Hello, and today we begin our medieval adventures with The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle. Last year, we examined another medieval classic, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, and I had so much fund conducting research and analyzing the text that I wanted to relive that experience.
To begin, we just have to know that this text was published in 1883 and that it is considered to be the book on Robin Hood. After discussing urtexts on here, we find that there are many ballads written about Robin Hood from yesteryear, including “A Gest of Robyn Hood,” “Robin Hood and the Monk,” “Robin Hood and the Potter,” and “Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne.” However, as contemporary readers, we need to consider accessibility of language, so I have settled on Pyle’s more straightforward text.
Additionally, the stories are episodic and detail many of Robin Hood’s most famous adventures, from his meeting with Little John, a famous archery contest, and his final days. I hope you enjoy this Reading of… series and hope you stick with it until the end.
(Also, you can find the book on Project Gutenberg for free!
Chapter 1 -2
In the beginning, Robin lives in the English countryside. He was a talented archer and “could speed a gray goose shaft with such skill and cunning” that no other stood in his way. Robin was a virtuous, honorable man.
While out walking through the forest one day, he is encountered by a group of foresters. The men challenge him to a shooting contest, which Robin wins handily. However, one of the members of the group, drunk and angry that Robin won so easily, attempts to murder the youth and fires an arrow at him. Robin, turning on his heels after being missed by only “three inches,” lets loose an arrow and it kills the man in return. Afterward, Robin flees into Sherwood Forest, where he decides to live as an outlaw.
Robin lives alone in the forest for a long time–away from Locksley Town–as an outlaw for murder and poaching. The Sheriff of Nottingham swears to bring Robin to justice to reap the reward and to exact revenge, as the man Robin shot down was of relation.
Robin eventually begins to attract attention from “yeomen” who see him as “their leader and chief,” and they begin their acts of kindness and generosity to the local population.
“But to the poor folk they would give a helping hand in need and trouble, and would return to them that which had been unjustly taken from them,” the text states. “… they swore never to harm a child nor wrong a woman …”
While seemingly content, one day Robin’s Merry Men inform him that they have seen little fare in the woods, so Robin leaves to find game. He travels far and wide searching for food to hunt and comes upon a bridge. There, he meets a tall men who challenges him to a duel with staves. Robin agrees and the two men engage in a bout. It turns out that this man is Little John, a protector of sort, and Robin’s right hand man.
Additionally, Robin meets a tinker by the name of Wat o’ the Crabstaff, who carries a warrant for his arrest. Robin is crafty and sly though. He pretends to be somebody else and accompanies the tinker to a nearby inn. There, he plies the man with many drinks until he falls asleep. Then, he takes the warrant. The next day, Crabstaff finds Robin and they battle. The man is so brave and fierce that Robin asks him to join his Merry Men.
As Robin tells him: “”Nay, touch him not,” said Robin, “for a right stout man is he. A metal man he is by trade, and a mettled man by nature; moreover, he doth sing a lovely ballad. Say, good fellow, wilt thou join my merry men all?”
And, he does.
Chapter 3 – 5
Continuing, Robin engages in an archery contest in Nottingham Town, which is in fact a trap to lure the outlaw into the clutches of the Sheriff of Nottingham. Robin attends the contest disguised as somebody else and wins the competition.
As the story is told, “Then the tattered stranger stepped forth, and all the people laughed as they saw a yellow patch that showed beneath his arm when he raised his elbow to shoot, and also to see him aim with but one eye. He drew the good yew bow quickly, and quickly loosed a shaft; so short was the time that no man could draw a breath betwixt the drawing and the shooting; yet his arrow lodged nearer the center than the other by twice the length of a barleycorn.”
Revealing himself after his victory, Robin escapes with a few of his Merry Men and the venture back to Sherwood. However, Will Stutely (one of the Merry Men) is captured by the Sheriff’s men and is set to be executed. Disguising themselves once again, Robin and some of his men gain access to the town and free Will in the shortly before he is to be hanged.
The author writes that Will looked up from his shackles “he felt his heart leap within him and then stand still for pure joy,” as he saw some of the men of Sherwood nearby and “his own good master in the press … Robin Hood …”
Lastly, Robin uses a disguise as a butcher to return to Nottingham. There, he sells his wares and gains the attention of the Sheriff, who invites him to dine with him. Robin gains information on the Sheriff’s plans and once again reveals himself and fights his way to escape, leaving the Sheriff humiliated and embarrassed.
“Then bitterly the Sheriff rued the day that first he meddled with Robin Hood, for all men laughed at him and many ballads were sung by folk throughout the country, of how the Sheriff went to shear and came home shorn to the very quick,” the author writes. “For thus men sometimes overreach themselves through greed and guile.”
Analysis
In chapters one through five we learn a great deal about Robin Hood and his Merry Men. We meet many characters, from Little John to Crabstaff and the Sherriff. We also learn why the Sheriff of Nottingham hates Robin so much, as Robin is generally a thorn in the man’s side.
These introductory chapters set the stage for conflicts to come, and it also shows that the men of the Sherwood Forest are kind, giving, and nurturing. They embody knightly qualities while also sharing the dichotomy of outlaws. That is to say, how can somebody be both hated by law but loved by the people? But such is the story of Robin Hood.
Works Cited
Pyle, Howard. The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood. Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1883. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/964/pg964-images.html
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