62_The English and Scottish popular ballads, volume 3 (of 5)

‘Gramarsey,’ seyde the weyffe,

‘Ser, god eylde het the;’

The screffes hart was neuer so leythe,

The ffeyr_e_ fforeyst to se.

And when he cam yn to the fforeyst,

Yonder the leffes grene,

Berdys ther_e_ sange on bowhes prest,

Het was gret goy to se.

‘Her_e_ het ys merey to be,’ seyde Roben,

‘Ffor a man that had hawt to spende;

Be mey horne I schall awet

Yeff Roben Hode be her_e_.’

Roben set hes horne to hes mowthe,

And blow a blast þ_a_t was ffoll god;

Þ_a_t herde hes men þ_a_t þer_e_ stode,

Ffer downe yn the wodde.

‘I her mey mast_er_ blow,’ seyde Leytell John,

. . . . . . .

They ran as thay wer_e_ wode.

Whan thay to thar mast_er_ cam,

Leytell John wold not spar_e_;

‘Mast_er_, how haffe yow ffar_e_ yn Notynggam?

How haffe yow solde yowr_e_ war_e_?’

‘Ye, be mey trowthe, Leyty[ll] John,

Loke thow take no car_e_;

Y haffe browt the screffe of Notynggam,

Ffor all howr_e_ chaffar_e_.’

‘He ys ffoll wellcom,’ seyde Lytyll John,

‘Thes tydyng ys ffoll godde;

The screffe had leuer nar a hundred ponde

He had [neuer sene Roben Hode.]

‘[Had I] west þ_a_t befforen,

At Notynggam when we wer_e_,

Thow scholde not com yn ffeyr_e_ fforest

Of all thes thowsande eyr_e_.’

‘That wot y well,’ seyde Roben,

‘Y thanke God that ye be her_e_;

Ther_e_ffor_e_ schall ye leffe yowr_e_ hors w_i_t_h_ hos,

And all yowr_e_ hother ger_e_.’

‘That ffend I Godys fforbod,’ kod the screffe,

‘So to lese mey godde;

. . . . . . .

. . . . . .

‘Hether ye cam on hors ffoll hey,

And hom schall ye go on ffote;

And gret well they weyffe at home,

The woman ys ffoll godde.

‘Y schall her sende a wheyt palffrey,

Het ambellet be mey ffey,

. . . . . . .

. . . . . .

‘Y schall her sende a wheyt palffrey,

Het hambellet as the weynde;

Ner_e_ ffor the loffe of yowr_e_ weyffe,

Off mor_e_ sorow scholde yow seyng.’

Thes parted Robyn Hode and the screffe;

To Notynggam he toke the waye;

Hes weyffe ffeyr_e_ welcomed hem hom,

And to hem gan sche saye:

Seyr, how haffe yow ffared yn grene fforeyst?

Haffe ye browt Roben hom?

‘Dam, the deyell spede hem, bothe bodey and bon;

Y haffe hade a ffoll gret skorne.

‘Of all the god that y haffe lade to grene wod,

He hayt take het ffro me;

All bot thes ffeyr_e_ palffrey,

That he hayt sende to the.’

W_i_t_h_ þ_a_t sche toke op a lowde lawhyng,

And swhar_e_ be hem þ_a_t deyed on tre,

‘Now haffe yow payed ffor all þe pottys

That Roben gaffe to me.

‘Now ye be com hom to Notynggam,

Ye schall haffe god ynowe;’

Now speke we of Roben Hode,

And of the pottyr ondyr the grene bowhe.

‘Pott_er_, what was they pottys worthe

To Notynggam þ_a_t y ledde w_i_t_h_ me?’

‘They wer worthe to nobellys,’ seyde he,

‘So mot y treyffe or the;

So cowde y [haffe] had ffor tham,

And y had ther_e_ be.’

‘Thow schalt hafe ten ponde,’ seyde Roben,

‘Of money ffeyre and ffre;

And yeuer whan thow comest to grene wod,

Wellcom, pott_er_, to me.’

