The Ballads of Robin Hood
In creating
this collection of ballads of Robin Hood, the stories have been taken from many
sources. During the research for this collection many contradictions and
alternative versions were found.
The most
well-known have been selected for inclusion here.
Many years ago in the Forests
of Sherwood lived an ordinary man. His name was Robin. He spent his time making
arrows for his longbow - a weapon he was very good at using, and helping those
less fortunate than himself. He did not like how the rich Norman Noblemen
treated the Saxon people who had to work very hard every day, living in small
huts while the Normans wasted money on big feasts in large castles.
The King of England, King
Richard, was a Norman, and enjoyed hunting, and allowed many dear to roam
around the Forest ready to be hunted. The only people allowed to hunt these
deer though were the Normans, and there were nasty punishments for any Saxon
caught killing a royal dear.
King Richard was an Honest,
religious man. He had left England to join in a Crusade to save Jerusalem from
being invaded by people he did not like. He placed his brother, Prince John, in
charge of looking after the country. Prince John was an evil, and nasty man. He
plotted against the people and took their money. With the help of the Sheriff
of Nottingham he managed to make as much money as he could from the people of
Nottingham.
Robin had been caught killing
a royal deer with his longbow once, and had been declared an outlaw by Prince
John. He had lost his house, his money and everything else that he owned.
The Saxon people took pity on
Robin, and they helped him to live in the forest, giving him food and shelter
when he needed it, and in return Robin offered to protect them from the King
and his Knights.
While Robin helped to defend
the Saxon people against the Normans, he became friends with a local poacher, a
man who stole food from the Royal Forest, by the name of Will Scarlett. Soon
the two men became good friends, and together they helped more and more people.
In times of warm weather
Robin and Will would spend their days in the deep of the Forest at the Major
Oak. A large tree that had a large open space around it. In later times this
was to become the main hideout of Robin and his outlaw band.
Although Robin did not like
the Norman Sheriff, he was friendly with a Norman landowner, Sir Richard
Fitzwater and his daughter, Marian.
Robin had offered to escort the
young maiden and her servants through a dangerous part of the Forest. As he
rode to meet them he noticed that the ground seemed to have many hoof marks in
it. Robin wondered why there would be so many horses traveling in this part of
the forest. He realized that Marian and her servants were riding towards a trap
set by the Sheriff of Nottingham. No doubt he had told his Knights to go and
rob anybody they could find and bring the money back to him.
Robin hurried towards Marian
and her servants. As he approached them he noticed, hiding in the bushes to the
side of the road, some of the Sheriffs Knights. Robin quickly rode past Marian
and called out, “Stop riding, it is a trap”.
Hearing this the Knights
leapt out at Robin.
“Get off the road Saxon” they
shouted, “This is the Sheriffs business.”
Quick as a flash Robin drew
his bow and an arrow and killed two of the Knights instantly. The remaining
Knights turned and began to run back towards the safety of the Sheriff and
Nottingham Castle.
“Run to your master”, shouted
Robin, “Tell him that any Knight who travels through this forest will be
stopped by Robin Hood”
Robin turned towards the
shaken Marian and her servants and asked them to travel with him to her home,
before the Sheriff returned with more men.
Finally after much traveling
the party arrived at Marians home. She greeted her father, then explained what
had happened, and how Robin had saved them all.
Sir Richard turned towards Robin and said, “Thank you, Robin for saving my
family, but I fear that even as we speak, The Sheriff will be writing an order
for your arrest. You must go into the forest and hide.”
“I am not scared of the
Sheriff”, replied Robin, “Nor of his helper, Sir Guy of Gisborne. Let them try
to arrest me”.
“I offer you the protection
of my home anytime you need it Robin” added Sir Richard, “Remember that. I am
in your debt.”
Robin turned, bowed to the
fair maiden and then left to return to his forest home.
Not long after his encounter
with the ambush by the Sheriffs Knights, Robin and Will Scarlett were traveling
through the Forest on their way to relieve a rich Norman of his money. They
approached a fallen tree trunk that lay across a bubbling stream.
As Robin stepped onto one end
of the tree bridge a large man appeared at the other side.
