The Gest of Robyn Hode, taken from Dobson, R. B. and Taylor, J. (1976) Rhymes of Robyn Hood: An Introduction to the English Outlaw p.79 This is a short extract, as the poem lasts for a few hundred stanzas. The poem is known to have been published in the late C15th, but Holt dates it as early as 1450 as a complete work and earlier as separate tales which were later joined together into the one extended story. Robin Hood and the Potter, Again, a short extract due to the length of the original. Taken from Holt, J. C. (1982) Robin Hood p.35
Here you can see that though Holt has already ‘translated’ the extract into more modern English, this would still be hard for most of our year 7s to understand.
I tend to choose a short original to work out as a class, giving the students a chance to try their hand at understanding it. However, the majority of extracts I have rewritten in more year 7 friendly language.
Robin Hood and the Potter, like the Gest, is hard to date exactly, but Holt again dates it to around the mid C15th in its written form. Robin Hood lesson two resources:
A Gest of Robyn Hode, extract 1:
I’m going to tell you about a good yeoman, Robin Hood, He was the most courteous of all outlaws.
Robin was leaning against a tree in Barnsdale wood, Little John, another good yeoman, was with him, So was Scarlet and Much the Miller’s son.
Everyday, before Robin ate dinner, he would hear three masses, One for God the Father, one for the Holy Spirit and one for Our Lady Mary.
He loved Our Lady Mary the most, and never harmed anyone who was travelling with a woman.
Think about: What sort of person was Robin Hood? Who were his friends? What did he do every day? What did he never do?
A Gest of Robyn Hode, extract 2:
Little John asked Robin to tell them who they could rob and who they should leave alone,
Robin said
“You must not harm any husband [small farmer or peasant] who is ploughing the land, Nor any good yeoman who walks in the green wood, Nor any knight or squire who is a good fellow.
These Bishops and Archbishops you shall beat and bind, The high sheriff of Nottingham you shall hold him in your mind.”
Think about: Why does Little John ask Robin to tell him what to do? What sort of people does Robin protect? What sort of people does Robin harm? Why might this be?
(These are my ‘translations’ of the Gest taken from Dobson and Taylor (1976)) Robin Hood lesson two resources: Robin Hood and the Potter, written down in about 1450
Robin Hood meets a Potter walking through the woods, he asks him for a toll [payment for using a path] for walking in his wood, the Potter refuses. Robin Hood and the Potter fight, and the Potter wins! Robin asks the Potter to stay with them in the woods. The Potter agrees.
Next, Robin asks the Potter to swap clothes with him, he will go to Nottingham, disguised as the Potter, to sell his pots. Little John does not want him to go, he says:
“Master, beware of the Sherriff of Nottingham, he is not friendly towards us.”
But Robin ignores Little John and saying he will have the help of Our Lady, rides off to Nottingham.
In Nottingham Robin sets up a stall in the market and starts to sell the pots for much less than they were worth. He quickly sells most of the pots. When he has five pots left, he sends them as a present to the Sherriff’s wife. The Sherriff’s wife enjoys her conversation with Robin (who is still dressed up as the Potter) and asks him to come for dinner with the Sherriff.
At dinner the Sherriff’s men tell Robin about a shooting match. The next morning they go out to the archery butts. The Sherriff’s men shoot first, and are good, but not as good as Robin. He asks for a bow, is given a weak bow by the Sherriff, but still hits the mark exactly in the centre. He then tells the Sherriff that he knows Robin Hood well, and has a bow in his cart which he was given by Robin Hood. The Sherriff answers:
“I swear by the Trinity that I would give one hundred pounds to have that false outlaw [Robin Hood] stood next to me.”
The next day they leave for the forest, the Potter [Robin Hood in disguise] has promised to take the Sherriff to meet Robin Hood. When the Sherriff enters the forest his heart is filled with joy at seeing the green leaves on the tree and hearing the birds sing. Robin blows his horn and his men come running. Little John asks if Robin sold his pots, he tells him that he did and that he has brought the Sherriff with him from Nottingham as a source of money for them all. On hearing this the Sherriff regrets having asked to meet Robin and says he would pay one hundred pounds to have stayed in the town and not come to the forest. Robin tells him that he will have to leave his horse and all his other possessions with them, saying:
“You came here on a horse, you shall go home on foot”
Robin adds that if he did not love the Sherriff’s wife he would not spare the Sherriff’s life. When the Sherriff gets home he tells his wife that he has lost all the gold he took with him to the forest. She laughs and points out that he has paid Robin for all the pots he gave her in the first place.
Back in the forest, Robin pays the Potter generously for the pots he took to Nottingham, and says that he will always be welcome in the green wood.
