The War of the Roses & Robin HOOD ballads

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.The Robin Hood ballads.

 

Robin is famous for his gallantry, robbing the rich to feed the poor and fighting against injustice and tyranny. Anyone who knows of Robin has also heard the stories of his outlaw band. The names of Little John, Friar Tuck, Maid Marion, Allan a Dale, Will Scarlet, Much the Miller and the evil Sheriff of Nottingham are as much a part of the legend as Robin Hood himself.

The stories of Robin portray him as a fearless outlaw leading his band of "merry men" (and women) against the tyranny of Prince John, The Sheriff of Nottingham and Sir Guy of Gisbourne. A brilliant archer, Robin lived a life of adventure - poaching the King's deer from the outlaws' retreat in Sherwood Forest.

Stories about the adventures of Robin have been told and retold for over six hundred years. In Robin's time, few people could read or write and consequently little was written down about the exploits of our hero. Instead, people learnt about Robin and his band through the ballad and song of wandering minstrels who weaved a patchwork of fact and fiction into the contemporary culture of the time.

 

From the first time men spoke of him, Robin Hood was believed to have been a real person. Through the centuries there has been much speculation as to who he was, however his identity remains unknown. No one could provide authentic records of his activities, but five of the oldest surviving poems or ballads as they are now called, tell us much of what is known about the legend of this English outlaw. Robin Hood and the Monk, Robin Hood and the Potter, Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne, Robin Hoode his Death, and A Lytell Geste of Robyn Hode, existed in the fifteenth or early sixteenth centuries. The Gest, the longest of the ballads, is divided into eight sections or ‘fyttes’. There were eight printed editions before 1600; one of the earliest came from the press of Wynken de Word, printed between 1492 and 1534. Another edition is possibly from the press of Jan van Doesborch at Antwerp and is dated 1510-1515; it is simply titled the Gest of Robyn Hode. Yet another edition is from William Copland; this has the title of the Mery Geste of Robyn Hoode, and is dated around 1560. There is also an edition by Richard Pynson that has survived in fragments. The word ‘Gest’ meant a tale of exploits or a romantic story. This enigmatic tale could have been written down as early as 1400. 

In a text of William Langland’s Piers Plowman, the character named Sloth says:

I do not know my paternoster perfectly as the priest sings it.

But I know rhymes of Robin Hood and Randolph Earl of Chester. 

This was written about 1377, which proves there were ‘rhymes’ of Robin Hood in the fourteenth century.

The Gest begins with:

Lythe and listin gentilmen

That be of frebore blode

I shall you tel of a gode yeman

His name was Robyn Hode 

 

The third fytte begins with:

Lyth and lystyn gentilmen

All that nowe be here

Of Litell Johnn that was the knightes man

Goode myrth ye shall here 

 

Robin Hood and the Monk was originally described as the ‘talkyng of the munke and Robyn Hode’. These two ballads at least, were possibly written by minstrels who recited or read them to an audience.

 

 

 

The Tales of Robin Hood 
 
Many of us today will know of the legend of Robin Hood through stories like:

Robin and the Knight:	In which Robin saves an impoverished Knight from losing his lands to the Abbot of St. Mary's in York.
Robin and the Potter:	where Robin, disguised as a potter, tricks the Sheriff of Nottingham into travelling to Sherwood Forest where the Outlaws capture him.
Robin Hood and the Monk:  (click for the full story)	In Which Robin is betrayed by a monk and imprisoned by the Sheriff of Nottingham. The story ends with the rescue of Robin by Little John and Much the miller's son.
Robin and the Curtal Friar:	Where Friar Tuck and Robin Hood first meet.
Robin and the Silver Arrow:	in which Robin wins the archery contest set up to trap him by the Sheriff of Nottingham.
The death of Robin Hood:	where, after the deaths of Maid Marian and King Richard, Robin ends his days in the grounds of Kirklees Priory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.1 Barnsdale and Sherwood

Robin Hood has been associated with two different regions from an early date; Barnsdale in South Yorkshire and Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire. ‘Robin Hood in Barnesdale Stood’ was quoted by a judge in the court of Common Pleas in 1429. ‘Robin Hood in Sherwood stood’ was written in a Lincoln cathedral manuscript in about 1410. In the fifteenth century Robin  was more often associated with Barnsdale than Sherwood, although the two regions are less than forty miles apart. In Robin Hood and the Monk the outlaws adventures are confined to Sherwood and Nottingham. Robin Hood and the Potter names Wentbridge (Went breg)  in the Barnsdale region and Nottingham. In Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne, the action takes place in  Barnsdale, and the sheriff is slain when he tries to flee to Nottingham. The Gest names Barnsdale and Nottingham, but of the early ballads, only Robin Hood and the Monk mentions Sherwood. The sheriff of Nottingham intrudes into Barnsdale where he has no jurisdiction, and both he and the outlaws travel between the two regions at lightening speed, which leads to the possibility that there was one cycle of tales that placed Robin in Barnsdale and another that placed him in Sherwood. Over time these may have become joined together, resulting in a confused scenario. On the other hand, the two regions may have been included in the original tales, to appeal to a wider audience, without any regard for accuracy.

