Robin Hood Archer, Forester, Knight, Merchant.

Robin Hood Archer Forrester Knight Merchant Poacher

Graham P Kirkby

Loxley

Robin Hood, a native of Loxley where deer grazed in Loxley Chase and fletchers made arrows on Loxley Common became a fantastic archer, a friend of the poor and a freeman of the City of York. He pursued the lifestyle of forester, knight and merchant, he made garments for the impoverished knight and Lincoln Green cloth for King Edward III. His cousin was the prioress of Kirklees, and Gisbourne was the hated Mayor of York. Robin’s pardon after participating in the Peasants Revolt confirms his connection with Loxley.

Robin survived the Black Death while young but fled to Kirklees Priory after killing his step-father as they ploughed a neighbours field. He met Little John his lifelong friend and companion at Kirklees, and from there he joined with the Hood family at York, adopting the name, Robert Hode.

Johannes Hode, the head of the household, traded as a miller and one of Robin’s Merry Men was Much the Miller’s Son. During the Scottish Wars King Edward held parliament in York fifteen times, forcing MP’s to take their valuables with them for safekeeping in one of the two castles. When robbers Copyright © 2020 Graham P Kirkby

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got news of their imminent arrival, robinhood gangs gathered near the ancient Roman Well on Watling Street, hence its name ‘robinhoods (plural) well, forcing travellers to hire soldiers from Tickhill Castle for protection.

The site of Robin Hood's birthplace.

The king surrounded himself with trusted men, including the Sheriff of Nottingham Sir Robert Morton. He oversaw the Royal Manor of Edwinstowe, the traditional wedding venue of Robin and Maid Marian. He was John O’Gaunt’s right-hand man; his father was the King’s Secretary and during the Peasants Revolt he was the Steward of Yorkshire’s Conisbrough Castle in Barnsdale.

Now the sheriff of Nottingham was in Yorkshire. He had homes in and around Barnsdale, including Hazelbadge Hall and Peveril Castle and of course Conisbrough Castle, but even so he failed to run home away from Little John in the ballad “Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne.” Edward visited his northern kingdom in 1364, and the Gest tells us he met Robin under the trysting tree.

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Nottingham market Robin attended the Church of Saint Mary when in Nottingham. Inside is a private chapel built in 1371 and paid for by the city guilds-men. Their members included knights, clerks, carpenters and drapers. Across the road stood the largest open market in England and merchants walked or rode many miles from neighbouring counties to trade there.

The most prosperous merchants dealt in wool and cloth.

Turning sheep’s wool into elegant garments required many hours of diligent work. Their success depended on the skill of quickfingered women who spun the wool, wove the cloth and supervised their children’s work.

Outside Gilbert with the white hand dyed the cloth ready for the tailor Radulfus de Waddesley who became a freeman of York the same day as Robin. Then, “when the woods were shining and leaves were large and long” they travelled through the Greenwood selling their wares in town and village markets. Should war break out, the Merry Men meaning followers of a knight or outlaw, would stop their work and served king and country on the battlefield.

Little John described Robin as “the wealthiest merchant in the whole of England” and as they carried their money with them, thieves would be sure to attack. Sherwood Forest is best described as a den of thieves, the dense woodland providing excellent cover for an ambush. “Many and great Copyright © 2020 Graham P Kirkby

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homicides were committed that no one with a small company could pass through most parts without being taken and killed or spoiled of his goods.” A bridge over the River Trent at Gunthorpe Village, home of William de Trent, led to Nottingham market. William featured in the ballad “Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne, and witnessed a document signing in 1357.

Robin Hood the Knight

The Gest begins with the narrator inviting the audience born of freeborn blood to “hear of good Robin Hood. Robin was a proud outlaw (brave, valiant, old French) and an excellent yeoman. So was Little John.” While they got the table ready for their first guest Robin said to Little John and Will Scarlet “Don’t use force, don’t harm the ploughman, yeoman, knight

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or squire but beat and bind the bishops and archbishops and beware of Nottingham’s Sheriff.”

Geoffrey Chaucer described yeomen of the forest as armed with bow, sword, dagger, and buckler (small round shield).

Local noblemen maintained foresters for various tasks, including policing, collecting pavage tax and administrative duties. Their responsibilities included patrolling the woodlands and capturing or dispersing criminals. They lived in a forester’s lodge, often fortified, wore Lincoln Green and were equal to a sheriff or law enforcer acting as a barrister or arbiter. By fytte three, Robin had become a knight and Little John the knight’s man. Little John told Nottingham’s Sheriff his master was a courteous knight. He told his cook, Robin, would give him two changes of clothing and twenty marks (a knight’s fee) every year and in fytte seven, the king told Sir Richard, “Whoever brings the knight’s head to me,” meaning Sir Robert Hode of Locksley, “will have his land.”

In September 1356 the Black Prince led English troops to victory at Poitiers, for which the bowmen got much of the credit. Froissart wrote, “True to say the archers did their company that day great advantage for they shot so thick the Frenchmen wist not on what side to take heed. After blotting out the sun with hails of arrows, the archers turned upon the French in hand-to-hand combat. At the gates of Poitiers, individual archers took four, five or six prisoners.” The battle over and the French defeated, the Black Prince King Edward’s son brought captives back to England pending payment of ransoms. Among his prisoners were French noblemen, the king of France his son Philip 17 great lords 13 counts five viscounts and 100 knights. Robin would have been 22 years of age at Poitiers, the Black Prince 26 years and the son of the French King Lord Philip was 14 years old.

The Black Prince, accompanied by his private army, the Cheshire archers wearing green and white livery, escorted Copyright © 2020 Graham P Kirkby

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the French hostages to London. Without warning, a host of yeomen wearing tunics and cloaks of Lincoln Green jumped out from the woods. They looked like a band of robbers and evildoers armed with bows, arrows, swords, and bucklers.

When King John asked what manner of men they were, the Black Prince told him “they were Englishmen living rough in the forest by choice, and arrayed themselves so every day.”

(Holt-Anonimalle Chronicle, ed. V. H. Galbraith, p. 41.)

A legend is born.

The Impoverished Knight Horse rider on Loxley Common

Robin stopped Sir Richard at the Lee as he rode along the

Saylis. His voice choking with emotion he told Robin, John O’Gaunt had jailed his son for killing two of his knights while jousting, and his so-called friends had stolen his money.

Desperate to bail his son out of prison, the knight borrowed £400 from Saint Mary’s Abbey in York. One year later and still destitute, the knight started on his journey back to York intending to plead for more time. Had he arrived without the money, his castle would have gone to the abbot and his corrupt associate, the Lord Chancellor of England Sir Henry Green. (The chancellor was removed from his post the following year.)

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After listening to the knight’s predicament our heroic archer, knight and forester eager to support a fellow knight and beat a churchman at the same time, told Little John, “go to my treasury and get £400 to help this gentle knight.” (Gentle, from the Latin gentilis, meaning of the same clan) That done, Little John acting as his squire accompanied the knight to York, where he repaid his debt. From there, Sir Richard crossed the salty sea by permission of the king who issued him with a licence (family tree). Landing on foreign soil, he prospered and returned home with enough money to repay Robin.

One year after granting the loan, Robin and Little John went to the Saylis on Watling Street as arranged. Soon the High Cellarer of Saint Mary’s Abbey came by with another monk at his side. They only had twenty marks; and did not know any knights. Imagine Little John’s surprise when he found £800 concealed in their bags! Robin concluded the Virgin Mary sent the money to help the poor. The monks ate their meal as fast as they could and galloping away shouted “Doncaster and Blyth are cheaper!” Robin shouted back, “Offer the abbot my greetings and tell him to send a monk to dine with us every day!”

Haddon Hall belonging to Sir Richard Vernon. This is a later re-build. When Sir Richard died, everything went to another branch of the family. The son, of whom he was obviously very fond, fell from the records.

Sir Richard arrived at the Saylis before sunset and apologising for his lateness offered Robin the £400 he owed.

Much to his surprise, Robin refused it, saying, “Nay, our Lady sent my pay by the High Cellarer.” When Robin Copyright © 2020 Graham P Kirkby

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concluded his tale, the knight laughed. “By my pledge, your money is here already!” “Yes,” smiled Robin, “I have my money with interest. The money in your hand replaces what your friend’s stole . Your son is out of jail, you are free of debt and your property is secure.

The King Hunts Robin As Sir Richard the impoverished knight returned home to his wife, his fortune restored, Robin announced a tournament against the sheriff’s men. Robin and his men won, but during a fight, an arrow hit Little John in the knee. He could neither walk nor ride a horse. So hoisting his friend on to his back Robin carried Little John to the safety of Sir Richards castle. Ushering them in, Sir Richard barred the gates and raised the drawbridge, preventing the sheriff from capturing Robin or his men. After that Sir Richard fed Robin and his men for several days, repaying Robin many times over for the one meal he received at the Saylis.

You are a traitor the sheriff told Sir Richard. You defend the enemies of the king and break the law. “I will support everything I did. Now go away and do not come back until you know the king’s will,” replied Sir Richard. Straight way the sheriff went to London Town to tell the king. There he described how the knight protected Robin Hood. “My king, the knight said he supported everything he did to protect the outlaws. He makes you my king powerless in your northern kingdom.” “Hurry back and find the best archers in England, and I will attend to the matter when I arrive,” ordered the king.

Back home, the sheriff captured Sir Richard while he hunted by the river side that flowed past his castle. Now, the King of England held him captive, along with King John of France and the hostages taken captive at Poitiers.

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The River Wye, Wyedale or Uttersdale in the ballads, flows past Sir Richard's castle. His home and the jousting field at Castleton came under the jurisdiction of Nottingham's sheriff.

