Something else

Medieval outlaw stories are all with zeitgeist amongst other elements that beg to be uncovered. Select stories from Thomas H. Ohlgren’s anthology Medieval Outlaws, Gisli Sursson’s Saga, Lancelot’s story from Le Morte D’Arthur, and A Gest of Robyn Hode are used to argue the purpose of the forest for the outlaw. Outside film sources revolving around Robyn Hode are relevant and though provoking additions to the concepts surrounding the forest presented in the anthology’s stories. In the texts, the forest is consistently revered as a source of sanctuary for the outlaw who has been banned from regular society. Scholars further the dialogue surrounding the forest and continue to make connections of the forest to the vitality of the outlaw. In Gisli Sursson’s Saga, the forest is a place for Gisli to hide from those who hunt him. Robyn Hode, or Robin Hood, experiences the forest as his home and a place he can seamlessly melt into whether it is to hide, to live or to love. Lancelot’s connection to the forest is similar to the two latter outlaws in that it is the ideal space to hide from society, and as an outlaw he always knows it best as his ideal terrain. In multiple stories such as Lancelot’s, the forest takes on the entity of something personified or embodied in a non-human but powerful way which guides them to safety. That said, the outlaw reveres the forest as an integral location for haven and survival.

Gisli Sursson’s Saga is a medieval outlaw story set in Iceland. Gisli is outlawed after avenging the death of his wife’s brother Vestein by killing Thorgrim, his sister’s husband (Thorsson and Scudder 497). The viking outlaw is not subject to central authority. Central authority is replaced by The Thing, where the people deliberate as a group. Without the central authority, it was common for people to murder on their own accord to achieve revenge or another goal. The relatively accepted way of being able to kill those who have killed one’s own or in general wronged them is what sets off this chain reaction which is Gisli’s story. Trouble really begins for Gisli when he speaks his verse about how he “slew that sword of Gaut” (Thorsson and Scudder 524) while looking at where Thorgrim was buried thus indicting himself for murder (Thorsson and Scudder 524). Gisli’s indictment starts with how, by stroke of bad luck, Thordis, Thorgrim’s recent widow, overhears the “verse which should not have been spoken” (Thorsson and Scudder 524). Thordis quickly realizes that it was Gisli who killed her husband, and this is what leads to the sequence of events leading to this outlawry, and thus Bork and others hunting him down. Justice is to be sought on behalf of Vestein, and Gisli is the target. It becomes clear quickly that the village is no longer a safe place for Gisli and his wife.

While on the run from murder, there are dangers for Gisli at every turn – wherever he goes there is someone who wants to kill him but luckily for Gisli, he can use the woods to his advantage. When Stein and Thorodd are on the trail of Gisli, they went “into the woods […] carrying spears (Thorsson and Scudder 528). Stein notes how “it was difficult to move in the woods” (Thorsson and Scudder 528). Here, the woods are working against those trying to kill the outlawed Gisli, and thus that means that the woods are protecting Gisli. Despite the difficulty that Stein has in the, more men come into the woods to find Gisli, who is hiding behind a bush. Thorgrim the Norwegian hits Gisli with the spear, but Gisli throws it back and kills him (Thorsson and Scudder 528). For Gilsi, there is no issue moving about the woods and can even use it for his own benefit of survival. A main takeaway here is that the woods work against the one hunting the outlaw, and in contrast its features then aid the outlaw. This entire interaction exemplifies how the outlaw uses the forest as a means of protection. Furthermore, relating this scene to how the outlaw knows the woods best, the men of society are not competent in the woods, as seen through Stein and Thorgrim the Norwegian. Where Gisli uses the forest to protect himself, the societal men find the woods confusing and it hinders their ability to survive. The two men hunting Gisli were unable to utilize and experience the woods in a way that could have saved their lives and completed their mission. In contrast, Gisli is able to use the woods to directly protect him as a method of survival. The woods grants Gisli features to make use of like a bush which he can manipulate into something that can protect him.

