The various tales and adventures of Robin Hood have been written, re-written and made into ballads, books and movies so many times that it's difficult enough to figure out what parts of the Robin Hood legend are canon and which are of more recent invention, let alone whether or not the man really existed.
William Langland spoke of knowing the "rimes of Robin Hood" in Pier Plowman (c. 1400), yet none of the rhymes/ballads that he knew exist anymore. What we're left with is collections of Robin Hood ballads taken from 17th century broadsides and garlands, some of spurious origin, many written 400 years after the real Robin Hood is said to have lived.
The question is, who was Robin Hood, originally? was he the noble, courteous outlaw of "A Gest Of Robyn Hode?" Was he the ruthless cutthroat of "Robin Hood And Guy Of Gisbourne?" Was he the mysterious, eerie figure of "Robyn And Gandelyn?" Or was he simply an extension of the Green Man, the primal, supernatural figure of Medieval myth that could not be separated from early man's dark fear of nature and the forest?
I really believe that the closest we can get to that feeling of the Robin Hood legend is through these ballads, collected by Harvard professor Francis Child at the end of the 19th century. There are 40 ballads in his collection related to the Robin Hood legend, by far more than on any other single character or theme. All 40 of them are here on this page.
Although many of these ballads are of recent origin, some of the themes in others have been traced back by scholars to the late Middle Ages, and earlier. I hope that by reading them, you might learn a little about the beginnings of the Robin Hood legend, and gain insight into the evolution of outlaw myth before it became modernized and romanticized.
I strongly suggest visiting the Robin Hood Project at the University of Rochester Website, as their scholarship on Robin Hood texts far surpasses mine.
Books worth reading:
Rymes of Robyn Hood: An Introduction to the English Outlaw by R. Dobson, J. Taylor - The best introduction to the legend and the ballads, no contest; recently republished.
Ballad Book by M. Leach - A great collection of mostly Child broadsides; my first formal introduction to ballads.
The Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle - In my opinion, not the most faithful, but the most engrossing adaptation of the ballads and folklore, by the famous 19th century author/illustrator.
An Introduction To This ListWhat are the "Child Ballads?" The Child Ballads refer to the five volume work "The English And Scottish Popular Ballads," compiled from 1882-1898 by Francis J. Child, Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory at Harvard University. Child collected books of ballads and folklore throughout his tenure at Harvard, and amassed one of the greatest collections of such for its time. His five volume work remains the greatest compendium of ballads and broadsides ever put together, due to its meticulous research. To this day, ballads or folksongs from his collection are often referred to as "Child" and the number with which they were cataloged, for easy reference. If these are ballads, where's the music? One of the criticisms of Child's work is that he neglected to include the tunes of his ballads in his research. In addition (and this is a particular problem with the Robin Hood ballads), the broadsides and garlands where these ballads were written down often did not include music, so that information has been lost. A four volume set of books called "Traditional Tunes Of The Child Ballads" was compiled and published by Bertrand Bronson in the 1950s, which greatly rectified this mistake. Sadly, though, not many of the traditional Robin Hood tunes have survived. This set of books is available at my local university library, and at some point I intend on checking them out and scanning in the tunes that are in there. Though, who can say when that will happen. What are the stars for? The stars are meant to gauge my personal feelings concerning a ballad. The number of stars are based both on the importance of that particular ballad to the Robin Hood canon and my assessment of how enjoyable a particular ballad is. A ballad with five stars would be considered essential reading, whereas a ballad with one or no stars would be something I'd only suggest reading if you're a completist. I don't know where to start. The "Gest Of Robyn Hode" is considered by scholars to be the premiere Robin Hood work, so you can't go wrong by starting there; the language is obtuse, however, and the poem is quite long. Other important early Robin Hood works are "Robin Hood And Guy Of Gisborne," "Robin Hood And The Monk," "Robin Hood's Death" and "Robin Hood And The Potter." However, if you're looking for simple introductory works to Robin and his band of outlaws, try "Robin Hood And Little John," "Robin Hood Newly Revived" and "Robin Hood And The Curtal Friar." What language are these ballads written in? All of them are written in Modern English, though a few of them, notably the "Gest Of Robyn Hode," are written in