King Edward fulfilled his promise and took the King of France along with his countrymen to Bestwood in Nottinghamshire on a lavish hunting trip. (Dobson and Taylor). Not a solitary deer did they see as the royal party travelled to Plumpton Park through the pass of Lancashire.

Furious with anger, King Edward dismissed Rufus De Strelley for making fraudulent returns in his keeper-ship of the forest. (John Granby) Meanwhile, Robin herded and killed the deer at will. Determined to capture Robin, the king told Sir Richard at the Lea whoever cuts off the knight’s head and brings it here, will have his lands.

Despite searching for half a year, Robin eluded the king’s men until a proud forester told the king “if you want to find Copyright © 2020 Graham P Kirkby

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good Robin, follow me. Fetch five of your best knights disguised as monks, and I will lead you to him this side of Nottingham” (i.e. Lancashire). Thereupon, the king put on abbots clothing while the others wore monks’ habits.

(Edward III often wore a disguise.) As promised, the king met with Robin under a linden tree surrounded by archers bold.

Thinking they were churchmen Robin took the king’s horse and beseeching him said, “Sir Abbot, please stay awhile. We, yeomen, are poor; yet you have churches; rents; and gold.

Please help.” Our comely king replied, “The king, and I spent much in Nottingham and only £40.00 remains. If I had a hundred pounds, you could have half.” “Thank you sir” smiled Robin as he took the £40, saying, while sharing it with his men, “you promised fifty. Forty will do for now until we meet again.” Thank you retorted our king! (A lesson in how to beguile (trick) money from the rich.)

After serving his guests an excellent meal of venison, they shot arrows together. Robin twice split the wand, as did good Gilbert with the white hand. When the outlaws discovered the abbot’s true identity, Robin and Sir Richard of the Lea looked into the king’s face. “My Lord the King of England,” pleaded Robin, “I love you true of thy goodness and grace under your trysting-tree I beg for my men and me. Yes for God please, God he saves me. Mercy, I pray my lord the king, for the men I crave.” (In June 1369 King Edward III granted a special pardon to all outlaws.)

The king spoke to Sir Richard at the Lee and returned his land, bidding him loyal be. Robin on bended knee thanked his comely king who commanded him to live at court. On their way to London, they held archery competitions, including one in Nottingham. The battle of Auray was on the 19th of September.

Fifteen months later with Robin’s money gone from buying favours in the king’s court, with only Little John and William Copyright © 2020 Graham P Kirkby

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Scathelock for company and the king going senile, Robin decided to speak to the king. “Sire, grant me I pray! I made a beautiful chapel in Barnsdale to Mary Magdalene and need to go there barefoot wearing a hair shirt as a penance for my sins.” “Then, I will allow it,” granted the king. “Seven nights, I give you no longer to leave me on my own.” “Thank you,” replied Robin on bended knee.

Robin said goodbye and headed to the Greenwood. Birdsong filled the air as Robin arrived back home on a bright and sunny morning. He felt young again, “I missed this place, I love to shoot.” He shot a full noble heart, and then he blew his horn. Knowing their master had returned, all seven score men came ready standing in a row. “Welcome,” they greeted him; bending the knee, their hoods removed “our dear master under the greenwood tree.”

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The Peasants Revolt

King Edward died thirteen years after visiting his northern kingdom. As he lay dying his mistress Alice Perrers, Lady Meed in Piers Plowman stripped the rings from off his fingers and abandoned him. A priest handed the king a crucifix to hold and displaying signs of repentance, Edward expired.

The minstrel Laurence Minot described Edward III as accessible, liberal, kind and comely. Richard II succeeded to his grandfather’s kingdom in July 1377 age ten years, and Shakespeare described him as cruel, vindictive and irresponsible.

Four years after King Edward’s death, Robin took part in the Peasants Revolt at York. John Gisbourne, the unpopular Mayor, merchant and king’s representative, held absolute authority over the city. He altered the rules to suit himself and penalized those who committed minor offences while he tinkered with the Royal Mint at York, forged money and increased taxes. The imposition of the Poll Tax was a step too far and when news of the London riots reached York the Copyright © 2020 Graham P Kirkby

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people vented their mounting anger on John Gisbourne, causing much damage in the process.

In London, King Richard granted the demands of the rebels, even giving pardons to the 20,000 followers of Wat Tyler, John Ball and Jack Straw, making his thirty scribes work late into the night. Not satisfied, Tyler continued negotiating the next day at Smithfield, but his hot temper that caused him to kill a tax collector with an iron rod he used when tiling got the better of him. His aggressive attitude, coupled with his excessive demands, was too much for Walworth, the mayor of London. He produced a scimitar from under his coat and struck Tyler a blow on his head. He fell from his horse, a dead man. King Richard reversed his concessions and revoked his pardons; the rebels were in trouble.

“The king dispatched his army with orders to kill the rebels.

Despite waving their pardons in the air, the king’s troops seized and hanged in London and elsewhere, many people.

They erected gallows around the City of London and other cities and towns of the south country. One thousand five hundred died in Kent, the camp at Billericay in Essex suffered destruction. They massacred 500 in Hertfordshire and more in St. Albans. Finally, as it pleased God, the king saw too many of his liege subjects would be undone and much bloodshed. So he took pity in his heart and with the advice and agreement of his council ordained that they should receive his grace and pardon for their misdeeds, on condition they should never rebel again under penalty of losing life and limbs. Everyone was to have his charter of pardon and pay the king as a fee for his seal twenty shillings, to make him rich.” (20 shillings equals 50 days wages for a skilled tradesman in 2020 AD.)

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One year later, back in York, the king held an enquiry and reinstated Gisbourne. Nothing changed. “Villeins ye are, and villeins ye shall remain.” Robin lost this fight as did Simon de Quixley; their names are on the pardon roll. Robin’s 600year-old pardon that would have cost him twenty shillings reads “Robert Dore, otherwise known as Robert Hood of Waddeslay in the county of Yorkshire received the king’s pardon May 22nd 1382.” It gives his trade as a litster (a dyer of cloth). Loxley is a sub-vill of Wadsley. Pardon found by David Pilling and Rob Lyndley in the Public Record Office.

Excellent work you two.

The Death of Richard II

Richard II ruled a further 18 years after the Peasant Revolt, but when his uncle John O’Gaunt died, Bolingbroke, Gaunt’s son, plotted to seize the throne of England for himself. Sir Thomas de Neville, 5th Baron Furnivall and Robin’s overlord Copyright © 2020 Graham P Kirkby

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supported the usurper and voted in parliament for Richard’s incarceration in the Tower of London. From there, Bolingbrook’s men took Richard to Pontefract Castle near Wakefield, where Thomas Swynford the castle’s constable also supported Bolingbroke. He ascended the throne of England as King Henry IV on October 13, 1399. (Picture: Pontefract Castle) Hearing of a plot to assassinate the usurper and restore Richard to the throne in the Epiphany Rising, King Henry could not let Richard live. No one knows how Richard died, but people looked upon outlaws as administrators of God’s justice. Robin made the ideal candidate, and after Richard’s death, he gave gold coins to his cousin, the prioress. He even promised more if she required them. He was penniless after escaping from King Edward’s court but Thomas de Neville was the treasurer of England.

Bolingbroke became King Henry IV in 1399. Richard died on February 14, 1400, and Thomas Neville died in 1406. The ballad tells us Robin’s cousin killed him, and Alice de Mounteney of Loxley became prioress of Kirklees in 1402 and Robin would be about 68 years old when he died shortly after, calculated from the death of Sir Thomas de Sheffield in 1348 plus 14 years.

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Installation of the Prioress This is the gatehouse where Robin supposedly died.

Trouble is it did not exist until the Tudors. According to local tradition the convent was on the site of the Three Nuns car park by the main road.

Two Yorkshire families known to Robin Hood would have been the Savile family and the Mounteney family of Loxley. When Robin fled to Kirklees, the acting prioress was Margaret Savile. Thomas de Savile granted the manor in Dodworth called Seyvile Hall including his lands in Stainborough to Sir Thomas de Mounteney.

Then, John Mounteney (knight), whose family had received land from the Savile family, granted the advowson (vacancy) of the church to the prioress and the lands in Mirfield he gave to the convent of Kirklees. They did this in the company of John Woderoue, John de Amyas, and William de Sandale (chaplain). In this way, Alice de Mounteney of Loxley became the prioress of Kirklees in 1402.

The Mounteney, Furnival and Neville families share the same family tree. The Neville family held land in County Durham, Yorkshire, Cumberland and Northumberland, plus estates in Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, and Northamptonshire.

Bedfordshire and Essex. Nobody could pass through their land without Red Roger’s knowledge. The Neville family are famous for their red hair.

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The Death of Robin Hood After the Peasants Revolt, Robin moved to Wakefield away from Gisborne’s restrictions, and life returned to normal. He lived 22 years more, till one day after hunting the Dunne deer Robin felt weak, unwell and could not eat. In desperation, he sought help from his cousin, the prioress who would lett his blood. Will Scarlet told him to take half a hundred of his best bowmen, but dismissing Scarlett’s advice Robin rode there with only Little John for company. As they got near the priory an old lady kneeling on a plank over the black water banned Robin and bemoaned his death. When Robin asked why the bann, she explained, “We women have no venison to give Robin Hoode. We weepen for his deare body that this day his blood be lette”.

Entering the convent, Robin gave his cousin £20.00 in gold coins saying to spend it while it lasted, then she shall have more.

(Edward III introduced gold coins in 1344.)

Despite Robin’s generosity, his wicked kinswoman, the prioress of Kirklees, betrayed him for the love of her special lover. Much evil did she when with the knight Sir Rogers of Doncaster, they plotted in secret how best to kill poor Robin.

By their foul play, they betrayed the noble Robin Hood.