The failed capture of Gisli continues to exemplify the outlaw’s relationship with the forest. After killing Thorgrim the Norwegian, “the rest of them searched the woods, but they could not find Gisli” (Thorsson and Scudder 528). Here, the consistent theme in medieval outlaw stories of how the outlaw is able to navigate the forest in ways the regular men cannot remains present. Gisli’s competency within the forest provides an example for the theme of how the forest is an outlaw’s ideal terrain to survive in. Gisli is able to become enveloped into the forest out of sight from those who aim to harm him. The hunters’ inability to locate Gisli reinforces the point that the woods is not able to be manipulated by the men looking to kill the outlaw – instead, the densely wooded features of the forest shroud their ability to enact the murder of Gisli. In contrast, the same forest features that inhibit the hunters are the same ones that shroud Gisli and keep him safe. Whereas previously Gisli is seen actively using the forest, here Gisli demonstrates his ability to melt into the forest, and let its crevices do the work. When in the bounds of the woods, Gisli is safe unlike how he would be if he stayed in the open village; the village is where the people of society can function ideally and then the forest is where the outlaw find sanctuary.

In consultation with “Inside Outlawry in ‘Grettis saga Ásmundarsonar’ and ‘Gísla saga Súrssonar’: Landscape in the Outlaw Sagas” by Eleanor R. Barraclough, the protective relationship between Gisli and the forest is further developed. Barraclough notes that throughout the saga, Gisli “is accommodated […] in the cliffs and woods” (Barraclough 379). Gisli’s ability to adapt to the forest is seamless; this is seen from the beginning of his outlawry in how from behind the shrub he is able to navigate the woods in a way that protects him from death. The accommodation offered by the woods grants Gisli the ability to survive outside of regular society. As the woods further becomes evident as being a place of sanctuary, the understanding of the outlaw as being accepted by the woods is clear. Whereas examples of the woods working against the non-outlaw resonates with how the protection is not for everyone; the forest only provides safety and resources for those who know how to use its features and cannot survive anywhere else. In summation, Barraclough provides further evidence that the woods are a place that works to protect Gisli from harm.

There is yet another example in the saga of Gisli’s connection to the forest. It occurs when Gisli tries to escape Bork’s attempt at capture while he is in disguise as Ingjald’s Fool on the boat. Bork and his men find him, and Bork throws a spear at Gisli in a scene that seems to mirror the one where Stein and Thorgrim the Norwegian hunt Gisli with spears. The spear “struck him in the calf of his leg, wounding him badly,” (Thorsson and Scudder 539) and Gisli was “too weary” (Thorsson and Scudder 539) to even hold his sword. When Gisli is struck with the weapon, this is where the mirrored scenes diverge. Out near the open water at the ravine, Gisli is unable to protect himself. The water does not allow for manipulation. Specifically, it does not have any qualities in which Gisli is able to use to escape harm like the shrub in the forest which allowed him to defeat the enemies who threw spears at him last. It does not matter that Gisli is in disguise, the water is still clearly not a safe place for him to be. The resources he tries to use do not work like how they did in the woods. This is in contrast to how in the forest, Gisli has the ability to save himself from harm.

The scene continues with Gisli using the forest as a means of protection. Even though Gisli is in deep amounts of pain and fatigue, he still “ran into the woods” (Thorsson and Scudder 329). The story could have had Gisli run into any natural environment, but it is the forest that Gisli dashes into to seek protection from those hunting him while at his weakest. His immediate flee from the water places emphasis on how the water is unable to provide the protection his life depends on. The outlaw seeking the safety of the woods is evidence of both the inadequacy of the waters natural landscape and dependency on the forest. Gisli choosing the woods with his remaining energy reflects that in his most desperate hour, he knows he will be protected and be able to heal there. The use of the woods as a protective tool is consistent with earlier examples of Gisli being able to use the forest to avoid death and wield the wooded terrain as a tool for survival. Thus, the idea of the forest as a safe haven for the outlaw in contrast to other locations remains bolstered.

