Department of English

I am investigating the ambiguous ‘gode’ throughout my Medieval primary texts: A Gest of Robyn Hode, Robin Hood and the Monk, Robin Hood and the Guy of Gisborne, Robin Hood and the Potter. In the first section, I focus on Robin Hood’s exilic rank of outlawry. As an anti-hero, he resorts to two forms of extortion: performed courtesy and loan agreements. For example, in the Gest, Robin steals eight hundred pounds from a monk of Saint Mary’s Abbey after coercing the knight into a 400-pound loan agreement. Secondly, I analyze Robin Hood’s yeomanry through disguises that subvert the concept of agency as a direct measure of one’s rank. For example, in Guy of Gisborne, Robin Hood defeats Guy before claiming ownership of his horse-hide robe and confronting the sheriff. In Robin Hood and the Potter, Robin Hood uses the money he stole from the sheriff to compensate the potter as an economic form of social retribution. Lastly, I challenge the good-versus-evil binary in Disney’s Robin Hood; Robin’s image of a likable red fox contrasts with Prince John and the sheriff’s mischievous personas. But Disney filters Robin Hood’s Medieval complexities by oversaturating his courtly love with Maid Marian. Interestingly, Disney’s film adaptation obscures the social ambivalence of Robin Hood’s disguises while establishing a questionable hero with no visible imperfections. However, Robin Hood’s multifaceted ‘gode’ reveals his economic savvy as a lender and tradesman who challenges the social structure of Medieval theft through his clever disguises and coercive loan agreements.