Robin Hood and Other Outlaw Tales (TEAMS Middle English Texts, Kalamazoo) Paperback – August 1, 2000

This book is amazing and you will learn so much, anyone who loves history and myth will certainly enjoy this. It's a treasure of my collection.

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.

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.

Item as described.