 As previously mentioned, Gisli Sursson’s Saga takes place in medieval Iceland. The journal article “From News to Narrative: Escape Tales in Medieval Iceland” by Theodore M. Andersson mentions that Njal’s Saga shows another example of how Icelandic sagas will often exemplify the pattern seen in Gisli’s story in relation to the woods. Like Gisli, the outlaw Hrapper used in this example is on the run from being hunted. Andersson notes how Hrapper “is able to escape his fate by fleeing into the woods” (Andersson 393). In the woods, the Icelandic outlaw is safe from being hunted by those who want him dead. This second example of a medieval Icelandic outlaw finding protection in the woods leads to the understanding of this as a common theme in these tales. Using the word fate implies that Hrapper’s death was written by a higher power. However, when in the woods the outlaw is able to escape such a destiny. Changing the narrative of his own fate by entering the woods exemplifies the forest as an extremely powerful place that can bend the trajectory of life and death. Therefore, through using another Icelandic example, there is evidence of that it is not a coincidence that Gisli uses the forest as a haven and way of survival. Thus, Andersson’s scholarship reflects and affirms the common theme of the forest as an omnipotent type of haven for outlaws in their tales.

Lancelot also interacts with the forest in his outlaw tale from Le Morte D’Arthur. Sir Lancelot is tricked many times by Lady Brisen on behalf of Dame Elaine, who wants to sleep with him (Malory Chapter III). One particular night, she is successful and gets a duped Lancelot into bed with her (Malory Chapter VIII). However, Lancelot wakes in the night to hear Queen Guenever, who he thinks he is in bed with, make a noise from the next room (Malory Chapter VII). Guenever finds out that Lancelot shared the bed with Dame Elaine, gets angry, and rejects him. Lancelot getting his heart broken by the Queen is the turning point from stability into his madness. As a madman, he “leapt out at a bay window into a garden” (Malory Ch VIII) and bolted into the “wild wood” (Malory Ch VIII) of the forest. When Queen Guenever banishes Lancelot from her heart and sights, he is stripped of his sanity (Malory Chapter VIII). Without his sanity, Lancelot lacks the ability to reasonably protect himself. His inability to demonstrate rational self-protective measures is understood by how he rashly and recklessly jumps out of the window. As a consequence of his poor choice of action, Lancelot falls into the “thorns [and thus] he was all to-scratched in his visage and his body” (Malory VIII). Therefore, the jumping into the thorns is further evidence that not only is Lancelot now unable to think reasonably in terms of his own safety — he is also physically injured. When he runs into the woods, it is argued that it is because he knows he will be safe there during his fugue state and with a wounded body. Instead of needing protection from others trying to harm him, Lancelot needs protection from himself in his madness and seeks for this in the woods.

Lancelot running into the woods, and not a doctor or a church, after the initial heartbreak and then madness is not a coincidence. The immediate dash into the forest is indicative of a sense of comfort for a devastated madman. When the narrator says, “and so he ran forth” (Malory VIII) in the woods, the language ‘and so’ insinuates a step in a natural progression. ‘And so’ further implies that his running into the woods is both the action and the explanation for why he chose the woods. The takeaway from the language is that it should be logical that this is what he did in the face of mental and physical vulnerability. Scholar Gwyneth E. Hood compares Paladin Orlando and Lancelot in terms of the trajectory of their path jumpstarted by mental health and progress into the woods. Hood notes how “both are eventually cured by divine intervention, and both are afterwards returned to their former heroic stature” (Hood 21). The important implication to note here in terms of Lancelot is that once he regains his sanity, he is able to be restored to his life from outside the woods. For Lancelot, the woods are the place that let him deal with his mental breakdown outside the eyes of society and restores him so that he can emerge in good health. In this representation of the woods, there continues to be evidence of the woods as a place of protection for Lancelot.

