Robin Hood and the Prince of Aragon
Encyclopedia
Robin Hood and the Prince of Aragon is Child ballad
129. Showing more imagination than fidelity to tradition, it catches up Robin Hood
into a tale of chivalrous adventures
, such as are uncommon in his ballads, and has seldom been featured in later tales.
, Will Scadlock
and Little John
hunt a deer. After they feast, Robin meets a black-dressed woman on a black horse. She tells them that the Prince of Aragon has besieged London to demand the princess for his wife. He will only give it up if champions defeat the prince himself and two giants
, and has set a deadline of Midsummer. Robin Hood, Will Scadlock, and Little John arrive just in time; Robin defeats the prince, and his men the giants.
Robin begs, and gets, a pardon for himself and his men. The princess choses to marry Will. A noble weeps on seeing him, because he had a son much like him, now dead, and Will says that he is that son, still alive. They celebrate the wedding.
Child Ballads
The Child Ballads are a collection of 305 ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, collected by Francis James Child in the late nineteenth century...
129. Showing more imagination than fidelity to tradition, it catches up Robin Hood
Robin Hood
Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
into a tale of chivalrous adventures
Romance (genre)
As a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knight errant portrayed as...
, such as are uncommon in his ballads, and has seldom been featured in later tales.
Synopsis
Robin HoodRobin Hood
Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
, Will Scadlock
Will Scarlet
Will Scarlet was a prominent member of Robin Hood's Merry Men. He was present in the earliest ballads along with Little John and Much the Miller's Son....
and Little John
Little John
Little John was a legendary fellow outlaw of Robin Hood, and was said to be Robin's chief lieutenant and second-in-command of the Merry Men.-Folklore:He appears in the earliest recorded Robin Hood ballads and stories...
hunt a deer. After they feast, Robin meets a black-dressed woman on a black horse. She tells them that the Prince of Aragon has besieged London to demand the princess for his wife. He will only give it up if champions defeat the prince himself and two giants
Giant (mythology)
The mythology and legends of many different cultures include monsters of human appearance but prodigious size and strength. "Giant" is the English word commonly used for such beings, derived from one of the most famed examples: the gigantes of Greek mythology.In various Indo-European mythologies,...
, and has set a deadline of Midsummer. Robin Hood, Will Scadlock, and Little John arrive just in time; Robin defeats the prince, and his men the giants.
Robin begs, and gets, a pardon for himself and his men. The princess choses to marry Will. A noble weeps on seeing him, because he had a son much like him, now dead, and Will says that he is that son, still alive. They celebrate the wedding.