A Gest of Robin Hood

''A Gest of Robyn Hode'' (also known as ''A Lyttell Geste of Robyn Hode'', and hereafter referred to as ''Gest'') is one of the earliest surviving texts of the Robin Hood tales. ''Gest'' (which meant tale or adventure) is a compilation of various Robin Hood tales, arranged as a sequence of adventures involving the yeoman outlaws Robin Hood and Little John, the poor knight Sir Richard at the Lee, the greedy abbot of St Mary's Abbey, the villainous Sheriff of Nottingham, and King Edward of England. The work survives only in printed editions from the early 16th century; just some 30 years after the first printing press was brought to England. Its popularity can be estimated from the fact that portions of more than ten 16th- and 17th-century printed editions have been preserved. Written in late Middle English poetic verse, ''Gest'' is an early example of an English language ballad, in which the verses are grouped in quatrains with an abcb rhyme scheme.

As a literary work, ''Gest'' was first studied in detail by William Hall Clawson in 1909. Research did not resume until 1968, when the medievalist D C Fowler published ''A Literary History of the Popular Ballad''. Since then, study of ''Gest'' has been sporadic. In 1989, two historians, R B Dobson and John Taylor, wrote "Rymes of Robyn Hood" as a source book and complete introduction to the subject. In 1997, Stephen Knight and Thomas H Ohlgren published ''Robin Hood and Other Outlaw Tales'', a collection of all the pre-17th-century tales of Robin Hood, arranged in chronological order. Their book now forms the core of the ''Robin Hood Project'' of the University of Rochester's ''Middle English Texts'' website. In 2013 Ohlgren and linguist Lister M Matheson published ''Early Rymes of Robin Hood'', which includes "as-is" transcriptions of all the earliest surviving copies of ''Gest'' for use by scholars.

Summary

''Gest'' contains four tales which are broken up into episodes, which then interleave among the eight fyttes (sections) of the poem. However, the beginning/end of a tale or episode does not always align with the beginning/end of a fytte. For a modern reader, this makes ''Gest'' difficult to follow. This summary follows the outline proposed by J B Bessinger Jr, which follows the order of the fyttes. Bessinger's outline contains four arbitrary names for the tales, which are based upon the main characters:
#Robin Hood, Knight, and Abbot (herein called Tale A)
#Robin Hood, Little John, Sheriff, and Knight (herein called Tale B)
#Robin Hood, Knight, and King (herein called Tale C)
#Death of Robin Hood (herein called Tale D)
Each tale is told in 1, 2 or 3 episodes. Quotes from the text have been given with modern spelling.

Tale A

Episode 1 (First Fytte)

Robin Hood, a good yeoman and courteous outlaw, has heard 3 masses this morning: one to honor God the Father; one to honor the Holy Ghost; and one to honor the Virgin Mary, for whom he has a deep devotion. He has fasted since midnight, and Little John, also a good yeoman, suggests he should eat soon. But Robin declines to dine without an "uncouth guest" to pay for the feast. Someone such as a baron, knight or squire; but only if they not are "good fellows". Neither are farmers or other yeomen to be accosted. However, bishops and archbishops are to be tied up, beaten, and robbed. The High Sheriff of Nottingham is a special target. Little John, Much the Miller's son and a good man, and good William Scarlock leave to search for a guest.

They see a knight on horseback in a back street in Barnsdale. He looks forlorn, slouched over in his saddle, his face careworn and streaked with tears. Little John approaches the Sorrowful Knight, genuflects, and welcomes him to the forest, saying his Master Robin Hood is waiting dinner for him. The Knight remarks "He is good yeoman ... /Of him I have heard much good." The Knight leaves with the outlaws.

When Robin Hood sees the Sorrowful Knight, he pushes back his hood, and genuflects to him. They all wash up, and sit down to a fine feast. They enjoy plenty of bread and wine, along with deer sweatbreads, pheasants, swans, and other river birds. The Knight remarks that he had not had such a dinner for weeks, and should he pass through this way again, he would return the favor. Robin retorts that the Knight should pay before he leaves, as it is not proper for a yeoman to pay for a knight's feast. The Sorrowful Knight says he has only 10 shillings, and is embarrassed to offer such a small amount. Little John checks his baggage, and verifies the Sorrowful Knight is truthful.

Robin remarks on the Sorrowful Knight's threadbare clothing, and inquires about his situation. the Sorrowful Knight responds that his ancestors have been knights for 100 years but now he is disgraced, because his son and heir killed a knight of Lancaster. To redeem him, the Sorrowful Knight borrowed 400 pounds from the Rich Abbot of St Mary's, using his lands as collateral. The loan is now due, but he has only 10 shillings, so his lands will be seized by the Abbot. Robin asks if he had any friends. The Knight replies that he had plenty when he was rich, but none that he is poor. Robin then asks if he has anybody who could offer collateral. The Knight replied that he had none "But if it be Our dear Lady;/She failed me never or this day." Robin, who has a deep devotion to the Virgin Mary, declares that she is the best collateral in all of England. He instructs Little John to fetch 400 pounds from their treasure chest, and pay the Knight. Emboldened by Robin's words, Little John suggests new livery in Robin's colors of scarlet and green, and a new horse. Robin offers a gray courser with a new saddle; after all, he says, the Knight is the Virgin Mary's messenger. Much suggests a good palfrey, Scarlock suggests new boots, and Little John suggests shining spurs. Robin adds that a knight can not ride alone, and offers Little John as a companion. "In a yeoman's stead he may thee stand,/If thou great need have."

