The Jest of Jude

For the past year and a half, I've been researching the possiblity that Robin Hood was written by a Jewish author, for a Jewish audience, using Jewish sources, and depicted as having a Jewish belief system. I cannot tell you how many times people have laughed at the idea. In other words, as I've written before, was Robin Hood Jewish?

The biggest problem with the story of Robin Hood is that we all have a preconceived notion of who Robin Hood was and what he stood for. Even though very few of us have ever read the earliest published works telling his stories.

So, on the advice of my very good friend and former neighbor, Leah Jones, I've written a "historical fiction" (or "modern midrash") retelling the first time the first two fyttes (sections) of the Gest of Robyn Hood were publicly performed, based on my theories and research. The bold words represent the first actual words of the text. You will noticed that I changed some small things, like the name Robin Hood to Rabbi Jude, switched between using the names Yohanan and John, among others.

I've included links to the original text so you can judge for yourself if I've misrepresented the spirit of the original story all.

I'm preparing a fully annotated and footnoted version of this story, please let me know if you would be interested in receiving that when it is ready. I would be happy to answer any and all questions about my use of the various sources.

Similar to the situation of the Knight in the story, I am also in need of £400 due to unforeseeable circumstances. Please consider a paid subscription to help support my research, or get a free subscription and consider giving a one-time tip.

Gest of Robyn Hood (Original Text)
Gest of Robyn Hode (Regularized Text, with some translations)

No one standing in the room, that night in Scotland, nearly 700 years ago, had any idea what was about to happen. They could not fathom the myth which would be born, and how that character would change and evolve for centuries into something its creator would have never imagined.

Everyone was angry and frustrated. They were the sons and daughters of Jews who had officially converted to Christianity, but they kept their ancestors' faith and beliefs in private. Centuries later in Spain, people who did the same would be called "conversos". But the nickname which was given to them was "the Banished". 

There was another group at the same time called "the Disinherited" who were nobles who had lost their lands in the aftermath of the First War of Scottish Independence, and would end up supporting King Edward III in the Second War of Scottish Independence.

But among the Banished, the title of "the Disinherited" brought back stories of the massacres committed against Jews by Simon de Montfort and his men in the Second Barons' War, by a different group described as "the Disinherited". They were raised on stories to fear and hate the Disinherited, who would use anti-Jewish violence to stoke conflict for their own ends.

Unwilling to be pawns in another power struggle between royalty and nobility, some young members of the community began to advocate for preemptive violence. Voices were raised, with passionate arguments on both sides of the debate. People started pushing each other. 

One elderly man, probably aged around 45, tried to calm people down, to no avail.  He could still remember his family choosing to convert around the time of his Bar Mitzvah. He could remember the fear. He also realized that this was a generation born in relative freedom.

He stood up on a table in the middle of the room and bellowed:

Lythe and listin, gentilmen, 
That be of frebore blode;
I shall you tel of a gode yeman, 
His name was Rabbi Jude

The fighting stopped. The term "yeman" or "yemen" was their internal nickname of how they referred to themselves, the crypto-Jews. The crowd began to sit around him, and listen to his story. 

"Is that the same Rabbi Jude the Pious, who they say was a master archer until the age of 18?" one of them asked. They expected this ancient man to tell them the story of a valiant battle in which the Rabbi emerged victorious. The troubadour continued to explain that he was a pious and courteous. He then mentioned his main student's name, Little Yohanan. 

"Oh, this is a story about the Maccabees! Judah and John were the brothers!" The troubadour introduced two more characters Scarlock, and Mosh who was the Miller's son. But this Rabbi Jude wasn't big and strong, like Judah Maccabee. He constantly fasted, and would only have a meal if he was hosting a guest. That didn't stop his students from constantly encouraging him to eat.

