"a gest of robin hood, Robin displays a poor sense of humour,SINGULARLY LONG WINDED AND NOT FUNNY."

Why should anyone think The GESTE of Robin Hood should/would be funny? It seems to be exactly what the title says it is; a tale of adventure in verse about Robin Hood.

As for being boring, I don't disagree but I do recognise a lot of the storylines from various Richard Green episodes in there – just all run together.   Remember they didn't have Eastenders in those days to bore them so they had to have something! I bet if you asked someone to retell the last month's Eastenders' storylines you'd get something on a par.

I didn't think Child was collecting these ballads with a view to being a source of material for 21st Century folk singers and there are other reasons to read his collection than just to look for singable songs.