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His lifeblood dripping away and realising his end was nigh Robin said, “Give me my bent bow in my hand and a broad arrow I will let flee. Where it falls, there shall my grave dug be. Lay me a green sod under my head and another at my feet. Lay my bent bow by my side. It was my music, sweet.

Make my grave of gravel and green most right and meet. Let me have length and breadth enough with a green sod under my head, so they may say when I am dead, here lies bold Robin Hood. These words, they readily granted him. It did bold Robin please and there they buried bold Robin Hood, within the fair Kirkleys.” Dear Christ, have mercy on his soul.

With head bowed low Little John, who may have been suffering from the same contagious disease as Robin, went to his relatives at Hathersage. He dug his own grave under the old Yew tree. The Lyttle Geste of Robyn Hode concludes with the line he (Robin) did poor men much good.

The historical setting BANN: from Old English bannan means to proclaim or to announce a forthcoming event, as in marriage banns.

The old woman kneeling on a plank over black water may have been dying cloth. Woad turns the water black and smells vile causing Queen Elizabeth to decree that dyers (litsters) should not engage in their trade within five miles of where she was staying.

When the woman saw Robin she announced or ‘banned’ Robin’s forthcoming death, perhaps recognising his symptoms from earlier outbreaks of the plague that came to England from Calais in 1348.

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Fresh outbreaks occurred at York in 1361, 1369, 1375, 1378, 1390 and 1400. Rat fleas living in cloth carried the bacterium pests. Robin dealt in cloth, and York was a seaport. Outbreaks continued until the Great Plague of London in 1665 and the Great Fire of London in 1666.

Robin’s death was inevitable regardless of anything the prioress and/or her lover did. Little John died soon after, perhaps also dying from the ravages of the Black Death?

According to the ballad of Robin’s death, the prioress, a member of the knightly Mounteney family was the daughter of Robin’s aunt.

Robin is said to have given to the poor, and in York was a charitable organisation known as the guild of “Our Lord Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary” located in the Merchant Adventurers Hall, it provided for the destitute widows and orphans of their deceased members. The Hall was home to several guilds, including hosiers, potters, tanners, drapers, and dyers. Robin was a master dyer and a freeman of the city, so he may well have given to the needy, the same as other merchants hence his reputation for being a friend of the poor.

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The Grave Significant events in English history are the Black Death c.

1348 and the Peasants Revolt of 1381. Two victims of the Black Death in Wakefield were a lawyer and his neighbour, a local farmer called Robert Hode. Robert Hode abused Henry Archer’s wife, another time he injured Juliana Horsse, and he built a haystack on the highway. The court fined him 12 pence for each offence, one day’s wage in those days. Robin Hood the archer lived in the forest was not a farmer, and he compared women to the Virgin Mary saying not to harm them. They are not the same men.

Survivors of the Black Death took two stone slabs and placed them by the roadside. They inscribed the names and dates of the deceased on one slab and a cross on the other. Richard Grafton described the cross in his 1569 chronicle as “having a raised cross on a Calvary of three steps sculptured thereon.” A slab matching this description is at Hartshead Church where residents from Kirklees worshipped.

Labourers transferred it there, after widening the road in 1607. They moved the stone inscribed with the names and dates of the deceased closer to the nun’s chapel where the standing hearse is now.

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In 1850, Sir George Armytage II commissioned a headstone based on a fake pedigree created by William Stukeley. He claimed the fictional ‘Robert Fitz Ooth’ was Robin Hood, the pretended Earl of Huntingdon. (See Professor Holt on William Stukeley) Using the name of the farmer who died of the Black Death in 1348 he changed the date to 1247. Then he had a rhyme in fake Middle English inscribed on a headstone. In the meantime, labourers broke the memorial stone to destroy the dates of those who died of the Black Death. They said the fragments cured toothache. While the deceased remained undisturbed by the roadside, including the farmer, Sir George charged people good money to see an empty grave of a non-existent earl. Although not Robin Hood’s actual grave, it makes an excellent tribute to the famous archer sleeping close by with a green sod under his head and a bent bow by his side.

Hathersage Little John’s Grave Stanage Pole, pictured, marks the ancient diocesan boundaries of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, and Yorkshire. The pole is also a way marker over this ancient pack-horse route.

Roger Dodsworth, an outstanding antiquarian, visited John Armytage III of Kirklees in January 1618. From there he went to a local Wakefield church where he wrote, “Robert Locksley, born in the Bradfield Parish of Hallamshire, wounded his stepfather to death while ploughing and fled Copyright © 2020 Graham P Kirkby

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into the woods where his mother sustained him. When discovered, he fled to Clifton-upon-Calder (Kirklees) and became acquainted with Little John that kept the kine. Later he joined with Much, the miller’s son. Little John lies buried at Hathersage in Derbyshire where he hath a fair tombstone with an inscription.” (Bodleian Library MS. Dodsw. 160, fol.

64r).

Seven years later, in 1625, Elias Ashmole wrote about Little John. “Little John lies buried in Hathersage Churchyard three miles from Castleton with one stone at his head, another at his feet and a large distance between them.

(Ashmole MS, fol. 147).”

After Little John had buried his friend and comrade, he made his forlorn way to Hathersage in Derbyshire. There he dug his own grave under the old yew tree in the graveyard, by the old preaching cross. The ballad adds His bow was in the chancel hung his last good bolt they drove down to the rocks, its measured length westward from the grave. And root and bud this shaft put forth. When spring returned anon, it grew into a tree and threw a shade where slept staunch Little John. A modern tombstone marks this grave in Hathersage.

The plot belonged to the Naylor family, and they claim Little John as an ancestor. (Iola)

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Royal Forest of the Peak

Castleton from the castle

The ancient coal-fields of Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and Nottinghamshire are evidence of an extensive primaeval forest across central England. Later, it got divided into three counties. Sherwood and Peak Forest are well-known, and other royal forests or “Kingswood” in Yorkshire are Bowland, Farndale, Galtres, Hartforth, Knaresborough, Ouse and Derwent, Pickering, Ryedale, Skipton and Spaunton.

In the Royal Forest of the Peak adjoining Hathersage, stampeding deer killed men and dogs. Their vast numbers resulted in the village of Tideswell becoming known as the king’s larder. This vast expanse of ancient forest enabled a heart to escape from King Richard I when it ran out of Sherwood and into Barnsdale. Failing to kill it, he made an order at Tickhill Castle saying to do it no harm. The hart became known as the hart royally proclaimed.

Lenton Priory in Nottingham along with Rufford and Welbeck abbeys in Sherwood had granges in Peak Forest. To ensure the monks did not disrupt the hunting King John commanded the Canons of Welbeck Abbey to keep their Copyright © 2020 Graham P Kirkby

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cattle away from his sparrow hawks nesting sites between mid-April and July 24th. King Malcolm IV of Scotland submitted to King Henry II at Peveril Castle and the constables, Piers Gaveston, Simon de Montfort, and King Edward I are evidence of its importance. When the sheriff of Nottingham came to Derbyshire on duty, he made Peveril Castle his headquarters as did King Edward III in September 1331.

Tickhill Castle on open day. In 1372, Edward III granted the castle to John of Gaunt in return for the Earldom of Richmond.

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Outlaws

Peak Cavern, Castleton. The largest of the caves

The ancient coal-fields of Yorkshire, Derbyshire, and Nottinghamshire are evidence of an extensive primaeval forest across central England. Later, it got divided into three counties. Sherwood and Peak Forest are well-known, and other royal forests or “Kingswood” in Yorkshire are Bowland, Farndale, Galtres, Hartforth, Knaresborough, Ouse and Derwent, Pickering, Ryedale, Skipton and Spaunton.

In the Royal Forest of the Peak adjoining Hathersage, stampeding deer killed men and dogs. Their vast numbers resulted in the village of Tideswell becoming known as the king’s larder. This vast expanse of ancient forest enabled a heart to escape from King Richard I when it ran out of Sherwood and into Barnsdale. Failing to kill it, he made an Copyright © 2020 Graham P Kirkby

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order at Tickhill Castle saying to do it no harm. The hart became known as the hart royally proclaimed.

Lenton Priory in Nottingham along with Rufford and Welbeck abbeys in Sherwood had granges in Peak Forest. To ensure the monks did not disrupt the hunting King John commanded the Canons of Welbeck Abbey to keep their cattle away from his sparrow hawks nesting sites between mid-April and July 24th. King Malcolm IV of Scotland submitted to King Henry II at Peveril Castle and the constables, Piers Gaveston, Simon de Montfort, and King Edward I are evidence of its importance. When the sheriff of Nottingham came to Derbyshire on duty, he made Peveril Castle his headquarters as did King Edward III in September 1331.

An aside: People were still living in houses built inside Peak Cavern as late as 1915. One of the author’s ancestors, a rope and twine maker lived there in Dakin Row. When his adopted granddaughter moved to Bradfield, she used to complain about the dirty water from the local stream. The water in Peak Cavern is crystal clear.

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The Historical Setting

Sir Richard at the Lee The Geste of Robin Hood tells us the impoverished knight, Sir Richard at the Lee, came from a long line of noble knights. The castle he inherited, surrounded by woods at the Lee in Uttersdale had a drawbridge and fortified, castellated walls dating back to Richard I. This describes Haddon Hall at the Lee in Wyedale. (V and W were late additions to the alphabet.)

When Sir Richard met Robin at the Saylis, he planned to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land after first going to Saint Mary’s Abbey in York. History confirms he had a licence from King Edward III to go abroad in 1364. Later we read in the Geste that Sir Richard gave Robin sanctuary when the Sheriff of Nottingham came seeking him after Robin won an archery contest. Sir Richard’s home and the jousting field in Castleton are both in Derbyshire under the Sheriff of Nottingham’s jurisdiction. The Geste confirms Robin Sir Richard and King Edward III were contemporaries when we Copyright © 2020 Graham P Kirkby

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read “Robin beheld our comely King wistly in the face as did Sir Richard at the Lea and knelt in that place.”

