Hero-Myths & Legends of the British Race
That I will not desert thee, nor will fail
To stand my trial on the appointed day,
If God Almighty give me strength and health
And power to keep my vow. I will be there,
That I may show what bitter hate Sir John,
My cruel brother, holds against me.'"
Gamelyn Goes to the Woods
Thereupon Otho bade him go. "God shield thee from shame! Come when
thou seest it is the right time, and save us both from blame and
reproach." So Gamelyn went gaily to the merry greenwood, and found his
company of outlaws; and so much had they to tell of their work in his
absence, and so much had he to relate of his adventures, that time
slipped by, and he soon fell again into his former mode of life, and
his custom of robbing none but Churchmen, fat abbots and priors, monks
and canons, so that all others spoke good of him, and called him the
"courteous outlaw."
The Term Expires
Gamelyn stood one day looking out over the woods and fields, and it
suddenly came to his mind with a pang of self-reproach that he had
forgotten his promise to Otho, and the day of the assize was very
near. He called his young men (for he had learned not to trust
himself to the honour or loyalty of his brother the sheriff), and
bade them prepare to accompany him to the place of assize, sending
Adam on as a scout to learn tidings. Adam returned in great haste,
bringing sad news. The judge was in his place, a jury empanelled to
condemn Gamelyn to death, bribed thereto by the wicked sheriff, and
Otho was fettered in the gaol in place of his brother. The news
enraged Gamelyn, but Adam Spencer was even more infuriated; he would
gladly have held the doors of the moot-hall and slain every person
inside except Otho; but his master's sense of justice was too strong
for that. "Adam," he said, "we will not do so, but will slay the
guilty and let the innocent escape. I myself will have some
conversation with the justice in the hall; and meanwhile do ye, my
men, hold the doors fast. I will make myself justice to-day, and thou,
Adam, shalt be my clerk. We will give sentence this day, and God speed
our new work!" All his men applauded this speech and promised him
obedience, and the troop of outlaws hastened to surround the hall.
Gamelyn in the Court
Once again Gamelyn strode into the moot-hall in the midst of his
enemies, and was recognised by all. He released Otho, who said gently:
"Brother, thou hast nearly overstayed the time; the sentence has been
given against me that I shall be hanged."
"Brother," said Gamelyn, "this day shall thy foes and mine be hanged:
the sheriff, the justice, and the wicked jurors." Then Gamelyn turned
to the judge, who sat as if paralysed in his seat of judgment, and
said:
"'Come from the seat of justice: all too oft
Hast thou polluted law's clear stream with wrong;
Too oft hast taken reward against the poor;
Too oft hast lent thine aid to villainy,
And given judgment 'gainst the innocent.
Come down and meet thine own meed at the bar,
While I, in thy place, give more rightful doom
And see that justice dwells in law for once.'"
A Scene
The justice sat still, dumb with astonishment, and Gamelyn struck him
fiercely, cut his cheek, and threw him over the bar so that his arm
broke; and no man durst withstand the outlaw, for fear of his company
standing at the doors. The youth sat down in the judge's seat, with
Otho beside him, and Adam in the clerk's desk; and he placed in the
dock the false sheriff, the justice, and the unjust jurors, and
accused them of wrong and attempted murder. In order to keep up the
forms of law, he empanelled a jury of his own young men, who brought
in a verdict of "Guilty," and the prisoners were all condemned to
death and hanged out of hand, though the false sheriff attempted to
appeal to the brotherly affection of which he had shown so little.
Honour from the King
After this high-handed punishment of their enemies Gamelyn and his
brother went to lay their case before King Edward, and he forgave
them, in consideration of all the wrongs and injuries Gamelyn had
suffered; and before they returned to their distant county the king
made Otho sheriff of the county, and Gamelyn chief forester of all his
free forests; his band of outlaws were all pardoned, and the king gave
them posts according to their capabilities. Now Gamelyn and his
brother settled down to a happy, peaceful life. Otho, having no son,
made Gamelyn his heir, and the latter married a beauteous lady, and
lived with her in joy till his life's end.
CHAPTER XI: WILLIAM OF CLOUDESLEE
Introduction
The outlaw of mediaeval England has always possessed a potent charm for
the minds of less rebellious persons. No doubt now the attraction has
somewhat waned, for in the exploration of distant lands and the study
of barbaric tribes men can find that breadth of outlook, that escape
from narrow conventionalities, which they could formerly gain only by
the cult of the "noble outlaw." The romance of life for many a worthy
citizen must have been found in secret sympathy with Robin Hood and
his merry band of banished men, robbing the purse-proud to help the
needy and gaily defying law and authority.
To the poor, however, the outlaw was something more than an easy
entrance to the realms of romance; he was a real embodiment of the
spirit of liberty. Of all the unjust laws which the Norman conquerors
laid upon England, perhaps the most bitterly resented were the forest
laws, and resistance to them was the most popular form of national
independence. Hence it follows that we find outlaw heroes popular very
early in our history--heroes who stand in the mind of the populace for
justice and true liberty against the oppressive tyranny of subordinate
officials, and who are always taken into favour by the king, the fount
of true justice.
