Ancient Legends Retold: A Little Book of Robin Hood

Ancient Legends Retold: A Little Book of Robin Hood gathers five early tales and one play associated with England’s most enduring outlaw. The collection includes ‘Robin Hood and the Monk’, preserved in a manuscript dating from around 1450, alongside ‘Robin Hood’s Death’ and ‘A Lytell Geste of Robyn Hode’. Together, these texts present a medieval Robin Hood who is less polished than later popular versions, shaped by outlawry, violence, loyalty and life in the Greenwood.

Michael Dacre retells the material, with an introduction by Fiona Collins, keeping the focus on the surviving ballads and dramatic tradition. The book also considers the possibility that the legend preserves memories of a historical figure connected with the reign of Edward II, while leaving that question open to debate.