Thes p_ar_tyd Robyn, the screffe, and the pott_er_,

Ondernethe the grene-wod tre;

God haffe mersey on Roben Hodys solle,

And saffe all god yemanrey!

* * * * *

2^2. cortessey.

3^4. werschep ye.

4^4. the lefe.

5^1, 6^1. syde.

6^3. Seche iij.

6^4. þey cleffe by my seydys.

7^1, 8^1, 21^1, 43^3. xl s’.

7^3. hys all.

7^4. hem leffe.

11^1. thes iij.

11^4. I peney.

14^2. And teke _at the beginning of the line struck through_.

16^1. thes ij.

17^1. ffelow he seyde.

17^3. a caward.

19^2. onder _or_ ender.

19^4. hels: sclo.

20^1. went yemen.

20^2. To thes.

21^3, 56^3, 57^1. a c.

25. st. 29 _is wrongly put here_.

25^4. yede.

27^2. ffelow hes.

28. _The order of the lines is_ 3, 2, 1, 4.

30^3. Heres.

35^1. pens v.

35^2. pens iij. d.

36^2. bot v.

37^2. Gere amarsey seyde sche than, _with a character after_ sche

_which is probably an abbreviation for_ ser, _as in_ 62^2.

41^4. to to.

42^1. methe.

42^3. ij of.

43^3. xl s.

45^3. the pottys.

45^4. bolt yt.

48^2. of iij.

48^3. senyst.

48^4. A say.

50^2. And [thow]? _The_ ll _in_ polle _is crossed_; potte _may

have been intended by the writer_.

52^4. on iij.

54^{1,2}. _No blank here, and none at_ 57^3, 66^{2,3}, 72^{3,4},

74^{3,4}.

55^{3,4}. Yn mey cart ys the bow þ_a_t Robyn gaffe me.

56^3. A c.

57^1, 69^3. a c.

59^2. & swer_e_: meythey.

59^4. scoper.

64^3. he schall.

68^1. I leyty.

69^4, 70^1. He had west þ_a_t be fforen.

74^{1,2}. _Ought perhaps to be dropped. The writer, having got the

second verse wrong, may have begun the stanza again._

80^3. _After this line is repeated_, Ye schall haffe god ynowhe.

80^4. bowhes.

81^3. worthe ij.

81^6. be ther_e_.

82. hafe x li.

Expleycyt Robynhode.

A bowt, a non, be heynde, _etc. are joined_. And _for_ &

_throughout. Some terminal curls rendered with_ e _were,

perhaps, mere tricks of writing; as marks over final_ m, n, _in_

cam, on, yemen, _etc., crossed double_ l _in_ all, _etc., a

curled_ n _in_ Roben, _have been assumed to be_.

APPENDIX

THE PLAYE OF ROBYN HODE (vv. 121 ff.)

As printed by Copland, at the end of his edition of the Gest, with a few

corrections from White’s edition, 1634: Ritson’s Robin Hood, 1795, II,

199. I have not thought it necessary to collate Ritson’s reprint with

Copland. The collations with White here are made with the undated copy

in the Bodleian Library, Z. 3. Art. Seld.

ROBYN HODE

Lysten, to [me], my mery men all, v. 121

And harke what I shall say;

Of an adventure I shall you tell,

That befell this other daye.

With a proude potter I met,

And a rose-garlande on his head,

The floures of it shone marvaylous freshe;

This seven yere and more he hath used this waye,

Yet was he never so curteyse a potter

As one peny passage to paye. 130

Is there any of my mery men all

That dare be so bolde

To make the potter paie passage,

Either silver or golde?

LYTELL JOHN

Not I master, for twenty pound redy tolde. 135

For there is not among us al one

That dare medle with that potter, man for man.

I felt his handes not long agone,

But I had lever have ben here by the;

Therfore I knowe what he is. 140

Mete him when ye wil, or mete him whan ye shal,

He is as propre a man as ever you medle[d] withal.