“Move over” shouted the man
to Robin, “I am crossing this bridge”
“I shall do no such thing”
replied Robin, “You shall move over for me instead”
The man laughed across the
stream. “You seem to be certain that you can make me move. Would you like to
try ?”. He picked up a large branch by the side of the bridge and stepped
towards the centre of it..
Robin looked around. He could
not see a branch as big on this side of the bridge, and so had to collect a
smaller branch. He walked towards the centre and stood before the man.
They began to fight with the
branches. As Robin hit the man, the man hit Robin, and on it went. At one point
Will Scarlett, standing watching on the bank thought that Robin was going to
win. Robin hit the man on the head and then swung his branch around ready to
push him into the stream. As Robin raised the branch he was taken by surprise.
Before he knew what had happened Robin had been pushed and was losing his
balance. With a large splash he landed in the stream bottom first. The man on
the bridge laughed loud and long.
“I said move over young one”
he laughed. “You should have let me pass”
Robin looked up. “I must
agree it would have been a better idea.”
“Are you alright Robin ?”
shouted Will from the bank
“Robin. Robin Hood ?” asked
the man on the bridge. “The same Robin Hood who saved the fair lady Marian ?
The same Robin who is hunted by the Sheriff ?” He knelt down and pulled a
rather wet Robin out of the stream.
“I am an outlaw too, looking
for somewhere to live”
Robin looked across at Will.
“You can join with us if you like. With fighting like that you would be able to
help us a lot”
The man nodded, eager to help
Robin.
“What is your name ?” asked
Will
“John Little” replied the
man.
“Well, you shall be Little
John, our newest outlaw” said Robin
With a shake of the hands,
the three outlaws continued their journey.
With the band of outlaws
steadily growing Robin and his friends began to find more Rich Normans to rob.
The money they took was then given to the grateful, but poor, Saxon villagers.
One day they had heard that a
cart was traveling through the forest. A cart containing a large collection of
Prince Johns money. It was traveling to Nottingham castle, where the Sheriff
would keep it safely. The band of outlaws could not resist. Imagine the look on
Prince Johns face when he found out that his money had been stolen !!
They set out to ambush the
cart. They had not been walking long when they came to a wide river. Sitting
near to the river, leaning against was a small fat man dressed in a brown gown. Robin knew straight away that
it was a Friar. A religious man who traveled from village to village.
He walked towards the Friar
and said, “Get up. I want you to carry me across the river”
The Friar opened one eye and
looked at Robin. He closed it again and carried on resting.
“Friar, I asked you to carry
me across the river now”, repeated Robin
The Friar slowly stood up.
“If I must, then I will,” replied the Friar.
Robin climbed onto the back
of the Friar and held tight as the Friar stumbled across the river. Exhausted
the Friar put Robin down on the far side of the river.
“I have carried you across as
you asked” he told Robin, “And now you will carry me back again.” He jumped
onto Robins back and forced him back across the river.
Robin struggled to carry the
Friar, and almost fell over twice. As he approached the bank Robin decided to
teach this cheeky Friar a lesson. He lowered one leg ready to tip the Friar
into the water, but the Friar was ready. He twisted and forced Robin to throw
him onto the bank.
“You are very crafty” Robin
said, looking at the Friar
“I have learnt to be very
careful” replied the Friar.
He led the outlaws to a small
hut he lived in. Robin noticed a sword hanging on a wall. This was not an
ordinary Friar he thought, and asked the Friar to join the band of outlaws.
Without hesitation the Friar agreed, telling everyone that his name was Friar
Tuck.
On their travels through the Forest
the band of Outlaws had often seen a young man playing an instrument and
singing as he walked. In fact Robin had said to Little John many times that he
liked to hear the music as it helped him to think.
As the outlaws traveled
through Sherwood Forest one day they once again saw the singing man – although
this time he was not singing or playing his instrument.
Seeing this Robin knew
something was wrong. He approached the man and asked why he was not singing.
“My name is Alan a Dale. I am
a minstrel and I am supposed to be getting married to a beautiful young maiden
today, but her father took her away yesterday and said she was to marry an old
Knight.” said the sad young man
Robin and Little John offered
to help in return for some money.
“All I have is this gold
ring, with which I was going to wed her” replied Alan, “But I will gladly join
you if you can stop her from marrying the Knight”.