Episode 2 (Second Fytte)

The scene switches to York, where the monks of St Mary's Abbey are sitting down to dinner. The Abbot, the Prior, the Chief Steward, the Sheriff of Yorkshire, and the county Justice are discussing the Knight whose debt of 400 pounds is due today. The Prior observes that if it was him, he would pay 100 pounds now and the rest later. The Abbot remarks that the Knight is suffering hunger and cold while serving England's cause overseas. The Prior admonishes the Abbot that, in that case, it would pitiful to take his land; but such a grievous wrong would not bother the Abbot's conscience at all. The Abbot snaps back at the Prior, telling him he's always getting in the way. The "fat-headed" ine 363Chief Steward suggests that the Knight is either dead or hanged. The county Justice offers his opinion that the Knight will not come. They are all disappointed when the Knight appears at the gate.

The Knight genuflects and salutes them all "great and small". Upset at the Knight's appearance in the Abbey hall, the Abbot skips the customary courtesies and demands if he brought the Abbot's money. Not one penny, the Knight calmly replies. The Abbot snaps back, then why are you here? The Knight answers that he is here to beg for more time. The county Justice sharply interrupts, your time is up and your land is forfeit. Still on one knee, the Knight begs the Justice to "be my frende". The Justice responds that he can not; he is working on retainer from the Abbot. The Knight then looks to the Sheriff, who also refuses to aid the Knight. Finally the Knight offers his services as the Abbot's Knight until the debt is paid. The Abbot rebukes the Knight's offer. "'Out,' he said, 'thou false knight,/Speed thee out of my hall!'" The Knight calls the Abbot a liar, and stands up.

As the Knight approaches, the Justice asks the Abbot how much would he give the Knight to purchase the land outright. 100 pounds is the Abbot's reply; make it 200, insists the Justice. The Knight strides to the Abbot's table, and shakes Robin's 400 pounds out of the bag and onto the table. The Abbot is stunned. He tells the Justice to take the money as an additional retainer. The Justice refuses. The Knight then announces to everyone in the hall that he has paid his debt; his land is his once more. The Knight leaves, now carefree. He travels home with a light heart, singing. His worried wife meets him at the gate to Wyresdale. Be happy, my wife, says the Knight, and pray for Robin Hood; without his kindness, we would be beggars now.

Over the next year the Knight accumulates the 400 pounds to repay Robin Hood. He also purchases 100 bows, 100 bundles of arrows, 100 horses, and hires 100 men clothed in red and white clothing. On the day his debt is due, the Knight and his men head for Barnesdale. At Wentbridge, they pass a fair where a stranger has won the wrestling match. The yeoman is in danger of being killed by the crowd. Remembering how Robin treated him, he orders his company to surround the yeoman, shouting that no harm would befall him. He purchases a cask of wine and breaks it open so that all may drink. But the Knight and his company stay until the fair is done to ensure the yeoman's safety. In the meantime, Robin Hood is waiting under the tree in the greenwood.

Tale B

Episode 1 (Third Fytte)

It is now autumn. Little John is still the Knight's Yeoman, and joins other young men in longbow target practice. Three times Little John shoots; three times he "split the wand". The Sheriff of Nottingham is impressed. He approaches Little John, asking his name and birthplace. Little John replies, Reynold Greenleaf of Holderness. The Sheriff then asks Little John to work for him. Only if the Sheriff obtains a leave of absence from the Knight, Little John advises. The Knight agrees, and Little John rides off on one of the Sheriff's good strong horses.

One day the Sheriff goes hunting and leaves Little John behind. It is now past noon, and Little John has not eaten. Little John asks the steward for dinner, but is told not until the Sheriff comes home. Little John then threatens the butler, and gives him a strong blow to his back. The butler runs to the pantry and shuts the door. Little John kicks the door open and drinks more than his share of the ale and wine.

The Sheriff's Cook, a bold stout man, confronts Little John. The Cook delivers three strong blows to Little John, who vows that he won't leave until he pays the Cook back. They both draw swords and fight for an hour, with neither gaining the advantage. Little John acknowledges that the Cook is the best swordsman he has ever seen; if he is as good with the bow, the Cook could join with Robin Hood. The Cook agrees. Little John and the Cook sit down to a fine dinner. Then they break the lock on the Sheriff's treasury and steal all the silver dinnerware plus 300 pounds in coin. They leave immediately to meet Robin Hood.

After they greet each other, Robin Hood inquires as who is "that fair yeoman" accompanying Little John, and what is the news from Nottingham. Little John responds that the proud Sheriff sends his greetings, his Cook, his silver tableware, and 300 pounds in coin. Robin replies sarcastically that it wasn't because of the Sheriff's generosity. Little John has a sudden thought to trick the Sheriff. He runs 5 miles to meet the Sheriff, hunting with his hounds. Where have you been, demands the Sheriff. In this forest, replies Little John, I have seen a green hart, with a herd of 140 deer. The Sherriff exclaims, that would be a sight to see! Then quickly follow me, says Little John. When they meet Robin and his 140 men, Little John announces that here is the master hart and his herd of deer! The Sheriff is amazed by how Little John has betrayed him. It's your fault, says Little John, I never got my dinner at your place.

The Sheriff sits down to dinner, and is horrified when he realizes he is eating from his own silver tableware. Robin says, consider it charity, and for Little John's sake, I grant you your life. When dinner was done, Robin tells Little John to strip the Sheriff of his fur-lined mantle and all his fine clothes, and wrap him in a green mantle. Robin then orders the Sheriff's men to do likewise, and lie down next to the Sheriff. All night they lie on the cold ground in only their breeches, shirts, and the green mantles. The next morning, the Sheriff complains about his stiff muscles. Don't complain, replies Robin, this is how we live; he continues, for the next year, I will teach you how to live as an outlaw. The Sheriff grumbles, not for all the gold in England. He pleads with Robin to let him go. Robin demands that he swear an oath on Robin's sword that he will never again harm Robin or any of his men. The Sheriff swears his oath, and leaves the greenwood.

Tale A (concluded)

Episode 3a (Fourth Fytte)

It is now one year later. The scene is Robin Hood and Little John in the greenwood. Little John suggests that it is time for dinner, but Robin declines. He fears the Virgin Mary is angry with him, since the Knight has not yet arrived. Little John consoles him, saying that the sun has not yet set, and the Knight is true to his word. Robin instructs Little John to take Much and William Scarlok, and search for an "unknown guest" ine ?? Irritated, Little John takes up his bow and his sword to do Robin's bidding.

