A Gest of Robyn Hode - Background Information

Background Information

A Gest of Robyn Hode is a premier example of romanticizing the outlaw using courtly romance, in order to illustrate the corruption of the law. As John Taylor writes, “The targets of Robin Hood’s criticism are the justices of the forest and the common law, against whom grievances could have been felt by more than one section of the medieval community.” It is believed the tale was performed by minstrels, since the tale contains a narrative voice addressing the audience on several occasions. The audience is believed to have been from the second Class, who would have jobs as yeomen, apprentices, merchants, journeymen, laborers, and small proprietors.

Most scholars believe the tale to be a compilation of stories creating a heroic ballad using previous tales, such as The Legend of Eustace Monk, a forest renegade who was also an outlawed nobleman and a trickster. Although the tale is thought to have been written in the fifteenth century, it is believed the content of the tale dates to the time of Edward III between the 1330s and 1340s.

The text is unique, in that it provides details relating to the 13th century, such as legal, social, and military structures, but it also includes allusions to medieval geography and locations known during the fifteenth century. There are disagreements to whether Robyn Hode was a yeoman or a man from the lower gentry class.

Likewise, there was an outlaw from Berkshire, in 1262, which had the alias, “Robehod.” There was also a ship in Aberdeen in 1438, which was called “Robene Hude.” The first mention of the poem of Robyn Hode is seen in William Langland’s Piers Plowman written in 1377.