The legend of Robin Hood has its origins in the murky history of England after the Norman Conquest, but the first written examples of Robin Hood ballads don’t appear until the mid-1400s. In this episode, we examine the earliest references to the legend, and we explore the oldest surviving ballads that tell the story of the legendary outlaw. We also look at evidence of the Great Vowel Shift in these early ballads.
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Hi. Another cracking episode. Like most Brits of my generation I was brought up with the TV series “The Adventures of Robin Hood” in the late fifties which was written incidentally by exiled Hollywood scriptwriters who’d fallen foul of the McCarthy trials.
As you may guess the city of Nottingham and Sherwood Forest make great tourist play of the legends. An interesting twist is that the Under Sheriff of Yorkshire, where the northern Barnsdale Forest lies, who prosecuted an outlaw named Robert Hode was later promoted to Sheriff of Nottingham.
As a long-time “folkie” I’ve been very aware of the ballads of Robin Hood and have read them both in modern and late medieval English but it was very interesting to read your observations about them being some of the earliest examples of the Great Vowel Shift.
I was also very interested in your comments about the links between the Robin Hood and Hereward the Wake legends. Both had the Anglo-Saxons as the “goodies” and the Normans as the “baddies”. Also the other Barnsdale Forest is in Rutland which is not far from the Isle of Ely which is where the Hereward legends are largely set.
Keep safe and keep sane.
Just wondering if you think that the comely king Edward could be one of edwards pre-conquest? Another excellent episode, Kevin. Thanks
None of my research suggested a connection to the Anglo-Saxon kings. I guess there are too many Norman and post-Conquest features in the stories to link back to the Anglo-Saxons.
It’s worse than I thought😂
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Hobby horse – how interesting. In Czech, we dropped the ‘hobby’ part and call a pastime ‘a little horse’ – (koníček in Czech)
How is this related to the term hobby hawk. Is it a small hawk or one used in a pastime?
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I couldn’t help but draw a connection between the term “hobby” for a small horse, and Tolkien’s fictional race of Hobbits. Is it possible that was the reference he was making when coming up with the name, considering his deep knowledge and love of English history?
Love the podcast, slowly catching up during my commute, to Nottingham as it happens. But the one thing I can’t get over is your pronunciation of the name Robin Hood. You insist on calling him ROBinhood.
Kevin, your name is Kevin Stroud. Yet I bet you don’t go around introducing yourself as KEVinstroud. No, you say: “Hi, I’m Kevin STROUD.” So please, for the love of Sherwood Forest, call him Robin HOOD.
Actually, that’s exactly how I introduce myself (…the first way, not the second).
Not sure how many times you’ve explained the emphasis is on the first syllable.in English, and not sure how many times you qualify absolutes like “unique, charismatic, pregnant, or all”, but unlike some of your fans, I dont have a stick up my ass about this trivia.
I’ve listened to every second of every episode so far, and have no interest in critisizism.
As a loyal Canadian subject of his Majesty, King Charles the third of England, please accept my apologies for anyof my fellow listeners, who by virtue of playing your podcasts on their commutes, feel entitled to the kind of presumption that I would find deflating and frustrating.
Good Sir, your work is outstanding and enriching. My life is better as a direct result of this podcast.
There’s a much later example of the confusion between “Robert” and “robber”. The notorious highwayman James Snook, who was hanged in 1801, was popularly known as “Robber Snook”, and as a result has gone down in folklore (and even on his gravestone) as “Robert Snooks”.
On Barnsdale as a location for Robin Hood, one thing to remember is that the Great North Road goes through, and a wild area, where it was easy to stop a traveller, would have been a prime location for an outlaw. Hertfordshire’s “Robin Hood”, Jack o’Legs, also preyed on the Great North Road, although a lot further south.