The Jest of Robin Hood, 1450

In the first installment on the Robin Hood mythos, we consider how the legend of Robin Hood has evolved from a series of brutal tales of a medieval outlaw bandit in the fifteenth century to that of the swashbuckling champion of the poor of modern pop culture, and how he picked up sidekicks like Friar Tuck and Maid Marion along the way; we consider the literary significance of the early stories as an expression of the frustrations and aspirations of the yeoman class. Suggested further reading: Maurice Keen, "The Outlaws of Medieval Legend"; J. C. Holt, "Robin Hood"; A. J. Pollard, "Imagining Robin Hood." Please support this podcast to hear the further discussion of the mythological and religious themes of Robin Hood myth, and the examination of whether there was a historical Robin Hood -- www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632 Image: Woodcut illustration of the yeoman from a late fifteenth-century edition of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, shortly after reused to depict Robin Hood.