Abstract
In this article, I argue that the greenwood in the early ballad A Lytell Gest of Robyn Hode constructs a unique subjectivity that can inform contemporary forms of resistance. In contrast to the greenwood, the “civilized,” urban spaces found in the text are populated by corrupt individuals serving corrupt institutions. Robin Hood’s actions in both smooth and striated spaces serve as the spatial foundations for an ethics of socio-political action. Emphasizing the concepts of solidarity or felaushyp, I show how Robin Hood embodies a form of ethics derived from the category of the “outlaw” and serve the wider community. In the end, this article utilizes the late medieval text of A Lytell Gest of Robyn Hode to explore the spatial and ethical construction of resistance to oppressive and striated authority.
Article highlights
Focuses on how the space of the forest constructs a new subjectivity.
Shows an ethics within the interactions of Robin Hood as related to the forest.
Links space and ethics as considerations for socio-political action.
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Notes
I will be citing the 1506 edition printed by Wynkyn de Worde and found in Ohlgren and Matheson’s Early Rymes of Robyn Hood (2013). All citations from the early ballads also come from Ohlgren and Matheson’s edition.
For a historically regionalized argument of the Gest’s relationship with resistance, see Taylor, 2013.
All further citations will be line numbers only.
For more on class consciousness, see Parker, 1971, spec. 5–7.
See Robin Hood and the Monk, 183–206, 313 − 18; Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborn, 159 − 70; Robin Hood and the Potter, 85–100.
In other ballads, killing corrupt members of institutions does not always take place in urban, striated settings. See Robin Hood and the Monk, 151–210 and Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborn, 97–162.
In Robin Hood and the Monk (313-8), Little John refuses hierarchical leadership and instead offers equality and solidarity amongst himself and Robin. On the other hand, a clear hierarchy might best be represented in Robin Hood and the Potter (79–84).
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my partner, Ivy McKay, for her support and willingness to read multiple drafts. Thank you to my colleagues François-Xavier Gleyzon and Tison Pugh for insights on this and related projects. Lastly, thank you to the anonymous reviewer for their valuable insights and recommendations.
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Beck, C. Robin Hood and resistance: the spatial ethics of “felaushyp” in A Lytell Gest of Robyn Hode. Neohelicon (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11059-024-00738-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11059-024-00738-9