On the highway in Barnesdale they spot a monk on a good palfrey. Little John remarks to Much, here is our pay. The monk is being escorted by 52 men and seven pack horses. Little John tells his companions to prepare for an ambush. He aims his arrow at the monk, ordering him to stop where he is. Calling him a churlish monk, Little John accuses the Monk of angering his master, Robin Hood. ""He is a strong thief," said the monk,/"Of him heard I never good."". Much lets fly an arrow which barely misses the Monk's chest, and he quickly dismounts. All the attendants turn and flee, leaving only a little page and a groom with the pack horses.

Little John brings the Monk to the huntsman's hut. Robin Hood lowers his hood, but the uncourteous Monk does not. Robin asks Little John how many men the monk had. 52 men, is his answer. Blow the horn, orders Robin. 140 men, dressed in striped scarlet, answer the call to run down the Monk's attendants. Robin & Little John force the Monk to wash up for dinner, and they serve him at the table. While he is eating, Robin asks the Monk, to which abbey do you belong & what office do you hold. I am the Chief Steward of St Mary's Abbey, answers the Monk.

Robin Hood is still worried that the Virgin Mary is angry with him, since the Knight has not yet appeared. Little John tells Robin not to worry, the Monk has brought the money; he is from her abbey.
Robin is not consoled. She was my collateral for a loan I made to the Knight, he says. Speaking to the Monk, Robin asks to see the silver - if he brought it. The Monk swears at Robin, saying he knows nothing of this loan. Robin Hood retorts: God is righteous, and so is the Virgin Mary, you are to blame; you are her servant, and her messenger. How much money do you carry, Robin Hood demands of the Monk. 20 marks of silver, he replies. Robin orders Little John to check the Monk's baggage.

After laying out the contents of the Monk's purse, Little John hurries back to Robin Hood. The Virgin Mary has doubled your money, he declares. Robin is elated. They all drink to her honor. Curious at what is in the packhorses, Robin again asks Little John to search again. The Monk protests strenuously, mounts his horse, and rides off.

Episode 3b (Fourth Fytte)

It is still daylight when the Knight rides into Barnesdale, and sees Robin Hood standing under the greenwood tree. The Knight dismounts, lowers his hood, and genuflects to Robin. Robin warmly welcomes him, and asks why he is so late. The Knight replies that he stopped to help a poor yeoman in trouble. In that case, rejoins Robin, for helping a good yeoman, I am your friend. The Knight offers the 400 pounds, and 20 marks more for Robin's courtesy. He refuses, saying the money was already delivered by the Monk of St Mary's. But the bows and arrows I brought are a poor payment, says the Knight. Robin sends Little John to retrieve 400 pounds of the Monk's money, and then hands it to the Knight. Buy a horse and a good harness, he says, get some new clothing. And he adds, if ever you need spending money, come see me.

Tale B (concluded)

Episode 2 (Fifth Fytte)

The Sheriff of Nottingham announces an archery contest for all the best archers of the North. The prize will be an arrow with a head and feathers of red gold, and a shaft of white silver. Upon hearing of the contest, Robin Hood calls his fellowship together. He orders that only six of his men shoot with him; the rest, with arrows nocked, are to keep watch on the Sheriff's men.

Three times Robin shoots, and three times he splits the wand. But so did good Gilberte with the White Hand. The two shoot again, but Robin is best, and wins the prize. The outlaws begin their return to the greenwood, but the fair-goers shout and blow horns. The Sheriff's men loose a hail of arrows, and Robin shouts curses at the Sheriff for breaking his pledge. Many of the fellowship are wounded, including Little John, who took an arrow to his knee. Little John begs Robin not to let the Sheriff take him alive - he tells Robin to inflict mortal wounds to his head. Robin replies, not for all the gold in England! God forbid that you should die, cries Much, and hefts Little John onto his back.

Not far away is the castle of Sir Richard at the Lee, the Sorrowful Knight. Immediately Sir Richard takes in Robin and his men. He orders the gates be shut, the bridge be drawn up, and the walls manned.

Episode 3 (Sixth Fytte)

The High Sheriff of Nottingham raises a large army from around the countryside to besiege Sir Richard's castle. Traitorous Knight, the proud Sheriff shouts to Sir Richard, you harbor the King's enemy against the law. The Knight courteously agrees that he is doing so. Sir Richard adds, tell our King what has happened, and see what he says.

The Sheriff rides to London, and tells the King that Sir Richard is supporting the outlaw band. Furthermore, he tells the King, Sir Richard is using the outlaws to set himself up as lord of the north land. The King said he would be in Nottingham in two weeks, and that the Sheriff is to gather more archers from all over the countryside. In the meantime, Robin Hood returns to the greenwood, where Little John later joins him after his knee heals.

Having missed his chance to capture Robin, the Sheriff lies in wait to capture Sir Richard instead. He finally overcomes the gentle Knight as he is hawking by the river, and takes him to Nottingham. When Sir Richard's wife is told what has happened, she rides out to the greenwood to find Robin. For Our dear Lady's sake, she implores Robin, don't let my husband be killed for supporting you. Who took your lord, asks Robin. The Sheriff, she replies, and they are not more than three miles from here. Robin quickly gathers his men and they run towards Nottingham.

The fellowship catches up with the Sheriff. Robin stops the Sheriff, asking about the news from the King. Robin then quickly draws his bow, and lets loose an arrow that knocks the Sheriff off his horse. Before the Sheriff can rise, Robin beheads him with his sword. Lie there, proud Sheriff, taunts Robin, no man could trust you while you were alive.

The rest of the fellowship attack the Sheriff's men and cut them down. Robin leaps to Sir Richard's side, cuts his bonds, and hands him a bow. Come to the greenwood with me, Robin orders, until I can get us "... grace/Of Edward, our comely king."