The outlaws all gathered
around and decided upon a plan to save the young maiden. With a plan sorted out
Robin set off to the church alone.
After a long walk Robin
arrived at the church. He knocked on the door, and waited for a monk to open
it.
The door opened and a face
appeared. “Can I help ?” he asked
“I am the best harp player in
the country and I have been asked to play at the wedding by the brides father”
said Robin, telling a lie.
“Come in, come in” ushered
the monk. “Can you play something now ?”
Robin thought quickly, and
said “I would rather wait for the bride to arrive before I play”.
A short time later a very old
looking man entered the church. Robin realized that this was the old Knight
that Alan a Dale meant. Following the Knight a beautiful maiden entered, ready
to be married.
Robin stood up, as if ready
to play.
“You two cannot get married”
he shouted, and then blew a horn he had hidden in his cloak. The outlaws
suddenly burst into the church and ran towards the monk.
“This wedding will still take
place” Robin called out, “But between the bride and Alan a Dale. Does anyone
disagree ?”
Nobody spoke, and so Friar
Tuck married Alan a Dale and his maiden inside the church.
To celebrate the wedding the
outlaws returned to the forest, and held a feast underneath the Major Oak.
A potters cart was being
pulled through the forest. Unknown to the potter who was pulling the cart,
Robin Hood and Little John were watching him traveling along.
“That is the potter who beat
me in a fight” whispered Little John to Robin.
“Really ?” commented Robin,
“I would like to see if I could beat him”
Robin crept through the
forest, until he was just in front of the cart. Suddenly he leapt out and
stopped the potter.
“Stop” cried Robin, “I am
Robin Hood, and I would like your money”
The potter grabbed a sword he
had placed on the cart and began to swing it around. Robin took out his sword
and they began to fight. They lunged and thrusted, they twisted and they
ducked. Neither man was ready to lose.
“Wait!” shouted Robin, “You
are too good a swordsman for me. I will let you pass”
The potter put his sword down
and told Robin that he was going to Nottingham to sell his pots at the market.
Robin suddenly had an idea.
He asked the potter if they could swap clothes.
“I could go into Nottingham
in disguise, and upset the Sheriff” added Robin.
The potter agreed, as he did
not like the Sheriff, and shortly stood wearing Robin Hoods green cloak.
Robin set off for the market
with a plan to annoy the sheriff.
He arrived in the market
square and began to sell the pots for very little. It was not long before
everybody was coming to the potters cart to buy a pot.
“Excuse me Knight”, said the
disguised Robin Hood, “Would you take these two pots to the Sheriffs lady ?
They are my finest pots, and I would like her to have them”.
The Knight took the pots to
the Sheriffs lady. Very soon the Knight returned and asked the potter, who had
now sold all of the pots, to follow him to the castle.
Robin, still disguised,
entered Nottingham Castle and met the Sheriffs lady. “These pots are wonderful”
she said, “Please stay for a meal with my husband”.
Robin could not believe it –
he would be eating at the same table as the Sheriff. Wait until Little John
heard this !!
During the meal, Robin heard
two of the Sheriffs Knights talking about archery.
“I can fire an arrow” boasted
the potter, “Robin Hood taught me how to fire”
The Sheriff looked at the
potter, and asked him if he knew where the outlaw was.
“Oh yes” replied the potter.
“I could take him to you if you wanted”
The next morning, a disguised
Robin kissed the hand of the Sheriffs lady goodbye, and began to lead the
Sheriff and two Knights into the forest.
Deep into the forest Robin
stopped riding. He quickly blew his hunting horn, and suddenly the Sheriff and
the Knights were surrounded by a band of outlaws.
Little John called out
“Potter, did you sell your pots ?”
The sheriff turned towards
the potter and saw who it really was. He was fuming !! Robin Hood had tricked
him.
Robin began laughing and took
a money bag from the sheriff. The Knights were relieved of their swords and
then sent back to Nottingham.
When the Sheriff and Knights
had left, the outlaws looked into the moneybag. It must have had at least £100
pounds inside.
The potter was given more
money than he expected to make from selling the pots, and returned home
smiling.