ROBYN HODE

I will lai with the, Litel John, twenti pound so read,

If I wyth that potter mete,

I wil make him pay passage, maugre his head. 145

LYTTEL JOHN

I consente therto, so eate I bread;

If he pay passage, maugre his head,

Twenti pound shall ye have of me for your mede.

THE POTTERS BOY JACKE

Out alas, that ever I sawe this daye!

For I am clene out of my waye 150

From Notyngham towne;

If I hye me not the faster,

Or I come there the market wel be done.

ROBYN HODE

Let me se, are the pottes hole and sounde?

JACKE

Yea, meister, but they will not breake the ground. 155

ROBYN HODE

I wil them breke, for the cuckold thi maisters sake;

And if they will breake the grounde,

Thou shalt have thre pence for a pound.

JACKE

Out alas! what have ye done?

If my maister come, he will breke your crown. 160

THE POTTER

Why, thou horeson, art thou here yet?

Thou shouldest have bene at market.

JACKE

I met with Robin Hode, a good yeman;

He hath broken my pottes,

And called you kuckolde by your name. 165

THE POTTER

Thou mayst be a gentylman, so God me save,

But thou semest a noughty knave.

Thou callest me cuckolde by my name,

And I swere by God and Saynt John,

Wyfe had I never none: 170

This cannot I denye.

But if thou be a good felowe,

I wil sel mi horse, mi harneis, pottes and paniers to,

Thou shalt have the one halfe, and I will have the other.

If thou be not so content, 175

Thou shalt have stripes, if thou were my brother.

ROBYN HODE

Harke, potter, what I shall say:

This seven yere and more thou hast used this way,

Yet were thou never so curteous to me

As one penny passage to paye. 180

THE POTTER

Why should I pay passage to thee?

ROBYN HODE

For I am Robyn Hode, chiefe gouernoure

Under the grene-woode tree.

THE POTTER

This seven yere have I used this way up and downe,

Yet payed I passage to no man, 185

Nor now I wyl not beginne, to do the worst thou can.

ROBYN HODE

Passage shalt thou pai here under the grene-wode tre,

Or els thou shalt leve a wedde with me.

THE POTTER

If thou be a good felowe, as men do the call,

Laye awaye thy bowe, 190

And take thy sword and buckeler in thy hande,

And se what shall befall.

ROBIN HODE

Lyttle John, where art thou?

LYTTEL [JOHN]

Here, mayster, I make God avowe.

I tolde you, mayster, so God me save, 195

That you shoulde fynde the potter a knave.

Holde your buckeler faste in your hande,

And I wyll styfly by you stande,

Ready for to fyghte;

Be the knave never so stoute, 200

I shall rappe him on the snoute,

And put hym to flyghte.

_The rest is wanting._

* * * * *

121. to [me], _wanting in White_.

142. medled, _W._

153. maryet.

154. the, _C._; thy, _W._

186. to do: to _wanting in W_.

188. wedded, _C._; wed, _W._

196. your, _C._; you, _W._

122

ROBIN HOOD AND THE BUTCHER

#A.# ‘Robin Hood and the Butcher,’ Percy MS., p. 7; Hales and

Furnivall, I, 19.

#B.# ‘Robin Hood and the Butcher.’ #a.# Wood, 401, 19 b. #b.# Garland

of 1663, No 6. #c.# Garland of 1670, No 5. #d.# Pepys, II, 102, No

89.

Other copies, of the second class, are in the Roxburghe collection, III,

259, and the Douce collection, III, 114. #B a# was printed, with

changes, by Ritson, Robin Hood, 1795, II, 23; a copy resembling the

Douce by Evans, Old Ballads, 1777, 1784, I, 106.