Tale C

Episode 1 (Seventh Fytte)

The King arrives at Nottingham and asks about Robin Hood and Sir Richard. Hearing what has happened, he seizes the Knight's lands, and searches for Robin throughout Lancashire. Reaching Plompton Park, he notices that there are far fewer deer than usual. Cursing Robin Hood, the King orders Robin to be brought before him, and that anyone who brings him the head of Sir Richard would receive his lands. Then an old knight advises, as long as Robin Hood lives, no man will hold Sir Richard's lands. Six months later, one of the King's royal foresters approaches the King, suggesting a subterfuge to catch Robin. You and five men should dress as monks, he said, and I will lead you into the forest; then you will meet Robin Hood. The King wears a broad abbot's hat to conceal his face, and goes into the forest.

They soon meet Robin, standing in the road along with many of his men. Robin Hood grabs the reins of the King's horse. Sir Abbot, Robin addresses the disguised King, we are but poor yeomen of the forest who live by the King's deer, share with us some of your wealth as an act of charity. The disguised King replies he has only 40 pounds, having spent much during the last two weeks entertaining the King and his lords. If I had 100 pounds, he continues, I would give you half. Robin takes the 40 pounds, counts out 20 pounds, and returns 20 pounds to the disguised King. Our great king bids you come to Nottingham, says the disguised King, and shows Robin the royal seal. Robin immediately genuflects as he says,
"I love no man in all the world/
So well as I do my king;/
Welcome is my lord's seal;"
In honor of the King, Robin invites the disguised King to dinner. Robin blows his horn to assemble the fellowship, who genuflect around him. The disguised King is surprised, realizing that Robin's men are more willing to answer his call than the royal men are to answer the King's call. Quickly the feast is prepared, with Robin and Little John waiting on the disguised King themselves. The disguised King is treated to fat venison, white bread, red wine, and ale.

After dinner, Robin arranges an archery demonstration. The disguised King remarks that the targets were too far away. Robin orders, anyone who misses the target would forfeit his arrows and endure a slap on his face from me. Twice Robin shoots, and twice he splits the wand. On the third attempt, Robin misses, and his men taunt him. Robin approaches the disguised King, offers his arrows, and says he is ready for his slap. The disguised King declines, saying it is against the rules of his order. Do it, declares Robin. The disguised King rolls up his sleeve and deals a resounding slap that knocks Robin to the ground. The disguised King bends over to help Robin up, and as he does so, Robin looks intently into the King's face. Noticing Robin's reaction, Sir Richard does the same. Then both of them genuflect to their King. Robin asks mercy for his men, which the King grants. The King then invites Robin to join Edward's royal court. Only if I can bring my men with me, replies Robin.

Episode 2 (Eighth Fytte)

The King asks if Robin has any green cloth so he and his men can exchange their black cowls for ones of Lincoln green. Back to Nottingham, the King commands. With feasting, drinking, and singing, the King welcomes Robin and his men into his service, and restores Sir Richard's lands.

Robin and his men spend the next year in the royal court. Robin has spent all his wealth, as well as the money meant for his men. Now only Little John and Scathelock remain. One day, while watching some young men at target practice, he becomes homesick. Robin asks the King for leave to make a pilgrimage to his chapel of Mary Magdalene in Barnsdale. The King grants him seven days.

When he reaches the greenwood with the birds merrily singing. He shoots a hart, and blows his horn. All the outlaws in the forest recognize Robin's horn and come running. They push back their hoods and genuflect, welcoming Robin back. There he remained for twenty-two years.

Tale D

Eighth Fytte

Robin has a kinswoman who was Prioress of Kirkley. But she and her lover, Sir Roger of Doncaster, are plotting to kill Robin. Since the Prioress is skilled in the art of blood-letting, she lets Robin slowly bleed to death when he comes to Kirkley for treatment. The tale ends with a prayer: "Christ have mercy on his soul,/.../For he was a good outlaw,/And did poor men much good."

Geography

The place names mentioned in ''Gest'' firmly locate Robin Hood in the West Riding of Yorkshire: Blyth; Doncaster; St Mary Magdalene Church at Campsall; and Kirklees Abbey. The cities of York, Lancaster, and Nottingham, as well as the Knight's castle at Wyresdale, are also mentioned.
This area is famous for its wide river valleys, and the eastern foothills of the South Pennines, with its numerous limestone caves where outlaws could hide. But the greenwood of Barnsdale Forest is really Robin's home. "Robyn stood in Barnesdale/And leaned him to a tree," is how the tale of the Sorrowful Knight opens.

Barnsdale Forest

In medieval England, ''forest'' meant an area which is similar to a modern nature preserve, but more like the Yorkshire Dales than the Allegheny National Forest. It was considered ''waste londe'' (waste land) which was not capable of being farmed or put to any other purpose. The land thus remained in its natural state. It harbored wild game animals, such as red deer, roe deer, fallow deer, and wild boar, which became the favorite prey of the Saxon, Danish, Norman and Plantagenet kings of England. The hunt was as much a passion of the Norman kings as it was for the Saxon kings. Therefore, the Normans claimed, by right of conquest, the hunting rights of the Saxon and Danish kings. Wild animals were considered to be ''ownerless property'', and therefore the property of the King. Thus, hunting wild animals became a right of the King. To protect their hunting rights, the Norman kings instituted the notorious Forest Laws to protect their favorite hunting grounds.

No records of Barnsdale Forest are known to survive, but there are records of the royal forests surrounding the West Riding of Yorkshire. In late 1222, a furious North Sea gale devastated much of Eastern England. King Henry III issued orders to his forest officials not to remove anything and to submit value estimates of the trees and branches which were felled by the storm. The following January Henry sent orders to the county sheriffs to place the proceeds from the sale of the wind-fallen trees and branches in a religious house in their county. Among others, these orders were sent to those in charge of: Galtres and Pikering Forests (both in the North Riding of Yorkshire); Northumberland and Lancashire (both counties were considered as forests); Nottingham and Sherwood Forests. It is interesting to note that in this list the entire historic county of Lancashire - which lies west of the West Riding of Yorkshire - was considered a forest area. (After 1310, these forests were granted to the Duke of Lancaster.) Also note that Nottingham Forest (just south of the West Riding) was considered separate from Sherwood Forest.

