| |
| Now is the knight gone on his way; | |
| This game hym thought full gode; | |
| Whanne he loked on Bernesdale | |
| He blessyd Robyn Hode. | |
| |
| And whanne he thought on Bernysdale, | 5 |
| On Scarlok, Much and Johnn, | |
| He blessyd them for the best company | |
| That ever he in come. | |
| |
| Than spake that gentyll knyght, | |
| To Lytel Johan gan he saye, | 10 |
| ‘To-morrowe I must to Yorke toune | |
| To Saynt Mary abbay. | |
| |
| ‘And to the abbot of that place | |
| Foure hundred pounde I must pay; | |
| And but I be there upon this nyght | 15 |
| My londe is lost for ay.’ | |
| |
| The abbot sayd to his covent, | |
| There he stode on grounde, | |
| ‘This day twelfe moneth came a knyght | |
| And borowed foure hondred pounde. | 20 |
| |
| [‘He borowed four hondred pounde] | |
| Upon his londe and fee; | |
| But he come this ylkë 1 day | |
| Disherited 2 shall he be.’ | |
| |
| ‘It is full erely,’ sayd the pryoure, | 25 |
| The day is not yet ferre gone; | |
| I had lever 3 to pay an hondred pounde, | |
| And lay it downe anone. | |
| |
| ‘The knyght is ferre beyonde the see, | |
| In Englonde is his ryght, | 30 |
| And suffreth honger and colde | |
| And many a sory nyght. | |
| |
| ‘It were grete pytë,’ said the pryoure, | |
| ‘So to have his londe; | |
| And ye be so lyght of your consyence, | 35 |
| Ye do to hym moch wronge.’ | |
| |
| ‘Thou arte ever in my berde,’ 4 sayd the abbot, | |
| ‘By God and Saynt Rycharde’; | |
| With that cam in a fat-heded monke, | |
| The heygh selerer. 5 | 40 |
| |
| ‘He is dede or hanged,’ sayd the monke, | |
| ‘By God that bought me dere, | |
| And we shall have to spende in this place | |
| Foure hondred pounde by yere.’ | |
| |
| The abbot and the hy selerer | 45 |
| Stertë forthe full bolde, | |
| The highe justyce of Englonde | |
| The abbot there dyde holde. | |
| |
| The hye justyce and many mo | |
| Had taken into theyr honde | 50 |
| Holy 6 all the knyghtes det, | |
| To put that knyght to wronge. | |
| |
| They demed the knyght wonder sore, | |
| The abbot and his meynë | |
| ‘But 7 he come this ylkë day | 55 |
| Disherited shall he be.’ | |
| |
| ‘He wyll not come yet,’ sayd the justyce, | |
| ‘I dare well undertake’; | |
| But in sorowe tymë for them all | |
| The knyght came to the gate. | 60 |
| |
| Than bespake that gentyll knyght | |
| Untyll his meynë: | |
| ‘Now put on your symple wedes 8 | |
| That ye brought fro the see.’ | |
| |
| [They put on their symple wedes,] | 65 |
| They came to the gates anone; | |
| The porter was redy hymselfe | |
| And welcomed them everychone. | |
| |
| ‘Welcome, syr knyght,’ sayd the porter, | |
| ‘My lorde to mete is he, | 70 |
| And so is many a gentyll man, | |
| For the love of the.’ | |
| |
| The porter swore a full grete othe: | |
| ‘By God that madë me, | |
| Here be the best coresed 9 hors | 75 |
| That ever yet sawe I me. | |
| |
| ‘Lede them in to the stable,’ he sayd, | |
| ‘That eased myght they be’; | |
| ‘They shall not come therin,’ sayd the knyght, | |
| ‘By God that dyed on a tre.’ | 80 |
| |
| Lordës were to mete isette 10 | |
| In that abbotes hall; | |
| The knyght went forth and kneled downe, | |
| And salued them grete and small. | |
