Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne is

Child Ballad The Child Ballads are 305 traditional ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, anthologized by Francis James Child during the second half of the 19th century. Their lyrics and Child's studies of them were published as '' ...

118, part of the Percy collection. It introduces and disposes of

Guy of Gisborne Sir Guy of Gisbourne (also spelled Gisburne, Gisborne, Gysborne, or Gisborn) is a character from the Robin Hood legends of English folklore. He first appears in "Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne" (Child Ballad 118), where he is an assassin who atte ...

who remains next to the

Sheriff of Nottingham The Sheriff of Nottingham is the main antagonist in the legend of Robin Hood. He is generally depicted as an unjust tyrant who mistreats the local people of Nottinghamshire, subjecting them to unaffordable taxes. Robin Hood fights against him, ...

the chief villain of the

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...

legend. This ballad survives in a single seventeenth century copy but has always been recognized as much older in content, possibly older than

Robin Hood and the Monk Robin Hood and the Monk is a Middle English ballad and one of the oldest surviving ballads of Robin Hood. Original work and later publications The work was preserved in Cambridge University manuscript Ff.5.48, albeit heavily damaged by wear. ...

. A play with a similar plot survives in a copy dated to 1475. This ballad has been much admired, the ''Oxford Companion to English Literature'', 4th edition, describes it as the best of the Robin Hood ballads. But it is also the most often cited, along with

, for excessive brutality. Guy comes to Barnesdale to capture Robin Hood, but Robin kills and beheads him. Meanwhile, Little John has been captured by the Sheriff, but Robin rescues him by impersonating Guy of Gisborne.

External links

''Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne''''ROBIN HOOD AND GUY OF GISBORNE: INTRODUCTION''
Child Ballads Robin Hood ballads {{Folk-song-stub