early Modern English. In addition, dialect plays a big part in the modern readability of these ballads, particularly if the ballad in question is of Scottish origin. But most of them are from the 17th century, and are fairly readable. What does a "+" by the title mean? That means that I took the pain to decipher a more obtuse ballad into Modern English, using professional glossaries and adjusting spelling and sentence structure. It's not perfect, but hey, at least you can read it. Just click on the "+" for a more reader-friendly version. (Note: The "Gest Of Robyn Hode" has not been completely rewritten yet, because I got sick of doing it halfway through. [It's a huge poem!] I will get around to it sometime, though.) What's the history of this site? I started collecting Robin Hood ballads when I was in 7th grade, in 1993, and shortly thereafter I scanned in what I had and put it on the Web. Back when this site was first up, the content that I had was fairly unique, and quite a few other sites linked back to me. Now, of course, it's a few years later and there are at least 10 or 20 Websites that offer every Child ballad in digital form, and several that do a much better job at scholarship that I do. But people still tell me that they visit my site, so the stuff is going to stay up here, I guess. I just wish I had something more to offer, though. |
The Robin Hood Child Ballad List(* see "an introduction to this list")
[CHILD #117] The "Gest Of Robyn Hode" remains the longest and most authoritative of all extant Robin Hood texts, and is without question the text that scholars and enthusiasts prize the most. Strangely enough though, no complete manuscript version of the Gest exists, and although everybody agrees that it is an "old poem," there doesn't seem to be much agreement about just how old it is. (Child claimed that it dated back to 1400.) Episodic in nature, the Gest is divided into eight "fyttes," or "songs." The first two fyttes don't concern Robin Hood so much as disinherited knight Richard of the Lee and his dealings with stringent monks, although the earlier fytte does contain many examples of Robin as a courteous and honorable outlaw. Richard eventually does overcome his financial problems with the help of Robin, and he figures heavily into the rest of the poem as Robin's compatriot. In the third fytte, Little John becomes a servant to the sheriff, gets into a drunken fight with the sheriff's cook, steals the sheriff's silver and cons the sheriff into coming into Sherwood, where Robin and his men treat him to dinner and make him swear an oath not to harm anyone belonging to the outlaw's band. Robin Hood and Little John ambush and rob some monks of St. Mary's Abbey in the fourth fytte, and the sheriff arranges a shooting contest to trap Robin Hood in fytte five, and a fight breaks out between the sheriff's men and Robin's outlaws. In fytte six the sheriff makes a final effort to capture Robin Hood by arresting Richard of the Lee, who has been giving him housing, but Robin comes to his rescue, kills the sheriff and unbinds Richard. In the seventh and eight fyttes, the king himself goes to Sherwood, in disguise, to apprehend Robin Hood and Richard of the Lee, but reveals himself during an archery match, and makes Robin a member of his court. The end of the poem recounts in passing Robin Hood's betrayal and death. While significantly different from today's movies and folklore, the Gest characterizes Robin Hood as a noble and courteous outlaw, benefactor of the poor and enemy of the clerics and nobility. ROBIN HOOD AND GUY OF GISBORNE, + [CHILD #118] Disputably the earliest, or one of the earliest components of the Robin Hood legend, in this 17th century ballad. Robin Hood is given a nemesis, Sir Guy of Gisborne, a mysterious forester who dresses in a horse's-hide and mane, and who has come to kill Robin in the greenwood. At the same time, Robin must also contend with the sheriff, who has captured Little John and is preparing to hang him. One of the more violent Robin Hood ballads in existence, it is also one of the most dramatic. From the Percy Folio. [CHILD #119] Assumed to be the oldest extant Robin Hood ballad, and a favorite of scholars. The action concerns Robin's journey to Nottingham to pay homage to the Virgin Mary, and his subsequent recognition by a monk and capture by the sheriff. It is then up to Little John and Much the miller's son to ambush the monk, carrying news of Robin's capture to the king, and to free Robin from jail. One of the longer and better Robin Hood ballads, if not surprisingly violent and vindictive towards the clergy. From a mid-15th century Cambridge manuscript. [CHILD #121] Another of the oldest Robin Hood ballads in survival, though its subject is not part of the older Robin Hood legends. Robin spars with a potter in the forest, eventually being bested by man. In return, Robin offers to wear the man's clothing and sell his pots for him in Nottingham. The latter part of the ballad concerns Robin's trickery of the sheriff and his wife through an archery contest and through an ambush in