“Alas! for, though Robin Hood and his band may be outlaws, yet he taketh only from the rich and the strong and the dishonest man, while there is not a poor widow nor a peasant with many children, nigh to Sherwood, but has barley-flour enough all the year long through him” (Pyle). Probably the most famous quality of Robin Hood’s is his generous heart to the poor and oppressed. Every story about him dwells on this aspect of his character. The Journal of American Folklore tells us that “Like most outlaws of folklore, Robin Hood is viewed as the champion of the socially and economically oppressed classes. The folk of medieval England idolized him as the symbol of resistance to a corrupt priesthood and nobility” (Steckmesser 348). Although he doesn’t flinch at stealing from or even sometimes killing the rich and corrupt who come against him, he has nothing but gentle words and actions for the suffering populace. The help he gives the poor is often diverse and romantic. One story in Howard Pyle’s “The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood,” tells how Robin Hood and his men help twenty year old Allan a Dale marry his true love whose father wants her to marry a great rich knight instead. Another story tells how the outlaw saves one of his men from hanging for his crimes. Many stories simply tell how Robin Hood and his band seek adventure and almost fall into a trap, but yet escape unscathed.
Works Cited
Pyle, Howard. The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood. Garden City, New York: Junior Deluxe Editions, (Year Not Shown). Print.
Steckmesser, Kent L. "Robin Hood and the American Outlaw." Journal of American Folklore. Vol 79. Apr.-Jun., 1966. 348-355. Print.
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