The gest of Robin Hode - The gest of Robin Hood
The Gest of Robyn Hode:
A Critical and Textual Commentary
by Robert B. Waltz
©2013 by Robert B. Waltz
To Patricia Rosenberg
the last of the few
Oh, I will build me a boat of silver,
Steer it with a golden oar,
And I will sail out of this sad harbor
And never sail back to this dark shore.
For swiftly come all the tides returning,
Swiftly go then and will not stay.
There is no boatman can net the morning,
There is no boatman can net the day.
J. B. Goodenough
Table of Contents
Preface 1
If You Like This Book 2
Summary: The Plot of the Gest of Robyn Hode 3
The Geste of Robin Hood: A Modern Adaption 5
THE FIRST FIT 5
THE SECOND FIT 14
THE THIRD FIT 21
THE FOURTH FIT 28
THE FIFTH FIT 37
THE SIXTH FIT 41
THE SEVENTH FIT 45
THE EIGHTH FIT 52
Introduction: The Robin Hood Legend 57
The Background: The Early Ballads 59
Robin Hoods Death [Child 120] 59
Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne [Child 118] 59
The Gest 59
Robin Hood and the Potter [Child 121] 59
Robin Hood and the Monk [Child 119] 62
The Text of the Gest 67
The Early Copies 68
The Date of the Gest 84
The Gest: A Romance and Its Sources 87
Hereward the Wake 91
Eustace the Monk 92
Fulk FitzWarin 93
Gamelyn 94
The Gawain Legend 95
The Bible and the Miracles of the Virgin 96
The Greenwood Legend; The King In Disguise; Truth or Consequences; minor sources 98
The Forest Law 101
The Components of the Gest 102
What the Gest Represents: The Audience of the Poem 105
Historical and Literary Sources for the History of Robin Hood 110
Piers Plowman 110
Geoffrey Chaucer 113
Walter Bower 114
Andrew Wyntoun 115
Robyn Hod in Scherewod stod 116
Miscellaneous References 116
Robin of Redesdale 117
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The Paston Records 118
The May Games 119
Henry VIII 119
John Major and his followers 120
Other Sixteenth Century Mentions 121
Anthony Munday 122
The Garlands and Other Late Sources 124
The Common Elements of the Early Ballads 129
The Later Robin Hood Ballads 130
Outlaw Or Not? 130
Dating the Legend: The Setting of the Gest 135
Sidelights on the Legend 149
Barnsdale, Sherwood, and Nottingham 149
The Earldom of Huntingdon and of Chester 152
Adam Bell and the Northwest of England 156
Fountains Abbey and the Curtal Friar 157
Robin Hood and the Bishop of Hereford Adam Orleton The Fate of Edward II 158
The Redating of the Legend: Robin Hood and Richard I 160
Who Made Maid Marion, And Other Late Additions 163
The Presumed History of Robin Hood 167
The Music of the Gest 172
Notes on the Contents of the Gest 174
Appendix I: A Critical Text of the Gest of Robyn Hode 298
The First Fit 303
The Second Fit 319
The Third Fit 332
The Fourth Fit 344
The Fifth Fit 360
The Sixth Fit 367
The Seventh Fit 374
The Eighth Fit 387
Notes on the Text of the Gest 395
Divergences from Childs text of the Gest 417
Important Variants 418
Appendix II: The Language of the Gest 423
Glossary of the Vocabulary of the Gest 429
Glossary of Technical Terms 487
Appendix III: Chronology 489
Appendix IV: Documents Relevant to Understanding the Gest 491
The Bible 1 Samuel 29 (David sent away by the Philistines before Aphek) 491
Selections from the Rule of St. Benedict 492
The Coronation Oath of Edward II 493
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The Deposition of Edward II 496
Laurence Minot: Edward Oure Cumly King 497
Laurence Minot: The Taking of Calais 500
Jean Froissart: The Battle of Crécy 504
The Financial Resources of Edward III 508
Piers Plowman: The Robin Hood section 510
John Balls Letter to the Peasants of Essex 511
The Battle of Ferrybridge 512
The Early Play of Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne (Robin Hood and the Sheriff) 513
Robin Hood and the Monk [Child 119] 515
Robin Hood and the Potter [Child 121] 527
Robin Hoods Death [Child 120] 538
Robin Hood and the Bishop of Hereford [Child 144] 541
The King and the Barker (King Edward the Fourth and a Tanner of Tamworth) 547
Marian Poetry 553
John Lydgate 557
The Paston Letters 558
The Tale of Gamelyn 560
Bibliography 583
Index 596
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List of Illustrations
1. Merchants Mark (idealized) of Ricardo Calle = Richard Calle 60
2. The Tollet Window 65
3. Sample from the Lettersnijder edition, a. 71
4. The family of Audrey Holman 73
