Government Affairs Blog

Robin Hood - an enduring English legend

Robin Hood is one of the most enduring legends of English culture.  There have been numerous films and television series made about the outlaw who “stole from the rich and gave to the poor”. 

The latest Robin, played by Jonas Armstrong, can be seen on BBC 1 on Saturday nights - http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/robinhood/  

What is it that makes film-makers and storytellers return to the myth so often?  To begin with it is a rollicking good story.  In the current version the nobleman, loyal to King Richard, returns from the Crusades and chooses the life of an outlaw to fight the evil rule of the Sheriff and the power-hungry Prince John.  What makes Robin of Locklsley swap his title for the nickname Robin Hood?  A sense of outrage against the unjust way the peasants are being treated.

There are other versions of the story – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_hood - but the core elements remain the same.

Robin opts for the forest and relies on self-sufficiency to survive.  He breaks the law to uphold a higher law.  He is a noble who realises his obligations to those less fortunate than himself.  Perhaps, most importantly he embodies the English amateur; getting out of scraps with a sense of relish and the legendary “derring-do”. 

When turning to this quintessential English myth the storyteller can give us a Robin for our time. 

It is no accident that the publicity photos emphasise Robin in his hood.  The clothes in the show could almost be contemporary.  Some may complain that this is historically inaccurate.  But that misses the point.  The Robin Hood story is wildly historically inaccurate.  What is important is how it speaks to us now.

What the writers and producers have done for this show is to refocus the legend around a series of themes: a war in the Holy Lands; a desire for peace by some and a thirst for war by others; the need for the rule of law; and the way that fear can be used to manipulate the public.

It is at times heavy-handed.  But it is interesting to see the conflicts of the Middle East and the West’s “war on terror” through the prism of one of our most famous heroes.