102  Robin Hood newly reviv'd [Bodleian Wood 401 (27v-28r)]

‘To a Delightfull new Tune’ (standard name: Robin Hood and the stranger)

The purpose of this section is to provide brief notes on the melody followed by detailed evidence relating to  its career, paying particular attention to the ‘echoes’ (inter-song associations and connections) that may have been set up if it was nominated for the singing of more than one ballad. In the list presented in the ‘Songs and Summaries’ section below, we have endeavoured to include as many of the black-letter ballads that used the tune as possible, under any of its variant names. Titles from our chart of best-sellers are presented in bold type (these are also in colour when there is a link to the relevant ballad page on the website). It should be noted that it is extremely difficult to date many ballads precisely and the chronological order in which the songs are listed is therefore very approximate (we have drawn on previous attempts to date the ballads, making adjustments when additional evidence can be brought into play).  In most cases, we list the earliest surviving edition of a ballad, though in many instances there may have been earlier versions, now lost.

Versions and variations

One of the earliest known versions of this melody appears in Thomas Ravenscroft’s Pammelia (1609). Here it provides the tenor part in ‘A Round of three Country dances in one’, arranged for four voices. This forms the basis of our recording, though Ravenscroft’s tune, like most other versions, only has four lines when five are needed for all the ballads set to the tune. This is a curiosity, though it may be the case that the refrain found in most of these ballads, situated unusually in the second line of the verses, was commonly omitted. Only one surviving version of the tune has this extra line – the ballad opera entitled The Jovial Crew – and we have therefore lifted the refrain from this source and interpolated it within Ravenscroft’s melody.

Four-line versions of the tune can also be found in several other sources, in arrangements for lute, virginals and other instruments, and the following represent only a selection (there are fuller lists in Simpson and Ward): one of Matthew Holmes’ lute books (c. 1600-05); Will Forster’s virginal book (c. 1624); and the music manuscript signed by Sarah ?Scalther (early seventeenth century). Surviving versions, often called ‘Robin Hood’, all clearly represent the same well-known melody, though there is some significant variation. The Forster and ?Scalther tunes, for example, are both in a major key rather than the usual minor, and the latter is also in quadruple rather than triple time.

This melody had numerous names, most of them deriving from one ballad or another: ‘Robin Hood’, ‘Robin Hood and the stranger/beggar/tanner’, ‘Arthur a Bland’, and ‘Robin Hood reviv’d’. The last of these titles comes from the ballad under discussion here, and the same is probably true of ‘Robin Hood and the stranger’; the term 'stranger' is used so frequently in Robin Hood newly reviv'd that it seems the most likely source.

Echoes (an overview)

This tune was nominated for the singing of several black-letter ballads, particularly in the second half of the seventeenth century. It was associated extremely strongly with Robin Hood and the melody was only very rarely named on songs that did not feature the outlaw.

There are several recurring narrative tropes: often, Robin fights lustily with a stranger and is so impressed that he recruits his opponent to join his manly company of forest-dwelling good fellows (see, for example, Robin Hood newly reviv’d); sometimes, Robin disguises himself in order to evade detection or score points against his enemies (Robin Hood and the Beggar); in several instances, he takes captives and then, aided by his merry men, humiliates them in some witty and non-lethal manner (Robin Hood & the Bishop).

Robin is, of course, resolutely on the side of ordinary English people, and his enemies are all reprehensible (a bishop, the Sherriff of Nottingham, a foreign prince and two giants). The political dimensions of Robin’s lifestyle are not, however, discussed in any detail. Most of these ballads are virtually free of women, and the one song that focuses on Maid Marian initially presents her disguised as a man and fighting with Robin because the two lovers fail to recognise one another (A Famous Battle between Robin Hood, and Maid Marian).

The one obvious outlier on the list is particularly interesting because all listeners must have known that this melody was Robin Hood’s signature tune. The Jovial Lass is a bawdy ballad about a lusty lad’s seduction of a willing milkmaid, and the only reference to Robin Hood is in the tune title. The powerful associations of the tune must, however, have been in play during any performance, and Roger acquires a degree of rounded heroism that is not necessarily indicated in the one-dimensional text. His conquest of the milkmaid is associated, by implication, with the many manly triumphs of Robin Hood, most of which involved combat with men rather than romantic entanglements (though there is, of course, a strong strain of homoeroticism in the adventures of the famous outlaw).