5. One version of Robert Coplands printers mark with rose garland emblem 75
6. The Textura 95 Types of Richard Pynson and Wynkyn de Worde 77
7. The illustrations of the Pynson Chaucer and Lettersnijder Gest. 80
8. Sketch of the Royal Forests in the Robin Hood Period. 128
9. The Plantagenet Dynasty 134
10. The Earldom of Huntingdon after the Norman Conquest 153
11. Robin Hood and the Curtal Friar(?): A Possible Tune for the Gest 173
12. Sketch Map of the Sites Mentioned in the Gest 181
13. Counting on a checkered cloth 201
14. Sketch plan of a Motte and Bailey castle: 260
15. The Wars of the Roses in Yorkshire 269
16. Edward IIs Great Seal 278
17. The Stemma of the Prints of the Gest 298
18. The Extent of the Prints of the Gest 299
19. How to Read the Critical Apparatus 300
20. Contemporary Copy of Edward IIs Coronation Oath 493
21. Estimate of Edward IIIs Annual Revenue 508
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Preface
Francis James Childs The English and Scottish Popular Ballads contains about forty
ballads or ballad-like pieces about Robin Hood. The Gest of Robyn Hode is not only
the longest and most important of these, it is the longest ballad by far in Childs
collection so long that it should properly be called a romance, not a ballad. It is also
our most important source for the legend of Robin Hood, particularly in its early stages.
In 2012, I published my first book on the Gest. This consisted primarily of a text
plus a semi-modernized translation. That shorter book remains the edition for those
who want a straightforward text and translation of the Gest. This expanded edition
fills in the gaps left by the limited scope of the earlier book. Apart from correcting a few
typographical errors, it retains my earlier critical text of the Gest (the first to be based
on a stemmatic method) !but it adds a full critical apparatus, discussion of variant
readings, and glosses; it is the first full-blown critical edition of the Gest ever
published. For this reason, the critical text no longer has the parallel modern English
rendering; the modernized edition has been maintained but since it is no longer set
beside the text of the Gest, I have taken the opportunity to make it less a more
modern, independent text. And I have added a detailed notes on the meaning of the
Gest, an extensive vocabulary, and assorted documents which illustrate the Gest.
There is also a full introduction on the Robin Hood legend, the historical setting of the
Gest, and how the setting of the Gest differs from that of later Robin Hood tales.
This book is for in-depth study meaning that scholars who wish to engage in that
study will benefit from having both volumes, to reduce the need for cross-referencing.
Very roughly, the book divides into seven parts: The modern version of the text of
the Gest, for use by those who do not wish to deal with Middle English; an
introduction to the Robin Hood corpus; a discussion of the historical problems of the
Gest in particular; a detailed commentary on the Gest; the critical edition of the
Middle English text of the Gest; a discussion of the text of the Gest; and samples of
works important to understanding the Gest. Plus, of course, the Bibliography (the key
to the citations in the text), glossary, chronology, and index.
I also owe thanks to the members of the Ballad-L mailing list for ideas and
encouragement. Dr. David Engle made valuable suggestions about the presentation.
Martha Galep supplied personal support as well as information about keeping horses.
Ed Cray and Dick Greenhaus encouraged publication of the original shorter book. My
parents, Dorothy and Fred Waltz, supplied financial assistance. Thanks also to Catie Jo
Pidel (who indirectly inspired me to start the work), Elizabeth Rosenberg, Patricia
Rosenberg, Mollie Spillman, and Sarah Cagley.
Much of the rest of this preface parallels the acknowledgments in my earlier volume.
The hypothesis that the Gest describes events of the reign of Edward II, for instance,
goes back to Joseph Hunter although the hypothesis is much modified here, and
unlike Hunter I do not believe Robin Hood was an actual person alive in the reign of
Edward. Much information about the various copies of the Gest is based on the work
of Thomas Ohlgren. I have used the works of J. C. Holt extensively. Consulting these
and other references has of course made this a better book.