| |
| ‘Do gladly, syr abbot,’ sayd the knyght, | 85 |
| ‘I am come to holde my day’: | |
| The fyrst word that the abbot spake, | |
| ‘Hast thou brought my pay?’ | |
| |
| ‘Not one peny,’ sayd the knyght, | |
| ‘By God that maked me’; | 90 |
| ‘Thou art a shrewed 11 dettour,’ sayd the abbot; | |
| ‘Syr justyce, drynke to me. | |
| |
| ‘What doost thou here,’ sayd the abbot, | |
| ‘But thou haddest brought thy pay?’ | |
| ‘For God,’ than sayed the knyght, | 95 |
| ‘To pray of a lenger daye.’ | |
| |
| ‘Thy daye is broke,’ sayd the justyce, | |
| ‘Londe gettest thou none’: | |
| ‘Now, good syr justyce, be my frende | |
| And fende me of my fone!’ 12 | 100 |
| |
| ‘I am holde with the abbot,’ sayd the justyce, | |
| ‘Both with cloth and fee’: | |
| ‘Now, good syr sheryf, be my frende!’ | |
| ‘Nay, for God,’ sayd he. | |
| |
| ‘Now, good syr abbot, be my frende, | 105 |
| For thy curteysë, | |
| And holde my londës in thy honde | |
| Tyll I have made the gree! 13 | |
| |
| ‘And I wyll be thy true servaunte, | |
| And trewely serve the, | 110 |
| Tyll ye have foure hondred pounde | |
| Of money good and free.’ | |
| |
| The abbot sware a full grete othe, | |
| ‘By God that dyed on a tree, | |
| Get thy londe where thou may, | 115 |
| For thou getest none of me.’ | |
| |
| ‘By dere worthy God,’ then sayd the knyght, | |
| ‘That all this worldë wrought, | |
| But I have my londe agayne, | |
| Full dere it shall be bought. | 120 |
| |
| ‘God, that was of a mayden borne, | |
| Leve us well to spede! | |
| For it is good to assay a frende | |
| Or 14 that a man have nede.’ | |
| |
| The abbot lothely on hym gan loke, | 125 |
| And vylaynesly hym gan call; | |
| ‘Out,’ he sayd, ‘thou false knyght, | |
| Spede the out of my hall!’ | |
| |
| ‘Thou lyest,’ then sayd the gentyll knyght, | |
| ‘Abbot, in thy hal; | 130 |
| False knyght was I never, | |
| By God that made us all.’ | |
| |
| Up then stode that gentyll knyght, | |
| To the abbot sayd he, | |
| ‘To suffre a knyght to knele so longe, | 135 |
| Thou canst no curteysye. | |
| |
| ‘In joustes and in tournaments | |
| Full ferre than have I be, | |
| And put myself as ferre in prees 15 | |
| As ony that ever I see.’ | 140 |
| |
| ‘What wyll ye gyve more,’ sayd the justyce, | |
| ‘And the knyght shall make a releyse? | |
| And elles dare I safly swere | |
| Ye holde never your londe in pees.’ | |
| |
| ‘An hondred pounde,’ sayd the abbot; | 145 |
| The justice sayd, ‘Gyve hym two’; | |
| ‘Nay, be God,’ sayd the knyght, | |
| ‘Ye get not my land so. | |
| |
| ‘Though ye wolde gyve a thousand more, | |
| Yet were ye never the nere; | 150 |
| Shal there never be myn heyre | |
| Abbot, justice ne frere.’ | |
| |
| He stert 16 hym to a borde anone, | |
| Tyll a table rounde, | |
| And there he shoke oute of a bagge | 155 |
| Even four hundred pound. | |
| |
| ‘Have here thi golde, sir abbot,’ saide the knight, | |
| ‘Which that thou lentest me; | |
| Had thou ben curtes at my comynge, | |
| I would have rewarded thee.’ | 160 |
| |
| The abbot sat styll, and ete no more, | |
| For all his ryall fare; | |
| He cast his hede on his shulder, | |
| And fast began to stare. | |
| |
| ‘Take 17 me my golde agayne,’ saide the abbot, | 165 |