The songs listed below are connected not only by their tune but by a wealth of close textual affinities, only a few of which can be mentioned here. Most obviously, the opening lines of the ballads frequently recall one another: ‘Come listen a while you Gentlemen all’ (Robin Hood newly reviv’d); ‘Come light and listen you Gentlemen all’ (Robin Hood and the Beggar); ‘Come Gentlemen all, and listen a while’ (Robin Hood & the Bishop); ‘Come all ye brave Gallants & listen a while’ (Robin Hood and the Butcher). Sometimes, whole verses are close paraphrases:

‘Robin Hood took his Mantle from’s back/ with hey, etc/ And spread it upon the ground,/ and out of the Bishops Portmantle he/ Soon told Five Hundred Pound’ (Robin Hood & the Bishop).

‘Then Robin took his Mantle from his back,/ with a hey, etc./ and laid it upon the ground,/ And out of the Sheriffs Portmantle,/ he told five hundred pound’ (Robin Hood and the Butcher).

Robin Hood and the Tanner includes the lines, ‘Then Robin Hood took them both by the hand,/ with a hey, etc/ and danc’d about the Oak tree’. A passage in Little John and the Four Beggers is extremely similar: ‘Then Robin Hood took little John by the hand,/ with a hey, etc./ And danced about the Oak-Tree’.

The distinctive refrain, situated in the second line of each verse and beginning ‘with a hey...’, is repeated over and over again in virtually every ballad. And many other terms and expressions recur frequently: ‘hold thy hand, hold thy hand’ at the start of verses; ‘by the hand’ at the end of the tune’s first line; ‘some pastime for to spy’ in line 2; ‘his company’ at the end of verses; and ‘then hanged will I be’ in the same position.

Overall the songs are linked at so many points, both musically and textually, that it becomes impossible to hear one without fleeting reminders of several others.

[See 'Postscript', below, for additional notes on this melody].

Songs and Summaries

Robin Hood and Little John... To the Tune of, Arthur a Bland (registered 1624; W. Onley, 1689-1711). Crawford 1320(1); EBBA 33991. Gender – masculinity; Violence – interpersonal; History – medieval, heroism; Bodies –  looks/physique, clothing; Recreation – games/sports, alcohol, dance, music, good fellowship; Society – friends; Environment – flowers/trees; Places – English; Religion – christening. Robin Hood meets John Little for the first time and loses to him in a battle with staffs, but it all ends well when the stranger is recruited to join Robin’s entourage and re-named Little John.

Robin Hood newly reviv’d... To a Delightfull new Tune (probably composed before 1656; Richard Burton, 1661-79). Wood 401 (27v, 28r). Crime – outlaws; History – medieval, heroism; Emotions – excitement; Gender – masculinity; Recreation – good fellowship, games/sports, hunting;  Bodies – clothing, injury; Violence – interpersonal; Family – kin; Humour – extreme situations/surprises; Environment – animals, flower/trees, landscape; Places – nationalities, travel/transport, Scottish. Robin Hood gets into a fight with a vigorous visitor who turns out to be his cousin, and then travels north to do battle with a comedy Scotsman.

Robin Hood and the Beggar... To the Tune of, Robin Hood and the Stranger (registered 1656; F. Coles, T. Vere, and J. Wright, 1665-74). Roxburghe 3.20-21; EBBA 30378. Employment – begging; History – medieval, heroism; Bodies – clothing; Crime – robbery/theft, punishment, outlaws; Gender – masculinity; Violence – interpersonal; Humour – deceit/disguise; Recreation – games/sports; Emotions – excitement; Places – English, travel/transport; Politics – domestic; Environment – flowers/trees. Robin Hood swaps clothes with a beggar and then travels into Nottingham, where he and his men intervene with bravery and violence to save the lives of three poor men, condemned to death for stealing the king’s deer.

Robin Hood & the Bishop... To the Tune of, Robin Hood and the Stranger (registered 1656; J. Clarke, W. Thackeray, and T. Passinger, 1684-86). Pepys 2.109; EBBA 20731. Bodies – clothing; Crime – outlaws, robbery/theft; Religion – clergy; Gender – masculinity, cross-dressing; History – medieval, heroism; Society – old/young; Humour – deceit/disguise, misunderstanding, mockery; Morality –social/economic; Economy – money; Environment – flowers/trees, animals, weather; Emotions – excitement, confusion; Violence – interpersonal. Robin evades the grasp of a passing bishop by swapping clothes with an obliging old woman, and he then captures and humiliates the cleric before allowing him to travel on.

Robin Hood and the Butcher. To the Tune of, Robin Hood and the Beggar (registered 1657; J. Clarke, W. Thackeray, and T. Passinger, 1684-86). Pepys 2.102; EBBA 20724. Employment – crafts/trades; Crime – outlaws, robbery; Economy – money, trade, prices/wages, shopping; History – medieval, heroism, villainy; Humour – deceit/disguise, misunderstanding; Gender – masculinity; Emotions – anxiety, confusion; Bodies – clothing; Family – inheritance; Environment – animals, flowers/trees; Places – English, travel/transport; Politics – domestic; Recreation – food, alcohol, good fellowship. Robin poses as a butcher and travels to Nottingham, where he tricks the Sheriff into riding out of town with him to face inevitable humiliation at the hands of the outlaw’s loyal band.

