In this our spacious isle I think there is not one,
But he, of Robin Hood hath heard, and Little John;
And to the end of time the tales shall ne'er be done,
Of Scarlock, George a Green, and Much, the miller's son,
Of Tuck, the merry friar, which many a sermon made
In praise of Robin Hood, his outlaws and their trade.
Robin Hood, from the best accounts, was born at Locksley, in the county
of Nottingham, in the reign of King Henry II., and about the year of
Christ 1160. His extraction was noble, and his true name was Robert
Fitzoothes, which vulgar pronunciation corrupted into Robin Hood. He was
frequently styled, and commonly reputed to have been Earl of Huntington,
descending from Ralph Fitzoothes, a Norman, who came over to England
with William Rufus; marrying Maud, daughter of Gilbert de Gaunt, Earl
of Kyme and Lindsey, to which title in the latter part of his life, he
appears to have had some pretension. In his youth, he is reported to
have been of a wild and extravagant disposition, insomuch that his
inheritance being consumed or forfeited by his excesses, and his person
outlawed for debt, either from necessity or choice, he sought an asylum
in the woods and forests. Or, as some writers state, one of his first
exploits was the going into a forest, when, bearing with him a bow
of exceeding strength, he fell into company with certain rangers or
woodmen, who quarrelled with him for making show to use such a bow as no
man was able to shoot with. Robin replied, that he had two better than
that at Locksley, only he bore that with him now as a byrding bowe.
At length the contention grew so hot that a wager was laid about the
killing of a deer at a great distance, for performance of which Robin
offered to lay his head to a sum of money, the advantage of which rash
speech the others presently took; the mark being found out, one of them,
to make Robin's heart faint, and hand unsteady, when he was about
to shoot, urged him with the loss of head if he missed the mark,
notwithstanding which, Robin killed the deer, and gave every man his
money again, except him who upbraided him with loss of head if he lost
the wager; he now said they would drink together, when they began to
quarrel and fight with him, but Robin getting a little distance off,
with shooting, despatched them, then fled away and retired to the woods;
the chief of which seems to be Barnsdale, in Yorkshire, Sherwood, in
Nottinghamshire, and Plompton Park, in Cumberland. Here he either found,
or was afterwards joined by, a number of persons in similar
circumstances,
Such as the fury of ungovern'd youth
Thrust from the company of lawful men;
who appear to have considered him as their leader. Of these, his
principal favourites, or those in whose courage and fidelity he most
confided, were Little John, (whose surname is said to have been Nailor;)
William Scadlock, (Scathelock or Scarlet;) George a Green, pinder, (or
pound-keeper;) of Wakefield; Much, a miller's son; and a certain monk or
friar, named Tuck. He is likewise said to have been accompanied in his
retreat by a female, of whom he was enamoured, and whose real or adopted
name was Marian. His company, in process of time consisted of a hundred
archers, "men," says Major, "most skilful in battle, whom four times
that number of the boldest fellows durst not attack." His manner of
recruiting was somewhat singular; for, in the words of an old writer,
"wheresoever he heard of any that were of unusual strength and
hardiness, he would disgyse himselfe, and rather than fayle, go lyke a
begger to become acquaynted with them, and after he had tryed them with
fyghting, never give them over tyl he had used means to drawe them to
lyve after his fashion; numerous instances of which are recorded in the
common and popular songs, where indeed he seldom fails to receive a
sound thrashing. After such manner he procured the pynner of Wakefyld,
friar Tuck, and Scadlock. One day meeting him, Scadlock, as he walked
solitary, and like to a man forlorn, because a maid to whom he was
affianced was taken from him by her friends, and given to another that
was old and wealthy; Robin hearing when the marriage day would be, came
to the church as a beggar, having his own company not far off; and who
at the sound of his horn rushed in, took the bride from him that was to
marry her, and caused the priest to wed her and Scadlock together." In
shooting with the long bow, the company excelled all the men in the
land; their archery indeed was unparalleled, as both Robin Hood and
Little John, _it is said_, have frequently shot an arrow a measured
mile, or 1,760 yards.
Charlton informs us, that in one of Robin's peregrinations, he, attended
by his trusty mate, John, went to dine at Whitby Abbey, with the abbot,
Richard, who having heard them often famed for their great dexterity
in shooting with the long bow, begged them after dinner to show him a
specimen. They went up top of the abbey, and each of them shot an arrow
that fell not far from Whitby-laths. The abbot placed a pillar on the
spot where each arrow fell, and named one Robin Hood's field, the other
John's field. Their distance from Whitby is more than a measured mile.