2 The Gest of Robyn Hode
If You Like This Book
This book is free. This is deliberate; I want people to have access to the information. I
have no idea if it will prove either useful or entertaining to anyone. But if you do find it
worthwhile, I would urge you to consider making a contribution. No, not to me. To the
good organizations listed below, to help them in their future work.
First of all, consider ordering my shorter edition of The Gest of Robyn Hode. I have no
financial interest in that book; I have donated the royalties to the publishers, CAMSCO
music and Loomis House Press. But by buying the book, you will encourage them to
publish more folklore volumes. You can find Loomis House online at
http://www.loomishousepress.com/
CAMSCO music is at
http://www.camscomusic.com/
If that doesnt interest you, or if you wish to do more, here are three charities which I
would consider particularly worthy of your gifts:
The Friends of the Folk Archive Fund of the American Folklife Center at the
Library of Congress. The Folklife Center is one of the largest repositories of
folklore and folk song in the Americas, and this fund serves to support some of its
best work. Learn more at http://www.loc.gov/folklife/gift.html.
The Ramsey County Historical Society. www.rchs.com. Although I did not really
use their archives in the preparation of this book, the Society gave me strong
support in the half year during which I completed the work. (Note: because of the
effort needed to file contributions, donations to the Historical Society should be at
least $10.)
The Union of Concerned Scientists. www.ucsusa.org.
On their behalf, my thanks.
The Gest of Robyn Hode 3
Summary: The Plot of the Gest of Robyn Hode
[THE FIRST FIT.] When we begin, Robin is with Little John, Much the Millers Son,
and Will Scathelock, sending them out to seek a guest. They are to use no force, but
bring him back to dinner.
The three outlaws spy a downtrodden knight along the road. They bring him back to
Robin, who serves him a fine meal but then demands that the knight pay. The knight
admits that he has only a few shillings. Robin orders John to search his baggage. John
determines that it is true. Asked how he came to be so poor, the knight reveals that he
has mortgaged all his lands to the Abbot of St. Marys in order to go bail for his son,
who is charged with murder. The reckoning is due, and he cannot repay, and if the
Abbot will not extend the loan, all the knights lands will be lost.
Robin and his band are moved with pity. Robin offers to pay the debt, if the knight
will give surety. The knight can give none except the Virgin Mary. Robin, out of his love
for the Virgin, at once accepts. He gives the knight four hundred pounds, and offers
Little John as a servant.
[THE SECOND FIT.] The abbot of St. Marys is at dinner, happily contemplating the
thought that he will soon have the knights land. The knight shows up in poor clothing
and begs the abbot and his allies for more time. The abbot refuses. The knight produces
the four hundred pounds lent him by Robin and stalks out, ruining the abbots day.
[THE THIRD FIT.] Little John takes part in an archery contest, and wins easily. The
Sheriff of Nottingham, impressed, takes him on as a servant. A year later, when the
sheriff is out hunting, John fails to get his dinner and attacks the butler. He then
fights with the cook. The fight is a draw, and John invites the cook to join Robins band.
The cook agrees, and they head off to the greenwood after robbing the sheriffs home.
The sheriff himself is tricked into Robins lair by John, where he is forced to spend a
night in the cold, eat from his own stolen plate, and to promise to be Robins friend.
[THE FOURTH FIT.] It is time for the knight to repay his debt to Robin. He has done
well, and starts on his way to Barnsdale although he is delayed on his way by a
wrestling. While this is going on, Robin sends out his men to find another guest. This
time, they catch a monk and his company heading for London to complain about the
knight. Most of the company flees, but John and the others bring the monk, and his
baggage, back to Robin. The monk claims to have relatively little money, but John
searches the bags and finds that he has eight hundred pounds. Whereas the knight had
been honored because he told the truth, the monk is punished because he lied. Robin
confiscates the eight hundred pounds. When the knight arrives to pay back the four
hundred pounds, Robin declares that the Virgin Mary has already repaid the loan, and
gives the knight the four hundred pound excess.
[THE FIFTH FIT.] There is another archery contest in Nottingham, and this time
Robin competes and wins the prize. But he and his men are recognized and forced to
flee. Little John is injured in the fight. The band is forced to take refuge at the castle of
the knight, now revealed to be Sir Richard at the Lee.