Earl of Huntingdon Agnes De Stapleton, an heiress to the Earldom of Huntingdon settled in Loxley with her third husband, Sir Thomas de Sheffield. Her grandfather was John II de Balliol, King of Scots. After her husband died in 1348, Agnes returned to her home town of Bedale where she died the same year on the 3rd of November aged 50. This was the year of the Black Death. Her first husband, Sir Gilbert Stapleton, knight of Bedale was a childhood companion of the future King Edward. He accompanied Edward to Nottingham Castle where they captured Piers Gaveston.

Gilbert’s eldest son, Sir Miles Stapleton of Bedale, was a knight founder of the Order of the Garter. He lived the same time as Robin but died, according to family history in 1364 age 46 of severe wounds received in the battle of Auray.

(Agnes’s grandfather featured in Mel Gibson’s Oscar-winning 1995 film Braveheart.)

Years later, the Hasting’s family identified with Robin Hood by naming their children after him. The custom continues to the present day with “William Edward Robin Hood HastingsBass, 17th Earl of Huntingdon (b. 1948).” Their family tree goes back by marriage to Robin through his cousin the prioress. She was a Mounteney, and they married into the Furnival family. Bridging the generation gap is Anne Hastings (c. 1471–1520). Anne was Countess of Shrewsbury and Baroness Furnival, her husband George Talbot was 9th Baron Furnivall. The tomb of Anne Hastings is in Sheffield Cathedral.

Piers Plowman William Langland published his prestigious poem Piers Plowman B text the year King Edward died. Robin Hood, Copyright © 2020 Graham P Kirkby

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Sloth, the drunken priest, Lady Meed, and the Earl of Chester all got a mention. Friar Tuck, the lazy priest, might have been Sloth. He did not know the Psalter but could recite the rhymes of Robin Hood. Lady Meed was Alice Perrers, the king’s mistress and King Edward’s son, the Black Prince was the Earl of Chester. His Cheshire Archers operated from Dieulacres Abbey, of which he was the patron. They hounded people, ambushed them, looted, assaulted, maimed, and killed many. Broadsheets, the newspapers of the day cost a penny each while chapbooks included popular ballads. Their activities would give the balladeers and players enough material to keep them in work for years to come.

Their mischief continued into the reign of King Richard II, the son of Edward the Black Prince. He maintained 300 Cheshire archers as his bodyguard and during the last two years of his reign; they continued doing in London as they had at Dieulacres Abbey. They robbed, raped, flogged, and killed, but never got punished. Langland expressed concern for the moral state of the nation in his poem. Afraid for his life if he named the Earl of Chester, Prince of Wales and King of England under whose rule it was happening, he identified the abbey by naming its founder, the 4th Earl of Chester Ranulph de Blundeville.

Robin Hood’s Era Professor Holt wrote, “the Geste is circa 1450 and Major’s conception about a 13th century Robin Hood was not reinforced by argument, evidence or proof. It was simply recycled through later versions of the tale and so became part of the legend. Neither is this view supported by the earliest ballads, they name the reigning monarch as Edward.”

(John Major wrote his history of “Greater Britain” while living in France and may have intended King John of France and Copyright © 2020 Graham P Kirkby

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King Richard of Bordeaux and England. King Henry in the Sloane Manuscript would be King Henry IV. He and his heirs maintained a claim to the French throne. All three were contemporary with Robin Hood and lived within twenty years of each other. English scholars, failing to make the French connection assumed Major meant the English kings Richard and John, forgetting that green livery, or any colour livery did not exist until much later. Problems in the Sloan MS were ‘crabbed’ handwriting and badly written Roman numerals.)

Professor Thomas Ohlgren wrote, “the Geste was commissioned by one of the fifteenth-century guilds-possibly the Dyers Guild in the light of the many references to cloth and liveries-to commemorate Edward III not only as the protector of the English Channel but as the founder of seven of the Great Livery Companies.” He adds, “the giving of liveries indicates a time of social change when the lower classes and criminal gangs were imitating the aristocracy in the 14th and 15th century.” Gisborne had 1,500 caps and badges made for his men in York, Beverly and Scarborough.

Barbara A. Buxton writes, “The legal and royal records for the reign of Richard I and King John are quite adequate to detail Robin’s offences, but they do not. The sheriff is never named even though records go back to 1135. Friars first came to England in 1221 after King Richard died in 1189 and King John in 1216.”

Ronald Hutton tells us the 14th and 15th centuries were known as “Merrie England” and Keen writes, “The giving of liveries indicates a time when liveries and personal badges were in everyday use.”

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Bob and Nora on Loxley Common. Nora is an Irish Wolfhound / Labrador.

Robin Hood Characters Contemporary with each other were – John Gisborne, the lord mayor born c 1336 in York, Ricardus de Gysborne, and Robin Hood, they all dealt in cloth. Gisborne, the Lord Mayor, died 1390 nine years after the Peasants Revolt and bequeathed five shillings to the leper house at Wentbridge on the York road. Wentbridge features in the ballads.

Gisborne’s son-in-law William Plumpton was born 1362 in Plumpton where Robin went hunting. He had a minstrel who earned eight pence after performing in Fountains Abbey (Holt). Related to each other were Gisborne’s wife Ellen and Robert and John Morton, the sheriffs of Nottingham and Yorkshire. The lady-in-waiting to Richard I I’s wife, Queen Anne of Bohemia, was Robert’s wife, Joan.

In the ballad ‘Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne,’ Robin identified himself as Robin Hood of Barnesdale, while the merchant who sought to kill him identified himself as ‘Guye of good Gysborne.’ This may have been Ricardus de Gysborne. He received the freedom of York the same day as Robin. The ballad has them all together, in Barnsdale with the sheriff of Nottingham and William De Trent, the sheriff’s man.

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Friar Tuck was in Fountains Abbey, his ferocious hunting dogs were illegal and banned from the Royal Forests (bandogs). Although Fountains Abbey belonged to the Cistercians, secular friars or lay brothers of the Franciscan order (Friars Minor) undertook the manual labour. Walking over rough ground or riding a horse when wearing a habit or cassock was difficult, so friars pulled their gown between their legs and tucked it into their cincture (belt) at the back, hence the nick-name Friar ‘Tuck.’ Two royal writs from 1417 tell us Friar Tuk was a Sussex chaplain named Robert Stafford. He was still at large in 1429.

In Shakespeare’s play, Henry IV part 2, a group of old men reminisce about the old days and sing songs including one of “Robin Hood, Scarlet and John.” When they heard news of Bollingbroke’s death and young Prince Hal’s forthcoming coronation in October 1413, the party broke up. Robert Stafford, alias Frere Tuk was still evading the law and there is no reason why these old men could not have been among Robin’s band of merry men. Shakespeare’s handwriting is on pages of the Geste and oral history was another of Shakespeare’s sources.

A Great Deer Park This magnificent deer park, where they counted deer by the thousand, extended a distance of four miles between Norfolk Park near the centre of Sheffield and Handsworth. It was one of the largest and oldest deer parks in England, pre-dating the Norman Conquest. William de Lovetot founded the Handsworth Parish Church of St Mary, the Virgin that belonged to the Dean and Chapter of York. Robert Hode and his wife Agnes lived in Handsworth and paid three marks poll tax in 1379, this was two years after the death of Edward III and two years before the Peasants Revolt. Proving this man was the outlaw is difficult except to say, Sir Will Copyright © 2020 Graham P Kirkby

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Hodge bequeathed to his sister Agnes Hode all the houses he bought off Robert Outlaw. Grateful thanks to the researcher.

(An ancient Sheffield tradition has Robin Hood in Bowden Housteads, Handsworth.) Sir George Talbot, sixth Earl of Shrewsbury, kept Mary Queen of Scots prisoner in Manor Lodge, the building in the picture, during the summer months and in Sheffield Castle during the winter. She was a prisoner in Sheffield for 14 years. Also held prisoner in Manor Lodge was Cardinal Wolsey on his journey to London to face charges of treason. He became ill and died at the Abbey of Leicester 29 November 1530 before reaching London and the executioner’s axe.

Professor Holt on Nottingham’s Robin Hood candidate: “Since Mr J. Lees (The Quest for Robin Hood, Nottingham 1987), has tried to revive Stukeley’s pedigree in a revised form it may be useful to summarise a few of the salient errors.”

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First, the critical figure for both Stukeley and Mr Lees is William ‘FitzOoth,’ who (Stukeley) or whose heir (Lees) was transferred to the custody of Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford, in 1214. In reality William son of Otho, whose heir or heirs were placed in the custody of Aubrey de Vere, Earl of Oxford, in 1205 and transferred to Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford, in 1214, had nothing to do with the family of Kyme, or with the earls of Huntingdon, still less with Robin Hood. He is wellknown as an official of the Mint, holding his office in charge of the manufacture of the royal dies as a serjeanty. By 1219, he was succeeded by his son, Otho son of William, who still held office in 1242-3. It follows, therefore, that ‘Robert Fitz Ooth’ is totally fictitious; so is the alleged link between ‘FitzOoth’ and Kyme; and so are the grounds for seeking an original Robin Hood in the Kyme family.

Secondly, there is no evidence that any Robert of Kyme mentioned by Mr Lees was outlawed. The instance on which he relies is a royal remission of wrath and indignation incurred by an appeal of rape against a Robert of Kyme at Wenlock in 1226; there is no mention of outlawry.

Thirdly, Mr Lee’s ‘Robert of Kyme’ is compounded of at least two distinct individuals, none of them an outlaw and none of them a disinherited elder son; many of the relationships he proposes within the Kyme family are quite unsupported by any contemporary evidence.

Professor Holt forgot to say: 1. The De Kyme’s were a Lincolnshire family.

