The Bold Pedlar and Robin Hood
THERE chanced to be a pedlar bold,A pedlar bold he chanced to be;He rolled his pack all on his back,And he came tripping o’er the lee.Down, a down, a down, a down,Down, a down, a down.
By chance he met two troublesome blades,Two troublesome blades they chanced to be;The one of them was bold Robin Hood,And the other was Little John, so free.
‘Oh! pedlar, pedlar, what is in thy pack,Come speedilie and tell to me?’‘I’ve several suits of the gay green silks,And silken bowstrings two or three.’
‘If you have several suits of the gay green silk,And silken bowstrings two or three,Then it’s by my body,’ cries bittle John,‘One half your pack shall belong to me.’
Oh! nay, oh! nay,’ says the pedlar bold,‘Oh! nay, oh! nay, that never can be,For there’s never a man from fair NottinghamCan take one half my pack from me.’
Then the pedlar he pulled off his pack,And put it a little below his knee,Saying, ‘If you do move me one perch from this,My pack and all shall gang with thee.’
Then Little John he drew his sword;The pedlar by his pack did stand;They fought until they both did sweat,Till he cried, ‘Pedlar, pray hold your hand!’
Then Robin Hood he was standing by,And he did laugh most heartilie,Saying, ‘I could find a man of a smaller scale,Could thrash the pedlar, and also thee.’
‘Go, you try, master,’ says Little John,‘Go, you try, master, most speedilie,Or by my body,’ says Little John,‘I am sure this night you will not know me.’
Then Robin Hood he drew his sword,And the pedlar by his pack did stand,They fought till the blood in streams did flow,Till he cried, ‘Pedlar, pray hold your hand!’
‘Pedlar, pedlar! what is thy name?Come speedilie and tell to me.’‘My name! my name, I ne’er will tell,Till both your names you have told to me.’
‘The one of us is bold Robin Hood,And the other Little John, so free.’‘Now,’ says the pedlar, ‘it lays to my good will,Whether my name I chuse to tell to thee.
‘I am Gamble Gold of the gay green woods,And travellèd far beyond the sea;For killing a man in my father’s land,From my country I was forced to flee.’
‘If you are Gamble Gold of the gay green woods,And travellèd far beyond the sea,You are my mother’s own sister’s son;What nearer cousins then can we be?’
They sheathèd their swords with friendly words,So merrily they did agree;They went to a tavern and there they dined,And bottles cracked most merrilie.
Words in this poem
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- gamble v. i.
- To play or game for money or other stake. [Dim. of game. See 2d Game.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- cracked a.
- Coarsely ground or broken; as, cracked wheat.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Bold Pedlar and Robin Hood is in the public domain. This text is taken from Ancient Poems, Ballads, and Songs of the Peasantry of England, Project Gutenberg ebook #649; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Bell, The Bold Pedlar and Robin Hood, in Ancient Poems, Ballads and Songs of the Peasantry of England (1857), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #649, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/bell-ancient-poems/the-bold-pedlar-and-robin-hood.html, id L11909.
