Robin Hood Flashcards
R.H. Hilton
his historical significance does not depend on whether he was a real person or not. He suggests that what matters is that one of England’s most popular literary heroes is a man who’s most endearing activities to his public were the robbery and killing of landowners. He writes, “a man who would now, of course, be described as a terrorist”.
Joseph Nagy
reflects the worldwide fascination with the figure of the outlaw, the man who exists beyond human society and has adventures which would be impossible for normal members of society in their normal social environments.
Pollard
argued that Robin Hood appealed to the new “middling sort” (middle class), in their revolts and subversion of justice, where they believed they had a right to defend the proper order of society, their rebellions hoped to create a world not un-like greenwood kingdom, Hood’s utopia.
John C. Appleby
looked at the relationships and element of political community through the lens of literature about Robin Hood circulating at the time, the celebration of violence.
first mentions
-A Gest of Robyn Hode 15th century
-Festivals & plays of Robin Hood banned – seen as subversive & dangerous, rebelling against the crown
-They change him to address these concerns – made him into a gentleman
outlaw operations
testimonies demonstrate they worked from uninhabitable places (woods, forests) successful outlaws did not have a home base, no vast unfrequented forest, exploited economically, would not have taken long for their base to be found out - they were mobile
how did outlawing change legally?
14th & 15th century outlaw term broadened and softened - not hardened criminals, people who failed to turn up to court, by the time Elizabeth’s reign, was said MPs in parliament had been or were sentenced to Outlawry. But could do so safely, became illegal to kill them on the spot.
Became judiciary ruling that could lead to arrest.
how did outlawing change practically?
*Tudor period - Henry VII passes laws restricting ‘livery’ (giving servants uniform) and ‘maintenance’ (keeping large numbers of fighting men as servants).
*Broke down during civil wars of the 1640s.
wales the same 1530s same forms of governance as England
main historian for robin hood
Joseph Nagy
what does nagy aim to demonstrate?
robin hood not so much a figure outside soceity as one who exists between culture and nature
what makes robin hood a liminal character?
sherwood forest - owned by the king
barnsdale road - on the move, period of passage between locations
makes him a figure ‘in-between’
What function does Sherwood forest play according to Nagy?
functions as a place of nature, juxtaposed to the town of Nottingham, a place of culture under the sheriff
how does nagy explain the confusion of robin hoods alliances to yeomen & gentry?
reflects the breakdown of the boundary between rich peasantry and impoverished gentry in the late medieval english society
what do robin hood, his men, and the king, share according to Nagy?
all suggest a transcendence of the boundary between culture and nature. temporarily the distinction between the ‘centre’ and ‘periphery’ of society is blurred.