2. The Complete Peerage Volume 6 speaking about Nottingham’s candidate says, “Robin Hood (for whose existence, no contemporary evidence has been found) was first called Robert fitz Ooth in a fictitious pedigree concocted by the 18th century antiquary William Stukeley.”

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3. Since the above was written, a contemporary pardon has been found confirming Robin’s connection with Loxley and Gisbourne.

Timeline 1252. The first yeoman archers.

1319. Pavage Tax that we read about in Robin Hood and the Potter was not introduced until this year in Wentbridge.

(David Greenwood) 1322. The wearing of livery began. The first known use of Lincoln Green was at the Battle of Boroughbridge.

1327. King Edward III ascended the throne.

1336. Gisborne, a contemporary of Robin Hood, was born this year.

1337. Nottingham city walls that Robin Hood and Little John climbed over to escape the city were not completed until 1337.

1344. The first gold coins in England were issued by a royal proclamation in January of this year; Robin Hood gave the prioress £20 in gold coins.

1350-1550. The two-handed longsword we read about in Robin Hood and the Monk was in service in the late medieval period. It was after this time (the Black Death) when local lords and prominent citizens began to have their own livery.

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1348. Sir Thomas de Sheffield who was born and died in Wadsley married an heiress to the Huntingdon earldom. He died in 1348 when Robin was young.

1351. Henry Grosmont became Duke of Lancaster, a title held by Queen Elizabeth II. 1352. Laurence Minot living in 1352 was a troubadour-of-allwork. His subjects were: Halidon Hill; the capture of Berwick, which he takes as an avenging of Bannockburn; the entry of Edward, our comely king, into Brabant; the battle in the Swin; the leaguer at Tournay; the march to Calais; Crecy and the battle there; the siege of Calais; Neville’s Cross; the seafight with the Spaniards; and the taking of Guines. This confirms Edward III who was known as “our comely king” as the king of the Geste.

C. 1355. Edward III held tournaments throughout the country in search of archers.

1357. In Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne, one of the sheriff’s men was William de Trent. He witnessed the signing of a document regarding the transfer of land on Wednesday before St. Michael, 30 Edward III. 1357. The first historical record of green-clad men living rough in the forest. This was after King John of France was defeated at Poitiers.

1362. Gisborne’s son-in-law was born. He was William Plumpton born in Plumpton, Yorkshire. Gisbourn’s wife Ellen was related to Robert and John Morton. They were Sheriffs of Nottingham and Yorkshire respectively. Robert’s wife Joan was the lady-in-waiting to Richard II queen, Anne of Bohemia.

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1362. John of Gaunt became Duke of Lancaster, a title held

by Queen Elizabeth II. 1364. The first Charter was granted to the Drapers’ Company by Edward III in 1364. This is the year King Edward went to his northern kingdom and rode with Robin to Nottingham “shooting arrows as they went.” In the ballad “Robin Hood and Guy of Gisbourne” line 89 tells us the two men discussed the “merchandise they made.” Ricardus de Gysborne was admitted to the freedom of York the same year as Robin in 1364 along with the tailor Radulfus de Waddesley. Adam Hood, the miller’s son became a litster (dyer) like Robin and a freeman of York two years later in 1366. Robin hunted deer in “Plumpton Parke.

1369. King Edward III “granted a special pardon to all except forest officials who had committed forest offences as recognition for the ‘great aids’ the Parliaments had granted him.”

1371. The chapel in St. Mary’s that Robin attended was not built until this year.

1377. Edward III “Our Comely King” died and William Langland’s “Piers Plowman” was published. The poem is a comment on the moral decline of contemporary society as exemplified by Lady Meed, real name Alice Perrers mistress of Edward III. Likewise the priest who should have known the Psalter, but only knew the rhymes of Robin Hood.

Langland, in 1377, unwittingly, but fortunately for us, connected Robin Hood to Edward III, our comely king and more dating evidence can be found in all the early ballads.

Laurence Minot confirmed Edward our comely king was indeed Edward III. 1381. The Sheriff of Nottingham Robert Morton was in Conisbrough Castle in Barnsdale when Robin was outlawed Copyright © 2020 Graham P Kirkby

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for his involvement in the Peasants Revolt that took place “when liveries and personal badges were in everyday use” (Keen) “thus showing a time of social change when the lower classes and criminal gangs were imitating the aristocracy” (Ohlgren) in the 14th and 15th century and is known as “Merrie England” (Ronald Hutton).

1390. Gisbourne died.

1396. William Courtenay died. He was the Bishop of Hereford and Prebendary of York. His journeys to York took him through Barnsdale where Robin Hood made the bishop of Hereford dance.

1400. William Langland died. There was a fresh outbreak of the Black Death.

1402 to 1416 Alice de Mounteney of Loxley became the prioress of Kirklees.

1429. Robert Stafford, alias Frere Tuk, was still evading the law.

C. 1450. Robert Fabyan was best placed to author “The Little Geste of Robin Hood.” He and the Long family were clothiers.

Fabyan was Master of Drapers,” historian and chronicler and friend of the Long family in which position he was ideally placed to compile “The Little Geste of Robin Hood” in which cloth and clothing are recurring themes. He died in 1512.

1618. In January 1618, after visiting Robert Armitage III of Kirklees Roger Dodsworth while still in Wakefield went into a local church and wrote: “Robin was born in the Bradfield Parish of Hallamshire; he wounded his stepfather to death at plough and fled into the woods where his mother sustained him until he was discovered. Then, he went to Clifton upon Calder where he met Little John who kept the kine. Little Copyright © 2020 Graham P Kirkby

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John is buried at Hathersage in Derbyshire where he has a fair tombstone with an inscription. Mr. Long saith that Fabyan saith Little John was Earl Huntley’s son after which he joined with Much the Miller’s son.”

(Huntly Castle itself had been through three rebuilds and that is what it was called in Fabyan’s lifetime, but in the 13th and 14th centuries it was Strathbogie.) *WADSLEY, a chapelry, with several villages became a manor under the control of the knightly De Wadsley family. They had manorial rights and built a manor hall, a deer park (Loxley Chase) and a chapel. Their surname was first recorded in 1227. For those with local knowledge the Manor of Wadsley is marked by the River Don from Oughtibridge through to Niagara Forge at Wadsley Bridge and the Sports Stadium at Owlerton where it joins the River Loxley. The boundary then follows the River Loxley to Malin Bridge then to Dam Flask. At Damflask the boundary takes a right turn to Kirk Edge Road near the convent, over Onesmoor and right down Coumes Brook that flows parallel with Wheel Lane and back to Church Street in Oughtibridge and the River Don.

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Robin Hood and the Potter

An example of Robin’s no-nonsense attitude is seen in Robin Hood and the Potter who Little John first met at Wentbridge where the potter refused to pay pavage tax, preferring instead to pay Little John with a good thrashing from his two-handed quarterstaff, the memory of which prompted Little John to bet Robin 40 shillings he could not make the potter pay, with money that is. With that, Robin accosted the potter, telling him that for the last three years and more never a penny of pavage tax had he paid. The potters replied, in the same manner, he had with Little John, and getting down from his horse he took up his two-handed staff from off his cart and with an “awkward” stroke (difficult to counter) smashed the buckler out of Robin’s hand, striking him in the neck on the follow-through. Robin with good grace admitted defeat and offered the potter a fellowship (business associate, line 94).

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Exchanging his clothes for those of the potter, Robin set off for Nottingham to sell the potter’s wares. On arrival at Nottingham market, he gave his horse oats and hay before setting up his stall. The pots sold like the proverbial hotcakes, because of their low price. The sheriff’s wife bought the last five pots and taking a liking to Robin, she invited him to dine with her and her husband. At dinner, the two men got on well. During the course of conversation, the sheriff challenged Robin to a shooting match which Robin won with ease, even though, as he said, “the bow they had given him was weak compared to the bow Robin Hood gave him.” When the sheriff heard this, he asked the ‘potter’ if he knew Robin to which the ‘potter’ truthfully replied that he had shot with him many times and would take the sheriff to meet him the next day.

Giving the sheriff’s wife a gold ring and thanking her for her hospitality the two men rode into the sunlit forest where Robin blew his horn, whereupon the sheriff found himself surrounded by Robin’s men. If it had not been for his wife’s hospitality, there is no telling what merriment Robin might have had at his expense, but instead, Robin contented himself with keeping the sheriff’s horse and making him walk home barefoot, saying he will send his wife a white palfrey.

When the sheriff told his wife, she laughed aloud and said, “By him, that died on a tree, now you have paid for all the pots that Robin gave to me.” Being the gentleman, he was the story ends with Robin paying the potter for his pots, which was much less than the value of the sheriff’s horse and allin-all Robin came out of it a richer man, without a stain on his character and with the satisfaction of having got the better of the sheriff of Nottingham.

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Robin Hood and the Monk Robin, who had not been to church for two weeks, decided to go to St. Mary’s in Nottingham. Much the miller’s son advised him to take 20 of his yeomen for safety-sake, but Robin would have none of it and insisted he and Little John would go together. On their journey, they struck a bet on who the best archer was, but when Little John claimed his five shillings for beating Robin, he refused to pay. This led to a fight in which Robin struck Little John, who promptly left his master, leaving Robin to go to Nottingham on his own.

On entering St. Mary’s church a great-headed monk who recognised Robin claimed he had been robbed by him.

The monk raised the alarm. He bared the town gates and alerted the sheriff who, along with his men, broke into the church where a fight ensued. Robin killed twelve of the sheriff’s men with his twohanded long-sword, but disaster followed when Robin was captured and thrown into jail. Further, accusations were made against him by other monks who all wrote letters of complaint against Robin to be taken to the king.

