From Outlaw to Folk Hero

The Trajectory of Robin Hood and Social Tensions in the Late Middle Ages

Abstract

This article examines the Robin Hood myth as an expression of cultural resistance in medieval England, tracing how marginal narratives evolved into national symbols. Analyzing tensions between dominant discourses and subaltern cultures, it explores how "social bandits" were initially rejected by elites before being absorbed into collective folklore. The study spans from the character's earliest 13th-century mentions to 16th-century intellectual appropriations, connecting this trajectory to political, religious, and agrarian shifts. The legend reveals both aristocratic mechanisms of control and peasant strategies of cultural reappropriation, highlighting rural class struggles and identity formation in the late Middle Ages. Through this case study, the article demonstrates how outlaw myths mediated power relations, serving as tools of domination while enabling subversive reinterpretations of justice and tradition within oppressed communities