Robin Hood: Legend and Reality - by David Crook (Paperback)

About the Book

Detailed research into documentary sources offers an exciting new identification of the "real" Robin Hood.

Book Synopsis

For over a century and a half scholars have debated whether or not the legend of Robin Hood was based on an actual outlaw and, if so, when and where he lived. One view is that he was not a legend as such but a myth: an idea, rather than a person who could possibly be identified in historical records and placed in a real historical and geographical context. Other writers have gone even further, arguing that he is a literary concoction, with no traceable original, and that seeking to pin him down to a particular time and location is futile and unnecessary.

This survey begins by tracing the development of the legend, and contemporary views about it, between the thirteenth and early twenty-first centuries, taking account both of new interpretative literature on the subject and fresh discoveries from the author's own research in the early records of the English royal administration and common law. It then gives a detailed account of the places that came to be associated with the legend, and of evidence illustrating the importance of the outlaw's name in the development of English surnames. The concluding chapters deal with the administration of criminal law in medieval England, and the evidence that points to the possible origins of the legend in the activities of a notorious Yorkshire criminal, tracked down and beheaded in the county in 1225.

Review Quotes

The bibliography is impressive. Crook plumbs the depths of archival sources to uncover various place and personal names, criminal accounts, and outlaw activities that provide context for the evolution of Robin's story. A useful resource for those new to the field and for those well versed in the critical historical materials.-- "JOURNAL OF BRITISH STUDIES"

This elegantly written and informative monograph is an essential read for anyone interested in the legend of Robin Hood. The author, a distinguished archivist [...] demonstrates both an unrivalled knowledge of the sources for Hood's historicity and a thorough understanding of the existing corpus of scholarship. Attractively produced and well-indexed, the volume also contains several useful maps and illustrations.--Adrian Jobson "NORTHERN HISTORY"

[An] excellent reference and bibliography for the primary material that makes up the Robin Hood canon, Cook has presented an approach that takes joy in the process of investigation [...].--COMITATUS

[Crook] provides a significant contribution to the ongoing scholarship and scholarly debates regarding the "real" Robin Hood(s) and persons associated with him that are found within historical records. Crook places that archival material in dialogue with the extant literature and other late-medieval historical sources, especially those on crime and criminality in Yorkshire. In doing so, he reveals two strong contenders for the "original" Robin Hood and Sheriff of Nottingham.-- "CHOICE"

David Crook's new study is probably the fullest account of the development of the
legend of Robin Hood, and of its sundry interpreters, ever attempted. [...] Crook, then, has achieved considerable success in his quest for the historical Robin Hood--SPECULUM

[R]einjects a much-needed dose of reality into the academic study of the Robin Hood legend. . . Crook's monograph should be standard reading for any scholar who is interested in the origins of the historical Robin Hood.-- "THE MEDIEVAL REVIEW"

[Essential] reading for anyone interested in the matter of greenwood.-- "THE RICARDIAN"

This is more than just a detailed survey; it is an overview of the entire culture of Robin and who he might have been...This book is a delight.-- "INTERNATIONAL TIMES"