who were famous archers and keen hunters.
Being ill-treated by the Norman robber-barons, they longed to live free in the
forests with Robin as their leader. The ballads always tell of persons who were
robbed by the Church or the feudal barons, or imprisoned by the foresters and
sheriffs. Robin is the relentless enemy of the Norman oppressors and always helps
the country-folk in their troubles- Though the sheriff put a big price on Robin's
head, not a Saxon in all Nottinghamshire betrayed him.
Robin is an outlaw and lives in Sherwood Forest, which in those days was
quite near the town of Nottingham. He is smart and clever, "with a twinkle in the
eye". Whenever the sheriff or the king sends out a party of men to catch him,
Robin fights with so much vigor that his enemies, amazed at his bravery, confess
themselves beaten' and stay with him in the forest. They become "the merry men of
Robin Hood". His friends are Little John (he is 7 feet tall); Friar Tuck, a jolly
monk; and Allan-a-Dale , a musical young man, who was a great singer.
In the 16th century many new episodes were introduced into the ballads.
They were arranged in series, the most popular of which was "The Jolly Life of
Robin Hood and His Merry Men in Sherwood Forest".' Here is one of the heroic
Robin Hood ballads told in prose.
England's favourite hero Robin Hood is partly a legendary and partly a historical
character. He lived in about the second half of the 12th century in the times of
King Henry II and his son Richard-the-Lion-Heart. In those days many of the big
7
castles belonged to robber barons, who ill-treated people, stole children and took
away the cattle and corn of peasants. If the country folk resisted, they were either
killed by the barons or driven away and their homes were destroyed. They had no
choice, but to go out in bands and hide in the woods. After that they were declared
outlaws and found themselves outside the protection of the law. In Sherwood
Forest near Nottingham there lived a large band of outlaws led by Robin Hood. He
came from a family of a Saxon landowner whose land had been seized by a
Norman Baron. The ballads of Robin Hood tell us of his adventures in the forest
as an outlaw. Many Saxons joined him. They were called the Merry Men of Robin
Hood. The men in their green coats were killing birds and animals for food and
playing all sorts of tricks on anyone who happened to come near them. Robin's
closest friends were Little John who was the tallest and the strongest and Allan-adeil. Robin himself was described as a man with twinkle in his eye, who never
robbed the poor. He was a tireless enemy of Norman aggressors and always helped
the country folk in their troubles. Though the sheriff had put a big prize on Robin's
head, not a Saxon in the whole Nottingham betrayed him.
CHAPTER 2. Robin Hood balladas
2.1. Unique Features of the Medieval English and Scottish Ballads.
Most of them were probably composed between 1200 and 1700 in Northern
England and Scotland. Their origins are controversial. Most of them were not
written down until the 18th and even the 19th century. The medieval English and
Scottish ballads have many features that make them unique and different from all
the other types of writing:
1. A musical ballad was one of the easiest ways to carry a message because it often
had a refrain and a certain rhythm. The refrains are simply the two last lines of a
stanza. When repeated they helped to add suspense to the stories as well as to make
stories easier to remember. Similar to the refrain some additional repetition was
often used to add the suspense. The difference is that additional repetitions had
slight variations slowly progressing the story every time that the story was
repeated.
2. Many ballads are about death and morbid subjects because during that period
many people were dying from different deceases and it was not uncommon for
ballads to be stories about death. They even had slight humor because death was
very common in everyday life.
3. Some of the most popular ballads survived many generations. In fact, because
they were never written down in those days, there may exist hundreds of versions
of one and the same ballad.
4. Ballads of this time were generally written in stanzas called quatrains. These
stanzas usually contained the 1st and the 3rd lines with 6 syllables.
8
2.2 Different Kinds of Folklore.
In 1476 William Caxton set up the first English printing press in Westminster after
which event knowledge began to spread again. William Caxton was a learned man
and liked to translate French stories into English for his own pleasure. When on
business in Germany and France he learned the art of printing. He considered it a
good way to earn a living, so he set up the printing press in England. During the
next 15 years Caxton printed 65 works, both translations and originals. He
sometimes had to translate French and Latin literature works into English by
himself to increase the sales of his books among English people.
At this time literature was still being written in various languages in England,
including Latin, Norman-French, and English because of the multilingual nature of
the audience for literature in the 15th century. A major work from the 15th century
is Le Morte d'Arthur (Arthur’s Death) by Sir Thomas Malory, which was printed
by Caxton in 1485. This is compilation of some French and English Arthurian
romances, and was among the earliest books printed in England.
Though there had already appeared the written language and the printing press in
England, most people, including aristocracy, could neither read nor write. That's
why folklore was developing rapidly. Such genres as romances, fables, fabliau,
and ballads were the most common.
The Romances. They were mostly spread among provincial people though the
court loved romantic stories & lyrical poems too. The romances idealized their
characters and the relationship between people. They praised chivalrous attitude
towards women. Many of such stories came from old French, which was a
Romantic dialect. So such works were called "Romances". Romances penetrated
into England during the reign of Henry the Second & his wife Eleanor. She was the
granddaughter of a Norman Duke and tried to preserve her French culture. The
most notable romances were "King Horn" and Arthurian Legends about King
Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
The Fable. In the literature of the townsfolk we find the fable & the fabliau. Fables
were short stories with animals for characters. They always conveyed a moral.
The Fabliau. (Фаблио - небольшой жанр средневековой французской
литературы, пересказ анекдотического события в прозе или стихах) Fabliaux
were funny stories about cunning humbugs & the unfaithful wives of rich
merchants. These stories were collected and written down much later. Contrary to
the romances the literature of the towns did not idealize their characters. These
stories show a practical attitude to life.
According to many sources Arthur was King of the Silures in the 6th
century and an ancient British hero, whose story has been the theme of
9
much romantic fiction. He is said to have been the son of Uther, chief
commander of the Britons, and to have been born about 501. In 516 he
succeeded his father in the office of general and performed those heroic
deeds against the Saxons, Scots and Piets which have made him so
celebrated.
He married the celebrated Guinevere belonging to the family of the
dukes of Cornwall, established the famous order of the Round Table,
and reigned, surrounded by a splendid court, 12 years in peace. After
that he is reported to have conquered Denmark; Norway and France,
slain the giants of Spain and joumied to Rome. From thence he is said to
have hastened home on account of the unfaithfulness of his wife and
Modred, his nephew, who stirred up his subjects to rebellion; to have
subdued the rebels, but to have died in consequence of his wounds in
542 on the island of Avalon, where it is claimed that his grave was
found in the reign of Henry II.
The following is the story of King Arthur discussed by the novelist and
