Robin Hood: More Than an Outlaw

Essay by Vick7 March 2004

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Robin Hood: More than an Outlaw

Robin Hood steals, lies, cheats, kills, and is a hero. Even though he committed many immoral acts, they were for a good cause. He committed these acts to help the people from the oppression of the corrupt government at the time. Prince John, who had unjustly seized the throne, taxed his own people into poverty and stole from them to gain his wealth. The church at the time was hypocritical and had no part in trying to help the oppressed people at all. The church officials were only after profit and self gain, while Robin Hood's rebellion against the church and government gave hope to the common people. Robin Hood is considered to be a fictional character that rebelled against a hypocritical church and a corrupt government.

"The Robin Hood legend has been popular for around 600 years," (Shannon 1) but the origin of Robin Hood is not known.

There is historical evidence that places Robin Hood anywhere between 1190 and 1305 (White 1). "Historians and researchers have a range of views but generally believe that Robin Hood was alive around the thirteenth century" (White 1). "In Robin's time, few people could read or write and consequently little was written down about the exploits of our hero" (White 1). People of his day learned about Robin Hood through the ballad of wandering minstrels (White 1). "The first three chroniclers of the Robin Hood ballads were Scots who applauded the English law-breakers because King Edward's violence towards the Scots" (Shannon 1). "Stories about the adventures of Robin have been told for over 600 years" (White 1). "We do know that the earliest ballads celebrate a tradition of forest outlaws who opposed the mercantilism which were enclosing the land and destroying the natural economy of medieval...