The story is a variation of Robin Hood and the Potter. According to #A#,

the sheriff of Nottingham has resolved to have Robin’s head. A butcher

is driving through the forest, and his dog flies at Robin, for which

Robin kills the dog. The butcher undertakes to let a little of the

yeoman’s blood for this, and there is a bout between staff and sword, in

which we know that the butcher must bear himself well, though just here

the first of three considerable gaps occurs. Robin buys the butcher’s

stock, changes clothes with him, and goes to Nottingham to market his

flesh. There he takes up his lodging at the sheriff’s, having perhaps

conciliated the sheriff’s wife with the present of a fine joint. He

sells at so low a rate that his stock is all gone before any one else

has sold a bit. The butchers ask him to drink, and Robin makes an

appointment with them at the sheriff’s. A second gap deprives us of the

knowledge of what passes here, but we infer that, as in #B#, Robin is so

reckless of his money that the sheriff thinks he can make a good bargain

in horned beasts with him. Robin is ready; we see that he has come with

a well-formed plan. The next day the sheriff goes to view the livestock,

and is taken into the depth of the forest; it turns out that the wild

deer are the butcher’s horned beasts. Robin’s men come in at the sound

of his horn; the sheriff is lightened of all his money, and is told that

his head is spared only for his wife’s sake. All this the sheriff tells

his wife, on his return, and she replies that he has been served rightly

for not tarrying at home, as she had begged him to do. The sheriff says

he has learned wisdom, and will meddle no more with Robin Hood.

#B a# omits the brush between Robin and the butcher, mostly wanting,

indeed, in #A# also, but only because of the damage which the manuscript

has suffered.

The passage in which the sheriff is inveigled into Robin’s haunts has,

as already mentioned, close affinity with the Gest, 181 ff.

The first three stanzas of #A# would not be missed, and apparently

belong to some other ballad.[98]

#B a# is signed T. R., as is also Robin Hood and the Beggar in two

editions, and these we may suppose to be the initials of the person who

wrote the story over with middle rhyme in the third line of the stanza,

a peculiarity which distinguishes a group of ballads which were sung to

the tune of Robin Hood and the Stranger: see Robin Hood and Little John,

No 125, and also No 128.

Percy MS., p. 7; Hales and Furnivall, I, 19.

But Robin he walkes in the g[reene] fforrest,

As merry as bird on boughe,

But he that feitches good Robins head,

Hee’le find him game enoughe.

But Robine he walkes in the greene fforrest,

Vnder his trusty-tree;

Sayes, Hearken, hearken, my merrymen all,

What tydings is come to me.

The sheriffe he hath made a cry,

Hee’le have my head i-wis;

But ere a tweluemonth come to an end

I may chance to light on his.

Robin he marcht in the greene forrest,

Vnder the greenwood scray,

And there he was ware of a proud bucher,

Came driuing flesh by the way.

The bucher he had a cut-taild dogg,

And at Robins face he flew;

But Robin he was a good sword,

The bucher’s dogg he slew.

‘Why slayes thou my dogg?’ sayes the bucher,

‘For he did none ill to thee;

By all the s_ain_ts that are in heaven

Thou shalt haue buffetts three.’

He tooke his staffe then in his hand,

And he turnd him round about:

‘Thou hast a litle wild blood in thy head,

Good fellow, thou’st haue it letten out.’

‘He that does that deed,’ sayes Robin,

‘I’le count him for a man;

But that while will I draw my sword,

And fend it if I can.’

But Robin he stroke att the bloudy bucher,

In place were he did stand,

* * * * *

‘I [am] a younge bucher,’ sayes Robin,

‘You fine dames am I come amonge;

But euer I beseech you, good Mrs Sheriffe,

You must see me take noe wronge.’

‘Thou art verry welcome,’ said M_aster_ Sherriff’s wiffe,

‘Thy inne heere up [to] take;

If any good ffellow come in thy companie,

Hee’st be welcome for thy sake.’

Robin called ffor ale, soe did he for wine,

And for it he did pay:

‘I must to my markett goe,’ says Robin,

‘For I hold time itt of the day.’

