Hero-Myths & Legends of the British Race
Lady. I have served her truly, and she has never failed me till now,
when her servant, the abbot, is playing me so cruel a trick." "Do you
give Our Lady as your surety?" said Robin Hood. "I would take her bond
for any sum, for throughout all England you could find no better
surety than our dear Lady, who has always been gracious to me. She is
enough security. Go, Little John, to my treasury and bring me four
hundred pounds, well counted, with no false or clipped coin therein."
Robin Hood's Gifts
Little John, accompanied by Much, the careful treasurer of the band,
went quickly to the secret place where the master-outlaw kept his
gold. Very carefully they counted out the coins, testing each, to see
that it was of full weight and value. Then, on the suggestion of
Little John, they provided the knight with new clothing, even to boots
and spurs, and finally supplied him with two splendid horses, one for
riding and one to carry his baggage and the coffer of gold.
The guest watched all these preparations with bewildered eyes, and
turned to Robin, crying, "Why have you done all this for me, a perfect
stranger?" "You are no stranger, but Our Lady's messenger. She sent
you to me, and Heaven grant you may prove true."
The Bond of Repayment
"God grant it," echoed the knight. "But, Robin, when shall I repay
this loan, and where? Set me a day, and I will keep it." "Here,"
replied the outlaw, "under this greenwood tree, and in a twelvemonth's
time; so will you have time to regain your friends and gather your
rents from your redeemed lands. Now farewell, Sir Knight; and since it
is not meet for a worthy knight to journey unattended, I will lend you
also my comrade, Little John, to be your squire, and to do you yeoman
service, if need be." The knight bade farewell to Robin and his
generous followers, and was turning to ride away, when he suddenly
stopped and addressed the master-outlaw: "In faith, good Robin, I had
forgotten one thing. You know not my name. I am Sir Richard of the
Lea, and my land lies in Uterysdale." "As for that," said Robin Hood,
"I trouble not myself. You are Our Lady's messenger; that is enough
for me." So Sir Richard rode gladly away, blessing the generous outlaw
who lent him money to redeem his land, and a stout yeoman to defend
the loan.
Sir Richard's Journey
As the knight and his new servant rode on, Sir Richard called to his
man, saying, "I must by all means be in York to-morrow, to pay the
abbot of St. Mary's four hundred pounds; if I fail of my day I shall
lose my land and lordship for ever"; and Little John answered: "Fear
not, master; we will surely be there in time enough." Then they rode
on, and reached York early on the last day of the appointed time.
The Abbot and Prior of St. Mary's
In the meantime the abbot of St. Mary's was counting that Sir
Richard's lands were safely his; he had no pity for the poor unlucky
knight, but rather exulted in the legal cruelty which he could
inflict. Very joyfully he called aloud, early that morn: "A
twelvemonth ago to-day we lent four hundred pounds to a needy knight,
Sir Richard of the Lea, and unless he comes by noon to-day to repay
the money he will lose all his land and be disinherited, and our abbey
will be the richer by a fat estate, worth four hundred pounds a year.
Our Lady grant that he keep not his day." "Shame on you!" cried the
prior. "This poor knight may be ill, or beyond the sea; he may be in
hunger and cold as well as poverty, and it will be a foul wrong if you
declare his land forfeit."
"This is the set day," replied the abbot, "and he is not here." "You
dare not escheat his estates yet," replied the prior stubbornly. "It
is too early in the day; until noon the lands are still Sir Richard's,
and no man shall take them ere the clock strikes. Shame on your
conscience and your greed, to do a good knight such foul wrong! I
would willingly pay a hundred pounds myself to prevent it."
"Beshrew your meddlesome temper!" cried the abbot. "You are always
crossing me! But I have with me the Lord Chief Justice, and he will
declare my legal right." Just at that moment the high cellarer of the
abbey entered to congratulate the abbot on Sir Richard's absence. "He
is dead or ill, and we shall have the spending of four hundred pounds
a year," quoth he.
Sir Richard Returns
On his arrival Sir Richard had quietly gone round to his old tenants
in York, and had a goodly company of them ready to ride with him, but
he was minded to test the charity and true religion of the abbot, and
bade his followers assume pilgrims' robes. Thus attired, the company
rode to the abbey gate, where the porter recognised Sir Richard, and
the news of his coming, carried to the abbot and justice, caused them
great grief; but the prior rejoiced, hoping that a cruel injustice
would be prevented. As they dismounted the porter loudly called grooms
to lead the horses into the stable and have them relieved of their
burdens, but Sir Richard would not allow it, and left Little John to
watch over them at the abbey portal.
The Abbot and Sir Richard
Then Sir Richard came humbly into the hall, where a great banquet was
in progress, and knelt down in courteous salutation to the abbot and
his guests; but the prelate, who had made up his mind what conduct to
adopt, greeted him coldly, and many men did not return his salutation
at all. Sir Richard spoke aloud: "Rejoice, Sir Abbot, for I am come to
keep my day." "That is well," replied the monk, "but hast thou brought
the money?" "No money have I, not one penny," continued Sir Richard
sadly. "Pledge me in good red wine, Sir Justice," cried the abbot
callously; "the land is mine. And what dost thou here, Sir Richard, a
broken man, with no money to pay thy debt?" "I am come to beg you to
grant me a longer time for repayment." "Not one minute past the
appointed hour," said the exultant prelate. "Thou hast broken pledge,
and thy land is forfeit."