It is possible that Barnsdale Forest may have been the local name given to part of either the Lancashire Forest or the Nottingham Forest, or both. The ''Gest'' poet tells how King Edward travelled 'far and near' in Lancashire looking for Robin Hood. The ''Gest'' poet also says that Robin's adversary was the ''high sheriff of Nottingham''. Between 1068 and 1566 the sheriff's full title was ''High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and the Royal Forests''. However, Knight and Ohlgren suggest that this confusion about the Sheriff of Nottingham operating in Yorkshire is due to the merger of different ballads by the ''Gest'' poet.

The head officer of the Royal Forest was variously called a warden, bailiff or forester, who swore an oath to preserve the ''vert and venison''. The ordinary foresters cared for the newly dropped fawns and their mothers at midsummer; during winter, they provided deer-browse or tree-clippings. They were entitled to pasture their cattle within the forest, and were allowed to let their hogs forage for acorns during the autumn. On their grave slabs, ordinary foresters are identified by their symbol, a horn, which is sometimes shown attached to a baldric. They were not permitted to carry bows, except on direct orders. The chief or royal forester served at the King's pleasure, and his main duty was presiding at the local courts. If the forest had a castle, he was also keeper of the castle. When the King visited, he ensured the animals the King wanted to hunt were herded to where the King wanted to hunt. The chief forester's symbol was the bow.

In ''Gest'', Robin and Little John are praised for their skill with the bow, and Robin gathers his fellowship together by blowing on his horn.

Earliest texts

''A Gest of Robin Hode'' is considered as one of the three oldest Robin Hood tales. The other two are ''Robin Hood and the Monk'' (Child 119) and '' Robin Hood and the Potter'' (Child 121). Both of these latter tales survive as manuscripts dated to the second half of the 15th century; however, there are no surviving manuscripts of ''Gest''. The earliest text fragments for ''Gest'' are from about a dozen printed editions dated to the 16th and 17th centuries. To identify the most important editions, Child labeled them as ''a'' through ''g''. Texts ''a'' through ''e'' are referred to as the ''early texts'', and texts ''f'' and ''g'' are called the ''later texts''. Of interest to linguists and historians is that the ''later texts'' replaced some of the obsolete words of the ''early texts'' in order to make ''Gest'' more understandable to the audiences of the time. Since Child's time, more editions have been identified by researchers.

John Maddicott has remarked on the lack of variation between the two earliest texts: text ''a'' and text ''b''. He interpreted this lack of variation to a standard work being available prior to the printed editions.

text ''a''

; also known as the Antwerp edition
:Entitled ''A Gest of Robyn Hode''; it has no printer's name, location, or date.

Formerly known as the ''Lettersnijder edition'', it is attributed to Jan van Doesbroch in Antwerp c. 1510. Although it contains only about 200 of the total 456 quatrains, it is considered the most authentic version of the text, due to the linguistic archaisms in the text. It is housed at the National Library of Scotland.

Text ''a'' is part of an eleven-text volume known as the ''Chapman and Myllar prints''. However, only nine texts in the volume were actually printed by Chapman and Myllar. Text ''a'' was one of the two texts which were not. According to the National Library of Scotland, the volume was presented to the

Advocates Library sometime before August 1788 by John Alston of Glasgow. The binding was not sturdy, being made of parchment, which explains why so many pages of text ''a'' are lost. (Text ''a'' being the last work in the volume.) Sometime between 1798 and 1808 the volume was rebound in London by Charles Hering.

The page illustration shown at the top of this article shows the first page of text ''a''. The woodcut is almost identical to the Yeoman woodcut in

Richard Pynson's edition of The Canterbury Tales. However, the typesetter did not leave enough room for the woodcut, and had to reset the first 1-1/2 pages. The typesetter resorted to using abbreviations and run-on sentences to make everything fit.

text ''b''

; also known as the de Worde edition, c. 1493-1518
:Entitled ''A Lytell Geste of Robyn Hode''; it was printed by Wynken de Worde in London.

This edition is nearly complete, and may be older than text ''a''. It was used as the base text by Ritson and Gutch. Modern scholars, such as Child, Dobson and Taylor, Knight, and Ohlgren consider it to contain more errors, so they use text ''a'' and filled in from text ''b''. It is housed at

Cambridge University Library.

The edition's date is determined from the type fonts used, and the printer's device on the last page.

texts ''c'' through ''e'' (''Douce Fragments'')

Individual pages which are in poor condition. They are housed at the Bodleian Library.

text ''f'' (''Copeland edition'')

Entitled ''A Mery Geste of Robyn Hoode''. it was printed in London by William Copeland no earlier than 1548. It is housed at the British Museum.

text ''g'' (''White edition'')

Entitled ''A Merry Gest of Robin Hood''. it was printed in London for Edward White, and is undated. It is housed at the Bodleian Library.

Pynson's edition (c. 1495-1500)

Entitled ''A Lytell Geste''. This edition survives as 3 sets of fragments:
:*text ''c'' (Douce Fragment)
:*single leaf fragment, now housed at Cambridge University Library
:*two leaves now housed at the Folger Shakespeare Library

Hugo Goes edition

Entitled ''A Lytell Geste'' and printed in York sometime prior to 1509. The only surviving leaf is one of the Douce Fragments (e.12). Hugo Goes worked with one of de Worde's assistants, Henry Watson. When de Worde moved his business to Fleet Street after 1500, Goes acquired some of his fonts before moving to York to start his own business.

