'Superb ... reveals the real history behind the myths' Saul David
The legend of Robin Hood has gripped the popular imagination ever since his exploits were first told in the Middle Ages. Whether as thief, hero or violent bringer of justice, Robin Hood continues to assert himself over the centuries, still featuring heavily in mainstream culture in the 21st century.
But what is the truth behind the legend? Historians and folklorists have been exploring the Robin Hood story for centuries, attempting to separate fact and myth. In this new book, Dr Sean McGlynn, a leading medievalist, offers a radically fresh approach, based on original research that has received global media attention.
The author examines the first stories of Robin Hood as they appeared in the late Middle Ages and explains their appeal to contemporary audiences, against a background of violent disorder and troubled times. But a clearer understanding requires delving further back into the earlier medieval period to consider more fully the problems of name, time and place (and the questionable dominance of Sherwood Forest).
Crime, brutal punishment, and the dramatic exploits of English medieval outlaws are discussed in vivid detail before the author assesses real-life figures who have been suggested as the inspiration behind the Robin Hood story and why these fail to hit the mark.
The book then reveals a contender who has previously been completely overlooked but who is the most likely inspiration for the emergence of the Robin Hood legend in thirteenth-century England.
By focusing on war in a time of national crisis, when a forgotten French invasion occupiedhalf of the country, this book reveals a true-life hero and legend who has previously been lost to history, a soldier who resolves the hero-outlaw paradox and who fits perfectly into the timing of the legend's origins. And yes - he really was a bowman living in the forest.
Dr Sean McGlynn is the author of three critically acclaimed books: By Sword and Fire: Cruelty and Atrocity in Medieval Warfare; Blood Cries Afar: The Forgotten Invasion of England, 1216; and Kill Them All: Cathars and Carnage in the Albigensian Crusade. He is a regular contributor to BBC History, History Today and The Spectator. His research has previously received global media attention. In 2013 he was elected Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
Praise for Sean McGlynn
"McGlynn tells a dashing story with gusto ... an entertaining military history." Dan Jones, The Spectator
"Unlike many books on warfare, this volume dares to say what others won't.... Sean McGlynn's excellent book...paints a bleak but accurate picture of men at war.... McGlynn makes a convincing case as he analyses battles, sieges and campaigns" Andy McNab, Mail on Sunday
"Excellent...vividly and wittily related, full of detail, and consistently fascinating" The Daily Telegraph