“Thus parted Robin Hood, the Sherriff and the Potter, Under the green-wood tree; God have mercy on Robin Hood’s soul, And save all good yeoman.” Think about: Who does Robin Hood treat well in this story? Who does Robin Hood make a fool of? Where is Robin Hood most at home? Where does the Sherriff belong (where does he wish he was)? Who does Robin Hood rely on for help? What is Robin Hood good at? How would you describe Robin Hood’s character? (This is my ‘translation’ of Robin Hood and the Potter, taken from Holt (1982)) Robin Hood lesson two resources:
A Gest of Robyn Hode, extract 3:
One day, the meal was ready, but Robin Hood said he did not want to eat until he had found an unknown guest, a Baron, a Knight or a Squire, someone who could pay for the best meal. They find a Knight, riding along and looking very sad, they bring him back and they all eat a big dinner. Then Robin Hood asks the Knight to pay for the dinner, as he is a rich knight, and Robin is only a poor yeoman. But the Knight says he has no money, he has had to give all his money to pay bail for his son who killed two men. The Knight owes an Abbott [man high up in the church] £400 and needs to pay it to him that day, or the Abbott will take all his land. Robin feels sorry for the Knight, and asks him what he will do. The knight replies that there is nothing left for it, he must go “over the salty sea” and seek a life elsewhere. Robin asks where the Knight’s friends are, he replies that his friends all abandoned him as soon as they heard he was poor. Robin offers to lend him the money, but wants to know what his security [guarantee that he will pay Robin back] will be. The knight has no friend but God and says so. Robin tells him:
“You must find a better security, or you shall not have any money. I have none other, said the Knight, Only Our Dear Lady, She has never failed me.”
Robin is happy to take Our Lady [Mary] as the security and lends the Knight the £400. They also give the Knight clothes of every colour, a horse, a new saddle, and some boots. Robin sends Little John with the Knight, to be his servant.
Think about: How do Robin and his men treat the Knight? Is the Knight a good or a bad character in the story? Who does Robin trust?
(These are my ‘translations’ of the Gest taken from Dobson and Taylor (1976)) Robin Hood lesson two resources:
A Gest of Robyn Hode, extract 4:
Robin Hood has leant a poor Knight some money, a horse, clothes and Little John as a servant. The Knight is poor because he owes an Abbott [man high up in the church] lots of money...
At the Abbey of St Mary in York, the Abbott is celebrating with one of his Monks, it is time for the Knight to pay back his loan and he has not yet come. The Abbott is happy because this means he can get rich from the Knight’s land. The Prior [another church man] tells them to wait as it is still early in the day, but they will not wait:
“The Abbott did hold all the justice of England in his hand.”
The Knight arrives and kneels down before the Abbott, and the Sherriff who is also there, and begs them to have mercy on him and let him pay later, when he has worked to save the money. The Abbott refuses and says:
“You will get nothing from me.”
The Knight pays the money that Robin Hood lends him and tells the Abbott that he is not a good man to treat a Knight in this way. Then the Knight goes home and begins to work to pay off his loan to Robin.
The day arrives for the Knight to pay Robin back, he sets out to find him. That day Little John and the other men find a Monk in the woods, it is the Monk from St Mary’s Abbey who took the Knight’s money from him a year before. They ask the Monk to pay for dinner and he says he has no money. Little John searches his bags and finds that he has £800! Because the Knight named Mary as his security, Robin Hood takes this as a sign that Mary has repaid the debt. He takes the Monk’s money and sends him away.
The Knight arrives and tries to pay Robin Hood, but Robin refuses the money, saying Mary has already paid it back, he also gives the Knight the extra £400.
“Robin thus relieved the Knight of all his care.”
Think about: Which characters are good and which characters are bad? What do the bad characters do? What does the Abbott ‘hold in his hand’? Is the Abbott behaving how he should behave? How does Robin Hood act towards the Monk? How does Robin Hood act towards the Knight?
(These are my ‘translations’ of the Gest taken from Dobson and Taylor (1976)) Robin Hood lesson two resources:
Andrew of Wyntoun, Original Chronicle, written in 1410
Under the entry for the years 1283-1285:
“Little John and Robert Hood, As forest outlaws were commended good, In Inglewood and Barnsdale, They carried on their trade for all this time.”
Think about: What kind of people were Robin Hood and Little John?
Walter Bower, Scotichronicon, written in 1440
Under the entry for the year 1266:
In that time there was a famous murderer, Robin Hood, as well as Little John and all of their accomplices. These men were homeless and banished, but lots of foolish people like to celebrate them and tell stories about them.
Certain good things are told about Robin Hood. For example, once when he was in Barnsdale, hiding from the king, he was hearing mass, which he always did. The Sherriff and the king’s men found out where he was hiding, Robin Hood’s men came to warn him and to get him to leave. Robin Hood refused to interrupt the mass and would not leave, because he trusted in God, who he was worshipping. A few of his men were brave and stayed with him. Together they fought their enemies and easily won the fight, they were made rich by all that they took from the Sherriff and his men. Afterwards Robin Hood always made sure that the servants of the church [men who worked for the church] and masses were treated with great respect.
Think about: Did what did the author think of people who celebrated Robin Hood? How does he describe Robin Hood? What does he think was good about Robin Hood?
These two chronicle extracts were taken from: Knight, S. (1994). Robin Hood: a complete study of the English Outlaw