Robin Hood: the Man and the Myth
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Robin Hood: The Man and the Myth (by Robert Janas) The Ballads The story of Robin Hood, the bold outlaw of Sherwood Forest, is one of the most popular and enduring legends of all time. The original stories are to be found in popular ballads of late medieval England, the earliest existing copies of which date from the mid-15th century. The ballads were certainly in existence prior to this time, and were probably based on oral stories and traditions from an even earlier period. The first confirmed reference to the Robin Hood ballads can be found in Piers the Plowman, a poem written by William Langland in 1377. A character in the poem makes the statement that he may not know how to say his prayers properly, but he does know “the rhymes of Robyn hood”. Stories of Robin Hood must have been widely known and popular at least by this time, and probably go back even further. The Robin Hood of the original ballads is a very different character than the legendary hero with whom most people today are familiar. He is not a champion of the common people, fighting for justice. He is not an outlawed nobleman who opposes tyranny and oppression, robbing from the rich to give to the poor. He has no social agenda or political objectives. He is just a common outlaw and thief. Though he is not a nobleman, neither is he a peasant. He is described in the ballads as a “yeoman”, a member of the middle class of medieval England. He does not seem to have been forced into an outlaw’s life by dire circumstance. We do not really know why he has become an outlaw. For all we know he has freely chosen this profession. In any event, he loves his work. And he is not always such a nice guy. The early ballads are filled with violence and bloody deeds perpetrated by Robin and his men. On the other hand, Robin does have his good qualities. He generally treats the common people well. He instructs his men to target only the rich nobility and higher clergy, and to avoid harming women of any class. In one story he even gives money to a poor knight, Sir Richard at the Lee, who, though a nobleman, is kindly and gentle. Also, despite being a criminal, Robin is a devout Catholic, with a special reverence for the Virgin Mary. The ballads tell various stories about Robin’s exploits and adventures, many of which deal with the attempts of the Sheriff to capture Robin, and the ingenious ways in which Robin eludes and defeats him. Themes of disguise and trickery are common. Though we think of him today as a great swordsman and the best archer of his time, in the ballads he actually loses a number of his fights and contests of skill, sometimes to men who he then recruits to join his band, which is the case with his most constant and trusted companion, Little John. The main portrait of Robin Hood from the ballads is that of an intelligent, resourceful and quick-witted man with exceptional leadership skills, a man who other men will gladly follow. Some of the stories also tell of what eventually happens to Robin. In one, he meets the King, who takes a liking to Robin and pardons him. Robin enters the King’s service for a time, but comes to miss his former way of life. He returns to being an outlaw in the forest, where he remains for another twenty-two years. This ballad, as well as one other, relates how Robin Hood dies. Robin is wounded or becomes ill. He seeks help at the Priory of Kirklees, where the Prioress bleeds him to death. Bleeding was an accepted medical practice in medieval times, when it was believed that people could be cured of illness by draining some of the “bad” blood from them, and accidental death from this procedure was not uncommon. However, in this case, the Prioress, whose lover is one of Robin’s enemies, purposely murders him. One story states that before he dies, Robin shoots an arrow out a window and commands Little John to bury him wherever the arrow falls. (There actually is a grave at Kirklees with a headstone stating that it is the grave of Robin Hood, with a date of death given as 1247. Though the tradition that this is the grave of Robin Hood is very old, the headstone was reportedly placed there only in the 18th century, and the date given for his death is therefore not necessarily reliable.) The Legend Develops The early ballads about this happy-go-lucky outlaw and “rebel without a cause” were very popular with the common people of England in the 14th and 15th centuries. This was a time when the old social order was breaking down, and there was much popular unrest and resentment towards the corruption and abuses of the nobility and clergy. Over time the legend evolved, as popular tales tend to do, with new elements, stories and characters being added. Eventually the stories became popular with the upper classes as well, and this may have led to significant changes. It would no longer have been “politically correct” for Robin Hood to be just a common outlaw. So he became more noble and heroic, someone with whom people of any class could sympathize, and justifications for his outlaw life were given. In 1599 a major change took place. In that year the playwright Anthony Munday presented the first of two plays about Robin Hood. Perhaps inspired by some of the prevailing theories at that time about the dates for Robin Hood, as well as research of the time into his lineage (now considered by many to be faulty), Munday set his plays at the end of the 12th century, during the reign of Richard I. “Robin Hood” became the alias of Robert, Earl of Huntingdon, a nobleman who is outlawed for remaining loyal to the absent King Richard, and for opposing the tyranny of Prince John. The heroic, “champion of the common people” theme was solidified, and characters such as Lady Marian became more prominent. Munday’s plays were very popular, and his version of the story was further developed by later writers of fiction, such as Sir Walter Scott, who made Robin Hood a character in his novel Ivanhoe, and Howard Pyle, who in the late 19th century wrote a collection of Robin Hood stories that became very popular with young readers. This version of the story was also used frequently in the 20th century as the basis for the classic Robin Hood films starring Douglas Fairbanks and Errol Flynn, as well as countless other movies, books and television shows. This modern version of the story is basically as follows. The setting is England in the early 1190s. It is just a little over one hundred years since the Norman conquest of Saxon England, and significant divisions still exist between the Norman ruling class and the (mostly Saxon) lower classes. King Richard I, the Lionheart, though a Norman, wishes to be King of all the English people, and to put an end to injustice. However, before he can make good on this promise, he is called away to fight in the Crusades. During his absence, his evil brother Prince John takes control, and ruthlessly oppresses the common people. While returning from the Crusades, Richard is captured by his enemy, the Duke of Austria, who hands him over to the Holy Roman Emperor, Henry VI, another enemy, who holds him for ransom. Prince John levies new oppressive taxes on the common people, supposedly to raise money to pay for Richard’s ransom. In reality, he is in league with Richard’s enemies, conspiring to keep Richard imprisoned. He intends to keep the tax money for himself, and when his position is solidified, to steal the throne from his brother. Robert of Loxley, the Saxon Earl of Huntingdon, remains loyal to Richard and opposes Prince John. For this he is stripped of his title and lands, and forced to become an outlaw. Taking refuge in Sherwood Forest, he gathers together his band of “Merry Men”, and leads the fight against the tyranny of Prince John and his henchmen, the Sheriff of 2 Nottingham and Sir Guy of Gisbourne. They rob the rich supporters of Prince John, both to obtain money to alleviate the suffering of the poor, and to raise money that will really be used to pay Richard’s ransom. Along the way, Robin meets the Lady Marian, a young noblewoman who is being forced into an unwanted marriage with Sir Guy, and they fall in love. After many adventures, Robin meets King Richard, who has returned to England in disguise, and aids him in defeating the forces of Prince John. Richard regains his throne and brings justice to the land. Robin is restored to his noble title, he and Marian wed, and everyone lives happily ever after. That is the modern Robin Hood legend. It does make for a good story. However, it is unfortunate that in the process of its development so much of what made the original Robin Hood of the ballads so much fun, and so much more real, has been lost. Randolf Earl of Chester There is one other interesting thing about the reference to Robin Hood in Piers the Plowman, something that has forever puzzled Robin Hood scholars. In the actual line referring to Robin Hood, the character states that he knows the rhymes of “Robyn hood and Randolf erle of Chestre”.