The Outlaws of Medieval Legend

Author: Maurice Keen
Genre: nonfiction, history
Publication info: Routledge, 2000 (originally published in 1961)
Pages: 235

I suppose this doesn't really count as pleasure reading because I read it for a class assignment. But I enjoyed it enough so that I feel like I ought to say something about it here. This book is fun and educational! There. Now this feels like a commercial.

Maurice Keen, a respected historian at Oxford, wrote this book in 1961, when he was fresh on the academic scene. Nearly forty years later, he came out with this edition, which is the same as the first but with a fair amount of introductory material. In one of the prefaces (I can't remember which), Keen states that much of what he said in 1961 about the historical significance of these outlaw stories was wrong. But because his historical interests have since gone in a different direction, he didn't feel like rewriting the book, so here it is, with all its errors.

So if you're looking to read something with accurate historical insights, this isn't the book for you. What I enjoyed about this book was the stories it told. The book summarizes medieval ballads that tell the tales of several English outlaws, many of whom I'd never heard of: Hereward the Wake, Eustace the Monk, Gamelyn, Fulk Fitzwarin. It also discusses the legends surrounding William Wallace. And, of course, what would a book about outlaws be without a discussion of Robin Hood? A fair amount of the book focuses on him.

The value of this book for me was the interesting stories about these characters, stories that proliferated during the Middle Ages. Many of these stories are strikingly similar. Many involve disguise. Many involve archery. Most have the outlaws living in the forest. Of course, these men who lived outside the law are portrayed as heroes, champions against injustice.

As a fiction writer, I found these stories very inspiring. I may one day take a couple of these stories and make something out of them. I'm sure it's been done before, especially with Robin Hood, but it would still be fun.

The point is that if you'd enjoy reading about some interesting medieval tales, I'd recommend this book.