Gamelyn, The Tale of
Gamelyn, The Tale of,a verse romance of the mid-14th cent. from the East Midlands, in 902 lines of long couplets. It is found in a number of manuscripts of The Canterbury Tales , usually assigned to the Cook, and it is possible that Chaucer did intend to write a version of it for use as the Cook's tale. It is included in Skeat 's Chaucerian and Other Pieces, appended as vol. vii to his edition of Chaucer.
Gamelyn is the youngest of three brothers whose father leaves them his property in equal shares but whose eldest brother cheats him of his entitlement. Like Orlando in As You Like It (which is clearly related to it), Gamelyn overthrows the court wrestler and flees to the forest, from where he wages a campaign to recover his birthright, ultimately with success. The story also has striking affinities with the legends of Robin Hood . It has been edited by D. B. Sands in Middle English Verse Romances (...
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