Robin Hood / Nick Rennison

 

3.25 out of 5 stars 

***2024 Summer in Sherwood***

Having brushed up on my knowledge of what we currently think of as the tale of Robin Hood, it was now time to consult with a nonfiction author to begin to sort out the whys and wherefores of the Robin myth. Rennison points out just how old the references are, beginning with ballads and the plays which seem to have been a staple of May Day celebrations, well before Richard the Lionheart or King John. Perhaps there was an actual person around whom the story details began to accrete, but the full fledged myth is the product of many generations of tale tellers adding their own innovations. Like any good improv actors, they accepted what was on hand, saying, “Yes and….” (Much as the mythology has accumulated around King Arthur, who may or may not have actually existed, but was certainly much different from our modern concept of him if he lived).

Rennison points out that the violence in most versions is portrayed as absolutely normal. Robin meets someone new in his territory and immediately challenges them to a fight. The combatants whack one another until one is bested (and often it is Robin Hood who comes out the worst). Having sufficiently established their masculinity, the two usually become great friends and the newcomer is incorporated into the Merry Men. Robin seems to be proficient at accepting defeat and recruiting the superior fighter to his cause. It is no surprise that the Disney cartoon version of Robin was a clever fox.

So was Robin Hood a revolutionary, subverting the class system? Was he a brave Saxon, resisting the incoming Normans? Was he a jaded Crusader, returned from the battlefield? Was he an impoverished and swindled nobleman extracting his revenge? Is he a Peter-Pan-like figure, playing happily in Sherwood Forest? Or was he an actual brutal outlaw with a price on his head for good reason? He has been portrayed as all of these things in various works over the years.

It is no surprise that the myth remains popular today, in this time of libertarianism and distrust of authority. The Sherwood outlaws see themselves as moral people who hold the corrupt Church and state to account, much as militias and doomsday preppers today see themselves as removing themselves from a corrupt civilization. On the other end of the spectrum, it is easy to interpret Robin Hood as the original social justice warrior, robbing the rich to provide for the poor. He is the OG anti-hero. Each era puts their own spin on the story, ensuring that the adventures of Robin Hood will live on into the future.