Click here for the full text of the ballad
On the summer solstice, the horse-headed man, with rusted sword and arrows, representing the waning of the year,
beheads the green man who represents the waxing year. According to the theories of Sir James Frazer and Robert Graves,
this is a distant memory of an actual practice of human sacrifice. At some point in prehistory, the green man
(a sort of vegetation/fertility god, and figurehead to his people) refused to be sacrificed, and cheated death by
changing places with the horse headed man, and assuming his identity (In much the same way, Aztec priests used to
wear the flayed skins of the sacrificial victims; Athene flayed Pallas and assumed his identity and Apollo flayed the
satyr, Marsyas). This required the consent of the Lady "who is both Mother and May", and a change of costume. Robin
Hood does not always wear Lincoln Green, In one story, Robin is described as leading his men into Nottingham, in June
dressed in red. As Robert Graves notes, in June, stags change into their summer coats. The name "Robin" may be related
to the latin "robus" meaning red. Robin Hood is also often nicknamed "Brown Robin"
I am implying here that the ballad is based on a kind of ritualised performance or play, hence the emphasis on the costumes
and the compression of time and distance, when after killing Guy, Robin is able to travel through the forest and find
John without any apparent difficulty. My theory is supported by a fragment of a verse play dating from 1475, in which
Robin says:
"This knyghtys clothis wolle i were
And in my hode his hede woll bere"
The tune of the ballad has been lost. Louis W.Chappel apparently set it to a traditional tune known as "The chirping
of the lark" or "The lark", but there doesn't seem to be any evidence that this was the original tune, besides
the reference to the woodwele (see footnote to the ballad)
This story has some similarities to "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight", and also to the story of
Samson, as Samson is compared to a lion (waxing year), but is later treated as an ass
(waning year).
Readers of "The Golden Bough", might be interested to know that in France, gue or gui means mistletoe.
[1] On the island of Sein in Brittany, there is (or was, I don't know,
if you know, Please leave a message in the guestbook) an annual mistletoe feast, involving a
procession of musicians, and children carrying bill-hooks and oak branches, and leading an ox and a horse covered with
flowers. After them follows a crowd, which stops at intervals, crying "Gui-na-ne, voila le Gui"
[1]. The name Guy may be related to various words meaning "horse" , and
also to words for "mind", "reason" and "spirit"
Ronald Hutton, in his book The Stations of the Sun records that in the area where Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and
Yorkshire meet (i.e. the same area that most of the Robin Hood stories are set in), there was a tradition in the last
century of parading an "old horse" made of wood and old sheets, operated by a man inside of it, at Christmas, and singing
a popular song, "poor old horse". While they were singing, a blacksmith would try unsuccessfully to shoe the horse, while
the horse strenuously resisted, to the amusement of the audience[4].
"The Stations of the Sun" is a comprehensive guide to the traditional festivals of the British isles, which
explores many different interpretations and academic controversies. It is generally sceptical of the ideas of Frazer,
and the idea of pagan influence upon traditional festivals. If you think I'm writing nonsense, this is the book for you!
"Hobby horses", like the one described above used to be quite common in English festivals. The New English Dictionary
has the following entry:
"Hobby, Hobyn, Robin, Robbie, a small or medium sized horse"
The words "hob" (as in "hobgoblin") and robin are related. In many festivities, the hobby horse
appeared alongside someone dressed as Robin Hood. It has apparently been suggested that the hobby horse represents
Robin Hood himself (Richard Wolfram "Robin Hood und hobby-horse"
[festchr fur R.Much] Wiener Prahist, Zeitschr XIX 1932 257-74) [5].
No one seems exactly sure where Guy of Gisbourne came from. There is a "Gisburn" in Lancashire,
but formerly within the boundaries of West Yorkshire. In 1380 the mayor of York, John de Gisburn
was overthrown in a peasant uprising related to the peasants revolt the following year.
Guisborough, on the south slopes of the North York Moors has also been
suggested. Perhaps Robin's rival was originally "Guy the Guiser", meaning someone who wears a mask? An ancient
image of a figure wearing a horse head mask was found in pinhole cave, Derbyshire.
For some reason this fascinating, beautiful and violent story has never found it's way into any of the Robin Hood
films which I have seen. Usually, Gisbourne is portrayed as a minor villain or henchman of the sherrif, as in the Kevin
Costner version*. Perhaps this story with it's pagan and mythical elements has been glossed over by
those who wish to believe in a single, historical figure named Robin Hood. I do not hold this view. Robin Hood is far
more interesting than that! I believe "Robin Hood" was (amongst other things), a pseudonym used by rebels,
revolutionaries, bandits and poachers. Names such as "Robhode" occur regularly in medieval court proceedings as early as
the 13th Century, but these surnames are rare or non-existent nowadays. The name "John Doe" is similarly rare outside of
police files.
"Robin Hood" meant: "You've got me banged to rights, but
I'm damned if I'm telling you my name".
It was a statement of defiance and solidarity, just as the rebels of ancient Rome declared: "I am Spartacus!".
The Robin Hood tales are (as the saying goes) "fit for fools", but chaotic tomfoolery is a powerful remedy for
oppression, and the monolithic regularity of state power (see the page about
The fool on the moon).
The Gunpowder conspirators were described at the time as
"Robin Hoods"**. I have speculated elsewhere that a similar mix of politics and paganism may have
given rise to Jack Straw. To this list of mythical and semi-mythical anarchist heroes, we should
also add Ned and Nora Ludd. The Luddites who smashed looms during the industrial revolution in protest at the poor pay and
working
conditions of the factory workers***, claimed to be the followers of Ned and Nora Ludd, but
these characters did not really exist. Ned Ludd was also known as "King Ludd", which suggests to me that the Luddites
were anarchists, poking fun at the concept of Royal power. The fact that such a group chose not to have any hierarchical
power structures or leaders will come as no surprise to todays radical environmentalists. The authorities can easily
neutralise a hierarchical rebel movement by imprisoning or executing its leaders. I don't think that it is coincidence
that Lud was a Celtic god of humour, whose spring festival is believed to have given rise to April Fools
day[5]
There is a much better known story, (part of "A Gest of Robyn Hode") in which the Sheriff of Nottingham organises
an archery contest, in order to capture Robin. It bears a number of similarities to this story:
For example, in both stories, Robin conceals his identity, only to reveal himself by his skill at archery. The latter
story ends with Robin beheading the sheriff.