At Nottingham Castle the
sound of the Sheriff shouting could be heard all around the city. The sheriffs
lady was laughing, and told the Sheriff that he had been tricked by a very
clever, and charming, man.
The Sheriff was desperate to
capture Robin Hood. He had been tricked, beaten and made to look a fool by the
outlaw and had had enough.
Prince John, the Kings nasty
brother, was visiting Nottingham castle and was unhappy with the news that he had
heard about Robin Hood.
“We must stop him” snarled
the Prince
“But how ?” moaned the
sheriff, “I have tried everything”
“I will take a hundred men
into the forest. We will travel to the Major Oak and catch the outlaw there”
added the Prince
“It would not work” said the
Sheriff, “They can hide everywhere and would ambush you before you knew what
was happening.”
“Then we need to trick him
into coming to Nottingham then”, schemed the Prince, “What would bring him here
?”
Meanwhile, deep in Sherwood
Forest the outlaws were feasting around the Major Oak. They were laughing and
joking about the trick that they had played on the sheriff. Robin joked that he
had sat at the Sheriffs table eating the Sheriffs food without being
recognised.
Mutch the Millers Son arrived
at the tree.
“Robin, there is news of a
great contest in Nottingham. There is a prize of a silver arrow for the best
archer” he said
“Then I shall enter” called
out Robin, “And I shall win for all Saxons everywhere”
Little John was not so happy.
“Robin, I think it is a trap. Prince John is nearby and this would be a good
time for the Sheriff to catch you. Don’t go”
“I must. I have to win the
prize for the sake of all Saxons”.
Robin set off for Nottingham,
disguised as a lowly peasant.
He arrived in Nottingham in
time for the competition. As he stood waiting to take part he noticed Sir Guy
of Gisborne wandering around the contestants.
‘He’s trying to find me’
thought Robin.
The contest began. Robin
easily won through to the finals and waited.
The final began. Robin was to
fire his arrows after a Norman Knight had fired his.
Watching in the crowd were
the Saxon people of Nottingham, and a group of disguised outlaws.
Robin began to take his
shots. His first arrow was fired and hit the bullseye.
“Master John, master John”
called a voice to little John, “Gisborne has set a trap. You have to leave
before he finds you”
Little John looked around for
the others, but could not see them. He had to find another way to stop
Gisborne.
He turned to the villager
next to him. “Tell everybody that the peasant with the bow is a Saxon. He is
the best archer in the land”
The villager wandered through
the crowd telling everyone. Soon the crowd were shouting and cheering. The
knights and Gisborne became worried about the noise – something was wrong.
Robin fired his second shot.
It missed the bullseye. The crowd went quiet.
With his final arrow Robin
hit the bullseye again. The crowd cheered.
“The Saxon has won” they
shouted, “The Saxon has won”
Prince John stood and
prepared to present the winner with the silver arrow.
Robin approached the Royal
Box and stood before the Prince. Prince John handed the silver arrow to Robin,
and whispered “I have you at last”.
Robin stepped back, as Prince
John signaled to his Knights.
Little John decided now was
the time. He shouted out “Carry the winner, Carry the winner”.
Everybody who had been
watching the contest ran forwards towards the Royal Box. Before the Knights
vould reach him, Robin was lifted up in a crowd of people.
Carefully he was lowered into
the crowd, and while everyone celebrated Robin and the outlaws escaped from the
city.
After winning his silver
arrow in the archery contest, Robin wanted to go to church to thank his Lord
for letting him win. He had not been to church for a long while in case he was
ambushed.
Little John tried to persuade
Robin not to go.
“Robin, the monks at the
church work for the Sheriff. They know you. It isn’t safe to go there.”
“I want to go John, so I’m
going” replied John
Robin walked alone to the
church. He entered and knelt down to pray.
During his praying, a monk
recognized Robin Hood as the man who robbed him earlier in the year. He crept
out of the church and let the Sheriffs men know who was in the church.
Robin was caught unaware
while still praying. The Knights held Robin and waited for the Sheriff.
Finally the Sheriff arrived
and escorted Robin back to Nottingham castle. Throughout the journey the
Sheriff smiled and laughed. He had finally caught the one man who had spoiled
all of his plans.