The troubadour paused for a second, because he realized that he forgot an important plot point. Namely that Rabbi Jude was just like them. Caught to live between two worlds. Jude would attend Masses, but not believe in Jesus. Like many Jews forced to attend church, he believed that Mary was the Patron Saint of the Jews, because she was a Jewish mother. But he didn't even call her Mary, he called her "Our Dear Lady", and thought of the Matriarchs, maybe even like Rebecca and how she cried for her children hidden in exile.

Little John then asked Rabbi Jude to teach them where to go and how to live. Like the young members of the Banished in the room, he felt oppressed and wanted to take revenge on the system that placed them in this untenable situation. 

What do we take, what do we leave /
who do we ignore /
when should we openly rob and when should we secretly thieve /
and who do we beat and bind?

At this point, the audience is clapping and cheering. The contingent hell-bent on violence doesn't have a leader, it is ruled by mob mentality. To have such an old man give them this sage advice felt invaluable.

Rabbi Jude responded to Little John that they are not to use steal or use force against farmers, other Jews, knights or squires.

The audience became irate. They wanted the characters to do all the things they wanted to do.

Fearing an uprising, the troubadour quickly says, "but obviously you can beat and bind members of the Church. Just pay attention for the High Sheriff of Nottingham." 

The crowd starts laughing. 

Little John tells Rabbi Jude that he understands the lesson, and he will take the boys and they will find a guest to invite for dinner. Rabbi Jude quips back, "just remember to bring your good bow!"  

The audience has absolutely no idea what shenanigans the trio will get up to on their search for a guest, but they are prepared for anything. 

They walk up, they walk down, they look east, they look west, there is no one to be found. Finally, they get to Barnesdale and on a side street, and they see a knight riding on a horse.

The audience braced for combat! 

And then the troubadour began to describe the saddest, sorriest looking, worst-dressed knight that one could possibly imagine. This was exactly the type of person Rabbi Jude told them not to hurt.

So instead, Little John treats the Gentile Knight with respect and courtesy, inviting him to dinner with his teacher, Rabbi Jude. The knight says that he has heard good things about him. 

He had expected to eat dinner alone somewhere, and he cried because of the kindness of these complete strangers. Little John brings him to Rabbi Jude's home, and Rabbi Jude, too, treats him with courtesy and respect.

But before they eat, the troubadour is sure to mention that they washed and dried their hands, because that is a Jewish custom which shows that Rabbi Jude is truly pious and Jewish and it also shows that knight respected his host's traditions. 

They serve a meal with wine and bread and venison and swans and pheasants and ducks and, probably even ortolans. It was a feast fit for Joseph in Egypt or Mordecai and Esther in Persia.

The knight is filled with such gratitude, having not eaten this well in weeks. But even more, he feels as if he is being treated like a human, with respect for the first time.

And that is when Rabbi Jude presents him with the bill for the feast: "A yeman should never pay for a knight."

The crowd begins to laugh and cheer.

The knight shamefully admits to being poor, and that he only has 10 shillings to his name.

Everyone stops laughing.

Rabbi Jude tells him that if he truly only has 10 shillings, he won't take a penny. And if he needs more, he will lend him. Like Joseph with his brethren after the meal, Rabbi Jude sends John search the Knight's bag to see if he is being honest. He comes back quickly to tell Rabbi Jude that the Knight is honest.

Rabbi Jude pours the Knight a glass of wine, and asks him to tell him his story, and how he got into this predicament. Was he evil, untruthful, or unfaithful? No. He tells a tale worthy of the Book of Job, of how his twenty year old son accidentally killed a knight and a squire in a competition, and to compensate the families, he had to borrow £400 from the Abbot of the Saint Mary Abbey, and if he doesn't pay him back soon, he will lose his ancestral home and lands. And he doesn't have the money. Now that he isn't wealthy anymore, all his friends have left him. They ignore him, and pretend that he doesn't exist.

The troubadour sees the audience crying, and tells them that Little John, Scarlock, and Moshe are also crying. And breaks the tension by saying that Rabbi Jude suggests drinking more wine.