But Robin is to the markett gone,

Soe quickly and beliue,

He sold more flesh for one peny

Then othe[r] buchers did for fiue.

The drew about the younge bucher,

Like sheepe into a fold;

Yea neuer a bucher had sold a bitt

Till Robin he had all sold.

When Robin Hood had his markett made,

His flesh was sold and gone;

Yea he had receiued but a litle mony,

But thirty pence and one.

Seaven buchers, the garded Robin Hood,

Ffull many time and oft;

Sayes, We must drinke w_i_th you, brother bucher,

It’s custome of our crafte.

‘If that be the custome of yo_u_r crafte,

As heere you tell to me,

Att four of the clocke in the afternoone

At the sheriffs hall I wilbe.’

* * * * *

. . . . . . .

‘If thou doe like it well;

Yea heere is more by three hundred pound

Then thou hast beasts to sell.’

Robyn sayd naught, the more he thought:

‘Mony neere comes out of time;

If once I catch thee in the greene fforest,

_Tha_t mony it shall be mine.’

But on the next day seuen butchers

Came to guard the sheriffe that day;

But Robin he was the whigh[t]est man,

He led them all the way.

He led them into the greene fforest,

Vnder the trusty tree;

Yea, there were harts, and ther were hynds,

And staggs w_i_th heads full high.

Yea, there were harts and there were hynds,

And many a goodly ffawne;

‘Now praised be God,’ says bold Robin,

‘All these they be my owne.

‘These are my horned beasts,’ says Robin,

‘M_aster_ Sherriffe, w_hi_ch must make the stake;’

‘But euer alacke, now,’ said the sheriffe,

‘_Tha_t tydings comes to late!’

Robin sett a shrill horne to his mouth,

And a loud blast he did blow,

And then halfe a hundred bold archers

Came rakeing on a row.

But when the came befor bold Robin,

Even there the stood all bare:

‘You are welcome, m_aster_, from Nottingham:

How haue you sold your ware?’

* * * * *

. . . . . . .

It proues bold Robin Hood.

‘Yea, he hath robbed me of all my gold

And siluer _tha_t euer I had;

But that I had a verry good wife at home,

I shold haue lost my head.

‘But I had a verry good wife at home,

W_h_ich made him gentle cheere,

And therfor, for my wifes sake,

I shold haue better favor heere.

‘But such favor as he shewed me

I might haue of the devills dam,

That will rob a man of all he hath,

And send him naked home.’

‘That is very well done,’ then says his wiffe,

‘Itt is well done, I say;

You might haue tarryed att Nottingham,

Soe fayre as I did you pray.’

‘I haue learned wisdome,’ sayes the sherriffe,

‘And, wife, I haue learned of thee;

But if Robin walke easte, or he walke west,

He shall neuer be sought for me.’

#a.# Wood, 401, leaf 19 b. #b.# Garland of 1663, No 6. #c.# Garland

of 1670, No 5. #d.# Pepys, II, 102, No 89.

Come, all you brave gallants, and listen a while,

With hey down, down, an a down

That are in the bowers within;

For of Robin Hood, that archer good,

A song I intend for to sing.

Upon a time it chancëd so

Bold Robin in forrest did spy

A jolly butcher, with a bonny fine mare,

With his flesh to the market did hye.

‘Good morrow, good fellow,’ said jolly Robin,

‘What food hast? tell unto me;

And thy trade to me tell, and where thou dost dwell,

For I like well thy company.’

The butcher he answered jolly Robin:

No matter where I dwell;

For a butcher I am, and to Notingham

I am going, my flesh to sell.

‘What is [the] price of thy flesh?’ said jolly Robin,

‘Come, tell it soon unto me;

And the price of thy mare, be she never so dear,

For a butcher fain would I be.’

‘The price of my flesh,’ the butcher repli’d,

‘I soon will tell unto thee;

With my bonny mare, and they are not dear,

Four mark thou must give unto me.’