historian Jack Lindsay who considers that Arthur has had as rem arkable
a career in literature as in folklore. He appears on paper first in the
collection of stories by the Welshman Nennius in the 9th century.
Developing into a national hero, he was important in Welsh medieval
tale and poem; and then in the 12th century burst into European
literature in the vast amount of romances about his court and his
knights.
In English, after Geoffrey of Monmouth’s’ “History”, he took on a
strong historical aspect and in time provided the material for Malory’s
“Morte d’Arthur”, the greatest of all idealizations of chivalry. With the
Tudors, he got new life, and his place in the court tradition culminated
in Spenser’s “Faerie Queene”. Milton is said to have toyed with an epic
on him before turning to Adam.’ Under William III came the epic by the
popular writer, Blackmore; and in the Victorian age, Tennyson’s “Idylls
of the King” as well as William Morris’ early-poems.
What was the reason for this continued popularity? One way or another,
the folk-belief in him as a saviour fed the upper streams of culture and
made him the emblem of a new dispensation. Geoffrey provided a
mythical background in his picture of the great conqueror Arthur for the
new Norman kingdom. Malory fought to idealize the chivalrous system
at the time it was totally disappearing. Arthur, the Welshman, was
naturally of use in giving support to the upstart Tudors. Blackmore's
Arthur lent lustre to the Dutchman, William. Tennyson was idealizing
his own age and trying to glorify the epoch of Prince Albert and the
hopes of youthful capitalism. If then we go deep enough we find there
10
were strong political and social reasons for each revival of Arthur. The
sepulchre of Arthur is nowhere to be seen, whence ancient ballads fable
that he is still to come. Hence the endless sites linked milt Arthur,
especially with his hollow hill or cave where he sleeps - sites that
extended as far as Mount Etna in Sicily. In Welsh tales he became a
culture hero, hunting the Great Pig and harrowirig hell, fighting Roman
Emperors and monster cats. The table of Christ’s Last Supper became
the Round Table and the Eucharistic cup the Holy Grail. And the
prophecies of Merlin were re-adapted to suit changing political
circumstances and support the Arthurian positions.
What of the real Arthur, on whom this vast superstructure was built? Who was he
and did he even exist at all? We can say little to that question. We have essentially
only the reference in Nennius, with an archaeological background which makes
probable the emergence of a war-leader (not a king) among the Romano-Britons in
the early 6th century, who drove back the Saxons and gained his people a respite of
a couple of generations
Arthurian Legend
As the story goes, Arthur was the son of Igraine and Uther Pendragon.
Igraine was originally married to Gorloris the Duke of Cornwall. After
Gorloris was killed by Uther in a battle, Uther married Igraine. They had
a son, Arthur, who was born at Tintagel Castle. Stories say that Arthur
was brought up by either Ector or Merlin, not by his parents.
The Sword in the Stone
When Uther died, Britain was left without a king. There was great
debate over who would rule. This was to be solved by a challenge.
Whoever could pull the sword from the stone was meant to be king.
Many local kings tried to pull the sword out, but no one succeeded. One
day, Arthur went with his foster brother Kay to a tournament. Kay had
forgotten his sword and Arthur went to seek a replacement. He found
the sword in the stone and easily pulled it out and gave it to Kay. Kay
recognized the sword and told everyone that Arthur had pulled the
sword from the stone. When the people did not believe it was Arthur, he
successfully repeated the task.
The Lady of the Lake | Excalibur
After Arthur had removed the sword from the stone, the local kings
decided that they did not want to be ruled by a youth, so they began a
rebellion against their rightful king. To protect him, Merlin took Arthur
11
to see the Lady of the Lake. The Lady of the Lake gave him the magical
sword Excalibur.
Arthur then returned to defend his place as king. After a battle, the local
kings gave in and Arthur became king.
King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
After Arthur was crowned, he married the princess Guinevere. As part
of her dowry, Arthur was giving the famous Round Table by her father.
Through the course of his reign as King of Britain, many events
occurred. Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table fought many
battles with the Saxons. Eventually, they won the war at Mount Badon.
Arthur and his knights also went in search of the Holy Grail. The Holy
Grail is thought to be a vessel used by Jesus at the last supper. Before
having a Christian influence, the grail was magical cauldron.
The End of Camelot & Death of Arthur
During his rule, Guinevere and Lancelot, one of Arthur’s knights,
become lovers. When he discovers the affair, Arthur condemns
Guinevere to be burned at the stake, but Lancelot rescues her. This starts
a war between Arthur and Lancelot. While Arthur is away, his nephew
Modred seeks the throne for himself. After hearing this, Arthur returns
to Camelot to take back control. Arthur kills Modred but during the
fight at Camlann, he is mortally wounded. Sir Bedivere returns
Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake at Arthur’s request. Arthur is then
taken to the isle of Avalon, where he soon died.
CONCLUSION
The earliest surviving text of a Robin Hood ballad is "Robin Hood and the
Monk".[1] This is preserved in Cambridge University manuscript Ff.5.48, which
was written shortly after 1450.[2] It contains many of the elements still associated
with the legend, from the Nottingham setting to the bitter enmity between Robin
and the local sheriff. The first printed version is A Gest of Robyn Hode (c. 1475), a
collection of separate stories which attempts to unite the episodes into a single
continuous narrative.[3] After this comes "Robin Hood and the
Potter",[4] contained in a manuscript of c. 1503. "The Potter" is markedly different
in tone from "The Monk": whereas the earlier tale is "a thriller"[5] the latter is
more comic, its plot involving trickery and cunning rather than straightforward
force. The difference between the two texts recalls Bower's claim that Robin-tales
may be both 'comedies and tragedies'.
Other early texts are dramatic pieces such as the fragmentary Robyn Hod and the
Shryff off Notyngham[6] (c. 1472). These are particularly noteworthy as they show
12
Robin's integration into May Day rituals towards the end of the Middle
Ages; Robyn Hod and the Shryff off Notyngham, among other points of interest,
contains the earliest reference to Friar Tuck.
The plots of neither "the Monk" nor "the Potter" are included in the Gest; and
neither is the plot of "Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne" which is probably at least
as old as those two ballads although preserved in a more recent copy. Each of these
three ballads survived in a single copy, so it is unclear how much of the medieval
legend has survived, and what has survived may not be typical of the medieval
legend. It has been argued that the fact that the surviving ballads were preserved in
written form in itself makes it unlikely they were typical; in particular stories with
an interest for the gentry were by this view more likely to be preserved.[7] The
story of Robin's aid to the "poor knight" that takes up much of the Gest may be an
example.
The character of Robin in these first texts is rougher edged than in his later
incarnations. In "Robin Hood and the Monk", for example, he is shown as quick
tempered and violent, assaulting Little John for defeating him in an archery
contest; in the same ballad Much the Miller's Son casually kills a "little page" in
the course of rescuing Robin Hood from prison.[8] So does the very first recorded
Robin Hood rhyme, four lines from the early 15th century, beginning: "Robyn
hode in scherewode stod".[9]No extant ballad actually shows Robin Hood "giving