the forest. Despite its unimportant subject matter, this ballad is one of the few examples where Robin demonstrates his goodly and courteous nature towards women, namely the sheriff's wife. Survives only in a Cambridge manuscript dated around 1500. [CHILD #120] One of the main ballads of the Robin Hood canon, telling of Robin's traveling to Kirklees in Yorkshire to have his blood let after he falls ill (a common practice of doctors in the Middle Ages.) The prioress who does the lancing, however, is his cousin, who has conspired with her lover, the Red Roger, to kill Robin by bleeding him to death. Both versions are from 17th century manuscripts, though the story itself is obviously an early part of the Robin Hood legend and is mentioned as early as the 15th century. An earlier ballad may have been in existence by the mid-15th century. [CHILD #115] A surprisingly morbid and rather eerie poem that dates from around 1450, which may be one of the earliest Robin Hood ballads, if the "Robyn" in this poem is indeed Robin Hood. (Child disagrees, and groups this poem separately.) It has been suggested that "Gandelyn" may actually be Will Gamwell, who becomes Robin's outlaw cousin, Will Scarlett. The Robin in this poem is actually killed by an arrow rather early on, after hunting the king's deer, and Gandelyn must avenge his death. Found only in the Sloan MS. [CHILD #123] This is the only Robin Hood ballad in which the mythical comic friar makes an appearance, although Child is quick to point out a difference between the "curtal friar" and the legendary Friar Tuck. This ballad concerns a battle of wills between Robin and the friar of Fountain's Abbey, and who will carry whom across the ford of water to the other side. Adding to the confusion are Robin's horn, which calls his band of men, and the friar's flute, which calls a pack of wild dogs. From the Percy Folio and a 17th century garland, although the legend of the friar has references stretching back to late medieval origins. [CHILD #125] The legendary tale of the recruitment of Little John, Robin's best man. Surprisingly enough, although this story is now canon, some scholars believe it was created in the 17th or 18th century to explain Little John's origins. Robin Hood comes to a narrow bridge in the forest which is guarded by a huge man answering to the name of John Little. They fight with staves and eventually Robin is thrown into the water. Laughing, Robin asks the man to join his group of outlaws and renames his "Little John." Strangely, Will Scarlett appears in this ballad, despite his having joined after Little John in an earlier ballad. From an 18th century ballad anthology. [CHILD #128] Also known as "Robin Hood And Will Scarlett." This is another ballad of the Robin Hood "meets his match" variety, complete with sword brandishing and pate cracking. However, in this instance the man he spars with is Will Gamwell, who is later renamed by Robin as Will Scarlett, the man who serves along Robin's side in many of the ballads and broadsides. Scholars consider this to be a "prequel" type of work, where a contemporary writer created a plausible origin for Robin's cousin. Found in 17th century broadsides. ROBIN HOOD'S PROGRESS TO NOTTINGHAM [CHILD #139] This ballad presumably tells the origins of Robin Hood the outlaw, although for its surprising amount of mindless violence, one might not want to believe it has a connection to older ballads and legends. Robin participates in a shooting match in Nottingham with fifteen foresters, and although he manages to win, the foresters refuse to give him the wager. As revenge, Robin takes up his bow and, laughingly, slaughters them all. The ballad ends with the foresters being buried by the townsfolk and, presumably, Robin's escape to Sherwood to be an outlaw. Believed to be a "prequel" type of work, designed to create a plausible explanation for Robin Hood's lawlessness. The ballad comes from several 17th century broadsides, but may have been written in the 16th century. ROBIN HOOD AND THE BEGGAR II, + [CHILD #134] Different from "Robin Hood And The Beggar I." Here an older Robin Hood encounters a beggar and they begin to spar, both intending to steal the other's money. Robin, however, is beaten, and the beggar man runs off to a nearby inn. Robin admonishes his merry men to bring back the beggar dead or ready to be hanged, but they too are eventually foiled by the beggar with hilarious consequences. [CHILD #143] Robin Hood escapes being captured by a bishop passing through the forest by making a bargain to switch clothes with an old woman. The bishop then takes the old woman on his horse, thinking she is Robin himself. A short, humorous ballad with a nice bawdy joke thrown in, apparently more of a modern commercialization of Robin than part of the older legend. Found no earlier than 17th century broadsides. [CHILD #124] Robin Hood meets up with a pinder (a local official responsible for animal and crop control) and they fight all day, until their swords are broken. Both having met each other's match, Robin Hood asks the pinder to leave his office to join the band of outlaws, and the pinder accepts. From 17th century broadsides, although this is one of the older Robin Hood legends, and a ballad of this same name was registered in the 16th century. [CHILD #102] Aka "Willie And Earl Richard's Daughter." Recounts the courtship of nobleman Willie and the daughter of Earl Richard, and the subsequent birth of their child whom the Earl names "Robin of the good greenwood." The ending seems tacked on, and any connection between this and the original legend of Robin's birth (if there was one) is spurious. 