Form and metre
The Bold Pedlar and Robin Hood is 62 lines in 15 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 82%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.8 syllables.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 -A-ABB bold · beA · back · leeA · downB · downB
- 2 -A-A blades · beA · hood · freeA
- 3 -A-A pack · meA · silks · threeA
- 4 -A-A silk · threeA · john · meA
- 5 -A-A bold · beA · nottingham · meA
- 6 -A-A pack · kneeA · this · theeA
- 7 -A-A sword · standA · sweat · handA
- 8 A--A byA · heartilie · scale · theeA
- 9 A-A- johnA · speedilie · johnA · me
- 10 -A-A sword · standA · flow · handA
- 11 -A-A name · meA · tell · meA
- 12 -A-A hood · freeA · will · theeA
- 13 -A-A woods · seaA · land · fleeA
- 14 -A-A woods · seaA · son · beA
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| THERE chanced to be a pedlar bold, | 8 | ········ |
| A pedlar bold he chanced to be; | 8 | ········ |
| He rolled his pack all on his back, | 8 | ········ |
| And he came tripping o’er the lee. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Down, a down, a down, a down, | 7 | ······· |
| Down, a down, a down. | 5 | ····· |
| By chance he met two troublesome blades, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Two troublesome blades they chanced to be; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The one of them was bold Robin Hood, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| And the other was Little John, so free. | 10 | ··/˘·/˘··· |
| ‘Oh! pedlar, pedlar, what is in thy pack, | 10 | ·········· |
| Come speedilie and tell to me?’ | 8 | ········ |
| ‘I’ve several suits of the gay green silks, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| And silken bowstrings two or three.’ | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| ‘If you have several suits of the gay green silk, | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| And silken bowstrings two or three, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Then it’s by my body,’ cries bittle John, | 10 | ····/˘·/˘· |
| ‘One half your pack shall belong to me.’ | 9 | ·····˘/·· |
| Oh! nay, oh! nay,’ says the pedlar bold, | 9 | ········· |
| ‘Oh! nay, oh! nay, that never can be, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| For there’s never a man from fair Nottingham | 10 | ··/····/˘· |
| Can take one half my pack from me.’ | 8 | ········ |
| Then the pedlar he pulled off his pack, | 9 | ········· |
| And put it a little below his knee, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| Saying, ‘If you do move me one perch from this, | 11 | /˘········· |
| My pack and all shall gang with thee.’ | 8 | ········ |
| Then Little John he drew his sword; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| The pedlar by his pack did stand; | 8 | ········ |
| They fought until they both did sweat, | 8 | ········ |
| Till he cried, ‘Pedlar, pray hold your hand!’ | 9 | ········· |
| Then Robin Hood he was standing by, | 9 | ·/˘···/˘· |
| And he did laugh most heartilie, | 8 | ········ |
| Saying, ‘I could find a man of a smaller scale, | 12 | /˘·······/˘· |
| Could thrash the pedlar, and also thee.’ | 9 | ······/˘· |
| ‘Go, you try, master,’ says Little John, | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| ‘Go, you try, master, most speedilie, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Or by my body,’ says Little John, | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| ‘I am sure this night you will not know me.’ | 10 | ·········· |
| Then Robin Hood he drew his sword, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And the pedlar by his pack did stand, | 9 | ········· |
| They fought till the blood in streams did flow, | 9 | ········· |
| Till he cried, ‘Pedlar, pray hold your hand!’ | 9 | ········· |
| ‘Pedlar, pedlar! what is thy name? | 8 | ········ |
| Come speedilie and tell to me.’ | 8 | ········ |
| ‘My name! my name, I ne’er will tell, | 8 | ········ |
| Till both your names you have told to me.’ | 9 | ········· |
| ‘The one of us is bold Robin Hood, | 9 | ······/˘· |
| And the other Little John, so free.’ | 9 | ··/˘/˘··· |
| ‘Now,’ says the pedlar, ‘it lays to my good will, | 11 | ··········· |
| Whether my name I chuse to tell to thee. | 10 | ·········· |
| ‘I am Gamble Gold of the gay green woods, | 10 | ··/˘······ |
| And travellèd far beyond the sea; | 8 | ········ |
| For killing a man in my father’s land, | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| From my country I was forced to flee.’ | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| ‘If you are Gamble Gold of the gay green woods, | 11 | ···/˘······ |
| And travellèd far beyond the sea, | 8 | ········ |
| You are my mother’s own sister’s son; | 9 | ···/˘·/˘· |
| What nearer cousins then can we be?’ | 9 | ·/˘/˘···· |
| They sheathèd their swords with friendly words, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| So merrily they did agree; | 8 | ·/˘˘··˘/ |
| They went to a tavern and there they dined, | 10 | ····/˘···· |
| And bottles cracked most merrilie. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
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