Robin Hood as a Social Hero - Essay Example

The Hero The Hero Robin Hood lived in Sherwood Forest of England circa 1100 A.D. He is the first and the most legendary hero of English folklore, especially English ballads. Robin Hood had his little gang which helped him in all his heroic deeds. His beloved one was Maid Marian, while his two close buddies were Friar Tuck and overweight Little John. Robin Hood was constantly chased by Sheriff of Nottingham, who was one of the most frequent enemies of the hero. Besides the rich people, ecclesiastical landowners were also enemies of Robin Hood. According to the available historical evidence all the heroic acts and life of Robin Hood was in the south Yorkshire, and not in Nottingham, as it is often claimed (Robin Hood, 2010). One of the many versions of stories about Robin Hood is The Merry Adventure of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle, an American illustrator and wrier. The book was first published in 1883. The adventure story starts with the lines: “In merry England in the time of old, when good King Henry the Second ruled the land, there lived within the green glades of Sherwood Forest, near Nottingham Town, a famous outlaw whose name was Robin Hood” (Pyle, 2010, p. 3). Robin Hood was a yeoman archer, as well as the members of his group, Merry Men. It tells about heroic acts and deed of Robin Hood and his people, whose main motto was “robbing the rich to give to the poor” (Simeone, 1953). Robin Hood becomes a hero in many stories, books, films, plays, and even cartoons. However, one of the most controversial issues is related to the origin of Robin Hood as a hero. Many acknowledge scholars have been studying this interesting historical figure. The answers concerning the origin of Robin Hood can be grouped and presented as three major categories, which are as following: 1) Robin Hood is the creation of ballad muse; 2) the outlaw is a hero of ritual drama; 3) the hero is a real historic figure (Simeone, 1953). Many writers and historians, however, claim that the only evidence for hero’s existence were actually ballads. Peasants Revolt (1381), which was the reaction to the oppression of agrarians, was one of the sources of the hero creation. Stories about the outlaw who was busy with forbidden hunting and robbing the rich people to help the poor were most appealing to the common people of England. The image of the hero developed much later though. In the medieval times a lot of new stories about Robin Hood were created (Robin Hood, 2010). The first real historical evidence mentioning the hero was Scottish chronicles such as John Fordun and John Major (15th and 16th century). According to the chronicles Robin Hood lived in the time of the reign of Richard the Lionhearted (Simeone, 1953). Many historical investigations suggest that there is a universal “folk hero”. It is quite obvious that every nation has had their hero in their history. British folk hero Robin Hood plays role of a clever hero. Every folk hero conforms to a certain type of a hero that is specific to its origin of creation. Often such a hero is either a bandit or some villain, who is “usually smaller and weaker than those with whom he is matched, frequently being a diminutive animal” (Klapp, 1949). Also, according to Klapp (1949) Robin Hood is the benefactor, because he helps poor people. Besides, the hero is the martyr, because he was left to bleed to death by his cousin. Bevan (1993) claims that a hero is heroic thanks to the audience. Robin Hood’s image of a hero is similar to those of the Old Testament David, the New Testament Barabbas, or the Twenties Al Capone. Heroism of Robin Hood, as well as of the other similar heroes, is “a function both of centrifugal conflict within a society (leading to so-called “segmentary” activities) and of economic competition between communities (involving predatory practices such as raiding and imposition of tribute)” (Bevan, 1993, p. 193). Historic persona of Robin Hood became a representation of heroic past of the nation, who was witness of the victory of the good over the evil. According to Carl Jung, many archetypes are story characters. Robin Hood falls into the category of a hero, because he is a winner, defender, and rescuer. Worshiping of Robin Hood as a hero is a part of collective unconsciousness and nothing else (Boeree, 2006). It is like inherited history in our consciousness or in our mind. People share same values and attitudes to the good and evil. Being a fighter for the good against the evil, Robin Hood becomes a hero, whose personal characteristics are being idealized though historical and literary heritage of humankind. Hence, meaning of a hero is symbolic to the culture or nation who is the creator of the hero. Joseph Campbell’s representation of archetype is related to personal feature or characteristic which is innate to the nation. Robin Hood is the perfect representative of the hero category of archetypes. Robin Hood became a famous hero not just because he helped the poor. He was also an outlaw and disobeyed the rules and norms of that time. To put it simply, he was a thief and robber. Therefore, his persona gains attention of a much broader audience, whom his deeds and personal characteristics are appealing to (Klapp, 1949). To find a good and reasonable explanation why an outlaw Robin Hood become a national hero and keeps being famous for over seven hundred years is difficult. There is interplay of several factors that led to making a common person a hero. First of all, the historical context, the troubled nation of the 14th century was a good background for anybody to become a hero. However, there was a need in a little push or a reason for claiming that one is the hero. Besides disobeying social laws, Robin Hood had one more good positive side of his personality, which was respecting and helping the poor. Maybe it was not Robin Hood, but someone else, some other person. The name of Robin Hood, be it real or invented, was picked by the community and masses, and later by the whole nation to make it heroic one. Perhaps, every generation finds something appealing in the name of Robin Hood. We have had many Robin Hoods throughout the history in times of rebellions, social conflicts, and wars (Boeree, 2006). Today, sources of social conflicts are various and often not similar to those of Robin Hood’s time. However, the archetype or behavioral pattern which is appealing to most of us is a part of our consciousness. We tend to accept the hero as he is, because appeal to his characteristics is part of us, of our own nature. To conclude, Robin Hood will always remain a hero in our human consciousness. The characteristics the real hero possessed might have changed over the time and have been adapted to the values and expectations of every generation. Even today we find more and more new versions of the heroic past of English nations in modern poems and songs. After years of research and study, it has been found out that there was no such real figure as Robin Hood. The heroic personage is the collective representation of the nation which was oppressed and which needed a hero who would save them or, at least, give hope for a better life. Historic events related to rebellious acts of outlaws found their reflection and interpretation in almost every nation and generation. The persona of Robin Hood gained much fame during the 15th and 16th centuries in times of many famous writers and playwrights. Developing the archetype of a hero in the stories, writers were assigning more positive traits to Robin Hood and, at the same time, inventing more good deeds. With the time positive features of the hero, as well as his heroic acts outweighed his negative side such as being an outlaw. Other characters whom we meet beside Robin Hood, Maid Marian, Friar Tuck, and Little John became heroes too to some extent. It is obvious that such heroes as Robin Hood never die. They continue their life and heroic acts not only in ancient ballads and legends. New stories and adaptations of old legends continue to appear perpetuating the hero. New books, soap operas, cartoons continue to appear portraying Robin Hood and his Merry Men. The authors adjust personal traits of the hero to meet expectations of the contemporary audience about the modern hero. References Bevan, D. (Ed.). (1993). Modern myths. Amsterdam: Rhodopi Pespectives on Modern Literature. Boeree, C.G. (2006). Personality theories: Carl Jung. Retrieved November 03, 2010, from http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/jung.html Klapp, O. E. (1949). “The Folk Hero.” The Journal of American Folklore 62 (243): 17-25. Pyle, H. (2010). The adventures of Robin Hood. Alberta, Canada: Qualitas Publishing. Robin Hood. (2010). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved November 04, 2010, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/505662/Robin-Hood Simeone, W.E. (1953). “The historic Robin Hood.” The Journal of American Folklore 66 (262): 303-308. Read More