In the next scene, the outlaws heard from a passing merchant that Robin had been captured and jailed, so Little John, set off with Much the miller’s son to find the monk they knew had been sent to report Robin’s capture to the king. Finding the monk Little John killed him and took the Copyright © 2020 Graham P Kirkby

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letters from off his body while Much killed the page who would identify them. Little John and Much carried the monk’s letters to the king, telling him the monk had died on the way. After reading the letters, the king exclaimed there was never a yeoman in all Merry England he wished more to see. After that, the king gave Little John and Much twenty pounds and made them yeomen of the Crown, he also gave Little John his seal for identification purposes and told him to go to the sheriff at Nottingham and fetch Robin to him.

Arriving in Nottingham, the sheriff received Little John and Much courteously (sheriffs only stayed in office a short time) and asked after the monk, only to be told the king’s pleasure was such that he had made him abbot and lord of Westminster Abbey. On hearing that, the sheriff offered both men hospitality and after they had drunk their fill; the sheriff fell into a drunken stupor. Taking the opportunity, Little John and Much, the miller’s son went to the jail where they roused the sleeping jailer with the cry that Robin had escaped. Taking the bait he let them into the jail and as soon as they were in Little John killed the jailer. Taking the porter’s keys, he released Robin. The three men made haste and climbing over the city wall they escaped to Sherwood.

When the king heard what had happened, he remembered the hospitality and the money he had given them as well as making them Yeomen of the Crown, and he realised he had been well and truly tricked. Remembering the loyalty of Robin’s men and Robin’s loyalty to them the king, who was full of admiration for Robin Hood and the Merry men decided to draw a veil over the whole affair and let matters rest neither would he punish the jailer who had been tricked just as he had.

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The Geste (exploits) of Robin Hood FYTTE 1 How Robin Hood befriended the poor Knight Sir Richard at the Lee “Robin, when is it dinnertime,” asked Little John. “When a guest arrives, said Robin.” “Then let’s get the table ready while you tell us who we rob, beat, and leave.” “We rob the rich and give to the poor. We beat the Sheriff of Nottingham, and we leave the ploughmen in peace,” said Robin. “Now go with Much and Will up the Saylis and bring back the first churchman; abbot, earl, baron, knight, or squire you see.”

Soon along came a sad-looking knight. “Welcome to the Greenwood, Sir Knight,” said Little John, “my master invites you to dine with us.” “Do I know your master?” Asked the knight. “His name is Robin Hood,” Little John told him. “He is a good yeoman,” said the knight, “I intended dining at Blyth or Doncaster, but would like to meet good Robin Hood.” (*A yeoman of the forest, a forest official, often a bailiff (Canterbury Tales). Skilled with the longbow and the longsword.)

His cheeks were wet with tears Little John wondered if he would ever smile again. Back at the lodge, Robin had bread; wine, stews, deer, swans, and pheasant ready waiting.

Bowing, Robin said, “Welcome, Sir Knight, welcome.” The knight thanked Robin for dinner, saying, “When I come back to Yorkshire if I ever do, you will have the best dinner ever.”

“Thank you, Sir Knight,” said Robin; “but please, before you leave, a yeoman never pays for a knight.” “I have nothing, said the knight.” “Is that true” asked Robin, “God help you if it’s not!” “I only have ten shillings,” said the knight! “If that is right,” said Robin, “I won’t take a single penny. Should you need more, I will lend it to you.” “Go now, Little John, Copyright © 2020 Graham P Kirkby

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and see if the knight tells the truth.” Little John spread his cloak on the ground and counting out the money found the knight was true. “Fill your glasses,” said Robin, “and let’s think how we can help. His clothes are threadbare for starters. Tell me, sir knight, it will not go further than me.

You are so shabby, and you are indistinguishable from a scoundrel or a wastrel. Is that true?” “No, sir, not true. My ancestors lived here many winters ago, but my friends robbed me of £400. The final blow came when my son got jailed for killing a squire and a knight of Lancaster in a tournament. I had to borrow £400 bail money and if I don’t pay it back, I will lose everything.” “How will you survive if you lose everything,” asked Robin? “I will go to where Christ hung and died on the mountain of Golgotha and join him there. Adieu, friends enjoy your day, it can’t be worse than mine.”

Weeping, he got ready to leave, “Goodbye friends,” he said, “I cannot pay.” “Where are your friends,” asked Robin, “Lord only knows. When I had money, nothing kept them away, but now they avoid me like the plague.” Even Little John and Scathelock had tears in their eyes. “If you have a guarantor; I will lend you the money,” said Robin. “I only have Our Dear Lady,” said the knight, “she is always by my side.” “By God,” said Robin, “if I searched England through and through it would be impossible to find a better guarantor than the Mother of God. Now Little John, go to my treasury and get £400 to help this gentle knight.”

“Master,” said Little John, “his clothes are so worn they have holes in them, let’s give him a new livery to keep him warm.

You have scarlet and green, master, plus many rich things.”

“Give him three rods of every colour, and measure it generously,” said Robin. John had no measure other than his archer’s bow, so with every bow-length, he added half a length more. “Can’t you measure any better?” asked Much.

“You must be the only merchant who measures that way.”

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“Watch and learn from the best master merchant in the whole kingdom” Little John told him. Then to Robin, he said, “You need to give the knight a horse to carry everything.”

“Give him a grey courser,” said Robin, “and a new saddle, he rides for Our Lady.” “And a good saddle-horse,” said Much, “to keep him in his right.” “And a pair of boots,” said Scathelock, “right for a noble knight.” “John, what will you give?” “I will give golden spurs to see him on his way.” “When do you want your money back?” asked the knight. “This day in 12 months, under the greenwood tree,” said Robin, “and as a knight should ride with a squire by their side, Little John will be your companion.”

FYTTE 2 The Impoverished Knight Regains His Lands Talking to his convent at St. Mary’s, the abbot said, “Twelve months ago a knight borrowed £400. He used his land and property as security. If he does not come today, disinherited he will be.” “Give him more time,” said the Prior, “Do you think you should take everything it will be on your conscience if you do.” “Get out of my beard, by God and Saint Richard,” said the abbot. In came the High Cellar, a stubborn man was he. “With luck, his property will belong to us by nightfall,” he said. The abbot rubbed his hands in anticipation. He controlled the High Justice of England.

At the abbey gates, the knight changed into his old threadbare clothes. He went into the abbot’s hall and knelt as he greeted those present. Straightway the abbot asked, “do you have the money?” “Not a penny, said the knight, testing their attitude towards the poor.” “Then why come?” “I came to ask for an extension” said the knight. “Your time has gone,” said the abbot. “You have nothing.” The knight spoke up, “Well, judge, be my friend and defend me.” “I answer to the abbot,” said the judge. “Well, good sir sheriff, Copyright © 2020 Graham P Kirkby

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you be my friend!” “No, no, not me,” the sheriff said. “Well, good Abbot, you be my friend, please hold my land until I meet your demands. I will be your loyal servant and serve you well.”

The abbot swore a full oath: “Through him crucified, get your land where you want because you will not get it from me!

Get out that false knight.” The knight stood up and exclaimed, “You insult me by making me kneel and then you call me a false knight! In tournaments, I fought every challenger and won every time, and by God, I will beat you this moment.” He took the £400 Robin loaned him from a bag in his pocket and handed it to the Prior. “Take the gold. I intended giving the abbot extra for his kindness, but now I realise he planned to rob me of everything I own. When the rich rob the poor, Robin Hood robs them.”

The abbot sat still, his mouth wide open, the pheasant’s leg in mid-air. He threw his head back and shouted at the Prior, “Give me my gold.” “Don’t let the Abbot get hold of it,” said the knight, “put it in the abbey’s treasury away from his thieving hands.” The knight slammed the door as he left the building, feeling as though a weight was lifted off his shoulders. Outside, he donned his best clothes given him by Robin and his men and rode back to Uttersdale singing a merry tune. His splendid wife waiting for him at the gate said, “Welcome dear husband, are we now homeless?” “Good news, my dear, Robin’s loan beat the churchmen at their own game. Our property is secure, and they will not worry us any more.”

(Uttersdale/Verysdale. V and W were late addition to the alphabet.)

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FYTTE 3 Robin beats and binds the Sheriff of Nottingham On a bright day when young men liked to shoot; Little John took his bow and walked to the butts. Three times he shot and three times he split the wand. Standing close by, the arrogant Sheriff could not believe his eyes. “My God,” he exclaimed, “apart from Robin Hood, you are the best archer I have ever seen. Tell me your name and your birthplace.” “My place of birth is Holderness, and men there call me Reynold Greenleaf.” “Come and work for me, Reynold Greenleaf, 20 marks a year I pay.” “Not without my lord, a courteous knight gives permission, said little Little John.”

Robin let Little John go with the sheriff for 12 months only on condition the sheriff gave him a good strong horse. Little John hated working for the sheriff, his loyalty belonged to Robin so he devised a plan. His chance came on a Wednesday morning when the sheriff went hunting and forgot to take him. At midday, Little John asked for dinner.

The butler refused, saying we only eat when the sheriff gets home. Feeling rejected, Little John told the cook, “If you don’t bring my dinner this minute, I will crack your skull.”

The butler ignored him and so did the cook. With that, Little John strode into the kitchen and pushing the cook aside, marched into the pantry. The cook, a fat man, and a daredevil in his kitchen hit Little John in the face. “You do not tell me what to do in my master’s house, he shouted.”

“Either you are a brave man or a fool to try it on with me,” said Little John. Grabbing swords, they fought until exhausted. Neither landed a blow. Little John, seeing the cook’s skill, suggested he joined with Robin’s band of merry men. “Drop your sword,” said the cook, “and we will be friends.” With that, he fetched the calf of a doe, good bread, plenty of wine and together they toasted their loyalty to each other.

