I'm deeply suspicious of that 'come and have a beer with me' line.

Certainly monastic houses were obliged to provide shelter, and a cousin in any religious Order was a sign of status, but 'come and have a beer' feels like the wrong language for the supposed time period this ballad comes from. 'Take some ale' would be appropriate, or small beer - but 'have a beer' is too modern.

For a prioress to invite her cousin to take some ale with her would be a sign of hospitality and nothing more sinister. Small beer was the drink of choice because many of the water supplies were tainted, and not for nothing do most of our best beers have Ecclesiastical names! The equivalent now would be a low/no alcohol or 'lite' beer - you'd be awash with liquid before any alcohol fueled desires kicked in. As Robin was bleeding, the first instinct would be to offer liquid. If your water supply is suspect, beer would be the best thing to offer. The boiling during the brewing process and the alcohol would make it sterile and by far the safest thing to drink.

I'm happy to be corrected, but I can't help feeling that that line is dodgy.

LTS