Barnsdale or Bernysdale was known as a region between Pontefract and Doncaster, a lightly wooded area that was not officially a forest, but it was a place of ambush in the fourteenth century. All of the following are within this region. The Sayles (Saylis) is mentioned in the Gest, and Wentbridge (Went breg) is mentioned in Robin Hood and the Potter. To the south of Wentbridge, on the western side of the A1, is the Church at Skelbrooke, believed to be on the site of the chapel alluded to by Robin in the closing verses of the Gest, and near the A1 in Skelbrooke Park, there once stood Bishop’s Tree, where according to tradition, Robin intercepted the Bishop of Hereford and made him dance in his boots. To the north of Bishop’s Tree is the probable location of where once stood the Stone of Robert Hode, recorded in a Monk Bretton charter of 1422, and on the eastern side of the A1 to the south, is Robin Hood’s Well.  The Gest and Robin Hoode his Death, both name Kirklees (Kyrkesly, Churchlees) twenty miles west of Barnsdale, as the place of Robin’s death and burial. (see Robin Hood’s Grave) There is a third locality in the Gest, northern Lancashire and Bowland.

Sherwood Forest was a royal forest, deep and inaccessible, it was frequented by hunters and poachers, and over the centuries, has been a hiding place for outlaws. Once a hunting ground for the kings and queens of England, ‘Shire Wood’ covered a large area of the county of Nottinghamshire, stretching twenty miles from Nottingham north to Worksop, and it was over eight miles wide. Today Sherwood is a scattering of woodland, heathland, and open field, the last refuge for ancient oaks. The Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve near Edwinstowe has the Major Oak and attracts thousands of visitors each year. 

 

 

 

3.2The Early Ballads

Robin Hood and the Monk

This ballad was found in a manuscript collection written about 1450, it is believed to be the oldest surviving written ballad of Robin Hood. It begins with Robin and Little John in the greenwood, they argue then go their separate ways; Robin goes to Saint Mary’s Church in Nottingham, Little John goes to Sherwood. After being recognized in church by a ‘gret hedit Munke’ who runs to Nottingham to inform the sheriff, Robin is captured by the sheriff of Nottingham and his men. The other outlaws learn of their masters capture, so consequently, Little John and Much the Millar’s son set off to find the monk who is on his way to London with a letter, to convey the news to the king. John kills the monk, and Much kills his page, so they themselves make the delivery. Unaware of who they are, the king makes them yeomen of the crown, and sends them back to Nottingham with a letter ordering the sheriff to send Robin to him. On their return, John and Much are received by the sheriff who invites them to dine. After dinner while he is asleep, they free Robin and all return to Sherwood. The sheriff realizes he has been tricked, and is afraid he will be punished, however luckily for him, the king is impressed by the outlaw’s cleverness and he forgives both Robin and the sheriff.

Robin Hood and the Potter

Robin Hood and the Potter formed part of a manuscript collection written about 1503; this ballad has more of a comic element. The story begins with Robin and Little John fighting with a proud potter in “Wentbreg”, (Wentbridge in Yorkshire) who has refused to pay “pavage” for crossing their territory. Little John has a bout of fisticuffs with the potter then Robin fights him with the sword. The potter uses the quarter-staff and he knocks Robin to the ground. Taking his defeat in good stead, he suggests they exchange clothes for a joke. In the guise of a potter, Robin goes to Nottingham to sell pots. He sells his last pots to the sheriff’s wife who invites him home to dine. After dinner Robin shoots in an archery contest with the sheriff’s men, he wins the contest, which impresses the sheriff who asks the “potter” if he knows Robin Hood. Robin says he will show him the whereabouts of the outlaw’s camp, but predictably the sheriff falls into a trap and is then forced to walk home barefoot. The story ends with Robin paying the potter for his goods.

Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne

This complex tale or at least a version of it, was probably in existence before 1475, and was found with others in a manuscript that was rescued from a burning house in Shropshire by Thomas Percy. The manuscript is now known as the Percy Folio. Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne appeared in his Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, published in 1765. The ballad is archaic in language and has some similarity to the play of 1475. This is a much deeper and dramatic story. It begins with Robin dreaming that he has been captured by two yeomen, and on awakening, he goes to the greenwood with Little John to seek these two men. Here they see a yeoman clad in horsehide leaning against a tree. Little John offers to investigate but Robin objects and they quarrel. Little John returns to Barnsdale, where the sheriff’s men have killed two of the merry men and are now persuing Will Scarlett. Little John prepares to shoot, but his bow breaks and he is captured and tied to a tree to await execution.

 

 

Conclusion

The war of the Roses (also called the war of the two Roses) is a very important period for the British culture and history. It has been a turning point in the history of the United Kingdom : a very large part of the aristocracy was killed (some noble families even disappeared) and the royal dynasty changed. It has also been a vast source of inspiration for English authors, such as Shakespeare.

The history of the war of the two Roses is really propitious to literary narration : you have a Queen with a strong personality (Marguerite), a mad King, traitors, multiple reversal of situation, ... But the myth is different from the reality : what is disappointing is that the version of Shakespeare is a bit far from the reality whereas it needed not to be thrilling. For instance, Richard III was not the ‘‘nice’’ King of Shakespeare’s play. However we must not forget that he could not question the foundation of the Tudor dynasty and its legitimity !

This period will remain one of the most epic in the English history, even if it concerned principally the aristocracy (the armies were small and one implicit rule was to kill the nobles, not the simple peasants).

Robin Hood's Death is the 120th ballad of the Child ballads collection published by Houghton Mifflin. The fragmentary Percy Folio version of it appears to be one of the oldest existing tales of Robin Hood; there is a synopsis of the story in the fifteenth century A Gest of Robyn Hode.A later broadside version of the ballad also exists, which includes the famous detail of Robin Hood's last bowshot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References:

 

 

• J. R. Lander, The Wars of the Roses (1965);
• C. D. Ross, Wars of the Roses: A Concise History (1976);
• E. Hallam, Wars of the Roses and Chronicles of the Wars of the Roses (1988);
• Pollard, Wars of the Roses (1995); A. Weir, Wars of the Roses (1995).
• http://www.robinhoodlegend.com
• http://www.robinhood.info