Julian Notary edition (c. 1515)

Entitled ''A Lytell Geste''. The surviving fragments are four imperfect leaves attached to paper binding strips (Douce fragment f.1). The attribution to Notary is confirmed by the size and style of the type fonts; he was the only London printer to use 92 mm.

Copeland edition (c. 1565)

A single leaf fragment of waste print used as spine support for a volume printed in London by John Wolfe in 1584.

It is attributed to Copeland based upon the type font. The date is estimated from the language differences from his 1560 edition. It is housed at the Codrington Library, All Souls College, Oxford.

White edition (copy of the Bodleian Library edition)

Entitled ''A Merry Iest of Robin Hood'', and printed in London for Edward White, bookseller, c. 1594. The printer is thought to have been Edward Allde. Anthony Munday, author of the Robin Hood plays, was apprenticed to Allde. The text is closely based upon William Copeland's edition, however, the spelling was updated and punctuation was introduced. It is housed at the Chaplin Library, Williams College, Williamstown MA.

Literary analysis

As a literary work, ''Gest'' was first studied in detail by William Hall Clawson in 1909. Clawson was a student of F J Child's successor, George Lyman Kittredge, and his dissertation on ''Gest'' expanded on Child's introduction. 3, p ?
Research did not resume until 1968, when the medievalist D C Fowler published ''A Literary History of the Popular Ballad''. Fowler was one of the first to advocate the study of the English and Scottish ballads relative to their historical time and place, rather than simply within the classification of the Child anthology. In 1974, J B Bessinger Jr attempted to extend Clawson(p 40) and incorporate Fowler's proposal that ''Gest'' was a product of 15th-century minstrels. One of Bessinger's important contributions was a narrative schematic that refined Child's "3-ply web" hild,V,p ?into 3 tales of 9 episodes distributed among 8 fyttes.

In 1984, Douglas Gray, the first J. R. R. Tolkien Professor of English Literature and Language at the University of Oxford, was the first to consider the Robin Hood and Scottish Border ballads as oral poems. He objected to the then-current definitions of a ballad as some ideal form, whose characteristics were distilled from the Child Ballads. When compared to "this notion of a 'pure ballad', the Robin Hood poems seem messy and anormalous", he contended. Therefore, he titled his article ''The Robin Hood Poems'', and not ''The Robin Hood Ballads''.

However, Gray admitted that the Robin Hood tales, like most popular literature, are sometimes regarded as "sub-literary material", containing formulaic language and a "thin texture", especially "when they are read on the printed page". Additionally, he argued, that since Child had grouped all the Robin Hood 'ballads' together, some literary studies had "rashly based themselves on all the Robin Hood ballads in the collection", instead of discarding those of dubious value. J R Maddicott also recognized this issue, and argued that since so little is known about the origins of the ballads from the available early manuscripts and printed texts, internal evidence has to be used.) Gray further contended that, as oral poetry, each poem should be judged as a performance. He agreed with Ruth Finnegan in considering the performance as "integral to the identity of the poem as actually realized". In an oral performance, a skillful raconteur can draw his audience in, making them part of his performance; hence no two oral performances are identical. Gray points out that one of the characteristics of ''Gest'' are scenes with rapid dialogue or conversations, in which the formulaic diction, limited vocabulary, and stereotyped expressions are artfully used to express emotion. Such scenes lying dully on a page can spring into action when recited by one or two talented minstrels.

The ''Gest'' poet

''Gest'' is a compilation of many early Robin Hood tales, either in verse or prose, but most of them now lost. They were woven together into a single narrative poem by an unknown poet, herein called the ''Gest'' poet'.

Linguistic analysis

Francis James Child was the first to look at ''Gest'' from a linguistic perspective. While compiling ''The English and Scottish Popular Ballads'', he was in frequent contact with language scholars in England who were collecting quotations from Middle English texts for what would become the first volumes of the Oxford English Dictionary. These scholars, including Walter William Skeat, the leading philologist in England, would later publish ''A Concise Dictionary of Middle English'', and ''An Etymological Dictionary of the English Language''. It was Skeat who provided Child with transcriptions of the texts that appeared in Child's anthology. Skeat also was one of the first philologists to discuss English language dialects in ''English Dialects from the Eighth Century to the Present Day'' published in 1911.

In his introduction to ''Gest'', Child tried to argue that the references to Robin Hood in Piers Plowman and the Scottish chronicles indicated a date of composition for ''Gest'' as early as 1400, or even earlier. However, he was forced to conclude that "There are no firm grounds on which to base an opinion." Child asserted that there were "A considerable number of Middle-English forms" present; he even constructed a partial listing of the words ending in '-e'. William Hall Clawson, a doctoral student under Child's successor, George Lyman Kittredge, expanded Child's word list, and even calculated the final totals of how many times such words were used in each Fytte. Thus Clawson attempted to "prove clearly that it estextends back to a period ... antedating the year 1400."

It wasn't until 1985 that a modern linguistic analysis of ''Gest'' was performed by Masa Ikegami. He constructed multiple lines of linguistic evidence that ''Gest'' was written in a Northern or East Midlands dialect, most probably during the mid- to late-15th century. His evidence is based upon ''Gest's'' quatrain structure, its ''abcb'' or ''abab'' rhyme scheme, and its meter (rhythm pattern). The ''Gest'' meter can be summarized as:
*the first and third lines have four metrically stressed syllables
*the second and fourth lines have three metrically stressed syllables
*each stressed syllable is preceded by one or two unstressed syllables
This meter is illustrated in the following quatrain, which should be read aloud in order to hear the rhythm of the stressed syllables (in bold font):

Irregular lines do occur, but they are limited, and only occur in the 3-beat lines.

Evidence of date of composition

Presence of silent final '-e'

Modern linguists no longer accept the presence of final '-e' (now known as schwa) as evidence for composition prior to 1400. Ikegami provides a summary of other works known to have been composed in the 15th which contain the silent final '-e'.

