+Argument.+--The Sheriff of Nottingham secures the assistance of the High Sheriff, and besets the knight’s castle, accusing him of harbouring the king’s enemies. The knight bids him appeal to the king, saying he will ‘avow’ (_i.e._ make good or justify) all he has done, on the pledge of all his lands. The sheriffs raise the siege and go to London, where the king says he will be at Nottingham in two weeks and will capture both the knight and Robin Hood. The sheriff returns home to get together a band of archers to assist the king; but meanwhile Robin has escaped to the greenwood. However, the sheriff lies in wait for the knight, captures him and takes him bound to Nottingham. The knight’s lady rides to Robin and begs him to save her lord; whereupon Robin and his men hasten to Nottingham, kill the sheriff, release the knight, and carry him off to the greenwood. The latter episode--of Robin’s release, at the request of his wife, of a knight taken captive by the sheriff--comes probably from a separate ballad: _Robin Hood rescuing Three Squires_ tells a similar story. This the compiler of the _Gest_ has apparently woven in with the story of the previous fyttes, though he has not done so very thoroughly (_e.g._, the inconsistency of Robin’s question to the knight’s wife, ‘What man hath your lord i-take?’ with his knowledge of the knight’s defiance of the sheriff). The compiler has also neatly prepared the way for the introduction of the seventh and eighth fyttes by the knight’s appeal to the king; but, having done so, he has apparently forgotten the king’s undertaking to come to Nottingham, and has allowed the sheriff to anticipate that plan and capture the knight without assistance. THE SIXTH FYTTE 317. Lythe and lysten, gentylmen, And herkyn to your songe; Howe the proudë shyref of Notyngham, And men of armys stronge, 318. Full fast cam to the hyë shyref, The contrë up to route, And they besette the knyghtës castell, The wallës all aboute. 319. The proudë shyref loude gan crye, And sayde, ‘Thou traytour knight, Thou kepest here the kynges enemys, Agaynst the lawe and right.’ 320. ‘Syr, I wyll avowe that I have done, The dedys that here be dyght, Upon all the landës that I have, As I am a trewë knyght. 321. ‘Wende furth, sirs, on your way, And do no more to me Tyll ye wyt oure kyngës wille, What he wyll say to thee.’ 322. The shyref thus had his answere, Without any lesynge; Forth he yede to London towne, All for to tel our kinge. 323. Ther he telde him of that knight, And eke of Robyn Hode, And also of the bolde archars, That were soo noble and gode. 324. ‘He wyll avowe that he hath done, To mayntene the outlawes stronge; He wyll be lorde, and set you at nought, In all the northe londe.’