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When darkness fell, they broke into the treasurer’s house and took silver bowls, spoons, money and anything else they could carry. Come daylight, Little John took the sheriff’s cook to Robin and told him everything they had. Then, having an idea, Little John ran into the forest until he found the sheriff hunting with hound and horn. “Reynold Greenleaf,” said the Sheriff, “Where have you been?”

“Looking for deer the same as you. I saw a master hart the colour of green and seven score more in a herd, so I came to tell you.” “Take me to them,” said the Sheriff. “Quick, this way,” said Little John. The Sheriff rode, and Little John ran by his side. When he saw Robin, Little John pointed and said, “There stands the master hart.” The arrogant sheriff stood stock still, an anxious man: “You traitor Reynold Greenleaf! You betrayed me.” “Master,” said Little John to the sheriff, “You should treat your men better. Because I did not get my dinner, we have your silver and £303.” “Look on the bright side sheriff,” said Robin. “You could be dead.”

After their meal when the sun was setting, Robin told Little John to change into his green coat. Taking off his trousers, shoes and tunic, Little John put on his fur-lined coat and lay down to sleep, as did the others. The arrogant sheriff in his shirt and breeches got colder and colder through the night.

“Make glad cheer,” said Robin, “In our order, we live this way when we sleep under the greenwood tree.” “You have a hard order,” said the Sheriff, “even hermits and friars don’t suffer this way. I will not stay here for all the gold in Merry England.” “Sheriff,” said Robin, “you will live in the forest with me and my men for the next 12 months and I will teach you about life in the greenwood.” “Robin, now I pray you,” said the sheriff, “Let me go for Saint Charity and I will be the best friend you ever had.” “You will swear me an oath,” said Robin. “On my bright sword and promise me you will never harm me, either on water or on land. Furthermore, you will promise to always come to my men’s aid at any time should

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they need it.” The Sheriff swore his oath and started his journey home. Robin had beaten the sheriff of Nottingham.

FYTTE 4 Robin Hood restores the knight’s fortune at the expense of the Abbott.

The Sheriff hurried back to Nottingham, leaving Robin and his men in peace. “Is it dinnertime yet,” asked Little John: “Not yet, our Lady appears angry with me, my money from the knight hasn’t come.” “Do not fear, master!” Said Little John; “I know the knight will keep his word.” “While we wait,” said Robin, “take your best bow, and go with Much and Will to the Saylis and if someone comes who is poor, we will help them.”

Off the three went. Soon a Benedictine Monk appeared, riding a good saddle-horse. “It looks as though he brings our money,” said Little John. “Prepare your bows; he has over 50 men and seven pack-horses.” “Brethren,” said Little John.

“We three men invite you to dinner, you will come with us.”

“Make your men stand down, or they will die,” said the Monk. “Stay, churl Monk!” Said Little John, “no further will you go. If you do, then by precious God, you may die.” “Tell me your master’s name,” said the Monk. “Robin Hood,” Little John shouted. “That thief,” said the Monk. “In all of Barnsdale, I hear no good” “You lie,” said Little John, “And for that, you are in trouble; a yeoman of the forest, bids you dine with him.” Being ready with an arrow, Much shot the monk in the breast. The monk fell to the ground and his men fled. They took the monk to Robin’s lodge and made him wash. During dinner, Robin asked, “Where do you live,” “Saint Mary’s Abbey,” said the Monk, “I answer to no man here.” “What office do you hold?” Asked Robin; “Sir, the High Cellarer.” “You are welcome.” Said Robin, “ever may I prosper; fetch the best wine, this Monk will drink with me.

To think, I feared our Lady; the Patron Saint of Saint Mary’s Abbey might fail me.”

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“It looks as though this Monk of her Abbey, brings your pay,” said John. “And she is the guarantor of the money I loaned the knight,” said Robin. “You High Cellarer serve Our Lady every day, and as her messenger, you bring my pay. Thank you for coming. How much do you bring?” Asked Robin.

“Twenty marks,” the High Cellarer said, “enough for my daily expenses.” “If that is all, I won’t take a penny; and if you need more, I will lend it to you. Should you have more,” said Robin, “you will have it no longer. For, by your admission, you only need 20 marks. Little John check his bags.” Little John spread his mantle on the ground and counted over £800 in the monk’s wallet. Little John said to Robin, “Our Lady has doubled your pay.” “By precious God,” said Robin Hood, “Our Dear Lady is the best guarantor in the entire world.” The monks jumped on their horses and galloped away, shouting “Blyth and Doncaster are cheaper.” “Greet well your Abbot and your Prior I pray,” said Robin, “and bid the Abbot send a monk to dine with me every day.”

Sir Richard of the Lee arrived while it was still light.

Dismounting, he knelt on one knee. “May God save you, Robin Hood, and your company.” “Welcome be thou; noble knight, do you still own your land, the truth tell me now.”

“Yes, thanks to you, good sir. Don’t be angry with my lateness; I came by a tournament and helped a poor cheated yeoman.” “Sir Knight,” said Robin, “Any man that helps a yeoman is my friend.” “I bring the £400 you loaned me,” said the knight, “and twenty marks for your kindness.” Robin refused the money saying, “nay, for Lady by her High Cellarer has sent me my pay.” After Robin finished telling his tale, the knight laughed and exclaimed, “By my pledge. Your money is ready here!” “Yes,” said Robin, “the monks paid your loan with interest. I have my £400 back that I loaned you plus £400 more. I am satisfied with what I have and for that reason, I have written off your debt to me. The £400 you earned during the year covers the £400 your friends stole

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from you. Your son is free, and we are both £400 better off than last year.”

FYTTE 5 The impoverished knight protects Robin Hood As the knight turned for home Robin announced a tournament in Nottingham against the sheriff’s men. They each had six shots, and the winner got a silver arrow. Three times Robin sliced the wand as did Gilbert, with the white hand. Robin won the silver arrow, but during a fracas, someone hit Little John in the knee with an arrow. He could neither walk nor ride a horse. “Robin,” said Little John, “don’t let the sheriff get me, I would rather die than fall into his hands, get your brown sword and chop off my head.” “No way,” said Robin. “Not for all the gold in England.” With one heave Robin lifted Little John onto his back and carried his friend until they came to a fair castle double ditched, sheltered in a wood. There lived the noble knight Sir Richard at the Lee. He ushered them in, shut the gates, raised the drawbridge, and took them into the main hall where they feasted like kings for 12 days, repaying Robin many times over for the meal he had promised Robin at the Saylis. Even better, he had beaten the Sheriff of Nottingham.

FYTTE 6 The Sheriff meets his end “You are a traitor,” the Sheriff said to Sir Richard. “You protect the King’s enemies and break the law.” “Sir,” said Sir Richard, “I will support everything I did, go away, be on your way. Do not come back until you find the king’s will.”

Straightway the sheriff went to London Town to see the King.

There he told how the knight protected Robin Hood. “My king,” said the sheriff, “the knight said he supported everything he did to protect the outlaws. He makes you my king powerless in your northern kingdom.”

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“I plan to go to Nottingham and will take care of Robin Hood and the knight when I get there,” said the king. “Go home sheriff and get the best archers in England.” By this time Little John could walk and run again on his injured knee.

The sheriff plotted how to capture Sir Richard as commanded by the king. His chance came while Sir Richard hunted by the river bank and Robin hunted deer in the Greenwood. Mission accomplished, the sheriff took Sir Richard to Nottingham, tied hand and foot. When the knight’s wife heard her husband’s fate, she mounted her horse and rode into the greenwood. Finding Robin and his men under the greenwood tree, she said, “God bless you good Robin and your company. The sheriff has my wedded lord bound fast in Nottingham for his loyalty to you, for the sake of our Dear Lady, please, I ask, bring him safe back home.”

Robin jumped up, “come on men, let’s go rescue our friend.”

They soon found the sheriff in Nottingham town, “Stay there, you horrible man” Robin said, “and tell of our king.” Robin bent a full good bow, an arrow he drew at will and hit the Sheriff in the heart. On the ground, he lay full still. Should he not be dead, Robin struck off the Sheriff’s head. “Lie there you obnoxious man, you evil lump of dirt. Nobody could trust you while alive, but now we all will thrive.” Robin’s men fought the Sheriff’s men with their bright swords while Robin cut Sir Richard free. He thrust a bow into his hands and said, “Leave your horse and learn to run. From now on, you will come to the Greenwood through mire, moss, and fen, till I have the grace of Edward, our comely King.”

FYTTE 7 Robin and the king meet face to face

The King and his knights went to Nottingham and Lancashire to hunt; capture Robin Hood and seize his lands as he said he would. In Lancashire Robin herded and killed deer at will while the king failed to find a single one. Furious Copyright © 2020 Graham P Kirkby

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with Robin Hood, he said, “I will give the knight’s lands to whoever brings me his head. Up a fair old loyal knight spoke: “Ah! My liege lord the King, a word with you if I may.

While ever Robin rides a horse and carries a bow, there will be trouble in the north if you give his lands to another.

After half a year or more, Robin still evaded the king. Then up spoke a proud forester standing close by, “If you want to see good Robin Hood, take five of your best knights, go to the abbey in the valley below and put on monks’ habits. You Sire wear abbots clothing, and I will lead you to him.” The king processed to Nottingham, his “monks,” wore grey, and the horses followed.

They found Robin under a linden tree surrounded by archers bold. Robin took the king’s horse and said, “Sir Abbot, please stay awhile, we yeomen are poor, yet you hold churches, rents, and gold. Please help.” Then spoke our comely King straightway saying, “the king, and I spent much in Nottingham and I only have 40 pounds left. If I had a hundred pounds, you could have half.” Robin took the £40, saying while sharing it with his men, “you promised fifty, thank you, sir, forty will do for now until we meet again.”

“Thank you!” Said our King.