The silent final '-e' does not have to be pronounced in ''Gest'' in order to support the meter (rhythm pattern). Ikegami uses the example of 'grene wode', which Modern English speakers pronounce as two syllables: 'green wood'. In Chaucer's time, the phrase would have been pronounced as four syllables: 'gre-ne wo-de', where the schwa was pronounced as the 'a' in sofa or the 'u' in lucky. The phrase 'grene wode' occurs thirteen times in ''Gest'', and the silent final '-e' never needs to be pronounced in order to "keep the beat".

Presence of new phraseology

As a replacement for the now-silent '-e', Ikegami points out that the ''Gest'' poet introduces a new phrase construct: ''adjective'' + ''adjective'', ''noun'' + ''noun''. Some examples (with the stressed syllables in bold font and in modern spelling) are:

Ikegami remarks that no works prior to 1400 have this phrasing. Rather, ''Gest's'' use of this phrasing is similar to that of ''The Floure and the Leafe'', which is considered to have composed during the third quarter of the 15th century ().

Frequent use of 'long e' rhyme

The ''Gest'' poet uses several rhymes that only work if the modern 'long e' sound is used. Some examples, with only the rhyming words shown, follow:

The modern 'long e' sound is considered to be one of the earliest changes associated with the Great Vowel Shift which began c. 1400.

Rhyming 'all' with 'tale'

This rhyme only works after c. 1400. It is also associated with the great vowel shift.

Evidence of Northern or East Midland dialect

The linguistic research begun by Skeat and his colleagues (as published in their various Middle English dictionaries) has been continued by modern linguists. Between 1898 and 1905, Joseph Wright published the seminal English Dialect Dictionary, based upon data collected by the English Dialect Society. The famous Survey of English Dialects was undertaken between 1950 and 1961. Therefore, linguists have as detailed an understanding of the various Middle English dialects as the surviving literature and native speakers allow.
The evidence for a Northern or East Midland dialect within the very words of ''Gest'' relies on the observation that, prior to standardization of English language spelling, Middle English authors spelled words as they were pronounced (that is, phonetically). Thus the rhyme words in each quatrain are also very valuable in determining whether or not regional dialects can be identified in ''Gest''. The following is a very brief excerpt of Ikegami's findings; for complete details see his study. The approximate pronunciations are from.

; Northern pronunciation
: The Northern England dialect of Middle English (ME) results from a mixture of the Anglian dialects of Old English (OE) and the Old Norse (ON) of the Danelaw, with an overlay of Norman French.
:*The OE/ON vowel ''ā'' (long a) appears as ME /a:/ (pronounced roughly like the 'a' in ''father'') in the rhyme pair ''hame:dame''. The non-Northern vowel /ɔ:/ (pronounced roughly like 'aw' in ''law'') appears in the rhyme pair ''more:before''.
:*The OE/ON diphthong ''āg'' (equivalent to 'w') appears as ME /au/ (pronounced roughly like the 'ou' in ''house'') in the rhyme pair ''lowe:shawe''. The non-Northern ME diphthong /ɔu/ (pronounced roughly like the 'o' in ''bone'') appears in the rhyme pair ''lowe:inowe''.

; Northern and Eastern Midlands pronunciation
: The Eastern Midlands dialect of ME results from a mixture of the OE Mercian dialect and the ON of the Danelaw, with an overlay of Norman French.
:*There are two sequences of long vowel pronunciation changes which are characteristic of Northern and Eastern Midland dialects. The OE long vowel ''ǣ'' (pronounced roughly like the 'a' in ''mat'') was raised to the ME long open vowel /ɛ:/ (pronounced roughly like the 'a' in ''hay''), and raised again to ME close /e/ (pronounced roughly like the 'e' in ''bet''). Similarly, the OE long vowel ā was also raised to ME long open vowel /ɛ:/, and then raised again to ME close /o:/ (pronounced roughly like the 'oa' in ''boat''). These changes appear in the rhyme pairs: ''see:the''; ''mone:none''; ''do:theretoo''; ''ere:chere''.
:*Additional vowel pronunciations which are typical of the North and the East Midlands include OE short ''y'' appearing as /i/, pronounced roughly like the 'i' in ''bit'' (rhyme pair ''synne:in''; and OE or ON long ''ȳ'' appearing as /i:/, pronounced roughly like the 'ee' in ''see'' (rhyme pair ''pryde:beside''.

Historical analysis

Modern historical analysis of the internal historical evidence contained within ''Gest'' began in 1961 with Maurice Keen's ''The Outlaws of Medieval Legend'', which compared the historical background of the Robin Hood ballads with other legendary and historical outlaw figures. Over the next four decades, various historians contributed to the debate on which historical periods are depicted in the Robin Hood ballads.

In 1968, D C Fowler, published ''A Literary History of the Popular Ballad'' as a modern update to Child's ''Ballads''. He criticized Child's arrangement of the Robin Hood ballads; asserting that it encouraged their study without respect to their historical context, and that they were "admired in isolation". Following in Fowler's footsteps, this section focuses on the historical background of ''Gest'' and the earliest Robin Hood tales. Most of the Child Robin Hood ballads were composed later (some as late as the 17th century), and therefore are not relevant to this historical discussion.

The linguistic analysis shows that ''Gest'' was compiled c. 1450–1475. The literary analysis shows that the component tales were written down prior to 1450 from earlier oral forms which no longer exist. This section looks at the external (actual) historical evidence from the 14th and 15th centuries (political and military events; Medieval Warm Period to Little Ice Age abrupt climate change events; recurring famines, livestock pestilences, and diseases; and resulting social changes) and compares it to the internal historical evidence of ''Gest'' (Robin's yeoman status as compared to other yeomen in the tales; which King Edward is referred to; references to changing feudal practices and the abuses of Late Medieval England; and the probable early audiences).