Rabbi Jude asks the Knight if he has a guarantor for a loan, and the Knight says "only the God that died on a tree", which, the troubadour explains, is referring to Jesus, because the Knight is a Gentile and believes in Jesus, but Rabbi Jude is a Jew didn't believe in Jesus. He responded, "who am I going to collect from if you default, Peter, Paul, or John?" 

At that point, an audience member named John would have said "don't look at me, I don't have that kind of money".

Then Rabbi Jude says "By He that made me, and shaped both the sun and moon, find a better guarantor." The troubadour explains that he's talking about one God in heaven, who created both the sun and the moon, just in case anyone wasn't 100% certain that Rabbi Jude was actually Jewish.

"What about Our Dear Lady?" the Knight asked. He knew that she was considered the Patron Saint of the Jews by the Christians, and Rabbi Jude, thought of the Matriarch Rebecca crying alongside Little John, Scarlock, and Moshe, and accepted immediately.

Rabbi Jude sends Little John to get the money.

Moshe turns to Little John, and asked "what are we doing here?" And Little John responded "What is bothering you? It is charity to help anyone, even a Gentile Knight, who has fallen into poverty!"

And then inspired by the Book of Esther, to boost the Knight's self-image and confidence, the boys decide to dress the Knight up with the most luxurious fabrics and clothes, a saddle, a horse and good pair of boots. Little John finally uses his bow not to hurt anyone, but incorrectly measure fabric. Moshe even calls him "the Devil's Draper" as a joke.

The troubadour ends the performance with having Rabbi Jude lend Little John to the Knight as the Knight's knave. The entire crowd has forgotten that they had been so angry against the Disinherited as a group of people, and began to feel empathy for what they must have experienced as individuals.

But every crowd has at least one cynic.

"So old man," he said, to the 45 year old troubadour, "what sort of lesson is this supposed to teach us? That we should help people who would kill us in an instant if they had the chance? We should be fighting, not listening to stories."

The troubadour turned to the cynic and said, "what do you think happened next?"

"We all know the story of the knight who owed the Abbot money when he came back from the Crusades, and there was some miracle which got him all the money he needed. But before he went into the Abbey, he changed into his old clothing, to ask the Abbot for some kindness and courtesy. The Abbot was there with all of his rich, powerful friends and they were laughing about how they were be even richer after he defaulted. The Abbot turned him down, wouldn't negotiate, and so the Knight repaid him fully, but told him that if he would have acted with a modicum of courtesy, he would have given him even more money in gratitude. It angered the Abbot, and Knight rides off happily into the sunset. Yes, we all saw the same play as you did."

The troubadour repeated his question, "and what do you think happened after that?"

The cynic had no response.

"So let me tell you what happened after the Knight 'rides off happily into the sunset'."

The Knight went home, and worked to earn the £400 to pay back to Rabbi Jude. In gratitude, he also got Rabbi Jude a present of 100 bows, and 100 sheafs of long arrows, with peacock feathers and silver fittings. And he put together a small army of 100 men, to accompany him back to repay Rabbi Jude.

And then he saw a tournament, and he could not pass up on a tournament. And at this tournament, there a competition with prizes including a pair of gloves, a red gold ring, and a large pipe of wine. And a Jew, who was not from around there, won it all. 

And that angered all the locals. And they were getting ready to kill that Jew.

And remembering the kindness with which he was treated, chose to protect the Jew from all harm. The Knight then paid the Jew for the wine, and created a convivial atmosphere by sharing the wine with anyone who wanted it. 

All because Rabbi Jude and Little John treated him with kindness and humanity.

And it made him late for repaying Rabbi Jude, but that is a story for another day.

The troubadour then addressed the cynic, "Consider this story from the point of view of the Jew who was saved by the Knight. He would describe it as a miracle. What do you think? Do you know the effects, either good or bad, of the actions you take? Are we to assume that Rabbi Jude knew the future? Or simply that all he saw was someone in need, so he helped him."