1912

BOLD ROBIN HOOD AND HIS OUTLAW BAND

by Louis Rhead

AUTHOR'S PREFACE -

IN this version of the Robin Hood tradition I have endeavored to group the various incidents in logical progression, and to connect them as intimately as possible with the customs and manners of the age in which it is supposed he lived- the latter part of the twelfth century. Moreover, I have made character-portraits of all the principals in the legend (not included in the electronic version), paying particular attention to historical accuracy in the matter of dress, arms, and other accessories. It is a singular circumstance that the name of an outlawed individual of the twelfth century should remain as well known as that of Richard the Lion-hearted or the Black Prince; that the echoes of his personality should be preserved in household ballad and fireside tale; that his words and deeds continue to be a familiar part of the Anglo-Saxon heritage- all this is pretty conclusive proof that Robin Hood was an actual living personage. There is nothing mythical about the achievements of the renowned outlaw; and though medieval English historians never mentioned this notable man, it was probably his avowed enmity to churchmen that caused the monks to refrain from rendering homage to his virtues. History, in former times, was written by none but monks.

It is remarkable that one of the best stories of Robin Hood was written and illustrated by an American artist who had never set foot on English soil. In this latter respect I am more fortunate, having been born in the same country as Robin Hood and having passed much of my early life in roaming about what still remains of Sherwood and Needwood forests. I have endeavored to retain the quaint, simple, yet direct style of the ballads, which are surprisingly unaffected and natural in their appeal to the youthful mind. These ballads supply the material for all but three of the twenty-five chapters. The first three chapters are original matter, because no ballad describes and history is silent concerning the childhood and youth of Robin Hood. Most of the earlier versions begin with Robin at his meeting with Little John, when he was a full-fledged outlaw of middle age. Some of the ballads are very ancient- one, in particular, was printed in black letter by Wynken de Worde about 1489, and is now preserved in the public library at Cambridge. Others are of later date, belonging to the time of Henry the Eighth, and none are later than the period of Charles the Second.

The map of Royal hunting forests (not included) is intended to show only those places which are connected with Robin Hood's life, omitting the New Forest and other local stretches of woodland lying in the south of England. It is stated that England at this period was so covered with woods that a squirrel could hop from tree to tree across the entire country. The great Watling Street and Ermine Street roads, built by the Romans eight hundred years before, were still in fair condition in the time of Robin Hood. This map will doubtless be of greater service to American boys than to their English cousins, for no English boy is ignorant of the whereabouts of Sherwood and Nottingham.

Finally, I have derived Robin Hood's character and personality from the testimony of the old balladists and strolling minstrels who composed their rimes to be sung to their harps, and who pictured him as the most humane and princely of outlaws. Robin Hood and his merry men were not ordinary cutthroats, but a band of merry fellows without guile, bold and fair in fight, courteous and kind to women and children, bountiful to the poor and needy, and striking hard at cruelty and tyranny in a period when there were few to take the part of the poor and unlettered man. My Robin Hood will be found a brave, virtuous, and tactful leader, who wisely tested in personal combat each new recruit before he was allowed to join the band, and who was loved and revered by all for his many excellent and amiable qualities.

I

ROBIN HOOD - HIS BIRTH AND BOYHOOD -

The Earl of Huntingdon, nobly born,

That came of noble blood,

To Marion went, with good intent,

By the name of Robin Hood. -

IN the reign of King Henry II., there lived on an estate near Locksley Village in England, about two miles from the famous old town of Uttoxeter in the county of Stafford and almost on the borders of the Royal Forest of Needwood, a nobleman named William Fitzooth, Earl of Huntingdon. Earl William was a valliant warrior, and, a man of honorable fame. Like so many of the knights and nobles in that troubled age, he spent most of his time away from home, fighting in the great wars and petty quarrels that were always afoot in England or France, in Normandy, Ireland, or Wales. But during the brief intervals of peace he would return to take his ease in his strong castle, and at such times it was his chief delight to train and teach his sturdy young son, Robert.

When the boy was but five years old his father would lift him up to ride before him upon the great black war-steed through the winding fern-clad paths of Needwood Forest. Next to fighting, the Earl loved hunting- whether with hawk or hound, with bow or boar-spear- and he always took Robert with him when he rode forth into the forest with his woodsmen and his dogs. Often the boy would shout with glee when he saw his father pierce with his spear and pin to earth a savage wild boar which the great dogs had driven right into their path. Again, gazing down a leafy glade with his sharp blue eyes, he would see a great hart come leaping, affrighted by the baying hounds. Then his father, who had been waiting with tense muscles and steady nerves, would raise his mighty bow of yew and draw the arrow clear to its head, the feathers brushing his cheek. The next instant, with a low hum, the cloth-yard shaft would be loosed, and the stag, smitten through the shoulder, would rise on its haunches and fall to its knees in death. Ever and anon Robert would shoot with his own little bow at the squirrels chattering and playing among the leafy branches. He was a good marksman even then, and it gladdened his father's heart to see him bring down many a squirrel, martin, or sable.