Bows Against the Barons
Geoffrey Trease
 Bows Against the Barons takes place during the final months of Robin Hood's life, beginning in early June, and ending in the following year during or after February. It is largely told from the viewpoint of Dickon, a sixteen-year-old peasant boy from the village of Oxton. The novel opens by depicting Dickon's hardships as a serf on a baronial manor. It shows the boy being whipped by his bailiff for missing work and harassed by his village priest for the tithe. Despite his youth, Dickon has to serve as his family's breadwinner because his father Dick has been conscripted as an archer for the Crusades. His troubles are compounded when the King's deer from nearby Sherwood Forest ravage his garden's crops. Moved by anger, Dickon kills one of the deer with an arrow. He flees into Sherwood to avoid the penalties of poaching. Eventually, he meets Alan-a-Dale, who leads him to Robin Hood's band. Proving adept at archery, Dickon is welcomed into their company. Disguised as a weaver's apprentice, Dickon embarks on a mission as Robin's messenger to Nottingham's rebels. Led by a bridle-smith, Dickon and the populace assemble in the market-place to protest working conditions and demand the release of imprisoned workers. The Sheriff of Nottingham attempts to disperse them. Robin and his outlaws arrive to help the protesters, who overwhelm the Sheriff in the resulting riot and free the imprisoned workers. However, mounted soldiers from Nottingham Castle arrive to quash the riot. Pursued by a horseman, Dickon escapes through secret passages and reaches Sherwood. There, he is captured by royal foresters and escorted north to be tried for poaching. However, Alan manages to make contact with Dickon, having disguised himself as a blind minstrel and his messages as doggerel. On Alan's instructions, Dickon attempts to delay the foresters' journey. His plans almost go awry when he meets his former master Sir Rolf D'Eyncourt, who has returned from the Crusades and now attempts to reclaim Dickon. Fortunately, the head forester refuses to hand over the boy, insisting on the priority of royal justice. As his journey resumes, Dickon learns that his father has been killed in battle and vows revenge. Dickon and the foresters eventually reach a village. Led by their blacksmith, the villagers protest Dickon's captivity. In the ensuing struggle, a forester almost kills Dickon, but Alan arrives in time and saves him. Together, they join the villagers in defeating the foresters. Later, soldiers are dispatched from Nottingham to punish the villagers. However, Robin and his band ambush and defeat the soldiers before they reach their destination. In the meantime, Sir Rolf exploits and oppresses his tenants in his pursuit of wealth and luxury. The outlaws of Sherwood oppose him, stirring up his serfs to resist and subvert his tyranny. Allied with neighbouring barons, Sir Rolf pens the outlaws in Sherwood and attempts to hunt them down. The outlaws defeat him by hiding in the trees and picking off his men with arrows from their camouflaged positions. As they celebrate their victory, Robin reveals to them his ultimate goal for their actions - the overthrow of all masters and freedom for all people in England. The outlaws now prepare for an attack on D'Eyncourt Castle, gathering money during autumn for their needs. Alan leads Dickon and a group of outlaws to waylay the Abbot of Rufford, disguising themselves as a knight's household and luring him into an ambush. Seeing Dickon's talent in disguise, Robin sends the boy to infiltrate D'Eyncourt Castle and acquire information about its defenses. Disguised as a page with bleached hair, Dickon manages to penetrate D'Eyncourt on Christmas but is betrayed by an undyed curl of hair. Pursued, he hides on the chapel's beams and eventually escapes from the castle, surviving a crossbow shot. With Dickon's information, the outlaws finally attack D'Eyncourt Castle during winter. Alan leads Dickon and a group of outlaws to infiltrate and capture the castle keep. Taking up positions on its battlements, they pick off D'Eyncourt's defenders with their arrows while Robin launches the main assault on the outer walls. His combined force of outlaws and serfs eventually breaks through and razes the castle. Dickon kills his former bailiff, while Little John kills Sir Rolf. Heartened by their success, the outlaws attempt to march on Nottingham. However, the Earl of Wessex traps them in a pincer movement between Nottingham and Newark and defeats them in battle. Alan, Friar Tuck and Will Scarlet are among those killed. Dickon, Robin and Little John survive the battle and flee north with other survivors to Yorkshire, undergoing much hardship on their journey. Dickon almost drowns in a bog. Wounded, Robin takes refuge in Kirklees, whose prioress bleeds him to death in order to claim a reward from the Earl. Alerted by an arrow shot by Robin from his deathbed, the outlaws reclaim his body and burn down the priory in revenge. After burying Robin, the outlaw band breaks up. Dickon and Little John are the only ones who remain dedicated to Robin's cause. They depart for the High Peak in Derbyshire, determined to continue Robin's work and fulfil his visionary ideal.