Editing Yeoman (section)

=== ''A Gest of Robyn Hode'' ===
{{anchor|Rob Hood}}
{{Main|A Gest of Robyn Hode}}
{{See also|Robin Hood#Early ballads|Robin Hood#List of traditional ballads}}
[[File:Here begynneth a gest of Robyn Hode.png|thumb|First page of the Antwerp edition of ''A Gest of Robyn Hode'']]
Rhymes ([[ballads]]) of Robin Hood were being sung as early as the 1370s. [[William Langland]], the author of ''[[Piers Plowman]]'', has Sloth say that he does not know his ''[[Pater Noster]]'' (Latin for the ''[[Our Father]]'' prayer) as perfectly as the priest sings it, but he does know the rhymes of Robin Hood.<ref name=Plowman_Passus5/> Unfortunately, the rhymes that William Langland heard have not survived. The earliest surviving ballads are ''[[Robin Hood and the Monk]]'' (dated to 1450),<ref name=Rochester_RH_Monk_Intro/> ''[[Robin Hood and the Potter]]'' (dated to about 1500),<ref name=Rochester_RH_Potter_Intro/> and ''A Gest of Robyn Hode''.<ref name=Rochester_RH_Gest_Intro/>
The oldest copies of ''A Gest of Robyn Hode'' are print editions dated between 1510 and 1530.<ref name=Rochester_RH_Gest_Intro/> These early rhymes are witnesses to a crucial time in English history. The 14th–15th centuries saw the rise of the common people's Middle English over the decline of the aristocrats' [[Norman language|Norman French]], the military prowess of the yeoman longbowmen during the Hundred Years War (see [[#Yeo Arch|Yeoman Archers]]), and the beginnings of a yeoman class (see [[#Social Class of Small Freeholders|Social Class of Small Freeholders]]).

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All three works were composed in Middle English. Norman French had been the official language since the [[Norman Conquest]], and Latin was used by the [[Catholic Church]]. However, Norman French was as foreign to the commoners as was [[Church Latin]]. The [[Pleading in English Act 1362|Pleading in English Act of 1362]], which allowed the English language to be spoken in law courts, was passed barely a decade before ''[[Piers Plowman]]''. [[Middle English#Late Middle English|Chancery Standard English]] was introduced as the official language of the English Court in 1417, just one or two generations before the earliest surviving manuscript of ''[[Robin Hood and the Monk]]''.
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In the ''Gest'', Robin is an [[outlaw]] (meaning "outside the law"); someone who was summoned to a law court, but failed to appear. He has gathered around himself a fellowship of "sevenscore men"{{r|Rochester_RH_Gest|p=lines 1555}}, that is, 140 skilled bowmen. Nevertheless, Robin is the King's Man: "I love no man in all the world/So well as I do my king;"{{r|Rochester_RH_Gest|p=lines 1541–42}}. Disguised as a monk carrying the King's Seal, King Edward finally meets Robin, and is invited to a feast. During the archery contest afterwards, Robin suddenly recognizes Edward. He immediately kneels to offer homage, asking for mercy for his men. Edward grants pardon, and invites Robin to court. Robin agrees, and offers his men as a retinue.{{r|Rochester_RH_Gest|p=lines 1409–58}} Note how Robin's behavior fits a commander of men. This entire scene is reminiscent of the contracted indenture offered by Edward III, where pardons were granted for war service (see [[#Yeo Arch|Yeoman Archers]]). It is interesting that this historical detail had been preserved in the ''Gest of Robyn Hode''.

{{Quote box |border=2px |align=left |width=30% |salign=right |author=''Robin Hood and the Potter'', lines 5–12{{r|Rochester_RH_Potter|p=lines 5–12}}
|quote=<poem>
Harken, good yeomen,
Comely, courteous, and good,
One of the best that ever bore bow,
His name was Robin Hood.
Robin Hood was the yeoman's name,
That was both courteous and generous;
For the love of Our Lady,
All women honored him.
</poem>
}}
These earliest ballads contain clues to the changes in the English social structure which elevated the yeoman to a more powerful and influential level (see [[#Chiv Rank|A Chivalric Rank]]). In the box to the left is the opening of ''Robin Hood and the Potter''. (Note that all quotations have modern spelling, and obsolete words have been substituted.) The audience is addressed as "good yeomen", and yeoman Robin is described as possessing the "[[Knightly Virtues|knightly virtues]]" of courtesy (good manners), goodness, generosity, and a [[devotion to the Virgin Mary]]. Thomas Ohlgren, a Robin Hood scholar, considers this to be an indication of the social changes the yeomen were undergoing.<ref name=Ohlgren_RH_Merchant/> The yeomen may be lower in social rank to the knight, but they see themselves as possessing the traits of the knightly class.

{{Quote box |border=2px |align=right |width=30% |salign=right |author=''Gest of Robyn Hode'', lines 1–4{{r|Rochester_RH_Gest|p=lines 1–4}}
|quote=<poem>
Lithe and listen, gentlemen,
That be of freeborn blood;
I shall you tell of a good yeoman,
His name was Robin Hood.
</poem>
}}
In the box to the right, the opening lines of ''Gest of Robyn Hode'' offer confirmation that yeomen now consider themselves as part of the gentry. The audience is now composed of "gentlemen". Stephen Knight and Thomas Ohlgren suggest that the "Gest" audience was a literate audience interested in political resistance.<ref name=Rochester_RH_Gest_Intro/> This interpretation appears to be supported by the rise of the new social class of yeoman (see [[#Social Class of Small Freeholders|Social Class of Small Freeholders]]).