Origins and history: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 08:28, 3 May 2018

By Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2013-07-07. Revised by Henrik Thiil Nielsen, 2018-05-03.

Essential

Aston, T. H. 'Robin Hood', Past & Present, No. 20 (1961), pp. 7-9
- Aston, T. H. 'Robin Hood', in: Hilton, R.H., ed. Peasants, Knights and Heretics: Studies in Medieval English Social History (Cambridge, London, New York, Melbourne, 1976), pp. 270-72
- Aston, T. H. 'Robin Hood', in: Hilton, R.H., ed. Peasants, Knights and Heretics: Studies in Medieval English Social History (Cambridge, 1981), pp. 270-72
Dobson, R.B.; Taylor, J. 'The Medieval Origins of the Robin Hood Legend: a Reassessment', Northern History, vol. 7 (1972), pp. 1-30
Dobson, R. B., ed.; Taylor, J., ed. Rymes of Robyn Hood: an Introduction to the English Outlaw (London, 1976), pp. 10-16
Hilton, R.H. 'The Origins of Robin Hood', Past & Present, No. 14 (1958), pp. 30-44
Holt, J.C. 'The Origins and Audience of the Ballads of Robin Hood', Past & Present, No. 18 (1960), pp. 89-110
Holt, J.C. 'Robin Hood: Some Comments', Past & Present, No. 19 (1961), pp. 16-18
Holt, J.C. Robin Hood (London, 1982)
Hunter, Joseph. The Great Hero of the Ancient Minstrelsy of England, "Robin Hood." His Period, Real Character, etc. investigated and perhaps ascertained (Critical and Historical Tracts, No. 4) (London, 1852)
- Hunter, Joseph. The Great Hero of the Ancient Minstrelsy of England, "Robin Hood:" his Period, Real Character, etc., investigated, and perhaps ascertained (Worksop, 1883)
- Hunter, Joseph. 'Robin Hood', in: Knight, Stephen, ed. Robin Hood: Anthology of Scholarship and Criticism (Cambridge, 1999), pp. 187-95
Keen, Maurice. 'Robin Hood: a Peasant Hero?', History Today, vol. 8 (1958), pp. 684-89
Keen, Maurice. 'Robin Hood—Peasant or Gentleman?', Past & Present, No. 19 (1961), pp. 7-15
- Keen, Maurice. 'Robin Hood—Peasant or Gentleman?', in: Hilton, R.H., ed. Peasants, Knights and Heretics: Studies in Medieval English Social History (Cambridge, London, New York, Melbourne, 1976), pp. 258-66
- Keen, Maurice. 'Robin Hood—Peasant or Gentleman?', in: Hilton, R.H., ed. Peasants, Knights and Heretics: Studies in Medieval English Social History (Cambridge, 1981), pp. 258-66
Keen, Maurice. The Outlaws of Medieval Legend (London, 1961)
Keen, Maurice. 'Note, 1976', in: Hilton, R.H., ed. Peasants, Knights and Heretics: Studies in Medieval English Social History (Cambridge, London, New York, Melbourne, 1976), p. 266
- Keen, Maurice. 'Note, 1976', in: Hilton, R.H., ed. Peasants, Knights and Heretics: Studies in Medieval English Social History (Cambridge, 1981), p. 266

Significant

Bellamy, John. Robin Hood: An Historical Enquiry (London and Sydney, ©1985). While this sustained attempt to salvage and redevelop the Hunter/Walker/Harris hypothesis should be of interest to anyone with a serious interest in the Robin Hood tradition, it also exemplifies, more than any other academic contribution to the topic, the "empiricist" tendency among historians so often criticized by Stephen Knight. See: Nielsen, Henrik Thiil, below.
Bradbury, Jim. The Medieval Archer (Woodbridge, Suffolk, 1985), ch. 5 (pp. 58-70); 'Robin Hood'
Crook, David. 'The Sheriff of Nottingham and Robin Hood: The Genesis of the Legend?', in: Coss, P.R., ed.; Lloyd, S.D., ed. Thirteenth-Century England II. Proceedings of the Newcastle upon Tyne Conference, 1987 (Woodbridge, Suffolk, 1988), pp. 59-68
Kaufman, Alexander L., ed. British Outlaws of Literature and History (Jefferson, NC, 2011)
Midgley Webpages: Robin Hood of Wakefield. On history and origins etc.
Nielsen, Henrik Thiil. The Literary Evidence of the Gest of Robin Hood and the Origins of the Outlaw Tradition (M.A. thesis, University of Copenhagen, 1990). While others must judge whether it succeeds, my thesis is, to my knowledge, the most detailed attempt of reductio ad absurdum of historical-literalist readings of the Gest of Robyn Hode, especially John Bellamy, above.
Robin Hood: Bold Outlaw of Barnsdale and Sherwood. Excellent site with information on many aspects of the tradition, history etc.