Robin Hood and the Tanner... Tune is, Robin Hood and the Stranger (registered 1657; J. Wright, J. Clarke, W. Thackeray, and T. Passenger, 1682-84). Pepys 2.111; EBBA 20733. Gender – masculinity; Violence – interpersonal; History – medieval, heroism; Environment – flowers/trees, animals; Employment – crafts/trades; Family – kin; Emotion – excitement, joy; Recreation – dance, good fellowship, games/sports; Places – English. Robin is beaten in a fight by Arthur a Bland, the famous Nottingham tanner, but it all ends well when Arthur is recruited to join the outlaw’s band and he, Robin and Little John dance around a tree, chanting ‘three merry men we be’.

ROBIN HOOD’s Chase... The Tune is, Robin Hood and the Beggar (William Thackeray, 1664-92). Crawford 279; EBBA 33529. History – medieval, heroism; Recreation – games/sports, alcohol; Places – English, travel/transport; Gender – masculinity, femininity; Crime – outlaws; Politics – domestic; Royalty – general. Robin is summoned to London by Queen Katherine and pleases her by winning an archery context, but King Henry is not so happy and pursues the outlaw and his men all over the country without success.

The Jovial Lass: OR DOLL and ROGER... The Tune is, Robin Hood and the Stranger (J. Wright, J. Clarke, W. Thackeray, and T. Passinger, 1682-84).  Pepys 3.116; EBBA 21123.  Gender – sex, masculinity, femininity; Humour – bawdry, misunderstanding, mockery; Employment – agrarian; Bodies – looks/physique; Environment - animals. Roger approaches a milkmaid and, after some banter, they have sex without mentioning marriage.

Little John and the Four Beggers... To the Tune of, Robin Hood, &c. (J. Wright, J. Clarke, W. Thackeray, and T. Passenger, 1682-84). Pepys 2.119; EBBA 20740. Bodies – clothing, looks/physique; Crime – outlaws, robbery/theft; Viiolence – interpersonal; Disability – physical; Economy – hardship/prosperity, money; Employment – begging; Gender – masculinity; History – medieval; Humour – deceit/disguise; Environment – animals; Recreation – dance, music; Religion – charity, pilgrimage. On Robin’s orders, Little John disguises himself as a poor palmer and leaves the company to seek charity, returning some time later with three hundred pounds in gold that he has acquired after beating up a company of three, presumably dishonest, beggars whom he met on his way.

A new Ballad of Robin Hood, William Scadlock, and Little John... To the Tune of, Robin Hood, or, Hey down, down a down (A. M., W. O. and T. Thackeray, 1694-95). Crawford 900; EBBA 33765. Bodies – clothing, looks/physique, injury; Crime – outlaws; Violence – interpersonal, political; Emotions – anxiety, excitement, joy; Royalty – praise; Family – children/parents; Gender – masculinity, femininity, courtship; History – medieval, heroism; Places – English, travel/transport; Politic – domestic, foreign affairs; Religion – pilgrimage. The three outlaws travel in disguise to London where they defeat the prince of Aragon and his two giants in order to prevent him from marrying England’s princess; she then chooses Will Scadlock to be her husband and, as if this were not a happy enough ending, he is reunited with his long-lost father.

A Famous Battle between Robin Hood, and Maid Marian; declaring their Love, Life, and Liberty. Tune: Robin Hood reviv’d (imprint missing, late seventeenth century). Wood 401(21). Gender – courtship, cross-dressing; Violence – interpersonal; History – medieval, heroism; Emotions – love, confusion, joy; Bodies – clothing, injury, looks/physique; Environment – animals, flowers/trees, birds;  Recreation – food, alcohol, good fellowship. When Robin Hood is outlawed, his beloved Marian disguises herself as a page and follows him into the forest; their first encounter is a lusty fight – neither of them recognising the other – but it all works out beautifully in the end.

Postscript

Several of the songs listed above were also published in the chapbook collection entitled Robin Hoods Garland (1663 and 1670). The melody was also nominated occasionally on white-letter ballads. THE GANG OR THE NINE WORTHIES AND CHAMPIONS (1659-60?) is a scathing attack upon John Lambert and other opponents of Charles II’s Restoration. The author’s choice of tune is therefore deeply ironic, and its effect is to enhance the mood of mockery by implying a contrast with a proper English hero. This satirical device caught the attention of one letter-writer, who mused about the possibility of humiliating his cowardly enemies by devising ‘a Ballet [ballad], To the tune of Robin Hood’ (Thomas O’Dowde, Two Letters Con[cerning the] Cure of the PLAGUE, 1665).

