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.
General
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.
Ballads, English -- England -- Texts; Outlaws -- Poetry; Robin Hood (Legendary character) -- Poetry; Songs, English -- England -- Texts
“Now shall ye here of Laban :
Whan tidynges to him were comen,
Tho was he a fulle sory man,
Whan he herde howe his vitaile were nomen,
And howe his men were slayne,
And Gye was go safe hem froo ;
He defyed _Mahounde_, and _Apolyne_,
_Jubiter_, _Astarol_, and ALCARON also.”
Wynken de Worde printed “A lytell treatyse of the Turkes law called
Alcaron, &c.” See Herbert, 224.
If, however, Acaron be the true reading, we shall find an idol of
that name in the Bible, 2 Regum i. 16, ed. Vulgate.
It was, at the same time, a proper name in the East: as “Accaron
princeps insulæ Cypri” is mentioned by Roger de Hoveden, 786.
[303] We should probably read frantick baboon!
[304] Ground near Moorfields, London, famous in old times for the
archery practised there. “In the year 1498,” says Stow, “all the
gardens which had continued time out of minde, without Mooregate,
to wit, about and beyond the lordship of Fensberry, were destroyed.
And of them was made a plaine field for archers to shoote in.”
Survay of London, 1598, p. 351. See also p. 77, where it is
observed that “about the feast of S. Bartlemew . . . the officers
of the city . . . were challengers of all men in the suburbes,
. . . before the ‘lord’ maior, aldermen, and sheriffes, in FENSBERY
FIELDE, to shoote the standarde, broade arrow, and flight, for
games.” There is a tract intitled, “Ayme for Finsburie archers, or
an alphabetical table of the names of every marke within the same
fields, with the true distances, both by the map, and dimensuration
with the line. Published for the ease of the skilfull, and behoofe
of the yoonge beginners in the famous exercise of archerie, by J.
J. and E. B. To be sold at the signe of the Swan in Grub-street, by
F. Sergeant, 1594.” 16mo. Republished by R. F. 1604; and again by
James Partridge, 1628, 12mo.
These famous archers are mentioned by Ben Jonson (Every Man in his
Humour, act i. scene 1): “Because I dwell at Hogsden I shall keep
company with none but the archers of Finsbury.”
The practice of shooting here is alluded to by Cotton in his
Virgile Travestie (b. iv.), 1667:
“And arrows loos’d from Grub-street bow,
In FINSBURY, to him are slow;”
and continued till within the memory of persons now living.
[305] The situation of this chase cannot be ascertained. There is
an ancient family seat in Westmoreland called Dalham-tower.
[306] Either the bishop was a very bad reckoner, or there is some
mistake in the copy: three hundred nobles are exactly a hundred
pounds. The common editions read ninety-nine angels, which would be
no more than £49, 10s. No such coin or denomination, however, as
either angel or noble existed in Robin Hood’s time.
[307] I see.
[308] Then did.
[309] He . . was.
[310] Robin Hood.
[311] To.
[312] Robin Hood.
[313] See before, p. 235.
[314] Doubtless.
[315] When I came here.
[316] Doth . . . arrow gain.
[317] Robin Hood.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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