‘Four mark I will give thee,’ saith jolly Robin,

‘Four mark it shall be thy fee;

Thy mony come count, and let me mount,

For a butcher I fain would be.’

Now Robin he is to Notingham gone,

His butcher’s trade for to begin;

With good intent, to the sheriff he went,

And there he took up his inn.

When other butchers they opened their meat,

Bold Robin he then begun;

But how for to sell he knew not well,

For a butcher he was but young.

When other butchers no meat could sell,

Robin got both gold and fee;

For he sold more meat for one peny

Than others could do for three.

But when he sold his meat so fast,

No butcher by him could thrive;

For he sold more meat for one peny

Than others could do for five.

Which made the butchers of Notingham

To study as they did stand,

Saying, surely he was some prodigal,

That had sold his father’s land.

The butchers they stepped to jolly Robin,

Acquainted with him for to be;

‘Come, brother,’ one said, ‘we be all of one trade,

Come, will you go dine with me?’

‘Accurst of his heart,’ said jolly Robin,

‘That a butcher doth deny;

I will go with you, my brethren true,

And as fast as I can hie.’

But when to the sheriff’s house they came,

To dinner they hied apace,

And Robin he the man must be

Before them all to say grace.

‘Pray God bless us all,’ said jolly Robin,

‘And our meat within this place;

A cup of sack so good will nourish our blood,

And so I do end my grace.

‘Come fill us more wine,’ said jolly Robin,

‘Let us merry be while we do stay;

For wine and good cheer, be it never so dear,

I vow I the reckning will pay.

‘Come, brother[s], be merry,’ said jolly Robin,

‘Let us drink, and never give ore;

For the shot I will pay, ere I go my way,

If it cost me five pounds and more.’

‘This is a mad blade,’ the butchers then said;

Saies the sheriff, He is some prodigal,

That some land has sold, for silver and gold,

And now he doth mean to spend all.

‘Hast thou any horn-beasts,’ the sheriff repli’d,

‘Good fellow, to sell unto me?’

‘Yes, that I have, good Master Sheriff,

I have hundreds two or three.

‘And a hundred aker of good free land,

If you please it to see;

And I’le make you as good assurance of it

As ever my father made me.’

The sheriff he saddled a good palfrey,

With three hundred pound in gold,

And away he went with bold Robin Hood,

His horned beasts to behold.

Away then the sheriff and Robin did ride,

To the forrest of merry Sherwood;

Then the sheriff did say, God bless us this day

From a man they call Robin Hood!

But when that a little further they came,

Bold Robin he chancëd to spy

A hundred head of good red deer,

Come tripping the sheriff full nigh.

‘How like you my hornd beasts, good Master Sheriff?

They be fat and fair for to see;’

‘I tell thee, good fellow, I would I were gone,

For I like not thy company.’

Then Robin he set his horn to his mouth,

And blew but blasts three;

Then quickly anon there came Little John,

And all his company.

‘What is your will?’ then said Little John,

‘Good master come tell it to me;’

‘I have brought hither the sheriff of Notingham,

This day to dine with thee.’

‘He is welcome to me,’ then said Little John,

‘I hope he will honestly pay;

I know he has gold, if it be but well told,

Will serve us to drink a whole day.’

Then Robin took his mantle from his back,

And laid it upon the ground,

And out of the sheriffeś portmantle

He told three hundred pound.

Then Robin he brought him thorow the wood,

And set him on his dapple gray:

‘O have me commended to your wife at home;’

So Robin went laughing away.

* * * * *

#A.#

1^2. bughe.

1^3. d _in_ head _has a tag to it: Furnivall_.

6^4. 3. _After_ 9^2, 17^4, 25^4, _half a page gone_.

13^4. 5.

15^4. 30[ty :].

17^3. 4.

18^3. 300[li :].

19^3. cacth: in thy.

20^1. 7.

24^3. 100[d :].

28^3. p_ro_ _for_ for.

#B. a.#

Robin Hood and the Butcher. To the Tune of Robin Hood and the

Begger.