to the poor", although in a "A Gest of Robyn Hode" Robin does make a
large loan to an unfortunate knight which he does not in the end require to be
repaid;[10] and later in the same ballad Robin Hood states his intention of giving
money to the next traveller to come down the road if he happens to be poor.
Of my good he shall haue some,
Yf he be a por man.[11]
As it happens the next traveller is not poor, but it seems in context that Robin
Hood is stating a general policy. From the beginning Robin Hood is on the side of
the poor; the Gest quotes Robin Hood as instructing his men that when they rob:
loke ye do no husbonde harme
That tilleth with his ploughe.
No more ye shall no gode yeman
That walketh by gren-wode shawe;
Ne no knyght ne no squyer
That wol be a gode felawe.[12]
And in its final lines the Gest sums up:
he was a good outlawe,
And dyde pore men moch god.
13
Within Robin Hood's band medieval forms of courtesy rather than modern ideals
of equality are generally in evidence. In the early ballads Robin's men usually
kneel before him in strict obedience: in A Gest of Robyn Hode the king even
observes that "His men are more at his byddynge/Then my men be at myn." Their
social status, as yeomen, is shown by their weapons; they use swords rather
than quarterstaffs. The only character to use a quarterstaff in the early ballads is the
potter, and Robin Hood does not take to a staff until the 18th century Robin Hood
and Little John.[13]
The political and social assumptions underlying the early Robin Hood ballads have
long been controversial. It has been influentially argued by J. C. Holt that the
Robin Hood legend was cultivated in the households of the gentry, and that it
would be mistaken to see in him a figure of peasant revolt. He is not a peasant but
a yeoman, and his tales make no mention of the complaints of the peasants, such as
oppressive taxes.[14] He appears not so much as a revolt against societal standards
as an embodiment of them, being generous, pious, and courteous, opposed to
stingy, worldly, and churlish foes.[15] Other scholars have by contrast stressed the
subversive aspects of the legend, and see in the medieval Robin Hood ballads
a plebeian literature hostile to the feudal order.[16]
File:Little John and Robin Hood by Frank Godwin.jpg
"Little John and Robin Hood" by Frank Godwin
Although the term "Merry Men" belongs to a later period, the ballads do name
several of Robin's companions.[17] These include Will Scarlet (or
Scathlock), Much the Miller's Son, and Little John - who was called "little" as a
joke, as he was quite the opposite.[18] Even though the band is regularly described
as being over a hundred men, usually only three or four are specified. Some appear
only once or twice in a ballad: Will Stutely in Robin Hood Rescuing Will
Stutly and Robin Hood and Little John; David of Doncaster in Robin Hood and the
Golden Arrow; Gilbert with the White Hand in A Gest of Robyn Hode; and Arthur
a Bland in Robin Hood and the Tanner.[18]
15th century
By the early 15th century at the latest, Robin Hood had become associated with
May Day celebrations, with revellers dressing as Robin or as members of his band
for the festivities. This was not common throughout England, but in some regions
the custom lasted until Elizabethan times, and during the reign of Henry VIII, was
briefly popular at court.[19] Robin was often allocated the role of a May King,
presiding over games and processions, but plays were also performed with the
characters in the roles,[20] sometimes performed at church ales, a means by which
churches raised funds.[21]
A complaint of 1492, brought to the Star Chamber, accuses men of acting riotously
by coming to a fair as Robin Hood and his men; the accused defended themselves
on the grounds that the practice was a long-standing custom to raise money for
churches, and they had not acted riotously but peaceably.[22] [File:Robin Hood
and Maid Marian.JPG|left|thumb|Robin Hood and Maid Marian]] It is from the
association with the May Games that Robin's romantic attachment to Maid
14
Marian (or Marion) apparently stems. The naming of Marian may have come from
the French pastoral play of c. 1280, the Jeu de Robin et Marion, although this play
is distinct from the English legends.[19] Both Robin and Marian were certainly
associated with May Day festivities in England (as was Friar Tuck), but these may
have been originally two distinct types of performance - Alexander Barclay in
his Ship of Fools, writing in c. 1500, refers to "some merry fytte of Maid
Marian or else of Robin Hood" - but the characters were brought
together.[17] Marian did not immediately gain the unquestioned role; in Robin
Hood's Birth, Breeding, Valor, and Marriage, his sweetheart is 'Clorinda the
Queen of the Shepherdesses'.[23] Clorinda survives in some later stories as an alias
of Marian.[18]
Printed versions of the Robin Hood ballads, generally based on the Gest, appear in
the early 16th century, shortly after the introduction of printing in England. Later
that century Robin is promoted to the level of nobleman: he is styled Earl of
Huntingdon, Robert of Locksley, or Robert Fitz Ooth. In the early ballads, by
contrast, he was a member of the yeoman classes, which included
common freeholders possessing a small landed estate.[24]
16th century
In the 16th century, Robin Hood is given a specific historical setting. Up until this
point there was little interest in exactly when Robin's adventures took place. The
original ballads refer at various points to "King Edward", without stipulating
whether this is Edward I, Edward II, or Edward III.[25] Hood may thus have been
active at any point between 1272 and 1377. However, during the 16th century the
stories become fixed to the 1190s, the period in which King Richard was absent
from his throne, fighting in the crusades.[26] This date is first proposed by John
Mair in his Historia Majoris Britanniæ (1521), and gains popular acceptance by
the end of the century.
Giving Robin an aristocratic title and female love interest, and placing him in the
historical context of the true king's absence, all represent moves to domesticate his
legend and reconcile it to ruling powers. In this, his legend is similar to that
of King Arthur, which morphed from a dangerous male-centred story to a more
comfortable, chivalrous romance under the troubadours serving Eleanor of
Aquitaine. From the 16th century on, the legend of Robin Hood is often used to
promote the hereditary ruling class, romance, and religious piety. The "criminal"
element is retained to provide dramatic colour, rather than as a real challenge to
convention.[27]
17th century
In 1598, Anthony Munday wrote a pair of plays on the Robin Hood legend, The
Downfall and The Death of Robert Earl of Huntington (published 1601).
The continued popularity of the Robin Hood tales was attested by a number of
literary references. In Shakespere''s As You Like It, the exiled duke and his men
15
"live like the old Robin Hood of England", while Ben Jonson produced the
(incomplete) masque The Sad Shepherd, or a Tale of Robin Hood[28] as a satire
on Puritanism.
The 17th century introduced the minstrel Alan-a-Dale. He first appeared in a 17th
century broadside ballad, and unlike many of the characters thus associated,
managed to adhere to the legend.[23] This is also the era in which the character of
Robin became fixed as stealing from the rich to give to the poor.[29]
18th century
In the 18th century, the stories began to develop a slightly more farcical vein. From
this period there are a number of ballads in which Robin is severely "drubbed" by a
succession of professionals including a tanner, a tinker and a ranger.[26] In fact,
the only character who does not get the better of Hood is the luckless Sheriff. Yet
even in these ballads Robin is more than a mere simpleton: on the contrary, he
often acts with great shrewdness. The tinker, setting out to capture Robin, only
manages to fight with him after he has been cheated out of his money and
the arrest warrant he is carrying. In Robin Hood's Golden Prize, Robin disguises
himself as a friar and cheats two priests out of their cash. Even when Robin is
