Geek Syndicate
There was also a moral lesson from the ballads of Robin
Hood. Robin was a pious man who would never miss a
mass. It’s this very character trait that gets him in trouble
in the ballad Robin Hood and the Monk. Well, his devotion
to the Christian god (or more specifically the Virgin Mary)
and his refusal to take good advice. Robin is recognized in
Nottingham by a monk he had previously robbed and captured. It is up to Little John and his fellows to deal with the
monk and rescue the outlaw leader. Being a devout servant of Mary, the Robin of the ballads would never harm a
woman, nor see harm done to one. He lives a seemingly
chaste life as Maid Marian did not feature in any of the
early ballads.
Life in medieval Britain was cheap. This is reflected in the
ballads where there is a high body count. Often, the violence in the tales is brutal. In Guy of Gisburne’s only appearance in the ballads (in the ballad named after him,
Robin Hood and Guy of Gisburne), the bounty hunter has
been hired by the Sheriff of Nottingham to hunt down the
outlaw who is based in Barnesdale (South Yorkshire). Little John is captured and so Robin must elude his new foe
and rescue his faithful lieutenant. When they meet, Guy
and Robin engage in a long combat. Eventually, Guy is brutally butchered in by our hero. Robin beheads the corpse,
places it on the point of a lance. With this brutal trophy
and disguised in Guy’s trademark Horse Hide cloak, Robin
tricks the Sheriff and frees John. This ballad sees the demise not only of Guy, but also of the Sherriff of Nottingham. Fleeing from the scene, the sheriff is struck down by
a mighty arrow from Little John. His heart is split in two by
the feathered shaft.
The above tale brings us to an interesting point. The Robin
of the ballads is often based in Barnesdale forest which
was located in South Yorkshire, somewhat north of Doncaster. Despite this, the chief villain of the ballads was
indeed, the Sheriff of Nottingham. This was quite some
travelling distance in the early middle ages! Other disparities come from the lack of characters that we now associate with the Outlaw band. Friar Tuck and Maid Marian
made no appearance at this time. Neither King Richard nor
Prince / King John are mentioned – indeed the only member of royalty to be mentioned was Edward, “our comely
king.” While this was probably one of those “Insert Monarch Name Here” affairs, it is noteworthy that in addition
to not “giving to the poor”, this Robin didn’t give two hoots
about the monarch, uprisings or rebellions.
One of the most famous ballads is the Gest of Robin Hood.
This is a particularly long affair – 1,824 lines in five “Fyttes”.
The ballad details several of Robin’s adventures and is perhaps a compilation of three earlier ballads. In the Gest,
Robin helps a poor knight pay his debt to a greedy bishop
(from his own sizeable coffers – the hoarder). The central
portion strongly resembles Robin Hood and the Monk as detailed above.
Later in the ballad, Robin encounters the king of England.
In the tale, Robin is being particularly petulant and refuses
to eat until he has a guest. The merry men accost a group
of monks and bring him to Robin. The monks plays Robin’s game, enjoying the feast and merriment that the outlaw puts on for his entertainment. As is the trend, Robin
then demands payment for the entertainment from the
lead monk. Enraged, Robin’s guest knocks him down with
a mighty blow. At this point, Robin recognizes the knight
as the King of England. The king forgives Robin and leads
him to a life at court. Eventually Robin tires of this life and
returns to the forest.
There is more to the Gest. It details archery tournaments
and Robin’s death. The key element to take away is that
there is no indication as to which Monarch this is. Given
that Robin is taken to a life at court, however it is unlikely
that the Gest refers to King Richard given that monarch
was mainly out of England at war and could not speak a
word of English which is what our Yeoman Robin would
have exclusively spoken.
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