Proving Genre: Robin Hood in the Literary History of Medieval English Romance through 1600

This dissertation revises the literary history of the pre-1600 narrative Robin Hood tradition by linking it to the contemporary literary history of medieval English romance.The introduction and second chapter establish that Robin Hood and romance have generally been considered distinct traditions, albeit sharing certain isolated features, since at least the late-nineteenth century. A model is described whereby a work might be "proven" to belong to a given genre, based on various types of evidence.Chapters 3 through 7 provide a range of "extrinsic" evidence that contemporaries considered Robin Hood and other romance works as similar kinds of literature. They were printed, adapted into history and balladry, and performed in similar ways from the late-fifteenth century through 1600. A list of over two dozen instances where writers listed Robin Hood alongside romance or other courtly writings is presented, and the overlap of the two traditions in William Shakespeare's writings is analyzed.Chapters 8 through 12 provide "intrinsic" evidence that at least one major Robin Hood work, A Little Gest of Robin Hood, can usefully be interpreted using various hermeneutics that have been traditionally used to interpret medieval romance. A detailed explication of the Gest establishes that it uses semantic elements typical of romance, arranges them in syntactic forms typical of romance, and uses the resulting narrative situations to address frequently found in other romances.The conclusion examines various implications of the findings of the dissertation for the future research and teaching of Robin Hood and romance literature.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

English

Grantor dc:publisher

The Ohio State University

Year dc:date

2013

Author dc:creator

• Griffy, Henry

Contributors dc:contributor

• Green, Richard Firth

• Literature

Statement dc:rights

• unrestricted
• This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1365687253

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:osu1365687253