defeated, he usually tricks his foe into letting him sound his horn, summoning the
Merry Men to his aid. When his enemies do not fall for this ruse, he persuades
them to drink with him instead.
19th century
Somewhat later, Romantic poet John Keats composed Robin Hood. To A
Friend[30] and Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote a play The Foresters, or Robin Hood
and Maid Marian,[31] which was presented with incidental music by Sir Arthur
Sullivan in 1892.
File:The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, 1 Title page.png
The title page of Howard Pyle's 1883 novel, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
==19th and 20th centuries
The Victorian era[32] generated its own distinct versions of Robin Hood. The
traditional tales were often adapted for children, most notably in Howard
Pyle's The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, which influenced accounts of Robin
Hood through the 20th century.[33] These versions firmly stamp Robin as a
staunch philanthropist, a man who takes from the rich to give to the poor.
Nevertheless, the adventures are still more local than national in scope: while King
Richard's participation in the Crusades is mentioned in passing, Robin takes no
stand against Prince John, and plays no part in raising the ransom to free Richard.
These developments are part of the 20th century Robin Hood myth.
The idea of Robin Hood as a high-minded Saxon fighting Norman lords also
originates in the 19th century. The most notable contributions to this idea of Robin
are Jacques Nicolas Augustin Thierry's Histoire de la Conquête de l'Angleterre par
les Normands (1825) and Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe (1819). In this last work in
particular, the modern Robin Hood - "King of Outlaws and prince of good
fellows!" as Richard the Lionheart calls him - makes his debut.[34]
16
20th century
The 20th century grafted still further details on to the original legends. [The 1938
film The Adventures of Robin Hood, starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland,
portrayed Robin as a hero on a national scale, leading the oppressed Saxons in
revolt against their Norman overlords while Richard the Lionheart fought in the
Crusades; this movie established itself so definitively that many studios resorted to
movies about his son (invented for that purpose) rather than compete with the
image of this one.[35]
[T.H. White]] featured Robin and his band in The Sword in the
Stone - anachronistically, since the novel's chief theme is the childhood of King
Arthur.[36]
In the 1973 animated Disney film Robin Hood, the title character is portrayed as
an anthropomorphic fox voiced by Brian Bedford. Years before Robin Hood had
even entered production, Disney had considered doing a project on Reynard the
Fox. However, due to concerns that Reynard was unsuitable as a hero,
animator Ken Anderson lifted many elements from Reynard into Robin Hood, thus
making the titular character a fox.(Citation needed)
The 1976 British-American film Robin and Marian, starring Sean Connery as
Robin Hood and Audrey Hepburn as Maid Marian, portrays the figures in later
years after Robin has returned from service with Richard the Lion Hearted in a
foreign crusade and Marian has gone into seclusion in a nunnery.
Since the 1980s, it has become commonplace to include a Saracen among the
Merry Men, a trend which began with the character Nasir in the Robin of
Sherwood television series. Later versions of the story have followed suit: the 1991
movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and 2006 BBC TV series Robin Hood each
contain equivalents of Nasir, in the figures of Azeem
and Djaq respectively.[35] The latest movie version released in spring of 2010 is
simply entitled Robin Hood and is directed by Ridley Scott, with Robin played
by Russell Crowe.
The Robin Hood legend has thus been subject to numerous shifts and mutations
throughout its history. Robin himself has evolved from a yeoman bandit to a
national hero of epic proportions, who not only supports the poor by taking from
the rich, but heroically defends the throne of England itself from unworthy and
venal claimants.
List of traditional ballads
File:Since Robin Hood by Weelkes.png
Elizabethan song of Robin Hood
Ballads are the oldest existing form of the Robin Hood legends, although none of
them are recorded at the time of the first allusions to him, and many are much later.
They share many common features, often opening with praise of the greenwood
and relying heavily on disguise as a plot device, but include a wide variation in
tone and plot.[37] The ballads below are sorted into three groups, very roughly
17
according to date of first known free-standing copy. Ballads whose first recorded
version appears (usually incomplete) in the Percy Folio may appear in later
versions[38] and may be much older than the mid 17th century when the Folio was
compiled. Any ballad may be older than the oldest copy which happens to survive,
or descended from a lost older ballad. For example, the plot of Robin Hood's
Death, found in the Percy Folio, is summarised in the 15th-century A Gest of
Robyn Hode, and it also appears in an 18th-century version.[39]
Early ballads (i.e., surviving in 15th- or early 16th-century copies)
 A Gest of Robyn Hode
 Robin Hood and the Monk
 Robin Hood and the Potter
Ballads appearing in 17th-century Percy Folio
NB. The first two ballads listed here (the "Death" and "Gisborne"), although
preserved in 17th century copies, are generally agreed to preserve the substance of
late medieval ballads. The third (the "Curtal Friar") and the fourth (the "Butcher"),
also probably have late medieval origins.[40]
 Robin Hood's Death
 Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne
 Robin Hood and the Curtal Friar
 Robin Hood and the Butcher
 Robin Hood Rescuing Will Stutly
 Robin Hood Rescuing Three Squires
 The Jolly Pinder of Wakefield
 Robin Hood and Queen Katherine
Other ballads
 A True Tale of Robin Hood
 Robin Hood and the Bishop
 Robin Hood and the Bishop of Hereford
 Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow
 Robin Hood and the Prince of Aragon
 Robin Hood and the Ranger
 Robin Hood and the Scotchman
 Robin Hood and the Tanner
 Robin Hood and the Tinker
 Robin Hood and the Valiant Knight
 Robin Hood Newly Revived
 Robin Hood's Birth, Breeding, Valor, and Marriage
 Robin Hood's Chase
 Robin Hood's Delight
 Robin Hood's Golden Prize
 Robin Hood's Progress to Nottingham
 The Bold Pedlar and Robin Hood
 The King's Disguise, and Friendship with Robin Hood
 The Noble Fisherman
18
Some ballads, such as Erlinton, feature Robin Hood in some variants, where
the folk hero appears to be added to a ballad pre-existing him and in which he does
not fit very well.[41] He was added to one variant of Rose Red and the White Lily,
apparently on no more connection than that one hero of the other variants is named
"Brown Robin."[42] Francis James Child indeed retitled Child ballad 102; though
it was titled The Birth of Robin Hood, its clear lack of connection with the Robin
Hood cycle (and connection with other, unrelated ballads) led him to title it Willie
and Earl Richard's Daughter in his collection.[43]
Popular culture
Main article: Robin Hood in popular culture
See also
 Tadas Blinda
 Eustace Folville
 Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd
 Juraj Jánošík
 Iancu Jianu
 Rummu Jüri
 Ustym Karmaliuk
 Ned Kelly
 Kayamkulam Kochunni
 Nezumi Kozō
 Chucho el Roto
 Schinderhannes
 Kobus van der Schlossen
 Trysting Tree
 Verysdale
 William de Wendenal
 So begins the ballad A Gest of Robin Hood; one of the earliest literary
appearances of England’s famous hooded outlaw. There is no single
manuscript for the text. Different printed versions of the ballad started to
appear around 1500 under various names like A Gest of Robyn Hode(1), A
Lytell Geste of Robyn Hode(2) and even A Mery Geste of Robyn Hoode(3).
The printed incarnation was preceded by an oral tradition stretching back to
an uncertain point in the Middle Ages, possibly as early as the 1300s in
which the story is set.
19