Useful

Anonymous. '[Untitled letter to the editor]', Gentleman's Magazine, vol. XXXVI (1766), p. 400. Believes Robin Hood was a historical character, a yeoman and not an Earl of Huntingdon or other nobleman; he would have flourished during the reign of Richard I (1189-99) and had the Christian name Ode or Eudo, "Robin" being a later addition suggested by its similarity in sound to "robbing"
Coote, H. C. 'The Origin of the Robin Hood Epos', The Folk-Lore Journal, vol. III (1885), pp. 44-52. Discusses the Gest of Robyn Hode to demonstrate "the disagreeable fact [...] that communism was publicly advocated in this country in the reign of that too glorious monarch Edward III". Crude and antagonistic as it is, Coote's paper in its essence anticipates the views of Hilton and Keen in his younger years.
Gutch, J.M. 'On the Veritable Existence of Robin Hood; and on the Ballads Relative to him', The Journal of the British Archæological Association, vol. VIII (1852), pp. 208-22. After discussing previous attempts to provide Robin Hood with a historical identity, Gutch discusses Joseph Hunter's hypothesis at length
Halliwell, J.O. 'On the Era and Character of Robin Hood', The Journal of the British Archæological Association, vol. VIII (1852), pp. 223-29. Discusses and rejects Joseph Hunter's hypothesis. Sees Robin Hood as essentially a fictional character, thus foreshadowing Child's point of view
Nielsen, Henrik Thiil. 'Rabbenhut', Levende Billeder, vol. 7 (1991), pp. 36-39 (in Danish)
Rahman, Sabina. Robin Hood and the Three Estates of Medieval Society (unpublished Master of Philosophy thesis; Sydney: University of Sydney, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, 2016)

Of some interest

Harrison, Dick. 'Mannen bakom Myten', Populär Historia, No. 1 (Stockholm, 1998), pp. 18-23. In Swedish. The writer is a reader in history at the University of Lund, Sweden. While this is interesting, one might have expected more than a rather uncritical rehash of the Hunter/Harris/Bellamy thesis from a tenured academic with a degree in a relevant discipline.
Harris, P. Valentine. 'Who Was Robin Hood?', Folklore, vol. 66 (1955), pp. 288-94
Harris, P. Valentine. 'Who Was Robin Hood?', Folklore, vol. 67 (1956), pp. 103-105
Harris, P. Valentine. 'More about Robin Hood', Folklore, vol. 88 (1977), pp. 236-37
Orange, James. History and Antiquities of Nottingham, in which are Exhibited the Various Institutions, Manners, Customs, Arts, and Manufactures of the People; their Social and Domestic Habits; Civil and Political Conditions, under Every Successive Government, from their Conquests by the Normans, Danes, Saxons, Romans, and Early British Dependency, down to the Present Time: Forming a Condensed but Comprehensive English as well as Local History, Chronologically Arranged (London; Nottingham, 1840), vol. I, pp. 202-224 (Book VII, Ch. VII), "Robin Hood". On the Robin Hood figure and tradition in general, including the supposed historicity of Robin Hood.
Rodgers, Joseph. The Scenery of Sherwood Forest with an Account of Some Eminent People once resident there (London, 1908), pp. 21-52: 'Robin Hood', refers to and comments on the Hunterian hypothesis (among other topics)
- Rodgers, Joseph. The Scenery of Sherwood Forest with an Account of Some Eminent People once resident there (New York, 1908). As preceding.
S., E. 'May Day: Moldekin of the Thirteenth Century', The Antiquary, vol. V (1882), pp. 188-94. Develops the well-known thesis that Robin Hood was a historical earl of Huntingdon.

Unacademic

Not seen

Brief mention

Coss, Peter. 'R. H. Hilton', Past and Present, No. 176 (2010), pp. 7-10. Obituary; briefly discusses Hilton's foundational role in the modern historical debate on the significance of the early Robin Hood tradition.
Planché, J. R. 'On the Family of Peverel of Nottingham, as Connected with the Castle and the Earldom', The Journal of the British Archæological Association, vol. VIII (1852), pp. 194-208; see p. 202: on "Ralph Fitz Odo, the reputed ancestor of Robert Fitz Odo, or Fitzooth, one of the presumed historical originals of the popular legendary hero, Robin Hood".

Historiography

@@ Line 58: / Line 58: @@
 === Of some interest ===
-* {{:Harrison, Dick 1998a}}. In Swedish. The writer is a reader in history at the University of Lund, Sweden. While this is an interesting book, one might have expected more than a rather uncritical rehash of the Hunter/Harris/Bellamy thesis from a tenured academic with a degree in a relevant discipline.
+* {{:Harrison, Dick 1998a}}. In Swedish. The writer is a reader in history at the University of Lund, Sweden. While this is interesting, one might have expected more than a rather uncritical rehash of the Hunter/Harris/Bellamy thesis from a tenured academic with a degree in a relevant discipline.
 * {{:Harris, Percy Valentine 1955b}}
 * {{:Harris, Percy Valentine 1956b}}