_At the end_, T. R.

_Colophon._ London. Printed for F. Grove on Snow Hill. F. Grove

_printed_ 1620–55: _Chappell_.

12^4. hath sold.

#b.#

Robin Hood and the Butcher; shewing how he robbed the sheriff of

Nottingham. To the Tune of Robin Hood and the Begger.

4^2. I do.

5^1. What is price.

10^4, 11^4. Then.

12^1. when _misprinted for_ made.

12^4. had sold.

18^1. brother.

18^3. go on.

19^3. hath sold.

21^1. And an.

21^4. to me.

25^1. Sheriff _wanting_.

27^4. with me.

29^3. sheriffs.

#c.#

_Title as in_ #b.#

2, 8, _and after_ 8, _burden_: a hey.

5^1. is y^e.

10^4, 11^4. Then.

12^4. had sold.

17^2. do _wanting_.

18^1. brother.

18^3. go on.

18^4. costs.

19^3. hath sold.

21^2. it please.

21^3. you _wanting_.

21^4. did me.

24^3. red _wanting_.

27^2. pray tell.

29^3. sheriffs.

#d.#

Robin Hood and the Butcher. To the Tune of Robin Hood and the

Beggar.

_Colophon._ Printed for I. Clarke, W. Thackeray, and T. Passenger.

1670–86 (?).

_Burden. From 2^1 on_, With a hey (_not_ With hey). _Also after

the fourth line_, With a hey, &c.

1^1. ye.

1^2. this bower.

1^4. for _wanting_.

2^2. in the.

5^1. What’s the.

5^3. be it.

7^3. The.

8^3. a good.

9^1. butchers did open.

10^4. Then.

12^4. hath sold.

13^3. of a.

14^2. will deny.

15^3. Robin Hood.

16^4. do _wanting_.

17^2. be merry.

18^1. brothers.

18^4. pound or.

20^1. thou _wanting_: hornd: sheriff then said.

21^1. A hundred acres.

22^2. And with.

22^3. And _wanting_.

26^2. blew out.

27^1. will master said.

27^2. I pray you come.

27^3. hither _wanting_.

28^1. then _wanting_.

28^3. were it but.

29^4. five _for_ three, _wrongly, see_ 22^2.

30^1. he _wanting_: through.

123

ROBIN HOOD AND THE CURTAL FRIAR

#A.# ‘Robine Hood and Ffryer Tucke,’ Percy MS., p. 10; Hales and

Furnivall, I, 26.

#B.# ‘The Famous Battel between Robin Hood and the Curtal Fryer.’ #a.#

Garland of 1663, No 11. #b.#[99] Pepys, I, 78, No 37. #c.# Garland

of 1670. #d.# Wood, 401, leaf 15 b. #e.# Pepys, II, 99, No 86. #f.#

Douce, II, 184.

#B# also in the Roxburghe collection, III, 16.

#B d# was printed in Ritson’s Robin Hood, 1795, II, 58, corrected by #b#

and compared with #e#; and in Evans’s Old Ballads, 1777–1784, I, 136,

probably from the Aldermary garland.

The opening verses of #A# are of the same description as those with

which Nos 117, 118, 119, and others begin. 1 has been corrupted, and 2

also, one would think, as there is no apparent reason for maids weeping

and young men wringing hands in the merry month of May. In the first

stanza,

But how many merry monthes be in the yeere?

There are 13 in May;

The midsummer moone is the merryest of all,

Next to the merry month of May.

_month_ in the first and the fourth line might be changed to _moon_, to

justify thirteen in the second, and to accord with _moon_ in the third.

For in May, in the second line, we may read, I say, or many say. The

first stanza of No 140, #B#, runs:

There are twelve months in all the year,

As I hear many say;

But the merriest month in all the year

Is the merry month of May.

Nearly, or quite, one half of #A# has been torn from the manuscript, but

there is no reason to suppose that the story differed much from that of

#B.#