The Gest is part of an early cycle of stories about
Robin Hood which provided much of the basis for my recent novel Lords of
the Greenwood. In this and subsequent posts, I will be taking a look at the
five early ballads that gave birth to England’s greatest legend.

First off, the ‘Gest’ in the title does not actually mean ‘guest’ even though
the story begins with Robin asking a knight to dine with him. It comes from
the Latin ‘res gestae’ which means ‘things done’. As we no longer use this
word in the English language, ‘A Deed of Robin Hood’ might be a fair
translation of the title.

Those familiar with more recent incarnations of Robin Hood from the
movies and television will find some surprises in this early entry. Gone is
the wicked Prince John who tries to usurp the throne while his brother King
Richard the Lionheart is a prisoner on his way home from the crusades.
Instead we find ourselves in the reign of an unspecified Edward. Three
Edwards ruled England in succession in the Middle Ages which indicates a
timeframe of 1272 to 1377; a good hundred years after the Lionheart’s reign.
The backdrop of the third crusade was a contribution of the Tudor
playwright Anthony Munday in his 1600 play The Downfall of Robert, Earl
of Huntington and has been a fixture of the legend ever since.
Several other characters are missing from the story. Maid Marion and Friar
Tuck did not become part of Robin’s circle until the May Day games of the
16th century. Also, far from robbing the rich to give to the poor, Robin and
his band of cutthroats are no such philanthropists. While they do help out the
aforementioned knight, they are portrayed more as common brigands of
whom the local populace live in fear.

