tyme he layd him downe,
And shot another whyle.

309.
Then was there a fayre castell,
A lytell within the wode;
Double-dyched it was about,
And walled, by the rode.

310.
And there dwelled that gentyll knyght,
Syr Rychard at the Lee,
That Robyn had lent his good,
Under the grene-wode tree.

311.
In he toke good Robyn,
And all his company:
'Welcome be thou, Robyn Hode,
Welcome arte thou to me;

312.
'And moche I thanke thee of thy comfort,
And of thy curteysye,
And of thy grete kyndenesse,
Under the grene-wode tre.

313.
'I love no man in all this worlde
So much as I do thee;
For all the proud sheryf of Notyngham,
Ryght here shalt thou be.

314.
'Shyt the gates, and drawe the brydge,
And let no man come in,
And arme you well, and make you redy,
And to the walles ye wynne.

315.
'For one thynge, Robyn, I the behote;
I swere by Saynt Quyntyne,
These forty dayes thou wonnest with me,
To soupe, ete, and dyne.'

316.
Bordes were layde, and clothes were spredde,
Redely and anone;
Robyn Hode and his mery men
To mete can they gone.

[Annotations:
282.4: 'dyde' = caused to: cf. 'do you to wit.' --Gummere.
283.3: 'allther best,' best of all: cp. 9.4.
284.3: 'fynly,' goodly.
287.3: 'wete,' know.
287.4: 'and yf' = [*]
288.2: 'fedred fre,' fully feathered.
290.2: 'hevede' = head, _i.e._ life.
292.2: 'slist,' sliced, split.
295.3: 'yeft,' gift, prize.
297.3: 'behote,' didst promise.
298.3: 'wedde,' forfeit.
298.4: 'lewte,' loyalty, faith.
300.4: 'blyve,' quickly.
301.1: 'busshement,' ambuscade: 'to-broke,' broken up.
304.1: 'medes,' wages.
306.4: 'on a rawe,' in a row; cf. 60.2.
315.1: 'behote,' promise; cf. 297.3.
315.3: 'wonnest,' dwellest.]

THE SIXTH FYTTE (317-353)

+Argument.+--The Sheriff of Nottingham secures the assistance of the
High Sheriff, and besets the knight's castle, accusing him of harbouring
the king's enemies. The knight bids him appeal to the king, saying he
will 'avow' (_i.e._ make good or justify) all he has done, on the pledge
of all his lands. The sheriffs raise the siege and go to London, where
the king says he will be at Nottingham in two weeks and will capture
both the knight and Robin Hood. The sheriff returns home to get together
a band of archers to assist the king; but