[THE SIXTH FIT.] Sir Richard is still under siege, but calls on the sheriff to consult
the king. The siege is lifted, and Robin returns to the greenwood but the sheriff then
traps Sir Richard and prepares to take him away. The knights wife appeals to Robin,
4 The Gest of Robyn Hode
who rescues Sir Richard and kills the sheriff, calling him a betrayer of the oath he earlier
took. The knight, however, cannot return to his castle; he joins Robin in the forest.
[THE SEVENTH FIT.] King Edward decides to take matters into his own hands and
deal with Robin Hood himself. He comes north, but cannot find Robin. At last it is
suggested that he enter the forest in disguise. The king agrees, and his party puts on the
clothing of monks. Robin and his band waylay them but eventually recognize the
king and beg pardon. The king grants it.
[THE EIGHTH FIT.] The king sets out for Nottingham, bringing Robin and his band
with him. There is panic in the town, but the King agrees to take Robin into his service.
Robin tries to cut a great figure at court, but after a year, his money is gone and most of
his men have deserted him. He asks the kings leave to visit a chapel he had built in
Barnsdale. The king grudgingly gives him leave to depart for a few days. Robin returns
home and takes up his life in the greenwood. After twenty-two years, he feels old and
ill, and goes to Kirklees to be bled. Instead of being cured, he is bled to death by the
prioress and her lover Sir Roger of Doncaster. The poem concludes with a pious wish
for the soul of Robin, who dyde pore men moch god [did poor men much good].
The Gest of Robyn Hode 5
The Geste of Robin Hood: A Modern Adaption
This follows the lineation of the Middle English Critical Text of the Gest of Robyn Hode
below, but with spelling modernized and archaic words replaced. Some attention has been paid to
rhyme and meter, but the primary goal is to use the modern words that best fit the Middle
English original. No attempt has been made to assure consistency in modernation. In what
follows, a [page number in brackets] provides a link to the page containing an explanatory note.
Understand that some of the renderings are guesses, or only one of several possible meanings.
THE FIRST FIT
1 Stop and listen, gentlemen, [174]
Who are of freeborn blood;
Ill tell you of a good yeoman, [176]
His name was Robin Hood.
2 Robin was a proud outlaw, [177]
While he walked on ground;
So courteous an outlaw as he was [178]
Was never yet one found.
3 Robin stood in Barnsdale, [179]
And leanéd on a tree;
And by him there stood Little John, [181]
A good yeoman was he.
4 And also did good Scathelock, [182]
And Much, the millers son; [183]
There was no inch of his body
But it was worth a pound. [183]
5 At that time up spoke Little John
All unto Robin Hood:
Master, if you would dine on time,
It would do you much good.
6 Up then spoke good Robin; [185]
To dine have I no lust,
Till that I have some bold baron,
Or some unknown guest.
7 [We shall await some bold abbot] [185]
That may pay for the best,
Or some knight or some squire
That dwells here in the west. [185]
6 The Gest of Robyn Hode
8 A faithful style had Robin then;
In the land where that he were,
Every day ere he would dine [185]
Three masses would he hear.
9 The one in worship of the Father,
Another of the Holy Ghost,
The third was of our dear Lady, [186]
That he loved yet the most.
10 Robin loved our dear Lady; [186]
For fear of deadly sin, [186]
Never would he harm a company
That any woman was in.
11 Master, then said Little John [188]
Before we our board shall spread,
Tell us where that we shall go
And what life we shall lead.
12 Where we shall take, where we shall leave,
Where we shall abide behind;
Where we shall rob, where we shall reave,
Where we shall beat and bind?
13 Never use force, then said Robin; [188]
We shall do well enough;
But look you do no farmer harm,
That tills with his plow.
14 No more shall ye [rob] a good yeoman
Who walks by the green thicket;
Neither a knight nor a squire
Who would be a good fellow. [188]
15 These bishops and these archbishops, [189]
Ye shall them beat and bind; [189]
The high sheriff of Nottingham, [189]
Let him not slip your mind.
16 This word shall be kept, said Little John
And this lesson we shall fear;
Its late in the day; God send us a guest,
That we may be at our dinner!
The Gest of Robyn Hode 7
17 Take your good bow in your hand, said Robin;
Let Much go with ye;
And so shall William Scathelock
And no man stay with me. [194]
18 And walk up to the Saylis, [194]
And so to Watling Street [194]
And wait after some unknown guest,
By chance you may them meet.
