THE MERRY MEN AND THE POTTER

SEMINAR 5

ENGLISH LITERATURE IN THE 15TH CENTURY

Task 1.Study all new words from Lecture 4.

Task 2.Answer the following questions to Lecture 4.

The wars of the roses

1.What misfortune befell England in the 15^th century? When did the war begin and end? What were the reasons for the war? Where did the name of the war come from?

2. Who was proclaimed King of England? What did the reign of the Tudors mean for England?

Folk songs and ballads

3. What poetry flourished in England in the 15^th century? What kind of songs were there? What was the best of folk poetry?

4. What is a ballad? Why could some ballads be performed by several people?

5. What kinds of ballads were there? Why are there several versions of the same ballads? What were the most popular ballads?

The Robin Hood Ballads

6. What did the old ballads say about the time Robin Hood lived?

7. Describe the conditions of the Saxons after the Norman Conquest.

8. What family did Robin Hood come from? What kind of man was he? How was he portrayed in the ballads?

9. Who were Robin Hood’s worst enemies? Who were his friends?

10. When did the ballads of Robin Hood gain great popularity?

Task 3.Read the following stories about Robin Hood and his merry men in Sherwood Forest and say what you think about their behaviour.

THE MERRY MEN AND THE POTTER

One day a man came through the forest pushing a truck on which were pots and pans of his own work, all new from the pottery¹; he was taking them to sell at the fair in the next town. Unfortunately for him he got quite near the part of the forest where the outlaws were hiding, and before he could get out of their way, Robin's men seized him and brought him before their chief. Robin Hood asked the man if he had any money in his pockets; and the man said, "No." "Then," said Robin, ”if I let you go home safely, you must leave your pots and pans here in the forest for my merry men to use." The potter looked round at all the great fierce outlaws who were standing near but he was not alarmed⁴. He was a brave strong fellow, and he spoke up to the chief of the outlaws.

"If you are Robin Hood," he said, "you are well known to be a jolly fellow and will see fair play. Now we will make a bargain⁵. I will fight with one of your men, the biggest and strongest of them if you like; if I am beaten, you shall have all my pots and pans and jugs⁶, but if I win, then you must let me go free and take all my pottery with me."

This was just the sort of thing to please the rough7 outlaws. They all roared8 with excitement. So Robin made his men stand round in a ring, and chose the biggest of them to fight the potter. He was so big that the outlaws called him for fun "Little John". The poor potter fought bravely, but he was no match for Little John and was obliged at last to confess9 that he was beaten and could fight no more. Then Robin made him sit down and rest under a big tree. He was so pleased with the brave way in which the potter had fought that he said no harm should come to him. He told his merry men to bring some food and wine, and some water to bathe the potter's wounds10, for he had been much knocked about by the big outlaw. After which Robin put on some of the potter's clothes that he had taken off when the fight began, and whistling¹¹ merrily wheeled off the truck, with all the pottery on it, to the fair.

When he had sold everything, he brought back all the money safely and gave it to the potter, and sent him away to his home. His going to the fair was a very daring thing for Robin to do, because if anyone in the town had known who he really was, he would have been caught and put in prison at once. But that was Robin: always heedless of his own danger¹².

¹ pottery - гончарня, гончарная мастерская

² outlaws - человек, объявленный вне закона, преступник

³ fierce - жестокий, лютый, свирепый

⁴ alarmed - встревоженный, обеспокоенный

⁵ bargain - соглашение, договорённость, сделка

⁶ jug - кувшин

⁷ rough - грубый

⁸ roar - реветь, орать

⁹ confess – признавать

¹⁰ wounds - рана; ранение

¹¹ whistle – свистеть

¹² heedless of danger - пренебрегающий опасностью