Another white-letter ballad, Hind’s Progress and Ramble , was, in contrast, a celebratory account of the exploits of the famous Royalist and highway robber, James Hind (executed in 1652). Hind, in his ballad persona, is very much in the Robin Hood mould: he robs the wealthy and regularly distributes some of his money to the poor.

Christopher Marsh

References

Thomas O’Dowde, Two Letters Con[cerning the] Cure of the PLAGUE (1665),

Will Forster, virginals book (c. 1624), British Library, R.M.24.d.3, [Simp gives p. 430 but this is wrong: can’t find detailed contents online].

Matthew Holmes, lute book (c. 1600-05), Cambridge University Library, Dd.9.33, fo. 81v.

The Jovial Crew (1731), p. 2.

Thomas Ravenscroft, Pammelia (1609). No. 74 (tenor part).

Robin Hoods Garland (1663 and 1670).

Sarah ?Sclather, music manuscript, Folger Library, Washington D.C., MS V.a.159, fo. 5 (transcription in Ward).

Claude Simpson, The British broadside ballad and its music (New Brunswick, 1966), pp. 608-11.

John M. Ward, ‘Apropos The British broadside ballad and its music’, Journal of the American Musicological Society, 20.1 (Spring 1967), p. 69.

Standard woodcut name: Sword fight (Aspatia vs. Amintor)

The purpose of this section is to provide evidence relating to  the career of the image under discussion, paying particular attention to the ‘reflections’ (inter-song associations and connections) that may have been set up if it was chosen to illustrate more than one ballad. The list given below includes all ballads from the Pepys and Roxburghe collections that feature this woodcut or a close variant (these are the two largest collections, including approximately 3300 sheets, in total). References to ballads from other collections occur only when the featured edition of the song under consideration here (or the featured edition of another song from our list) comes from such a source. Ballads from our chart of best-sellers are presented in bold type, and they also appear in colour where there is a link to another song in the database. Please note, however, that the editions of hit songs listed below are not necessarily those for which digital images are presented on this website. Cross-references to other examples of our featured woodcuts are also presented in bold. It is extremely difficult to date many ballads precisely and the chronological order in which the songs are listed is therefore very approximate (we have drawn on previous attempts to date the ballads, making adjustments when additional evidence can be brought into play).

Reflections (an overview)

This image has not been found on any other of the seventeenth-century ballads in the two largest collections. The only title listed below is therefore our featured edition, taken from the Wood ballads.

Despite its low visibility in the broadside world, the image had an interesting history. The same woodblock had produced the image that normally appeared at the front of pre-Restoration editions of The Maides Tragedy, a play by Beaumont and Fletcher. This accounts for the labelling of ‘Aspatia’ and ‘Amintor’ on the ballad. The woodcut was a curious choice for a ballad about the deeds of Robin Hood;  in the play, Aspatia is Amintor’s former sweetheart who dresses as a man in order to fight with him and sacrifice herself. It all ends extremely badly, unlike every Robin Hood ballad ever sung.

And there is a further twist. The ballad’s publisher, Richard Burton, also issued another song that displays the picture, but its appearance on The loyal subjects resolution (also in the Euing collection) makes it clear that the woodblock has been cut in half, top to bottom, then put back together again, with a thin vertical slice missing. Furthermore, the blade of Amintor’s sword has been filed away so that he is no longer stabbing Aspatia.

This is baffling and, not surprisingly, the woodcut does not seem to have been used after this point, not even on editions of The Maides Tragedy. Its relevance to Robin Hood newly reviv’d was questionable in any case, and other editions of the ballad – including a second one issued by Burton – used different pictures. We can only speculate about consumer reactions to the woodcut’s appearance on a ballad about Robin Hood, but the evidence may suggest that this was an experiment that did not work, despite the success of the song.

Songs and summaries

Robin Hood newly reviv’d (Richard Burton, 1661-79). Wood 401 (27v, 28r). Crime – outlaws; History – medieval, heroism; Emotions – excitement; Gender – masculinity; Recreation – good fellowship, games/sports, hunting;  Bodies – clothing, injury; Violence – interpersonal; Family – kin; Humour – extreme situations/surprises; Environment – animals, flower/trees, landscape; Places – nationalities, travel/transport, Scottish. Robin Hood gets into a fight with a vigorous visitor who turns out to be his cousin, and then travels north to do battle with a comedy Scotsman (picture placement: they stand beneath the title, and there are no other woodcuts).

Christopher Marsh