Retold in our own words from the Seventh and Eighth Fyttes of A Gest of Robyn Hode (Sidgwick’s 1912 edition) · Published 30 October 2026
The abbot in the greenwood
Literature In the Gest the king comes to Nottingham to capture Robin, and finds his deer have grown scarce. After half a year with no news, a forester suggests a trick. Frank Sidgwick (ed.), Ballads of Robin Hood and other Outlaws (1912), Project Gutenberg ↗
Literature The king dresses as an abbot, with five of his men as monks, and rides into the greenwood. Robin stops him and takes forty pounds. Frank Sidgwick (ed.), Ballads of Robin Hood and other Outlaws (1912), Project Gutenberg ↗
Literature Robin feasts his ‘abbot’ on the king’s own deer. The outlaws hold an archery contest, and whoever misses gets a buffet (a hard slap). Frank Sidgwick (ed.), Ballads of Robin Hood and other Outlaws (1912), Project Gutenberg ↗
Literature Then Robin himself misses, and asks the abbot to strike him. The blow nearly knocks him down. Looking closer, Robin knows it is the king, and the outlaws kneel and ask for pardon. Frank Sidgwick (ed.), Ballads of Robin Hood and other Outlaws (1912), Project Gutenberg ↗
Pardon, and Lincoln green
Literature The king pardons them if they will serve him. Later the king and his men dress in Lincoln green, and the people of Nottingham flee when they see so many green outlaws coming. Frank Sidgwick (ed.), Ballads of Robin Hood and other Outlaws (1912), Project Gutenberg ↗
Literature Robin lasts about fifteen months at court, spending his money and losing all his men but Little John and Scathlock. He asks leave to visit a chapel of Mary Magdalene in Barnsdale, and never comes back: he stays in the greenwood twenty-two years. Frank Sidgwick (ed.), Ballads of Robin Hood and other Outlaws (1912), Project Gutenberg ↗
Which king?
History The early ballads never name King John or King Richard. The only king they mention is ‘Edward our comely king’, which Ibeji thinks probably refers to Edward II’s visit to Nottingham in 1324. Dr Mike Ibeji, ‘Robin Hood and his Historical Context’ (2011, archived web article) ↗
Many later retellings put Robin in the time of King Richard. The history guide shows where that idea comes from. The Gest itself names only ‘Edward’.
Follow the thread
Frank Sidgwick (ed.), Ballads of Robin Hood and other Outlaws (1912), Project Gutenberg ↗
Dr Mike Ibeji, ‘Robin Hood and his Historical Context’ (2011, archived web article) ↗
Retellings are in our own words. Every sentence above carries a label (History, Literature or Tradition) and a link to the source it was checked against. A ballad is not a historical record.
Source method & more reading ↗