17th century Scottish ballad. [CHILD #147] Robin dresses as a friar and overtakes two monks, who lie to him by saying that they have been robbed and have no money. He uncovers their lie, takes their money and gives them admonishments about living a courteous life. Another anti-clerical, Protestant ballad. Mid-17th century broadside. [CHILD #150] The first (and only) broadside to feature the character of Maid Marion, a woman of noble birth who was Robin's sweetheart while he was still Earl of Huntington. When he becomes an outlaw, she comes to Sherwood dressed as a page and they end up fighting. She bests Robin, and when he asks her to stop, she recognizes his voice and they reunite. Marion is a later invention in the Robin Hood legend (the ballad itself is similar to other, earlier broadsides), and is probably an attempt by writers to elevate Robin the lover as the legend became romanticized. I've also read that Marion was an invention of an earlier Robin Hood playwright, and of Mayday festivities. The ballad appears in only one 17th century broadside, possibly post-Restoration. [CHILD #127] A tinker comes to the greenwood searching for Robin Hood, with a warrant from the king for his arrest. Not recognizing Robin, he is engaged by the outlaw in talk about ale and wine, at which point they journey to an inn and the tinker becomes drunk and passes out. When the tinker awakes, he seeks out Robin and they fight, the tinker eventually besting Robin and Robin asking him to join his band of outlaws. ROBIN HOOD RESCUING THREE SQUIRES [CHILD #140] As the title indicates, Robin Hood rescues three young men, condemned to the gallows for shooting the king's deer. He intervenes by dressing as an old beggar and offering his services to the sheriff as a hangman. There are three versions of this text, one of which even includes an ending where Robin and his men move the gallows to the glen and hang the sheriff himself there. From the Percy Folio and early 17th century broadsides. THE KING'S DISGUISE, AND FRIENDSHIP WITH ROBIN HOOD [CHILD #151] King Richard returns from the Crusades, disguised as an abbot. Dining with Robin Hood in the forest, he learns of Robin's faithfulness to the king before revealing himself to be Richard. Robin and Richard are then reconciled to the sheriff of Nottingham, dining at his house, and thus, as the ballad says, is the "end of honest Robin Hood." The ballad is based heavily on anti-clerical sentiment. [CHILD #138] An unusually romantic entry in the Robin Hood ballad genre, "Allen a Dale" concerns Robin's attempt to help a young man whose true love has been promised in marriage to someone else. Posing as a musician, Robin infiltrates the church and blows on his horn to call his merry men. They stop the wedding, and end up performing their own ceremony, with Little John as the bishop. The beginning is remarkably similar to the tale of the disinherited knight in the Gest, but Allen a Dale apparently was not a part of the Robin Hood legend before this ballad. Afterwards, perhaps due to the highly romantic nature of his origins, he became an integral part of the group in plays and movies. From 17th century broadsides. [CHILD #142] Little John dresses up in palmer's clothing and is sent to beg by Robin Hood. Along the way, however, he meets up with three other beggars, one dumb, one blind and one crippled. He proceeds to beat them all up and steal their money. Mid 17th century. [CHILD #122] Practically similar in every way to "Robin Hood And The Potter," except in this one Robin becomes a butcher, and the sheriff's wife makes no appearance. From the Percy Folio. ROBIN HOOD AND THE PRINCE OF ARAGON [CHILD #129] Robin Hood, Little John and Will Scarlett enter a contest to save the princess of the city of London from the Prince of Aragon, who threatens to besiege the city unless he has the princess's hand in marriage. They kill the prince as well as two giants, and are rewarding with a full pardon from the king. Will Scarlett is also revealed to be the son of a Maxfield earl. Not really a Robin Hood tale so much as it simply features the outlaw's name. Possibly the only time you will ever read about a severed head grumbling at the person who cut it off. [CHILD #141] Will Stutly (i.e. Will Scarlett) is captured by the sheriff's men and sentenced to hang. Robin and his men, hearing this, disguise themselves and enter the city. On the day of the hanging, Robin jumps up on the scaffolding, frees Will, and together they fight their way back to the greenwood. A more adventuresome ballad than others. ROBIN HOOD AND QUEEN KATHERINE, + [CHILD #145] Queen Katherine bets 100 pounds in a shooting game against the King, and is helped by the fact that Robin Hood is one of her archers. A derivative ballad that is not so much about Robin as it is about his assimilation into popular culture during the 17th century. Percy Folio and 1663, 1670 broadsides. [CHILD #144] Another ballad where Robin and his men fool a bishop out of his money, this time by dressing up as shepherds shooting at the king's deer. The bishop tries to apprehend them and bring them before the king, when they ambush him. [CHILD #126] Robin encounters a tanner in the greenwood, and the two, neither agreeing to stand down, begin to fight. The tanner proves to be Robin's equal, however, and the match is called to a draw. Once it is revealed that the tanner is Little John's cousin, the tanner is asked to join Robin's men. Some of the verbal sparring between Robin and Arthur a Bland proves to be humorous. [CHILD #136] Robin Hood, Little John and Will Scarlett meet with three rangers who claim to be keepers of the king's deer, which leads to a fight. Shortly thereafter, everything is mended between them by ale and wine. [CHILD #148] Also known as "The Noble Fisherman" or "Robin Hood Fishing." Robin Hood hires himself out as fisherman in Yorkshire. As he and his master are out on the water, they encounter a French pirate ship. Robin Hood then proceeds to deftly shoot every French-man on the ship with his bow, and claim the twelve thousand pounds aboard for the poor, his fellows, and the Virgin Mary. An atypical Robin Hood ballad which nicely exploits some of the British hatred for the French. Entered in the Stationer's Register in 1631. [CHILD #152] "Robin Hood And The Golden Arrow" follows much the same plotline as part of the "Gest of Robyn Hode", where the sheriff intends to catch Robin Hood with a public archery contest. However, in this version, Robin freely walks away with the prize - a golden arrow - and then fires it back towards the town to show that he has escaped. From an 18th century garland. [CHILD #146] The same as "Robin Hood And Queen Katherine," with the exception that instead of offering Robin pardon at the end of the shooting match, the king (Henry) hunts him across England. He is finally persuaded by the Queen to pardon Robin, and the chase ends. [CHILD #133] Similar to "Robin Hood Rescuing Three Squires," but this ballad spends more time detailing Robin Hood fighting with and assuming the beggar man's clothes. [CHILD #153] Another ballad telling of Robin Hood's end. The king sends one of his best knights, Sir William, to serve the outlaw with papers ordering his surrender, which, of course, Robin refuses to honor. A fierce battle then commences, during which Robin sends for a monk to come and let his blood, leading to his death. The ballad ends telling of the scattering of the merry men and relating Robin's standard epitaph. [CHILD #132] Also known as "Robin Hood And Gamble Gold." Robin Hood meets and spars with a peddler carrying a pack through the greenwood. The peddler reveals himself to be Robin's cousin, Gamble Gold, exiled from his home country for killing another man, and he quickly becomes one of Robin's band of merry men. In this ballad, Gamble Gold the peddler's role is the one traditionally played by Will Scarlett - that of the exiled cousin. [CHILD #131] Yet another ballad where Robin encounters a man who protests to the hunting of the king's deer, fights with him, and then asks him to join his band of outlaws. *Yawn.* [CHILD #130] Robin Hood goes north to recruit a Scotsman to his band, but first must test the Scot's loyalty and valor in battle. [CHILD #135] Robin encounters a shepherd and bets the man's bottle of wine to twenty pounds in gold that he can beat him in a fight. The shepherd, of course, wins, but not before Robin has a chance to blow his horn and bring Little John into the fray (who also gets soundly beaten.) For once, Robin doesn't invite the man to join his band of outlaws. [CHILD #137] A strangely moralistic tale of Robin and his men being bested by peddlers, acknowledged by some as a 19th century forgery of an authentic Robin Hood ballad, by some antiquarian longing for the "good old days" of balladry and chivalric romances. [CHILD #149] A rather irritating concoction of the Robin Hood legends and high-class romance, Robin remains a nobleman instead of becoming an outlaw, Little John is his "page" instead of his man, and Robin finds a love interest in a woman named Clorinda, whom he later marries. Absolutely terrible 17th century tripe. [CHILD #154] Written by Martin Parker, the best-known balladeer of the early 17th century. A rather long and tedious poem, in which Parker professes to have "truth purged from falsehood" by studying the "truest writers of our English chronicles." Instead, Parker purges any sense of fun or adventure from the Robin Hood legend, while also managing not to really tell any sort of a "tale" at all. |
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