In these forests, and with his company, Robin for many years reigned
like an independent sovereign. At perpetual war with the King of England
and all his subjects, (with the exception of the poor and needy, the
desolate and oppressed, and those who stood in need of his protection,)
he defied the power of law and government; an outlaw in those times
having no protection, owed no allegiance, his hand was against every
man, and every man's hand against him;
The world was not his friend, nor the world's law.
The deer with which the royal forests then abounded, afforded Robin and
his companions an ample supply of food throughout the year. Their mode
of life and domestic economy are more easily guessed at than described.
Nevertheless, the poet has endeavoured to give us an outline in the
following:
The merry pranks he play'd would ask an age to tell,
And the adventures strange that Robin Hood befel;
When Mansfield many a time for Robin hath been laid,
How he hath cousen'd them, that him would have betray'd:
An hundred valiant men had this brave Robin Hood,
Still ready at his call, that bowmen were right good,
And of these archers brave, there was not any one
But he could kill a deer, his swiftest speed upon,
Which they did boil and roast, in many a mighty wood,
Sharp hunger, the fine sauce to their more kingly food.
Then taking them to rest, his merry men and he
Slept many a summer's night under the greenwood tree.
What oftentimes he took, he shar'd amongst the poor,
From wealthy Abbot's chests, and churl's abundant store,
He from the husband's bed no married woman wan,
But to his mistress dear, his loved Marian,
Was ever constant known, which wheresoe'er she came
Was sovereign of the woods, chief lady of the game;
Her clothes tuck'd to the knee, and dainty braided hair,
With bow and quiver arm'd, she wander'd here and there
Amongst the forests wild, Diana never knew
Such pleasures, nor such harts as Mariana slew.
Robin took away the goods of rich men only, never killing any person
unless he was attacked: nor would he suffer a woman to be maltreated.
Fordun, in the fourteenth century, calls him "that most celebrated
robber;" and Major says, "I disapprove of the rapine of the man, but he
was the most humane, and prince of all robbers."
Robin Hood seems to have held bishops, abbots, priests, and monks,
indeed all the clergy, in decided aversion; and this hostility was
strongly impressed upon his men:
Thyse Byshoppes and thyse Archbyshoppes,
Ye shall them bete and bynde.
The abbot of St. Mary's, York, from possessing so much wealth, appears
to have met with Robin's especial animosity: his yearly revenues
amounted to £2,850. 1_s._ 5_d_. Robin was, however, a man of exemplary
piety, according to the notions of that age, and retained a domestic
chaplain, (friar Tuck,) no doubt, for the diurnal celebration of the
divine mysteries. This we learn from an anecdote preserved by Fordun,
"One day, as he heard mass, he was espied by a certain sheriff and
officers belonging to the king, who had frequently before molested him.
His people perceiving what was going forward, advised him to fly with
all speed, but out of reverence of the Sacrament in which he was then
engaged, he refused to do so. Most of his men fled, fearing death, but
Robin confiding in him whom he worshipped, with the few that remained,
set upon his enemies, and soon vanquished them, enriching himself with
the spoils and ransom." Robin held masses in greater veneration ever
after, stating, that Providence deserved still more from him, having
delivered him thus miraculously. At length, the infirmities of age
increasing, and having a great sickness upon him, Robin was desirous to
lose a little blood, and for that purpose he applied to the prioress of
Kirkleys Nunnery, in Yorkshire; who, though a relation, treacherously
suffered him to bleed to death, in, it is said, his 87th year. According
to Grafton's Chronicle, it is said that after his death, the prioress
caused him to be buried under a great stone "by the hywayes syde, and
upon his grave the sayde prioress did lay a very fayre stone, wherein
the names of Robert Hood, William of Goldesborough, and others were
graven. And the cause why she buryed him there was for that the common
passengers and travailers, knowyng and seeyng him there buryed, might
more safely and without feare take their jorneys that way, which they
durst not do in the life of the sayed outlawes; and at eyther ende of
the sayde tombe was erected a crosse of stone."
Amongst the papers of the learned Dr. Gale, late Dean of York, was found
this epitaph of Robin Hood, written in old English:
Hear underneath this laitl stean,
Laiz Robert, Earl of Huntingtun,
Near arcir ther az hie sa goud
An pipl kauld im Robin Heud,
Sick utlawz az hi an iz men
Wil England nivr si agen.
Obiit 24--kal dekembris, 1247.
There is an odd story related of this tombstone: that a certain knight
taking it into his head to have it removed and placed as a hearth-stone
in his great hall, it was laid over night, but the next morning it was
surprisingly removed on one side; it was again laid a second and third
time, and as often turned aside. The knight thinking he had done wrong
by removing it, ordered it should be drawn back again, which was
performed by a pair of oxen and four horses, when twice the number could
scarce remove it before.
(_To be concluded in our next._)
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