A Gest of Robyn Hode

A Gest of Robyn Hode, translate about with "The Story of Robin Hood" is a written in the 15th century in Middle English language and early 16th century for the first time printed ballad. A Gest of Robyn Hode is the recognized primary source text for today's research on literary and alleged historical figure of Robin Hood. Coincidentally, this seal is counted among the oldest and most reliable traditions. Divided the Gest of Robyn Hode in eight fyttes (modern English: fits ), which can be roughly translated as " songs ". It consists of 456 four-line stanzas. The ballad is also known under the title A Lytell gesture of Robyn Hode.

• 3.1 Texts
• 3.2 secondary literature

Content

The Gest tells the deeds Robyn Hodes ( Robin Hood ) and his companions Litell Johnn ( Little John ), Scarlok (Will Scarlet) and Much, the millers son ( Much, the miller's son ). Other main characters are the knights Richarde at the Lee ( Richard of the Lee) and a Robin Hood's adversary the Sheriff of Notyingham (Sheriff of Nottingham ).

The Gest of Robyn Hode plays in the small region of Barnsdale in the English county of Yorkshire. The time frame of the ballad is not unique to clarify; because of the legal, social and military structures described in the Gest of Robyn Hode researchers have suspected that the actions described there in the 13th century could have played.

Action

After a brief introduction to the characters of the main characters and the place of action, the first two " fyttes " or songs tell initially less of the deeds of Robin Hood, but revolve around the impoverished knight Richard of the Lee and its struggles with a greedy Dept. Robin Hood helps Richard, by lending him money. Over the seal between Robin Hood and Richard of the Lee developed a kind of friendship.

In the third song Little John is under a false name, a servant of the sheriff, beating drunk with its cooking and steals the sheriff silver. The sheriff is lured to the hideout of the gang of Robin Hood, where he is captured and forced to participate in a communal meal. The sheriff must swear that he never Robins companions ever going to do something again.

In the fourth song Robin Hood and Little John rob from ambush monks of the Abbey of St. Mary's.

In the fifth song of the sheriff arranges an archer competition to lure Robin into a trap; a battle between the men of the Sheriff and Robin's outlaws breaks out.

In the sixth song of the Sheriff is taking a last effort to catch Robin Hood, by throwing Richard Lee of jail. Robin rushes to his rescue, killing the sheriff and freed Richard.

In the seventh and eighth song, King Edward embarks himself in a disguise in Sherwood Forest, to take Robin and Richard of the Lee. During an archery competition, the king gives to recognize and makes Robin to a member of his court.

The end of the knitted portrays the betrayal of Robin Hood and his, brought on by a bleeding death.

Reception

A Gest of Robyn Hode was created from a merger of several older ballads cycles by the deeds of Robin Hood. Their dating is not safe; are suspected periods around the year 1400 ( according to Francis J. Child ) to 1450 (after James C. Holt ), the later date is now considered by most historians as the judgment of the more probable. These ballads were again even older models, which probably date back to the 13th century. The first written reference to its existence comes from a to 1377, written by William Langland collection of folk poems entitled The Vision of Piers Plowman. In one of the poems, a certain Sloth boasted that while he could hardly remember the Lord's Prayer itself, but verses about Robin Hood know by heart.

The ballad was first printed under the title A Gest of Robin Hood, formerly known as the Lettersnijder Edition, in the years 1500 to 1510 by Jan van Doesburg Broch in Antwerp; one of these copies is now in the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh.

Another early printing of knitted gave Wynkyn de Worde in London under the title A different Lytell gesture of Robyn Hode the years 1506-1510 out. Perhaps appeared thus de Wordes version even earlier than the Antwerp edition. A copies of Lytell gesture of Robyn Hode is now in the Cambridge University Library.

About the year 1560 William Copland was the ballad with the title A Mery gesture of Robyn Hoode. Copland drew for his knitted the two older versions of zoom, but also other processed him known fragments of the Gest, including a printed text by Richard Pynson about the year 1530 and some fragments of the so-called Douce Collection, which in turn early from fragments of another print version of the Gest, presumably by Wynkyn de Worde, there. A copy of the issue Copland is now in the British Library.

The literary scholar Francis J. Child (1825 - 1896) collected the Gest of Robyn Hode and other ballads of Robin Hood in his still recognized standard work, The English And Scottish Popular Ballads (published 1882-1889 ). Child noted as one of the first scientists that the Gest have several older ballads cycles are based. One of the arguments he cited for this is the description in the knitted that one of Robin Hood's companions to more than 80 km long road from Nottingham to Barnsdale, the main town of the plot, lay back in less than a day - which in the middle Ages the available transport was impossible. Child saw this as evidence that in the Gest already the places and actions of at least two cycles of older ballads were fused together.