External evidence

Political and military events

It was not until 2013 that Joseph Taylor, aware of Ikegami's linguistic analysis, examined ''Gest'' as a northern text in the historical regional context of northern England. Northeast England has a history of political, cultural, and military separateness from southern England since the Heptarchy, when it was the Kingdom of Northumbria, which was later invaded and settled by the Vikings as the Kingdom of Jorvik. After the Norman Conquest, the Earl of Northumbria and the prince-bishops of the County Palatine of Durham were given political and military power second only to the King in London. The strategic geographic location of the northern counties was formally recognized in 1249 under a treaty which established the Scottish Marches as a buffer zone between Scotland and England. Each of the six Marches (three English and three Scottish) were controlled by their own Wardens. Many of the English East Wardens were appointed from powerful regional families, such as the Percies, the Nevilles, and the Cliffords. The border conflicts meant money and power to these regional families. As "kings in the North", they maintained private armies to control, as well as defend, England's border. The intermittent wars with Scotland also provided political leverage with the King in London, who fully realized that only the northern magnates could mobilize the necessary troops against Scotland — or against London.

This sense of separateness is reflected in the ''Gest'' in the way London is portrayed as the power base for the villainous Abbot of St Mary's and Sheriff of Nottingham (see here).

Parliament's rise in importance during the 14th century also provided the Northern magnates with a legitimate means to restrict royal power within their counties.

Abrupt climate change

The 14th and 15th centuries were made even more turbulent for the people of England and Scotland due to global and Northern hemispheric abrupt climate changes during the interval between the Medieval Warm Period (MWP) and the Little Ice Age (LIA). Part of what is sometimes referred to as the Crisis of the Late Middle Ages, these 200 years (c. 1250–1450) were a cascade of successive related events, including the onset of chaotic weather conditions which resulted in crop harvest declines, famines, livestock pestilences, and multiple episodes of the Black Death in England.

Contributing factors to the abrupt climate changes which marked the transition from the MWP to the LIA have been identified as follows:
; Repeated episodes of volcanic eruptions (c. 1257–1452)
:The timeline to the right includes the global and Northern Hemisphere climate-affecting volcano eruptions which occurred during the 13th to 15th centuries. Climate-affecting volcanic eruptions are explosive (VEI>=5) enough to penetrate the stratosphere, and whose sulfate emissions are greater than 1-5 megatons. Recent climate-affecting volcano eruptions are Tambora in 1812-15 (VEI=7), El Chichón in 1982 (VEI=5), and Pinatubo in 1991 (VEI=6).
:The eruptions listed in the timeline have been determined by interdisciplinary researchers as being major factors in the climate change from the MWP to the LIA. Between 1229-1458 occurred three of the top 20 stratospheric sulfate-injecting eruptions of the past 2500 years:
:*the eruption which occurred c. 1229/30 left sulfate deposits in Greenland and Antarctic ice cores, but the source volcano has not yet been identified.
:*the 1257/58 Samalas eruption (VEI=7 minimum) has been determined to be the largest volcanic gas eruption of the Common Era, containing the highest sulfate concentration of any Holocene eruption. The amount of sulfate injected into the atmosphere is estimated as being twice that injected by the 1815 Tambora eruption. Skeletons found in a mass grave on the site of St Mary Spital, London, have been radiocarbon-dated to this time.
:*the 1452/58 Kuwae eruption was the largest sulfate gas injection eruption of the last 700 years, surpassing the 1815 Tambora eruption.

:In addition to these three global climate-affecting eruptions, spanning approximately 230 years (1229-1458), there were at least ten eruptions which affected the climate of the Northern Hemisphere during approximately the same time interval (1262-1482). In general, a single climate-affecting eruption causes a 0.2-0.3 ℃ cooling; wherein the maximum cooling occurs during the first two years, lesser cooling after 4 years, to be followed by a gradual tapering. The maximum cooling effects from an eruption in the tropics is not felt in the Northern Hemisphere until the first and second summers following the eruption. In contrast, cooling effects from eruptions located in the Northern Hemisphere occur immediately.
:Multiple climate-affecting eruptions which occur within decades of each other appear to re-inforce the volcanic cooling effect, evidence of which is found in ice cores, tree-rings, and the geologic record. If the overall climate trend in the Northern Hemisphere is towards cooler conditions, regional climate-affecting eruptions tend to enhance or extend the cooler conditions. These closely-timed climatic-affecting eruptions can produce greater cooling effects than a single large eruption.
:There was a series of moderate to large climate-affecting eruptions (1229/30 unidentified, 1257/58 Samalas, 1268, 1275 unidentified, and 1285 unidentified), which resulted in the 13th-century sulfate injections being 2-10 times larger than any other century in the last millennium. Another series of closely-timed eruptions occurred in the mid-15th century (1440 Katla, 1450 Aniakchak, 1452/58 Kuwae, 1471 Sakurajima, 1477 Bárðarbunga, 1480 Mount St. Helens, 1482 Mount St. Helens).
:The colder temperatures resulting from the eruptions are perhaps alluded to in Tale B, Episode 1 (Third Fytte) of ''Gest'', when Robin humiliates the Sheriff by forcing him to sleep on the cold ground, clad only in his breeches, shirt, and a green mantle. This fragment, together with the death scene of the Sheriff, were probably written by the ''Gest'' poet, who compiled the tales sometime after 1450.

; North Atlantic Ocean climate change (c. 1270–1420)
: Prior to about 1400, the Northern hemisphere atmospheric circulation exhibited both a weak winter Icelandic Low and a weak winter and spring Siberian High. Between about 1400-1420, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) switched from dormant to active. The stronger Icelandic Low increased the regional storminess, and cooler air temperatures led to major increases in sea ice coverage (1313, 1320, 1323, 1331 and 1341, 1348–1351, 1388–1391). This, in turn, led to bad harvests (1308–1309, 1315-1318, 1330-1331) and climatically-induced famines (1308–1310, 1315–1318).
; Dantean Anomaly (c. 1310–20)

; Spörer Minimum

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases