Robin Hood : an anthology of scholarship and criticism

The first collection of major scholarly studies of aspects of the Robin Hood tradition. The legends of Robin Hood are very familiar, but scholarship and criticism dealing with the long and varied tradition of the famous outlaw is as elusive as the identity of Robin himself, and is scattered in a wide range of sources, many difficult of access. This book is the first to bring together major studies of aspects of the tradition. The thirty-one studies take a variety of approaches, from archival exploration in quest of a real Robin Hood, to a political angle seeking the social meaning of the texts across time, to literary scholars concerned with origin, structures and generic variation, or moral and social significance; also included are considerations of theatre and filmstudies, and folklore and children's literature. Overall, the collection provides a valuable basis for further study. STEPHEN KNIGHT is Professor of English Literature at the University of Wales, Cardiff; he is well-known as an authority on the Robin Hood tradition, and has edited the recently-discovered Robin Hood Forresters Manuscript. This First Collection Of Major Studies Of Aspects Of The Robin Hood Tradition Brings Together Material Published In A Wide Variety Of Journals, Often Difficult Of Access. It Demonstrates The Many Different Approaches Which Have Been Taken. Some Historians Explore Records In Quest Of The Real Robin Hood, Others Seek The Political Meaning Of The Texts Across Time; Some Literary Scholars Are Concerned With Origins, Structures And Generic Variations, Others Look For Moral And Social Significance. The Collection As A Whole Offers A Valuable Base For Further Scholarship And Criticism Of A Hero And An Archetype Who For Over Five Hundred Years Has Challenged The Imagination And Defied Definition.--jacket. Robin Hood Poems / Douglas Gray -- Gest Of Robin Hood Revisited / J.b. Bessinger, Jr -- Who Was Robin Hood? / W.f. Prideaux -- Rymes Of Robin Hood / David C. Fowler -- Robin Hood As Summer Lord / David Wiles -- Earl Of Huntington : The Renaissance Plays / M.a. Nelson -- Keat's 'robin Hood', John Hamilton Reynolds, And The 'old Poets' / John Barnard -- Good Old Times : Maid Marian / Marilyn Butler -- Legend Since The Middle Ages / R.b. Dobson And J. Taylor -- Robin Hood / Joseph Hunter -- Origins Of Robin Hood / R.h. Hilton -- Origins And Audience Of The Ballads Of Robin Hood / J.c. Holt -- Birth And Setting Of The Ballads Of Robin Hood / J.r. Maddicott -- Some Further Evidence Concerning The Dating Of The Origins Of The Legend Of Robin Hood / David Crook -- Ballads And Bandits : Fourteenth-century Outlaws And The Robin Hood Poems / Barbara A. Hanawalt -- Robin Hood / Christopher Hill -- 'drunk With The Cup Of Liberty' : Robin Hood, The Carnivalesque, And The Rhetoric Of Violence In Early Modern England / Peter Stallybrass -- Aspects Of Cultural Diffusion In Medieval England : Robin Hood / Peter R. Coss -- 'mistery' Of Robin Hood : A New Social Context For The Texts / Richard Tardif -- Outlaw And Some Peasants : The Possible Significance Of Robin Hood / Colin Richmond -- Robin Hood / Sidney Lee -- Robin Hood / Lord Raglan -- Games Of Robin Hood / John Matthews -- Paradoxes Of Robin Hood / Joseph Falaky Nagy -- Robin Hood On The Screen / Jeffrey Richards -- Robin Hood On The Screen : From Legend To Film / Rudy Behlmer -- Robin Hood : Men In Tights : Fitting The Tradition Snugly / Stephen Knight. Edited By Stephen Knight. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. He lives in the greenwood and is expert with a bow; he leads a group of doughty fighters who resist the corrupt church, the sheriff, and his minions but remain loyal to the king.