П о я с н ю в а л ь н а з а п и с к а

FOLK-SONGS AND BALLADS
Folk poetry flourished in England and Scotland in the 15th century.
Folk-songs were heard everywhere. A folk-song is a short poem in rhymed stanzas usually set to a melody. The rhythm goes along with the subject dealt with in the song. Thus mowing-songs, spinning-and weaving-songs were made up to the measured motion of that kind of work. Harvest-songs and wedding-songs were set to the measured motion of a dance.
The most interesting examples of folk poetry were the ballads. English and Scottish ballads were either lyrical-epic poems (these were narratives), or lyrical-dramatic poems (incidents in action). Ballads were either for singing or for reciting. They were often accompanied by musical instruments (such as the bagpipes in Scotland) and dancing. The ballad became the most popular form of amusement in towns and villages because it was something intermediate between a performance and a game.
As regards the content, the ballads may be divided into three groups: historical, heroic, and romantic ballads. Historical ballads were based on a historical fact, while heroic ballads were about people who were persecuted by the law or by their own families. Among the most popular ones were those about Robin Hood, who was an outlaw.
Ballads and songs express the sentiments and thoughts of a people, therefore the author is not felt in them. They were handed down by word of mouth from generation to generation.
The art of printing did not stop the creation of folk-songs and ballads. They continued to develop till the 18th century.
THE ROBIN HOOD BALLADS
The Robin Hood ballads, numbering some forty separate ballads, were written down at various times but not earlier than in the 14th and 15th centuries. Robin Hood, England's favourite hero, is a character partly historical, partly legendary. He must have lived in the second half of the 12th century, during the reign of Henry n and his Son Richard I (the Lion-Hearted). The older ballads tell us much about the Saxon yeomen, who were famous archers and keen hunters. Being ill-treated by the Norman robber-barons, they longed to live free in the forests with Robin as their leader. The ballads always tell of persons who were robbed by the Church or the feudal barons, or imprisoned by the foresters and sheriffs. Robin is the relentless enemy of the Norman oppressors and always helps the country-folk in their troubles- Though the sheriff put a big price on Robin's head, not a Saxon in all Nottinghamshire betrayed him.
Robin is an outlaw and lives in Sherwood Forest, which in those days was quite near the town of Nottingham. He is smart and clever, "with a twinkle in the eye". Whenever the sheriff or the king sends out a party of men to catch him, Robin fights with so much vigor that his enemies, amazed at his bravery, confess themselves beaten' and stay with him in the forest. They become "the merry men of Robin Hood". His friends are Little John (he is 7 feet tall); Friar Tuck, a jolly monk; and Allan-a-Dale , a musical young man, who was a great singer.
In the 16th century many new episodes were introduced into the ballads. They were arranged in series, the most popular of which was "The Jolly Life of Robin Hood and His Merry Men in Sherwood Forest".' Here is one of the heroic Robin Hood ballads told in prose.