+The Text.+--The earliest complete text, here given, was printed by
William Copland between 1548 and 1568: there are extant two printed
fragments, one printed by John Byddell in 1536, and the other in a type
older than Copland's. Later, there are two editions printed by James
Roberts in 1605; and finally a MS. text in the Percy Folio (c. 1650).
Copland's text is obviously full of faults, and in emendations I have
mostly followed Child.
+The Story+, lively and admirably told, contains little extrinsic
interest, except in William's feat of shooting the apple from his son's
head. This is inevitably associated with the legend of William Tell,
which is told in the White Book of Obwalden, written about 1470; but
similar stories can be found in the Icelandic Saga of Dietrich of Bern
(about 1250) and in Saxo Grammaticus, who wrote his Danish History about
the year 1200. Three or four other versions of the story are to be found
in German and Scandinavian literature before the date of our ballad;
but they all agree in two points which are missing in the English
ballad--the shot is compulsory, and the archer reserves another arrow
for purposes of revenge in case he misses his mark. William of Cloudesly
volunteers a difficult and risky feat out of bravado.
The rescue of Cloudesly by Adam Bell and Clym of the Clough may be
compared with the rescue of Robin Hood by Little John and Much in _Robin
Hood and the Monk_, stt. 61-81 (see pp. 107-110).