A Book of Medieval Outlaws: Ten Tales in Modern English [Paperback]

In Medieval Outlaws: Ten Tales in Modern English, Ohlgren works to put the medieval outlaw tale in context so that we can understand both why they were popular and how they fit in the times in which they were told. To this end, he has selected ten tales, each translated from the original language (Norman French, Middle English, Icelandic, etc) and then presented in its historical and literary context by a different author (though Ohlgren himself does the chapter on Robin Hood).

The ten tales covered in this collection are:
1. The Outlawry of Earl Godwin from the Vita Aedwardi Regis
2. The Deeds of Hereward
3. Eustache the Monk
4. The Outlaw's Song of Trailbaston
5. Fouke fitz Waryn
6. The Tale of Gamelyn
7. The Saga of An Bow-bender
8. A Geste of Robyn Hode
9. Adam Bell, Clim of the Clough, and William of Cloudesley
10. The Acts and Deeds of Sir William Wallace

There are only two facets that I think are lacking in this presentation. The first is, while we are told about some of the tales having come from ballads and some having rhyming meters, here we only see the tales in their translated form in which those conventions have been lost. I would have liked at least a few examples of the tales in their original form so that I could see for myself how they were originally told and how some of the forms described were actually executed. The second is that I would have liked a bit more depth on the context of the audiences these tales were intended for, specifically on details like who listened to or read them, who didn't, what they thought of them, and so on.

I learned quite a bit from reading this work. One thing I learned is that the creators of the original tales, most of whom are unknown to us, borrowed freely from other tales, to the point that certain characteristics or events in the tales were so widely shared that they became a staple of the outlaw tale, i.e. the outlaw was usually almost supernaturally skilled at archery, dwelled at least part of the time in a forest, had an arch-enemy among the nobility who had wronged him somehow, disguised himself as a seller of pots to spy on his enemy, used the trick of having his horse's shoes put on backwards to throw his pursuers off the track, and others. Another thing I learned is that the Robin Hood of modern legend, particularly of film and television, is substantially changed from the original Robyn Hode of the medieval tales. For example, Robyn Hode was originally an outlaw during the reign of Edward III, but the Robin Hood stories that most people know nowadays are set during the reigns of Richard the Lionheart and his brother John. It was actually Fouke fitz Waryn (my personal favorite in this collection and a story I was not familiar with) who was the bane of King John's reign.

Ohlgren's Introduction to the collection is particularly good as it gives an overview of the medieval outlaw tale as a form, pointing out how all of these outlaw tales fell into one or more of three thematic categories: the "Social Bandit", the "Good Outlaw" and the "Trickster". Social Bandits are defined as outlaws whom the lord and state regard as criminals but who are considered by their people as "champions, avengers, fighters for justice, perhaps even leaders of liberation, and in any case as men to be admired, helped and supported." Good Outlaws are a particularly English variation in that "Their outlawry does not bring shame upon them, but instead proves them to be superior to their opponents, both in martial prowess and, most importantly, in moral integrity." They have an almost moral (even legal, Ohlgren argues, according to Magna Carta) obligation to become outlaws in order to correct an injustice committed against them by corrupt lords and thus restore natural law in the world. Tricksters are pretty much self-explanatory, but there is an element which has relates specifically to
medieval culture, i.e. the popularity of the temporary reversal of roles as would occur in Carnivals and Feasts of Fools where a fool is made king and/or a boy becomes the Boy-Bishop for a day. In the outlaw tales often the powerless becomes the powerful, the accused becomes the accuser, and the criminal becomes the judge, passing sentence on those who once passed sentence him. The outlaw tales, like the festivals, offered "a temporary liberation from the prevailing truth".

And in his chapter on Robin Hood, Ohlgren points out why the forest is such a popular and traditional setting for the outlaw tale in general and for Robin Hood in particular: "The forest has been enshrined as the imagined refuge , the securely collective world and the fully natural state to which the oppressed underclass has escaped in order to reconstitute the 'liberties of the greenwood'... a place where the conventions of gender and rank are temporarily reversed in the interest of discovering truth, love, freedom and, above all, justice. The forest encapsulates the virtues of an ideal realm: loyalty, fiderilty, honour, chivalry, brotherhood, solidarity, magnanimity, hospitality, ceremony and courage."

Finally, Ohlgren also sums up what made - and continues to make - the outlaw tale both popular and enduring: "Yet another explanation, and perhaps the most imporant one, is that the outlaw tales are just good stories with sturdy and honest heroes, vile villains, adventurous chases, daring deeds, bold disguises and tricks, and lots of narrative suspense."

Definitely recommended.

As an informal student of medieval history, I've been hearing for years of the impressive body of literature from that age, tales of dragon slayers, romance, and highwaymen. Until recently, most of what I'd read had been "adaptations" that felt so "modern" that I thought they must be considerably distanced from the original works. Thanks to Mr. Ohlgren and the translators whose work appears in _Ten Tales_, I have now come as close to experiencing the real thing as I ever will without learning Latin and Old French.

Reading the stories of Hereward the Wake, Robin Hood, and William Wallace, I was struck by the myriad ways classic mythic structure -- the same structure that defines everything from _The Odyssey_ to _The Terminator_ -- can be put to work by writers. There really are no new stories under the sun; yet some writers have that gift of making the ancient new again, and we keep coming back for more.

Anyone who thinks medieval literature was as sanitized and full of subtlety as its Victorian counterpart will be in for a shock. Don't read these tales if graphic violence, blatant innuendo and sexual situations offend you.

Stylistically, the _Ten Tales_ have more in common with _The Odyssey_ than they do with _The Terminator_. Stories are narrated straight through without dialogue or direct action, and this leaves it to the reader to flesh out the details for himself. A certain amount of reading between the lines is essential, and this can make reading tough at first. But by the time I'd finished the first story, I had the knack of it and was too riveted to care that I wasn't being spoon-fed. In addition, these are poems translated, usually as prose, so you won't get the same reading experience a medieval would have had. Much of the original cadences and their dramatic effects are sacrificed in favor of the most accurate literal translations.

In much the same way a modern historical novelist "fills in" gaps in known facts about real historical figures, medieval chroniclers took considerable license with those areas of their real-life subjects' lives about which little was known or nothing interesting happened. During the years Fulk FitzWarin was exiled from England, we "learn" that he visited Spain and north Africa, as well as distant northern isles, where he slaughtered dragons, saved fair maidens, and fought as the champion of a Saracen king, whom he also converted to Christianity. (Never mind that it's more likely Fulk spent all that time just across the Channel in France.)

Strip away the mythological divergences, however, and these stories are much closer to reality than modern interpretations of the same characters. Robin Hood wasn't a noble; the execution of William Wallace ("Braveheart") was far more grisly than in Mel Gibson's version. These _Ten Tales_ will be engrossing reading for any adventure fan who doesn't mind thinking while she reads, and, paired with scholarly commentary, they add new dimensions to the medieval enthusiast's understanding.