Sir Richard Implores the Justice
Still kneeling, Sir Richard turned to the justice and said: "Good Sir
Justice, be my friend and plead for me." "No," he replied, "I hold to
the law, and can give thee no help." "Gentle abbot, have pity on me,
and let me have my land again, and I will be the humble servant of
your monastery till I have repaid in full your four hundred pounds."
Then the cruel prelate swore a terrible oath that never should the
knight have his land again, and no one in the hall would speak for
him, kneeling there poor, friendless, and alone; so at last he began
to threaten violence. "Unless I have my land again," quoth he, "some
of you here shall dearly abide it. Now may I see the poor man has no
friends, for none will stand by me in my need."
The Justice Suggests a Compromise
The hint of violence made the abbot furiously angry, and, secure in
his position and the support of the justice, he shouted loudly: "Out,
thou false knight! Out of my hall!" Then at last Sir Richard rose to
his feet in just wrath. "Thou liest, Sir Abbot; foully thou liest! I
was never a false knight. In joust and tourney I have adventured as
far and as boldly as any man alive. There is no true courtesy in thee,
abbot, to suffer a knight to kneel so long." The quarrel now seemed so
serious that the justice intervened, saying to the angry prelate,
"What will you give me if I persuade him to sign a legal deed of
release? Without it you will never hold this land in peace." "You
shall have a hundred pounds for yourself," said the abbot, and the
justice nodded in token of assent.
Sir Richard Pays the Money
Now Sir Richard thought it was time to drop the mask, for noon was
nigh, and he would not risk his land again. Accordingly he cried:
"Nay, but not so easily shall ye have my lands. Even if you were to
pay a thousand pounds more you should not hold my father's estate.
Have here your money back again"; and, calling for Little John, he
bade him bring into the hall his coffer with the bags inside. Then he
counted out on the table four hundred good golden pounds, and said
sternly: "Abbot, here is your money again. Had you but been courteous
to me I would have rewarded you well; now take your money, give me a
quittance, and I will take my lands once more. Ye are all witnesses
that I have kept my day and have paid in full." Thereupon Sir Richard
strode haughtily out of the hall, and rode home gladly to his
recovered lands in Uterysdale, where he and his family ever prayed for
Robin Hood. The abbot of St. Mary's was bitterly enraged, for he had
lost the fair lands of Sir Richard of the Lea and had received a bare
four hundred pounds again. As for Little John, he went back to the
forest and told his master the whole story, to Robin Hood's great
satisfaction, for he enjoyed the chance of thwarting the schemes of a
wealthy and usurious prelate.
Sir Richard Sets Out to Repay the Loan
When a year had passed all but a few days, Sir Richard of the Lea said
to his wife: "Lady, I must shortly go to Barnesdale to repay Robin
Hood the loan which saved my lands, and would fain take him some small
gift in addition; what do you advise?" "Sir Richard, I would take a
hundred bows of Spanish yew and a hundred sheaves of arrows,
peacock-feathered, or grey-goose-feathered; methinks that will be to
Robin a most acceptable gift."
Sir Richard followed his wife's advice, and on the morning of the
appointed day set out to keep his tryst at the outlaws' oak in
Barnesdale, with the money duly counted, and the bows and arrows for
his present to the outlaw chief.
The Wrestling
As he rode, however, at the head of his troop he passed through a
village where there was a wrestling contest, which he stayed to watch.
He soon saw that the victorious wrestler, who was a stranger to the
village, would be defrauded of his well-earned prize, which consisted
of a white bull, a noble charger gaily caparisoned, a gold ring, a
pipe of wine, and a pair of embroidered gloves. This seemed so wrong
to Sir Richard that he stayed to defend the right, for love of Robin
Hood and of justice, and kept the wrestling ring in awe with his
well-appointed troop of men, so that the stranger was allowed to claim
his prize and carry it off. Sir Richard, anxious not to arouse the
hostility of the villagers, bought the pipe of wine from the winner,
and, setting it abroach, allowed all who would to drink; and so, in a
tumult of cheers and blessings, he rode away to keep his tryst. By
this time, however, it was nearly three in the afternoon, and he
should have been there at twelve. He comforted himself with the
thought that Robin would forgive the delay, for the sake of its cause,
and so rode on comfortably enough at the head of his gallant company.
Robin's Impatience
In the meantime Robin had waited patiently at the trysting tree till
noon, but when the hour passed and Sir Richard had not appeared he
began to grow impatient. "Master, let us dine," said Little John. "I
cannot; I fear Our Lady is angered with me, for she has not sent me my
money," returned the leader; but his follower replied: "The money is
not due till sunset, master, and Our Lady is true, and so is Sir
Richard; have no fear." "Do you three walk up through the willow
plantation to Watling Street, as you did last year, and bring me a
guest," said Robin Hood. "He may be a messenger, a minstrel, a poor
man, but he will come in God's name."
The Monks Approach
Again the three yeomen, Little John, Will Scarlet, and Much the
miller's son, took bow in hand and set out for Watling Street; but
this time they had not long to wait, for they at once saw a little
procession approaching. Two black monks rode at the head; then