| ‘Sir justice, that I toke the.’ | |
| ‘Not a peni,’ said the justice, | |
| ‘Bi God, that dyed on tree.’ | |
| |
| ‘Sir abbot, and ye men of lawe, | |
| Now have I holde my daye; | 170 |
| Now shall I have my londe agayne, | |
| For ought that you can saye.’ | |
| |
| The knyght stert out of the dore, | |
| Awaye was all his care, | |
| And on he put his good clothynge | 175 |
| The other he lefte there. | |
| |
| He wente hym forth full mery syngynge, | |
| As men have told in tale; | |
| His lady met hym at the gate, | |
| At home in Verysdale. | 180 |
| |
| ‘Welcome, my lorde,’ sayd his lady; | |
| ‘Syr, lost is all your good?’ | |
| ‘Be mery, dame,’ sayd the knyght, | |
| ‘And pray for Robyn Hode, | |
| |
| ‘That ever his soule be in blysse: | 185 |
| He holpe me out of tene; | |
| Ne had be 18 his kyndënesse, | |
| Beggers had we bene. | |
| |
| ‘The abbot and I accorded ben, | |
| He is served of his pay; | 190 |
| The god yoman lent it me | |
| As I cam by the way.’ | |
| |
| This knight than dwelled fayre at home, | |
| The sothe for to saye, | |
| Tyll he had got four hundred pound, | 195 |
| Al redy for to pay. | |
| |
| He purveyed him an hundred bowes, | |
| The strynges well ydyght, | |
| An hundred shefe of arowes gode, | |
| The hedys burneshed full bryght; | 200 |
| |
| And every arowe an ellë longe, | |
| With pecok well idyght, | |
| Inocked 19 all with whyte silver; | |
| It was a semely syght. | |
| |
| He purveyed him an hondreth men, | 205 |
| Well harnessed in that stede, | |
| And hym selfe in that same suite, | |
| And clothed in whyte and rede. | |
| |
| He bare a launsgay 20 in his honde, | |
| And a man ledde his male, 21 | 210 |
| And reden with a lyght songe | |
| Unto Bernysdale. | |
| |
| [But at Wentbrydge] there was a wrastelyng, | |
| And there taryed was he, | |
| And there was all the best yemen | 215 |
| Of all the west countree. | |
| |
| A full fayre game there was up set, | |
| A whyte bulle up i-pyght, 22 | |
| A grete courser, with sadle and brydil, | |
| With golde burnyssht full bryght. | 220 |
| |
| A payre of gloves, a rede golde rynge, | |
| A pype of wyne, in fay; 23 | |
| What man that bereth hym best i-wys 24 | |
| The pryce shall bere away. | |
| |
| There was a yoman in that place, | 225 |
| And best worthy was he, | |
| And for he was ferre and frembde bested, 25 | |
| Slayne he shulde have be. | |
| |
| The knight had ruthe of this yoman, | |
| In place where that he stode; | 230 |
| He sayde that yoman shulde have no harme, | |
| For love of Robyn Hode. | |
| |
| The knyght pressed in to the place, | |
| An hundreth folowed hym free, | |
| With bowes bent and arowes sharpe, | 235 |
| For to shende 26 that companye. | |
| |
| They shulderd all and made hym rome, | |
| To wete 27 what he wolde say; | |
| He toke the yeman bi the hande, | |
| And gave hym al the play. | 240 |
| |
| He gave hym five marke for his wyne, | |
| There it lay on the molde, 28 | |
| And bad it shulde be set a broche, 29 | |
| Drynkë who so wolde. | |
| |
| Thus longe taried this gentyll knyght, | 245 |
| Tyll that play was done; | |
| So longe abode Robyn fastinge | |
| Thre houres after the none. | |
