The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood Part Third Summary & Analysis

Summary

In the spring Robin Hood sends Little John to get more cloth from a tailor. Little John heads out on the errand, but missing the comfort of sleeping indoors, he stays the night at the Blue Boar Inn. The next morning, on the path to town, Little John sees a tanner named Arthur a Bland, whom he assumes is trying to poach the deer Little John thinks of as belonging to Robin Hood and the men. Little John confronts Arthur, and they begin fighting. Robin, who heard that Little John stopped at the Blue Boar and decided to follow him, watches the fight from behind some trees. When he sees Little John beaten by Arthur, Robin reveals himself, laughing at Little John and telling him he has been punished for getting off track. Arthur says he would not have fought Little John if he knew who he was. Robin Hood is impressed by Arthur and invites him to join their band. Arthur agrees, and Robin sends Little John on his way to the tailor.

As Robin Hood and Arthur accompany Little John part of the way toward his destination, they come across a young man dressed in fancy scarlet clothes. Robin and his companions make fun of the man before demanding he gives them his money. However, the man says he has nothing to give. Robin and the man begin fighting, but Robin yields when it becomes clear the man will beat him. The man introduces himself as Will Gamwell, and Robin recognizes the name as that of his nephew. Will reveals that he accidentally killed his father’s steward and escaped to seek out Robin Hood. Robin agrees to let his nephew join his band and renames him Will Scarlet because of the color of his clothes and to help him evade arrest.

On their way back to Sherwood, the travelers send Arthur to get some food, which the four of them enjoy. They see a young miller approaching them, carrying a sack of flour. Robin Hood suggests they pretend to rob the miller and then take him to Sherwood for a feast. The miller, however, throws flour into their faces and attacks them while they cannot see. Robin tells the miller he is Robin Hood, but the miller does not believe Robin Hood would steal from him. Robin blasts his horn, and his men come to the rescue. The miller, named Midge, is frightened of what Robin Hood will do to him, but Robin invites him to join their band, and Midge accepts.

Analysis

The action in this part shows how quickly Robin Hood and Little John make assumptions based on appearances and act on those assumptions, often to their misfortune. Little John begins a fight with Arthur a Bland over his mistaken assumption that the deer in the forest belongs to Robin Hood, when in fact the deer belongs to the king. Robin, meanwhile, assumes the man dressed in red—who turns out to be his nephew—must be immoral because of the wealth and privilege projected by his clothing. As it turns out, his nephew’s situation is nearly identical to that of Robin’s, and he is in disguise, as Robin himself often is. Finally, while Robin Hood believes the miller is the prime target for a joke, the miller shows he is not to be fooled. Despite Robin Hood’s cleverness, he still proves himself to be gullible in certain ways and far from the infallible hero.

The actions of Robin Hood and Little John in this part also show how fast they are to take matters of revenge into their own hands because of their sense of what is right and wrong. Because of Will Gamwell’s outfit, Robin assumes he must have an excess of wealth, which Robin then tries to steal. The fact that Robin is entirely incorrect in his assumption shows that his habit of taking from the rich to give to the poor may not always be the right thing to do. Robin concedes that Will Gamwell is not wealthy only when he realizes they are related. There is folly, therefore, in Robin’s thinking that anyone who appears rich must therefore be corrupt. When Robin learns that his nephew is on the run from the law for accidentally killing someone, just as Robin himself is, he is eager to take Will under his wing. Again, while Robin Hood attempts to do what is righteous, his moral code does not follow the letter of the law.

In this third part of the novel, Robin Hood and Little John come across three men who begin as enemies and end up becoming members of their group, showing the value they place on making new friends, as well as their generous spirit in wanting to share their way of life with others. Although Arthur a Bland beats Little John in their fight, and Will Scarlet does the same to Robin Hood, Little John and Robin put their admiration of such skills above their humiliation. Though the four of them are all outsmarted by the miller, they welcome him into their group as well. As Robin and his men have proved before, they put the good of the group above their feelings or egos.

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