Robin Hood and Other Outlaw Tales (Middle English Texts) [Paperback]

Stephen Knight (Editor), Thomas Ohlgren (Editor), Thomas E. Kelly (Editor), Russell, A. Peck (Editor), Michael Swanton (Editor), Paul Whitfield White (Editor)

Product Details

• Paperback: 723 pages
• Publisher: Western Michigan Univ Medieval (August 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1879288923
• ISBN-13: 978-1879288928
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 6.8 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,967,196 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Thomas H. Ohlgren is Emeritis Professor of English and Medieval Studies at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, where he has taught since 1969 when he received his Ph.D. in English Language and Literature from the University of Michigan. He has published scholarly articles and books on the Robin Hood legend (see Google Scholar under Ohlgren). His scholarship focuses on the earliest surviving written accounts of Robin Hood, ranging from the chronicles of Andrew of Wynton (c. 1420), John Bower (c. 1440), John Major (1521) and Richard Grafton (1569), to the early ballads and plays, which include Robin Hood and the Monk, Robin Hood and the Potter, the Gest of Robyn Hode as well as several short plays. Ohlgren is less interested in finding the original, historical figure, which he believes does not exist, than in tracing the evolution of the medieval outlaw tale, such as Hereward the Wake, Eustace the Monk, and Fulk fitz Warin, which contain characters, plot elements, and themes too close to be accounted for by coincidence.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Welcome to Sherwood! (and Barnsdale), May 9, 2000

By 

Allen W. Wright - See all my reviews

This review is from: Robin Hood and Other Outlaw Tales (Middle English Texts) (Paperback)

Do you know need a reason to buy this book? I can give you an excellent one -- it's called the Table of Contents. It lists 700 pages worth of Robin Hood ballads, plays and more. It has the earliest ballads and plays where Robin is merely a yeoman, the first play that casts him as the Earl of Huntington, and later ballads that give the "origins" of Little John, Maid Marian and Will Scarlet. Also, there's an introductory article on the history of the legend and complete introductions and notes to all the ballads and plays. The notes and introductions are by Stephen Knight and Thomas Ohlgren, two top Robin Hood scholars. If you want to read the original tales of the outlaw, or if you are teach a course in Robin Hood, this book is an excellent buy. Just treat it with care. I notice my cover is fraying somewhat.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beyond Disney's Robin Hood, March 22, 2006

By 

Lynnette Moats - See all my reviews

This review is from: Robin Hood and Other Outlaw Tales (TEAMS Middle English Texts, Kalamazoo) (Paperback)

Before my professor pointed it out I hadn't really given much thought to where my knowledge of, and love for, the Robin Hood tales came from. Once I began to give it some thought, I realized it wasn't from books at all, it was from the Errol Flinn and Disney movies (such poor literary sources!). We all seem to know one or two Robin Hood tales, but Robin Hood is a much more complex character than those few tales would show.
I was also suprised to learn that no Robin Hood tales are included in the major anthology of English literature (Norton's), which seems odd to me, since the tales are classic English literature.
This collection of Robin Hood material is comprehensive, many stories I had never heard are here, and if you are looking to really learn about the literary sources for Robin Hood this is great (that is the publisher's purpose). This is not a children's storybook however. Much of the language is in the older forms of English, and even as an adult I sometimes wrestled with the language to understand it.
All that to say, that as a Robin Hood fan, I am thrilled with this book.