Then Robin invited the Abbot to dine under the trysting-tree.

He took his full great horn and gave a loud blast. Seventy strong young men came and knelt before him in quick formation. This impressed the king, Robin’s men obeyed him better than his own. Robin and Little John served the King with fattened venison, good white bread, red wine, and fine brown ale. “Make good cheer, ‘’ said Robin, “Abbot, for charity, I make the same plea.” “Thank you, Sir blessed art thou be.”

The meal finished, Robin entertained the abbot with an archery contest. Our King, fearing he might lose, said to Copyright © 2020 Graham P Kirkby

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move the marks closer. Bending their bows, Robin shot twice and both times he split the wand as did good Gilbert with the white hand. Little John and good Scathelock failed, and each time Robin hit them sore. Robin’s last shot missed the target by at least three fingers width. Up spoke good Gilbert, saying: “Master, your shot failed. Stand forth and take your punishment like a man. “Yes, said Robin. “Here Sir Abbot I give you my silver arrow, and because I lost to you, I pray, sir, you serve me with a blow. “Hit me hard, said Robin, “I give you leave. The King rolled his sleeve up and the strength of his blow sent Robin flying to the ground. “You are a stalwart friar,’’ said Robin, “your arm is strong enough to kill. I know thou can well shoot … Robin’s voice faded as he realised the abbot’s true identity and knelt before the King.

Our King and Robin met this way. After confirming, he was the king, Robin, and Sir Richard of the Lea looked into the King’s face. They and all the wild outlaws knelt. Robin said, My Lord the King of England, I love you true! Of thy goodness and thy grace under your trysting-tree, I beg for my men and me! Yes, for God, “said Robin Hood. Please, God, he saves me! Mercy, I plead my lord the King, and for my men, I crave. “Mercy then, Robin, said our King. “Yes, for God,’’ he said. “Now you leave the Greenwood and your company and come to my court and there you will dwell with me. “I made my support to God, said Robin, “And it will be. I will be there in your court, your service to see and bring my men seven scores and three. If I dislike your service, I will return and shoot the dunne deer (brown deer), as I always do.

FYTTE 8 Robin lived with the king before returning to Barnsdale

“Do you have any green cloth to sell me?” Asked our King.

“Yes,” said Robin, “Thirty poles and three.” “Robin,” said our King, “Sell me your green cloth so I can dress my archers

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good and true.” “Yes, Sir,” said Robin, “and you will clothe me in green before Christmas too.”

The king threw off his cloak and put on Lincoln Green like his knights. “To Nottingham, we go,” said our King. They bent their bows, and shooting together, off they went. Our King and Robin rode side by side playing pluck buffet on the way. After suffering many buffets the king said, “God help me. You are too good Robin my man, I will never win, even if we shoot all year.”

The people of Nottingham stood and stared, mantles of green covered the field. “Our king must have died,” they said, “and Robin Hood has come to town. He leaves no one alive.”

Panicking, they fled. Yeomen and old women hobbled on sticks as quick as they could go. The King shook with laughter and told them to go back. They rejoiced to know their king still lived and celebrated with food, wine and boisterous singing.

Then the King spoke to Sir Richard at the Lee and returned his land, bidding him loyal be. Robin knelt on one knee and thanked our comely king. Robin lived in the king’s court for 15 months. His money, property, and men had gone except for Little John and William Scathelock as he sought favour in the king’s court. Robin watched the young men shooting way off target and thought; “I was the best archer in the whole of Merry England, but now my strength has gone. If I stay any longer with the king, I will die of heartache.”

His mind made up, our Robin talked with the king: “Sire, grant me, I pray! I made a beautiful chapel in Barnsdale to Mary Magdalene and need to go there barefoot wearing a hair shirt as a penance for my sins.” “Then I will allow it,” said the king. “Seven nights I give you, no longer to leave me on my own.” “Thank you, Sire,” said Robin on his bended knee.

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Saying goodbye, he headed to the Greenwood. Birdsong filled the air as Robin arrived back home on a bright and sunny morning. He felt young again, “I missed this place. I love to shoot.” He shot a full noble heart and then he blew his horn. Knowing their master had returned, all seven score men came ready, standing in a row. “Welcome,” they said, bending the knee, their hoods removed, “our dear master, under the greenwood tree.” Robin lived in the Greenwood for 20 years and two. Till his wicked kinswoman, the prioress of Kirklees, betrayed him for the love of her special lover. Much evil did she and the knight Sir Rogers of Doncaster plot in secret together how best to kill him. By their foul play, they betrayed the noble Robin Hood. Dear Christ have mercy on his soul.

Notes John Harrison in his Exact and Perfect Survey of the Manor of Sheffield and other Lands published 1637 wrote, “William Green, one of my Lord’s keepers held these parcels of land following No. 352. Imprimis, Great Haggas Croft near Robin Hood’s Bower is environed with Loxley Firth and contains 1 acre, 2 Roods, and 27 square perches. Item; Little Haggas Croft wherein is the foundation of a house or cottage where Robin Hood was born; this piece, is compassed about with Loxley Firth and contains two Roods and 13 square perches.”

Roger Dodsworth, a notable antiquarian born 1585 added more detail when he wrote: “Robert Locksley born in the Bradfield Parish of Hallamshire wounded his stepfather to death while ploughing and fled into the woods where his mother sustained him. Then, going to Clifton-upon-Calder (Kirklees) he met Little John who kept the kine. After which, he joined with Much the Miller’s son.”

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*A. H. Smith in the “Place-Names of the West Riding of Yorkshire” simply notes “this Loxley is the one associated with the Robin Hood ballads.” (English Place-Name Society, vols. XXX-XXXVII). Cambridge: University Press,) *Locational surnames, such as Robin of Loxley, were used, particularly as a means of identification for those who left their birthplace to settle elsewhere. (Surname database) The Chapelry of Wadsley covered an area approximately 8 square miles and included Loxley, Hillsborough, Oughtibridge, Middlewood, Worrall and Holdsworth.

Trysting trees are trees of any species which have, through their individual prominence, appearance, or position, being chosen as traditional or popular meeting places for specific purposes. Names, dates, and symbols are sometimes found carved on the bark, favouring trees with smooth bark, such as beech, hornbeam and sycamore. (Wiki) The yellow dye arbutin when added to blue woad makes Lincoln Green. It comes from the cranberry, mulberry and blueberry shrubs, but turns the skin white, hence Gilbert’s white hand.

Barons, who were often property rich but cash poor, robbed wealthy merchants, while Robin, a wealthy merchant himself, took from the king, and churchmen.

Good: various meanings, but from the 15th century when the Geste was written it meant skilled or excellent.

Proud: brave, valiant, old French.

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Outlaw: various meanings, but this seems appropriate: “a person who rebels against established rules or practices; nonconformist.”

Courteous: gracious, benevolent.

Gentle knight: from Latin gentilis, of the same clan.

The abbots of St. Mary were known for their excessive personal fortunes and were frequently in a position to furnish loans to the sovereign. Licences transferring ownership of property in perpetuity granted to the abbey for the acquisition of various properties were numerous. (British history online.)

Sir Henry Green. Knight, High Justice of England, Lord Chancellor, and Chief Justice of the King’s Bench was stripped of his office on charges of corruption in 1365. The Geste tells us the abbot of St Marys had a hold over the Justice of England. (“The justyce of Englonde, the abbot there dyde holde.”)

Sir Richard was licensed by the king to go overseas in 1364.

(Family tree.) He and the king were at Bestwood together.

The Battle of Auray led by de Montfort took place in September that same year.

King Edward charged his sheriffs and sometimes his knights with recruiting the best archers. They held competitions throughout the country. The Geste describes two of these events. In the one at Bestwood, Robyn Hood, Gylberte with the white hand, Little John, good Scathelocke and the king shot at two rose-garlands fifty paces apart. The loser suffered a “buffet” on his head. Then, Robin and the King went from Bestwood to Nottingham, dressed in Lincoln Green, shooting

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at targets as they went. The king needed to recruit archers for the impending Battle of Auray on 19th September 1364.

The route King Edward took along the Pass of Lancashire possibly followed the old Roman Road to York. It started near Blackpool on the west coast, then diverted south to Great/Little Plumpton near Westby, then followed the Calder, Ribble and Wharfe river valleys and continued east to the southern edge of the Forest of Bowland, noted for its wild boar. Within the Forest of Bowland is the Forest of Gisburn.

At that time the land belonged to King Edward’s son John O Gaunt so presumably, the hunting was fit for a king.

Edward III often wore a disguise. In 1341, he competed against 250 others while disguised and trounced them all.

Three years later Edward disguised himself again and won the prize as the best knight in the royal household on three consecutive days. When his son John of Gaunt married in 1359 he celebrated with a tournament, competing against his four eldest sons plus 19 nobles dressed as the mayor and aldermen of London and again, he beat the field with honour.

In one tournament he wore Thomas Breadstone’s coat of arms and in 1348 he fought incognito at Calais under the command of Walter Mauny. (M. Prestwich) Charles R. Young, The Royal Forests of Medieval England (Philadelphia: Univ. of Pennsylvania Press, 1979), p. 147.)

Our comely king was Edward III. (Laurence Minot.)

After the Peasants Revolt in York, many artisans moved into the West Riding rural communities and weaving became a cottage industry. Daniel Defoe, merchant and author wrote about Wakefield, “the highest magistrate was a constable.

Cloth manufactures were many, and a great trade exists in

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the wool and clothing industry of this county for use both at home and abroad.”

A fitting tribute to Robin Hood is Robinhood Street Close in Wakefield, so named long after his death. The Encyclopaedia Britannica tells us “The authentic Robin Hood ballads were the poetic expression of popular aspirations in the north of England during a turbulent era of baronial rebellions and agrarian discontent, which culminated in the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381.”

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