A Gest of Robyn Hode (1400)
“As he went, by a bridge was a wrastling,
And there taryed was he,
And there was all the best yemen
Of all the West Countrey.
A full fayre game was set up ;
A white bull, up ypyght ;
A great courser with sadle and brydle
With gold burnished full bryght.
A payre of gloves, a red gold ringe,
A pipe of wine, good faye.
What man bereth him best, ywis,
The prize shall bear away.”
Modernised translation (Verse Translation by Robert Landis Frank):
But as he came to a bridge,
He stopped awhile to watch.
The best yeomen of the west were there
Having a wrestling match.
A full fair game it was.A white bull was put up,
A great horse with saddle and bridle
And a bright gold stirrup.
A pair of gloves, a red gold ring,A jug of wine — the play:
The man that beareth himself the best
Shall bear the prize away.
There was a yeoman in that placeAnd the worthiest one was he.
But because he was a stranger there,
Slain he soon would be.