20

Front page of a 16th century edition of the
Gest ballad

The ballad is divided into eight sections known as ‘fyttes’ and the action
begins in Barnsdale Forest, not Sherwood. Robin and his companions,
William Scarlock, Much the Miller’s son and Little John, are preparing
themselves for a feast but Robin refuses to eat until a guest is found to pay
for it all. John, Much and William go forth and return with a rather sorrylooking knight.

The knight owes four-hundred pounds to the Abbot of St. Mary’s in York
else he will lose his lands. Robin decides to lend the knight the money for
the period of a year and kits him out in new livery of scarlet and green. He
sends Little John with him to York. The debt paid, the knight and Little John
part ways.

Little John then inexplicably turns up in Nottingham and has his own little
adventure. After impressing the sheriff with his skill in an archery match, he
enters the sheriff’s service under the alias Reynold Greenleaf. After causing
much trouble, John escapes with the sheriff’s cook (and the sheriff’s
treasure) and flees to Barnsdale to be reunited with Robin. Luring the sheriff
into the greenwood with a tale of a good hunting nearby, John leads the
sheriff to Robin where he is stripped, robbed and made to swear an oath that
he will pursue Robin no longer.
21

Meanwhile, the knight eventually makes his way to Barnsdale with the
money he owes Robin (presumably a year has passed), stopping on the way
to aid a young man in a wrestling match. Robin refuses the four-hundred
pounds for he has just robbed the cellarer of St. Mary’s Abbey of double
that. He gives the knight a further four-hundred pounds when he hears of his
rescuing the yeoman at the wrestling match.

The Sheriff of Nottingham arranges an archery tournament with a silver
arrow as the prize. Robin, of course, wins and he and his men are ambushed.
Fighting their way free, Little John is wounded in the knee but the band
make it to a castle in the woods owned by Sir Richard at the Lee, whom we
are told is the poor knight Robin helped earlier.

Sir Richard shelters Robin and his men from the sheriff’s assault and the
sheriff rides to London to complain to the king. Deeming it safe, the outlaws
return to the greenwood but the sheriff captures Sir Richard while his is out
hawking and carries him off to Nottingham. Sir Richard’s wife goes to
Robin for help and the outlaws mount a rescue mission. Robin shoots and
decapitates the sheriff in the streets of Nottingham and his men free Sir
Richard.

The king arrives in Nottingham and disguises himself and his men as monks
to enter the greenwood. Robin accosts them and, impressed by his honour
and skill, the king reveals himself to Robin and invites him into his service.

Robin lives at court for a little over a year but yearns for the greenwood
once more. He returns to Barnsdale and lives there with the remainder of his
men as outlaws for a further twenty-two years. Robin’s eventual fate is
hinted at in an obscure reference to ‘Kirksley’ Priory where he goes to be
bled and is betrayed by the prioress and her lover, Sir Roger of Doncaster
‘through their false play’. So ends the ballad.
22

Once the largest Benedictine establishment in the north and one of the
wealthiest landholders in Yorkshire, St Mary’s Abbey was closed and ruined
during the Dissolution. Photo by Kaly99 CC BY-SA 3.0



The story is pretty episodic and was probably composed of several separate
adventures woven together to form one long narrative. Barnsdale in
Yorkshire is given as the home of the outlaws but Nottingham is presented
as a fairly close town (in reality it is a good fifty miles away). Also, the
Sheriff of Nottingham, who is Robin’s greatest adversary, would have been
out of his jurisdiction in Barnsdale. This suggests that there may have been
two literary cycles – a Yorkshire one and a Nottinghamshire one – that got
mixed together at some point before the Gest was written down in its present
form.
Robin displays the courtly habits and chivalric customs more befitting the
knights of King Arthur than a yeoman-turned-outlaw. He refuses to eat until
an unknown guest has arrived (as King Arthur does in Sir Gawain and the
Green Knight), he is devoted to the Virgin Mary (veneration of a single
female was common in courtly romances) and, despite giving the clergy and
law a hard time, he is fiercely loyal to his king.
Thomas Ohlgren, an authority on the early ballads, has suggested that this
transferral of chivalric ideology from the knight to the yeoman represents
the rise of the guilds and merchant class in the 14th century(4) Robin and his
band follow many rules and traditions of the guilds such as the giving of
livery, the lending of money and escorting the king in processions. Ohlgren
even goes so far as to say that the Gest may have been written specifically
23
for a draper’s guild to be performed at one of their feasts as there are many
references to cloth and livery throughout the ballad. The episode where
Little John ham-fistedly measures out cloth with his longbow for the poor
knight’s livery and is mocked by Much is picked up on specifically by
Ohlgren. He suggests that this represents the opposition of cloth dealers to
the strict imposing of a standard measure or ‘Silver Yard’ by the cloth
guilds. When Robin meets the king he sells him a quantity of Lincoln green
to outfit his retinue, just as various drapers’ guilds did.

