Storyworlds of Robin Hood: The Origins of a Medieval Outlaw. Lesley Coote. London: Reaktion Books, 2020. 304 pp. £20

Chapters 5 through 8 describe thematic similarities between French romance and fabliaux and the early Robin Hood tradition, with a particular focus on the forest as a site of outlaw narratives, class conflict, and moral lessons. For anybody who first encountered the Robin Hood legend through twentie...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Renaissance quarterly 2023, Vol.76 (1), p.359-361
Main Author: Arner, Timothy D.
Format: Review
Language:English
Subjects:
Fabliaux
Historical text analysis
Middle English
Popular culture
Traditions
Online Access:Get full text
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Description
Summary:Chapters 5 through 8 describe thematic similarities between French romance and fabliaux and the early Robin Hood tradition, with a particular focus on the forest as a site of outlaw narratives, class conflict, and moral lessons. For anybody who first encountered the Robin Hood legend through twentieth-century films, which may be most of Coote's audience, her description of the few surviving medieval and early modern texts in the opening chapters provides a welcome overview of how stories about Robin Hood, Maid Marion, Little John, and the band of merry men appeared from the start as outlaw literature. In later chapters, however, some of the storyworld connections seem tenuous, as in the discussion of Marian miracle stories where Coote notes “many points of similarity” (90) but no direct evidence of textual influence.
ISSN:0034-4338
1935-0236
DOI:10.1017/rqx.2023.197