The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood

It is fall in Sherwood Forest, and Robin and the Merry Men go in search of a guest to dine with them. They meet a knight named Sir Richard of the Lea, who is in a serious difficulty. His 20-year-old son killed a knight named Sir Walter of Lancaster in a joust, and Richard had to pay a great sum to save his son from prison. He borrowed money from the Prior of Emmet to help pay the fine, and now his castle and lands are in pawn for the debt he owes. The son, meanwhile, fled England and is now in the Holy Land fighting in the Crusades.

Meanwhile, Little John has stopped the Bishop of Hereford on the road and, with threats and insults, forced him to come to the greenwood tree to dine with the Merry Men. After their feast, Robin Hood explains Sir Richard’s situation to the Bishop and asks him to provide financial aid. He refuses, so Robin divides up the goods from the Bishop’s packhorses to distribute to Sir Richard and to the Merry Men, letting the bishop keep one third of his goods.