Crist have mercy on his sowle
That dyed on the rood,
For he was a good outlawe
And dyde pore men much good.
The railed-in spot where he, by tradition, lies buried had once, we are told, a stone inscribed
[Click [here] for transliteration.]
But this appears to have been the invention of Martin Parker, author of the "True Tale" of the hero, c. 1632. It still, however, imposes upon the credulous and supports the somewhat sweeping saying current in Camden's time: "Tales of Robin Hood are good for fools."
Wykyn de Worde's collection of Robin Hood romances is itself a proof of the wide popularity the hero had always enjoyed, and did still enjoy; but it does not stand alone as proof. In 1444 we hear a grumbling voice speaking of Robin, Little John, Friar Tuck, and the others of that immortal band, "of whom the foolish vulgar, in comedies and tragedies, make entertainments, and are delighted to hear the jesters and minstrels sing them, above all other ballads."