English and Scottish Ballads, Volume V

In Short

This collection gathers the traditional verse tales of Robin Hood and his famous band of outlaws, tracing their adventures across Sherwood Forest and Barnsdale. The ballads depict a world of forest law, archery contests, cunning disguises, and sudden brawls with local authorities, clashing clergy, and wandering tradesmen. Through medieval narratives and early modern broadsides, the volume preserves the legendary outlaw’s life, his encounters with kings and commoners alike, and his eventual death by treachery, capturing the durable folk ideal of greenwood justice and fellowship.

The Story

The narrative arc begins with Robin Hood established as the master of Barnsdale and Sherwood Forest, bound to a strict code of woodland honor. Before he sits down to dine, Robin insists on waiting for an unexpected guest—preferably an affluent churchman or corrupt officer—who can be coerced into funding the outlaw enterprise. Despite his life of plunder, Robin enforces strict rules among his followers: no harm must ever come to a woman, nor to any honest husbandman or yeoman who plows the land. Instead, their targets remain the wealthy bishops, archbishops, and above all, the proud Sheriff of Nottingham.

As the tales progress, Robin and his chief lieutenant, Little John, test their strength against a wide array of travelers who enter the forest. These encounters follow a classic pattern: Robin challenges a stranger—whether a stout potter, a tinker, a ranger, a curtall friar, or a traveling shepherd—only to be matched or soundly beaten in hand-to-hand combat or quarterstaff play. Recognized for their bravery, these formidable opponents are promptly invited to join the greenwood company, exchanging blows for green mantles, trusty bows, and nights of abundant venison and ale.

The outlaw band repeatedly clashes with formal law enforcement and the ecclesiastical elite. In one central episode, Little John uses clever trickery to rescue Robin from the Sheriff’s prison, killing the jailer and fleeing back into the forest. When news reaches the King, the monarch expresses a mix of anger and admiration for Little John's fierce loyalty, granting a royal pardon and inviting Robin and his men to join the royal court. Robin accepts, taking over seven score men with him, but he soon grows weary of courtly life and longs for the open forest, returning once more to shoot the dun deer under the greenwood tree.

The later ballads bring both transformation and tragic resolution. Women like Rose the Red and White Lilly disguise themselves as male bowmen to join Robin’s forest band and reunite with their exiled lovers. Elsewhere, Robin continues his trickery, outwitting greedy priests by forcing them to pray for money before relieving them of five hundred pieces of gold. Yet force of arms cannot protect the legendary archer forever. Falling ill, Robin seeks medical aid at a nunnery, where a faithless friar treacherously bleeds him to death. Before his end, Robin’s memory is secured; even his foes acknowledge his renown, leaving his epitaph by the highway side to record his life in the greenwood.

How It Unfolds

The greenwood law is declared Robin Hood establishes the rules of his forest fellowship, commanding his men to spare honest farmers and yeomen while targeting wealthy churchmen and the Sheriff of Nottingham.

The outlaw escapes captivity After Robin is captured in town, Little John slay the jailer, breaks his master out of prison, and leads him safely back into Sherwood Forest to feast on venison pasties and ale.

The King offers a pardon Impelled by Little John’s cunning and loyalty, the King grants a full pardon to the outlaws, inviting Robin and his large company to leave the woods and serve at court.

The greenwood recruits new blood Robin encounters a formidable curtall friar by the water side, who carries Robin across the stream only to throw him in, resulting in a fierce battle that ends in mutual respect.

The outlaws outwit corrupt clergy Robin disguises himself to intercept two rich priests, making them kneel on the grass to pray for money before searching their pockets and extracting five hundred gold pieces.

Treachery claims the forest leader Seeking medical care for a fever, Robin goes to a nunnery where a treacherous friar bleeds him to death, leaving the remaining outlaws to scatter or seek royal grace.

The People

• Robin Hood wants to live freely under the greenwood tree, upholding a chivalric code of forest justice while harassing rich prelates and the Sheriff of Nottingham. His stubborn pride often leads him into dangerous single combats with strangers, but his deep loyalty to his men and devotion to Our Lady define his character until his fatal end at the hands of a treacherous friar.
• Little John wants to support his master and prove his unmatched strength with the bow and staff. Though he frequently bickers with Robin over wagers and dining arrangements, his fierce loyalty drives him to rescue Robin from prison, outwitting both the Sheriff and the King to secure his leader's freedom.
• The Sheriff of Nottingham wants to enforce royal law, capture Robin Hood, and maintain order in his town. His cowardice and vulnerability leave him repeatedly tricked, stripped of his fine clothes, and forced to swear oaths in the forest before being sent home empty-handed.
• The Curtall Friar wants to defend his domain by Fountain Dale with sword, buckler, and bow. When challenged by Robin, he demonstrates equal physical prowess and cunning, ultimately joining the forest band as a valued companion.
• The King wants to uphold royal authority across England, yet he cannot help but admire the sheer loyalty and skill of Robin Hood's yeomen, eventually granting them grace and welcoming them to his court.

In Its Own Voice

"In summer when the shawès be sheen, / And leavès be large and long, / It is full merry in fair forèst / To hear the fowlès song"

These opening stanzas capture the vibrant, lyrical atmosphere of the greenwood that frames the outlaws' adventures.

"He is trew to his maister,' seide oure kynge, / 'I sey, be swete seynt Johne; / He louys bettur Robyn Hode, / Then he dose vs ychone.'"

The King reflects on Little John's unyielding devotion to Robin Hood after the outlaw's dramatic escape from prison.

"Thou shalt never awayte me scathe, / By water ne by londe; / And if thou fynde ony of my men, / By nyght or by day, / Upon thyne othe thou shalt swere / To helpe them that thou may."

Robin Hood exacts a solemn oath of peace and protection from the captured Sheriff of Nottingham before releasing him back to town.

What It's Really About

Underneath the energetic archery, disguises, and quarterstaff fights, this volume explores the tension between formal legal authority and popular notions of justice. The ballads contrast the corruption of urban officials and wealthy ecclesiastical figures with the natural morality of the forest brotherhood. Loyalty serves as the supreme virtue throughout the narrative; a man’s worth is judged not by his birth or title, but by his courage in a fair fight, his truth to his comrades, and his willingness to aid the poor. Ultimately, the collection examines the ideal of an uncorrupted fellowship living outside a flawed social order.

Why Read It Today

This collection offers readers a direct link to the foundational myths of English folklore in their unvarnished narrative form. Reading these original ballad texts reveals a version of Robin Hood far more rugged, humorous, and earthy than modern cinematic adaptations usually portray. The rhythmic, strophic verse carries an undeniable momentum, filled with vivid greenwood imagery, dramatic dialogue, and sharp comic timing.

While the Middle English orthography and archaic regional dialects present an initial hurdle, the repetitive structure and narrative clarity quickly establish a natural reading cadence. Readers who enjoy oral storytelling, folk legend, or historical verse will find immense pleasure in seeing familiar characters—Little John, Will Scarlet, and Friar Tuck—in their earliest, most energetic iterations. What lingers after finishing the volume is the enduring spirit of greenwood camaraderie and the timeless appeal of the noble outlaw defying unjust authority under the forest canopy.