Famous Outlaws
There is some slight tinge of the "outlaw hero" in Hereward, but the
outlaw period of that patriot's life is but an episode in his defence
of England against William the Norman. There is a fully developed
outlaw hero, the ideal of the type, in Robin Hood, but he has been
somewhat idealized and ennobled by being transformed into a banished
Earl of Huntingdon. Less known, but equally heroic, is William of
Cloudeslee, the William Tell of England, whose fame is that of a good
yeoman, a good archer, and a good patriot.
The Outlaws
In the green forest of Englewood, in the "North Countree," not far
from the fortified town of Carlisle, dwelt a merry band of outlaws.
They were not evildoers, but sturdy archers and yeomen, whose outlawry
had been incurred only for shooting the king's deer. Indeed, to most
men of that time--that is, to most men who were not in the royal
service--the shooting of deer, and the pursuit of game in general,
were not only venial offences, but the most natural thing in life. The
royal claim to exclusive hunting in the vast forests of Epping,
Sherwood, Needwood, Barnesdale, Englewood, and many others seemed
preposterous to the yeomen who lived on the borders of the forests,
and they took their risks and shot the deer and made venison pasty,
convinced that they were wronging no one and risking only their own
lives. They had the help and sympathy of many a man who was himself a
law-abiding citizen, as well as the less understanding help of the
town mob and the labourers in the country.
The Leaders
While the outlaws of merry Sherwood recognised no chief but Robin Hood
and no foe but the Sheriff of Nottingham, the outlaws of Englewood
were under the headship of three famous archers, brothers-in-arms
sworn to stand by each other, but not brothers in blood. Their names
were Adam Bell, William of Cloudeslee, and Clym of the Cleugh; and of
the three William of Cloudeslee alone was married. His wife, fair
Alice of Cloudeslee, dwelt in a strong house within the walls of
Carlisle, with her three children, for they were not included in
William's outlawry. It was possible thus for her to send her husband
warning of any attack planned by the Sheriff of Carlisle on the
outlaws, and she had saved him and his comrades from surprise already.
William Goes to Carlisle
When the blithe spring had come, and the forest was beautiful with its
fresh green leaves, William began to long for his home and family; he
had not ventured into Carlisle for some time, and it was more than six
months since he had seen his wife's face. Little wonder was it, then,
that he announced his intention of visiting his home, at the risk of
capture by his old enemy the Sheriff. In vain his comrades dissuaded
him from the venture. Adam Bell was especially urgent in his advice
that William should remain in the greenwood.
"You shall not go to Carlisle, brother, by my advice, nor with my
consent. If the sheriff or the justice should know that you are in the
town short would be your shrift and soon your span of life would end.
Stay with us, and we will fetch you tidings of your wife."
William replied: "Nay, I must go myself; I cannot rest content with
tidings only. If all is well I will return by prime to-morrow, and if
I fail you at that hour you may be sure I am taken or slain; and I
pray you guard well my family, if that be so."
Taking leave of his brother outlaws, William made his way unobserved
into the town and came to his wife's dwelling. It was closely shut,
with doors strongly bolted, and he was forced to knock long on the
window before his wife opened the shutter to see who was the
importunate visitor.
"Let me in quickly, my own Alice," he said. "I have come to see you
and my three children. How have you fared this long time?"
"Alas!" she replied, hurriedly admitting him, and bolting the door
again, "why have you come now, risking your dear life to gain news of
us? Know you not that this house has been watched for more than six
months, so eager are the sheriff and the justice to capture and hang
you? I would have come to you in the forest, or sent you word of our
welfare. I fear--oh, how I fear!--lest your coming be known!"
The Old Woman's Treachery
"Now that I am here, let us make merry," quoth William. "No man has
seen me enter, and I would fain enjoy my short stay with you and my
children, for I must be back in the forest by prime to-morrow. Can you
not give a hungry outlaw food and drink?"
Then Dame Alice bustled about and prepared the best she had for her
husband; and when all was ready a very happy little family sat down to
the meal, husband and wife talking cheerily together, while the
children watched in wondering silence the father who had been away so
long and came to them so seldom.
There was one inmate of the house who saw in William's return a means
of making shameful profit. She was an old bedridden woman, apparently
paralysed, whom he had rescued from utter poverty seven years before.
During all that time she had lain on a bed near the fire, had shared
all the life of the family, and had never once moved from her couch.
Now, while husband and wife talked together and the darkness deepened
in the room, this old impostor slipped from her bed and glided
stealthily out of the house.
News Brought to the Sheriff
It happened that the king's assize was being held just then in
Carlisle, and the sheriff and his staunch ally the justice were
sitting together in the Justice Hall. Thither this treacherous old
woman hurried with all speed and pushed into the hall, forcing her way
through the crowd till she came near the sheriff. "Ha! what would you,
good woman?" asked he, surprised. "Sir, I bring tidings of great
value." "Tell your tidings, and I shall see if they be of value or no.