Robin Hood and the Bishop is number 143 in Francis James Child

Francis James Child

Francis James Child was an American scholar, educator, and folklorist, best known today for his collection of folk songs known as the Child Ballads. Child was Boylston professor of rhetoric and oratory at Harvard University, where he produced influential editions of English poetry...

's collection of Child ballads, and describes an adventure of 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....

.

Synopsis

Away from his men, Robin Hood sees a bishop and realizes he will hang if the bishop catches him. He appeals to an old woman for aid. Because he has previously given her a gift of both shoes and socks, she willingly exchanges clothing with him. The bishop catches the woman, believing her to be Robin. Meanwhile Robin returns to his band, but 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...

 at first does not recognize him, and wants to shoot him as a witch. The misunderstanding out of the way, the band catches the bishop, rob him of five hundred pounds, and force him to say Mass

Mass (liturgy)

"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...

for them.

External links

• Robin Hood and the Bishop