Robin Hood

Robin Hood is the archetypal English folk hero, an outlaw who, in modern versions of the legend, stole from the rich to give to the poor. Although most noted for his material egalitarianism, in the stories he also pursues other types of equality and justice. However, as mentioned below, Robin Hood was not quite so generous in the original medieval legends. In the end, since most events in the various Robin Hood stories are fictional, arguments over the "real" or "true" Robin Hood are unlikely to reach any conclusion. Even if Robin Hood or a similar person did indeed exist, finding concrete evidence about his life is highly improbable.

Modern interpretations

Songs, plays, games, and, later, novels, musicals, films, and TV series have developed Robin Hood and company according to the needs of their times, and the mythos has been subject to extensive ideological manipulation. Maid Marian, for instance, something of a warrior maiden in early Victorian novels, was reduced in demeanour to passivity during the period of the women's suffrage movement. As the media power of the modern feminist movement gathered momentum, Marian reacquired an altogether more active role.

Related Topics:
Victorian - Feminist

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Robin Hood himself has been transformed from an "outlaw for venyson" with an occasional element of generosity with no particularly notable skill in archery–and no suggestion of political animosity–in the original tales, to the contemporary reading, where he is depicted more as a medieval Che Guevara who is a deadly accurate master archer leading a small rebel force fighting a guerrilla war against Prince John, the Sheriff of Nottingham and his vicious second, Guy of Gisbourne, on behalf of the oppressed and King Richard I.

Related Topics:
Che Guevara - Guerrilla - Richard I

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Robin Hood has become a shorthand for a good-hearted bandit who steals from the rich to give to the poor. Many countries and situations boast their own Robin Hood characters; the :Category:Robin Hood page tracks them.

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