At the Major Oak, news of the
capture of Robin was heard. The monk who had told the Knights was going to ride
to London to see Prince John the next day. He was going to ask the Prince to
put Robin in gaol.
“We have to stop the monk”
called out Will
“Agreed” said Little John,
“Let’s begin”
The next morning the monk
began his journey to London. As he rode through the forest two riders
approached him.
“Good monk” called out a
disguised Much the Millers Son, “How goes the capture of Robin Hood”
Thinking that the two riders
have been attacked by Robin Hood before, the Monk replied, “I am off to London
to seek his gaol sentence from the Prince”
“May we travel with you for a
while?” asked Little John, “These roads are not safe because of outlaws”
“I would be delighted” added
the Monk, and the three riders headed South.
In a quiet and hidden part of
the road, Little John grabbed the Monk. He pulled him off his horse and tied
him to a tree. After removing the gaol letter from the monk, Little John and
Much continued traveling to London.
They finally arrived at
London, and met with the prince.
“Where is the monk who was
coming?” asked Prince John
“He died along the way, Sir”
said Much, “We continued his journey”
The Prince was impressed with
the two travelers, and asked them to become his official messengers.
Little John and Much were
giving money, and the letter for the Sheriff then set off to Nottingham Castle.
Outside the castle Will Scarlett and the other outlaws in the band were annoying the Knights. They had been standing outside the castle firing arrows over the walls into the castle. To stop the outlaws breaking into the castle the doors had been sealed shut.
Little John and Much arrived
at the castle, and showed the guards the official letter from Prince John and
were let inside.
“Where is the monk ?” asked
the Sheriff
“Prince John was pleased with
him, Sir” said Much, “That he asked him to become an Abbot at Westminster. The
Prince asked us to return this message to you”
The Sheriff read the letter
and smiled. “A feast” he called “A feast to celebrate the gaoling of Robin
Hood”
Food and drink were brought
out and everybody began to celebrate. As the Sheriff and Knights began to feast
Little John and Much slipped out of the main hall and went to the dungeons.
“Gaoler, the Sheriff asks
that you check on the prisoner then inform him how he is” said Much
Both Much and Little John
watched which door the gaoler went to. As the gaoler went up to the hall they
quickly unlocked the door and let out Robin.
With everybody celebrating in
the main hall, Robin, Much and Little John escaped through the Kitchens and out
of the castle.
The following morning the gaoler realizes that Robin has escaped, but by the time the Sheriff is told the outlaw had reached the Major Oak and was sitting feasting his escape.
Many years after living in the forest Robin was feeling old
He could no longer rob the rich Norman Noblemen that traveled along the
forest roads, and the group of outlaws was starting to disband. Alan a Dale had
returned to his village with his wife, and Will Scarlet had become a poacher
once again.
He mentioned to Little John that he felt unwell.
“I am going to see the Prioress at Kirklees Priory. She is family and
can help me John” he said
“Then I shall come with you Robin, for you look unwell”
The two outlaws began traveling to the Priory, hoping that Robin can be
healed.
After arriving at the Priory and giving the Prioress money, Robin was
taken to a small room.
“I am going to cut your arm and let the bad blood leave your body” the
Prioress said to Robin.
Robin laid on a bed and rested while the Prioress cut his arm.
The Prioress left the room, and told Little John to leave him alone.
“He needs his rest. Do not go in at all please”
Little John felt uneasy, and after the Prioress had gone away he went
into the room.
He saw Robin lying on the bed, and the blood dripping from his arm into
a bowl. Little John looked at the bowl, wondering why the blood was not filling
up the bowl.
He picked up the bowl and saw a hole at the bottom. Robin had been
tricked – he had lost too much blood to leave and was very weak.
“I will burn down this Priory for what has happened” Little John angrily
told Robin.
“No John.”, replied Robin, “I have never harmed a woman. I will not
start now. Pass me my bow. I will fire an arrow from here out of the window.
Where it lands I want you to bury me”.
Robin Hood slowly lifted his bow. With the last of his strength he
fired his last arrow out of the Priory window and into the wood.
The following morning Little John buried the greatest outlaw Sherwood
Forest had ever seen.
This
information is Ó
Southwold Primary School. Copying for Educational Purposes is allowed.