19 Be he earl, or any baron, [195]
Abbot, or any knight,
Bring him to lodge to me;
His dinner shall be right.
20 They went up to the Saylis, [197]
These yeoman all three;
They looked east, they looked west;
They might no man there see.
21 But as they looked in Barnsdale,
Down a hidden street, [197]
Then came a knight riding; [197]
Full soon they did him meet.
22 All dreary was his semblance,
And little was his pride;
His one foot in the stirrup stood,
The other waved beside.
23 His hood hung in his two eyes;
His clothes were a poor array;
A sorrier man than he was one
Rode never in summer day.
24 Little John was full courteous, [198]
And set him on his knee:
Welcome be ye, gentle knight,
Welcome are ye to me.
25 Welcome be you to greenwood,
Gracious knight and free;
My master has waited fasting for you,
Sir, all these hours three.
8 The Gest of Robyn Hode
26 Who is your master? said the knight;
John said, Robin Hood.
He is a good yeoman, said the knight,
Of him I have heard much good.
27 I agree, he said, with you to go,
My brothers, together here;
My purpose was to have dined today
At Blythe or Doncaster. [198]
28 Forth then went this gentle knight,
With a woeful face;
The tears out of his eyes ran,
And fell down on his face.
29 They brought him to the lodge-door; [198]
Where Robin did him see,
Full courteously he took off his hood [199]
And set him on his knee.
30 Welcome, sir knight, then said Robin
Welcome you are to me;
I have awaited you fasting, sir,
All these hours three.
31 Then answered the gentle knight,
With words both fair and free,
God save you, good Robin,
And all your company.
32 They washed together and wiped their hands, [199]
And set to their dinner;
Bread and wine they had enough, [199]
And sweetbreads of the deer.
33 Swans and pheasants they had full good, [199]
And fowl from out the river;
Not even the smallest bird they lacked
That ever was bred on briar.
34 Do gladly, sir knight, said Robin;
Thank you, sir, said he;
Such a dinner I have not had
For at least weekés three.
The Gest of Robyn Hode 9
35 If I come again, Robin,
Here by this country,
As good a dinner I shall you make
As you have made for me.
36 Thank you, knight, then said Robin;
My dinner when that I have,
I was never so greedy, by dear worthy God,
My dinner for to crave.
37 But pay before you leave, said Robin; [200]
I think it only right;
It was never the custom, by dear worthy God,
A yeomen to pay for a knight.
38 I have nought in my coffers, said the knight,
That I may proffer for shame:
Little John, go look, said Robin, [200]
And do not fear the blame.
39 Tell me truth, then said Robin,
So God have part of you.
I have but ten shillings, said the knight,
So God have part of me.
40 If you have no more, said Robin,
I will not take one penny;
And if you had need of any more,
More shall I lend you.
41 Go now forth, Little John,
The truth tell you me;
If there be no more but ten shillings,
Not one penny will I see.
42 Little John spread out his mantle [201]
Full fair upon the ground,
And there he found in the knights coffer
Exactly half a pound.
43 Little John let it lie full still, [202]
And went to his master beloved;
What tidings, John? said Robin;
Sir, the knight is true enough. [202]
10 The Gest of Robyn Hode
44 A glass of the best wine! said Robin,
The knight shall begin;
A great wonder it seems to me
Your clothing is so thin.
45 Tell me one word, said Robin,
Explain it, if you please;
I think you were made a knight by force [202]
Or else of yeomanry.
46 Or else you have been a sorry husband,
And lived in quarrel and strife;
An usurer, or else a lecher, said Robin,
With wrong you have led your life.
47 I am none of those, said the knight,
By God that made me;
An hundred winter here before [203]
Mine ancestors knights have been.
48 But oft it befalls, Robin, [205]
A man may be disgraced;
Unless God that sits in heaven above
May amend his state.
49 Within this two years, Robin, he said,
My neighbors well it ken,
Four hundred pounds of good money [205]
Full well I had to spend.
50 Now have I no good, said the knight,
God has shapéd such an end,
But my children and my wife,
Till God it may amend.
51 In what manner, said Robin,
Have you lost your riches?
For my great folly, he said,
And for my kindness.
52 I had a son, forsooth, Robin, [207]
That should have been my heir, [207]
When he was twenty winters old,
In field would joust full fair. [207]
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