The coronation mantle of Roger II of Sicily made circa 1134. The red colour
created from crushed kermes came to be called scarlet.

Lincoln was an important cloth-producing town in the Middle Ages known
especially for its shades of green and scarlet. Green was created by first
dying the cloth with woad (blue) and then overdying it with weld (yellow).
Scarlet was originally the name for a very fine and expensive cloth rather
than the colour red(5). There has been some confusion on whether or not the
‘scarlet and grene’ in the ballad actually means red and green or in fact
‘scarlet in the grain’. To dye something ‘in the grain’ meant using dried
24
insects called kermes imported from the Mediterranean to produce a vibrant
red colour. These insects resembled grains of wheat hence the name thus,
‘lyncoln grene’ could mean ‘Lincoln red’. However, the spelling ‘grene’ in
the Gest is used for other things that couldn’t possibly be scarlet such as the
‘grene-wode’. It is uncertain when scarlet began to mean a shade of red
rather than the expensive cloth but in the later Robin Hood ballads at least,
scarlet very definitely refers to the colour red.
References
 Baldwin, David (2010). Robin Hood: The English Outlaw Unmasked.
Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84868-378-5.
 Barry, Edward (1832). Sur les vicissitudes et les transformations du cycle
populaire de Robin Hood. Rignoux.
 Blamires, David (1998). Robin Hood: A Hero for All Times. J. Rylands Univ.
Lib. of Manchester. ISBN 0-86373-136-8.
 Child, Francis James (1997). The English and Scottish Popular Ballads. 1–5.
Dover Publications. ISBN 978-0-486-43150-5.
 Coghlan, Ronan (2003). The Robin Hood Companion. Xiphos
Books. ISBN 0-9544936-0-5.
 Deitweiler, Laurie, Coleman, Diane (2004). Robin Hood Comprehension
Guide. Veritas Pr Inc. ISBN 1-930710-77-1.
 Dixon-Kennedy, Mike (2006). The Robin Hood Handbook. Sutton
Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-3977-X.
 Dobson, R. B.; Taylor, John (1977). The Rymes of Robin Hood: An
Introduction to the English Outlaw. Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-750916613.
 Doel, Fran, Doel, Geoff (2000). Robin Hood: Outlaw and Greenwood Myth.
Tempus Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7524-1479-8.
 Green, Barbara (2001). Secrets of the Grave. Palmyra Press. ISBN 09540164-0-8.
 Hahn, Thomas (2000). Robin Hood in Popular Culture: Violence,
Transgression and Justice. D.S. Brewer. ISBN 0-85991-564-6.
 Harris, P. V. (1978). Truth About Robin Hood. Linney. ISBN 0-900525-16-9.
 Hilton, R.H., The Origins of Robin Hood, Past and Present, No. 14. (Nov.,
1958), pp. 30–44. Available online at JSTOR.
 Holt, J. C. (1982). Robin Hood. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-27541-6.
 Hutton, Ronald (1997). The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year
in Britain. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-288045-4.
 Hutton, Ronald (1996). The Rise and Fall of Merry England: The Ritual Year
1400–1700. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-285327-9.
 Knight, Stephen Thomas (1994). Robin Hood: A Complete Study of the
English Outlaw. Blackwell Publishers. ISBN 0-631-19486-X.
 Knight, Stephen Thomas (2003). Robin Hood: A Mythic Biography. Cornell
University Press. ISBN 0-8014-3885-3.
25

