“Robin Hood and the Prince of Aragon”
Description
Aragon has encircled London, demanding its princess, unless three champions defeat him and his two giants. Robin Hood, Little John, and Robin's nephew Will Scadlock do so, gaining pardon. Will gains the princess and is reunited with his father.
Notes
For background on the Robin Hood legend, see the notes on "A Gest of Robyn Hode" [Child 117].
This is an instance where oral tradition didn't do anything for a ballad; Child calls his text vapid, and the New Brunswick version from J. P. A. Nesbitt (found in Barry/Eckstorm/Smyth) could almost be held up as an example of "when ballads go bad."
It is probably obvious that there isn't a hint of history in this ballad; the attacker in the ballad is a Turk, but Aragon was a Christian state, centered around Barcelona. The Aragonese could not have have hoped to attack England until after the union with Spain.
The whole business might have been suggested by the bad blood between Spain and England over the marriage of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon -- but that of course didn't end in invasion. - RBW
References
- Child 129, "Robin Hood and the Prince of Aragon" (1 text)
- Bronson 129, "Robin Hood and the Prince of Aragon" (1 version)
- BarryEckstormSmyth pp. 233-240, "Robin Hood and the Prince of Aragon" (1 text, 1 tune, which even the editors admit is full of absurdities and whose verses Bronson calls "rather deplorable") {Bronson's [#1]}
- BBI, RZN18, "Now Robin Hood, Will Scadlock, and little John"
- Roud #3983
- BI, C129