Storyworlds of Robin Hood

The Origins of a Mediæval Outlaw

Lesley Coote

Reaktion Books 2020

Hb, 304pp, £20, ISBN 9781789142327 Robin Hood is one of the most popular and versatile figures of mediæval English literature. Generations of writers have reinterpreted him as a charitable thief, an anti-authoritarian rebel, a freedom fighter for the oppressed English and a mediæval mob boss. But what were the earliest elements of his tales, and where did they come from? Lesley Coote examines the mediæval literature of Robin Hood and related genres that provided some of the components of its “storyworld”.

She dispels some of the preconceptions readers might have. The very earliest stories, she notes, portray a character who doesn’t rob from the rich to give to the poor, love Maid Marian or even live in Sherwood Forest. She summarises the early literature of Robin Hood, from mediæval manuscript sources to early printed works. Viewing Robin Hood as a storyworld – a set of related elements from which authors created varied narratives – allows her to explore the origin of different ingredients in that mixture, such as Robin’s devotion to the Virgin Mary and his relationship with Maid Marian.

She covers contemporary genres – romance narratives, trickster stories and comic tales – identifying the ways in which these overlap with Robin’s adventures, and looks at how the stories continued to evolve in the post-mediæval period.

This book is fascinating reading for anyone interested in Robin Hood as a cultural phenomenon. Rather than attempting to reconstruct some kind of “authentic” or “original” Robin Hood, Coote approaches the outlaw as the product of an ever-developing combination of influences that result in a character so “outwardfacing, community-based and fun (while also being spiritually and morally beneficial)” that he has survived for centuries in changing but still recognisable form.

★★★★