Phillips, Helen (2005). Robin Hood: Medieval and Post-medieval. Four
Courts Press. ISBN 1-85182-931-8.
 Pollard, A. J. (2004). Imagining Robin Hood: The Late Medieval Stories in
Historical Context. Routledge, an imprint of Taylor & Francis Books
Ltd. ISBN 0-415-22308-3.
 Potter, Lewis (1998). Playing Robin Hood: The Legend as Performance in
Five Centuries. University of Delaware Press. ISBN 0874136636.
 Pringle, Patrick (1991). Stand and Deliver: Highway Men from Robin Hood to
Dick Turpin. Dorset Press. ISBN 0-88029-698-4.
 Ritson, Joseph (1832). Robin Hood: A Collection of All the Ancient Poems,
Songs, and Ballads, Now Extant Relative to That Celebrated English Outlaw:
To Which are Prefixed Historical Anecdotes of His Life. William
Pickering. ISBN 1-4212-6209-6.
 Rutherford-Moore, Richard (1999). The Legend of Robin Hood. Capall Bann
Publishing. ISBN 1-86163-069-7.
 Rutherford-Moore, Richard (2002). Robin Hood: On the Outlaw Trail. Capall
Bann Publishing. ISBN 1-86163-177-4.
 Vahimagi, Tise (1994). British Television: An Illustrated Guide. Oxford
University Press. ISBN 0-19-818336-4.
 Wright, Thomas (1847). Songs and Carols, now first imprinted. Percy
Society.
Notes
1. ↑ "Robin Hood and the Monk".
Lib.rochester.edu. http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/teams/monk.htm.
Retrieved 2010-03-12.
2. ↑ Introduction accompanying Knight and Ohlgren's 1997 ed.
3. ↑ Ohlgren, Thomas, Robin Hood: The Early Poems, 1465–1560, (Newark:
University of Delaware Press, 2007), From Script to Print: Robin Hood and
the Early Printers, pp. 97–134
4. ↑ "Robin Hood and the Potter".
Lib.rochester.edu. http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/teams/potter.htm.
Retrieved 2010-03-12.
5. ↑ Holt
6. ↑ "Robyn Hod and the Shryff off Notyngham".
Lib.rochester.edu. http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/teams/sheri.htm.
Retrieved 2010-03-12.
7. ↑ Singman, Jeffrey L. Robin Hood: The Shaping of the Legend Published
1998, Greenwood Publishing Group, p. 51 ISBN 0-313-30101-8
8. ↑ Robin Hood and the Monk. Records also show that he lived in Wakefield,
Yorkshire in the 13th and 14th centuries. From Child's edition of the ballad,
online at Sacred Texts, 119A: Robin Hood and the Monk Stanza 16:
Then Robyn goes to Notyngham,
Hym selfe mornyng allone,
26
And Litull John to mery Scherwode,
The pathes he knew ilkone.
9. ↑ Dobson & Taylor, p. 18: "On balance therefore these 15th-century
references to the Robin Hood legend seem to suggest that during the later
Middle Ages the outlaw hero was more closely related to Barnsdale than
Sherwood."
10.↑ Holt, p. 11
11.↑ Child Ballads 117A:210, ie A Gest of Robyn Hode stanza 210
12.↑ 117A: The Gest of Robyn Hode stanzas 13–14 A Gest of Robyn Hode
13.↑ Holt, p. 36
14.↑ Holt, pp. 37–38
15.↑ Holt, p. 10
16.↑ Singman, Jeffrey L Robin Hood: The Shaping of the Legend, 1998,
Greenwood Publishing Group, p. 46, and first chapter as a whole. ISBN 0313-30101-8
17.↑ Jump up to:17.0 17.1 Jeffrey Richards, Swordsmen of the Screen: From
Douglas Fairbanks to Michael York, p. 190, Routledge & Kegan Paul, Lond,
Henly and Boston, 1988
18.↑ Jump up to:18.0 18.1 18.2 Allen W. Wright, "A Beginner's Guide to Robin
Hood"
19.↑ Jump up to:19.0 19.1 Hutton, 1997, pp. 270–1
20.↑ Hutton, 1996, p. 32
21.↑ Hutton, 1996, p. 31
22.↑ Holt, pp. 148–9
23.↑ Jump up to:23.0 23.1 Holt, p. 165
24.↑ Holt, p. 159
25.↑ Holt, p. 37
26.↑ Jump up to:26.0 26.1 Holt, p. 170
27.↑ The Times (London), July 11, 1999
28.↑ "Johnson's "The Sad Shepherd"".
Lib.rochester.edu. http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/rh/jonsonss.htm.
Retrieved 2010-03-12.
29.↑ Holt, p. 184
30.↑ "Keats' "Robin Hood. To a friend"".
Lib.rochester.edu. http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/rh/keats.htm.
Retrieved 2010-03-12.
31.↑ "Tennyson's "The Foresters"".
Lib.rochester.edu. http://www.lib.rochester.edu/CAMELOT/rh/forest.htm.
Retrieved 2010-03-12.
32.↑ Egan, Pierce the Younger (1846). Robin Hood and Little John or The Merry
Men of Sherwood Forest. Pub. George Peirce. London.
33.↑ "Robin Hood: Development of a Popular Hero". From The Robin Hood
Project at the University of Rochester. Retrieved 22 November 2008.
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34.↑ Allen W. Wright, "Wolfshead through the Ages Revolutions and
Romanticism"
35.↑ Jump up to:35.0 35.1 Allen W. Wright, "Wolfshead through the Ages Films
and Fantasy"
36.↑ W.R. Irwin, The Game of the Impossible, p. 151, University of Illinois
Press, Urbana Chicago London, 1976
37.↑ Holt, pp. 34–35
38.↑ Dobson and Taylor, Appendix 1
39.↑ Dobson and Taylor, p. 133
40.↑ Dobson & Taylor, see introduction to each individual ballad.
41.↑ Child, v. 1, p. 178
42.↑ Child, v. 2, p. 416
43.↑ Child, v. 2, p. 412
External links
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 Robin Hood on In Our Time at the BBC. (listen now)
 Robin Hood the Facts and the Fiction, has a lot of information on Robin
Hood, ballads, medieval records, place names, analysis on the legend etc.
 BBC History: Robin Hood and his Historical Context
 Home of the World Wide Robin Hood Society in Sherwood, Nottingham,
England
 Robin Hood, Friend of Liberty - Ludwig von Mises Institute
 Robin Hood: Bold Outlaw of Barnsdale and Sherwood, contains ballads,
information on the development of the legend, and interviews with scholars
and authors.
 Ben Turner's Robin Hood site one of the first on the web
 The Robin Hood Project at the University of Rochester — Houses a large
collection of Robin Hood text and art
 "Robin Hood - the greatest of English myths" on BBC Radio 4's In Our
Time featuring Stephen Knight, Thomas Hahn and Dr Juliette Wood
 Robin Hood - from Internet Archive, Project Gutenberg and Google
Books (scanned books original editions color illustrated)
 Nottingham Caves Survey
 File:Wikisource-logo.svg Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). "Robin
Hood". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
 File:Wikisource-logo.svg "Robin Hood". Collier's New Encyclopedia. 1921.
Template:Robin Hood ballads
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