Robin Hood / A collection of all the ancient poems, songs, and ballads, now extant, relative to that celebrated English outlaw. To which are prefixed historical anecdotes of his life.

by Unknown

XXIII. ROBIN HOOD RESCUING THE WIDOW’S THREE SONS FROM THE SHERIFF WHEN GOING TO BE EXECUTED.

This ballad, from the York edition of “Robin Hood’s Garland,” is probably one of the oldest extant of which he is the subject. In the more common editions is a modernised copy, in which the “silly old woman” is converted into “a gay lady;” but even this is more ancient than many of the pieces here inserted, and is entitled, by its merit, to a place in the Appendix.

The circumstance of Robin’s changing clothes with the palmer is, possibly, taken from an old romance intitled “The noble hystory of the moost excellent and myghty prynce and hygh renowmed knyght kynge Ponthus of Galyce and of lytell Brytayne, Enprynted at London in Flete strete at the sygne of the sonne by Wynkyn de Worde, In the yere of our lorde god, M.CCCCC.XI.,” 4to, b. l., sig. I. 6: “And as he [Ponthus] rode he met with a poore palmer beggynge his brede the whiche had his gowne all to clouted and an olde pylled hatte, so he alyght and sayd to the palmer, frende we shall make a chaunge of all our garmentes, for {304} ye shall have my gowne and I shall have yours and your hatte. A syr sayd the palmer ye bourde you with me. In good fayth sayd Ponthus I do not, so he dyspoyled hym and cladde hym with all his rayment, and he put vpon hym the poore mannes gowne, his gyrdell, his hosyn, his shone, his hatte, and his bourden.”

There are twelve months in all the year,

As I hear many say,

But the merriest month in all the year

Is the merry month of May.

Now Robin Hood is to Nottingham gone