Nevertheless, the scene continues with Lancelot mad in the woods which he establishes as his ideal terrain. Guenever eventually realizes what has happened and sends men out to look for Lancelot for “a quarter of a year” (Malory Chapter X). However, for all their labor and seeking could they never hear a word of him” (Malory Chapter X). Here is a direct example of the woods as yet another source of protection, just like Gisli used the woods to hide. If Lancelot wanted to be found, he would have returned to the castle or at least the surrounding village. However, that is not what he did. The forest shields him from being found in his mad state which protects his privacy during his struggle. When the trees shield him from being found, the forest grants him time and a source to fully heal. Guenever and her men being unable to find him points to how only Lancelot knows where he is, and thus the forest is reinforced as the ideal haven for the outlaw.

In another interpretation of Malory’s story, the aforementioned scene is not the first time Lancelot goes into the woods to find solace after emotional turbulation. Scholar Samantha J. Rayner in the journal article “Lost in the Woods: Grey Areas in Malory and the Stanzaic Morte Arthur” points out a scene in Malory where Lancelot and Guenever part after King Arthur’s death. Once the two split ways, the Lancelot “swears to find a hermitage” (Rayner 80) and immediately “makes his way into the forest” (Rayner 80). Three events happen here that are key to understanding the outlaw in relation to the forest. The first step in the sequence is that Lancelot is feeling emotionally vulnerable in response to the loss of an emotional connection. When someone must leave a person they love, there is a sense of emptiness and wondering where to go next. Lancelot, looking for his next step to mend his heart and soul, proves this true by immediately promising to find the aforementioned hermitage. When Lancelot makes his way into the forest, he is determined to find a sort of belonging after losing Guenever, as made clear by Rayner. It is not a coincidence that the searched-for location of comfort is expected by Lancelot to be enveloped deep within the woods. Thus, the example noted by Rayner is more evidence of the outlaw looking for a haven within the woods; Lancelot is without one of his closest peers and feels hole of the lack of connection to another who cared for him. Severed from a human manifestation of a home, never mind how tumultuous their relationship was, the forest is Lancelot’s immediate first response for where to find the feeling of connected belonging again.

Rayner’s article dealing with Lancelot’s connection to the wood continues in the next scene. Now in the woods after walking away from Guenever, Lancelot will either succumb to the environment, or thrive within the trees with hope of finding the sense of belonging he yearns for. When in the woods, Lancelot experiences how the “ancient forest woodlands strip away the past” (Rayner 80). Lancelot’s immediate past is filled with his dead friend Arthur and the abandonment of a lover. Before the woods he feels the weight of the losses. However, once in the forest, the trees untether him from the pain. The ability for the forest to remove pain suggests that the woods have an aura of mystical embodiment that is powerful enough to change human emotions. For Lancelot, Rayner argues that the forest he runs into “becomes a transformative space for him” (Rayner 80). To transform is to shift into a new way of either being or living with a generally positive connotation. Thus, the space of the forest becomes where Lancelot can molt into a person becoming healed. By detoxing him of his past, the woods become a place where Lancelot can finally feel comfort and free of his past traumas. Therefore, the forest is establishing itself yet again with it’s ability act as a sanctuary-like haven for the outlaw.

Sentience as a way to personify the woods is implied yet again in Malory’s textwhen Lancelot is in the forest. Rayner mentions how the forest “bring[s] Lancelot to the chapel where he too becomes accepted into the hermit’s small religious community” (Rayner 80). Here, Rayner personifies the woods. The personification is done by giving it autonomy and will when she uses the word ‘bring’ to describe how Lancelot gets to the chapel and then the aforementioned ‘strip’ in terms of how the woods erases his painful experiences. To bring is to purposely deliver, and this is what the woods does when it leads him right to a place of solace in the expansive woodland. Therefore, based off of this analysis, the forest is also confirmed as an entity that actively incites survival—it gave Lancelot exactly what he needed emotionally to be able to heal. If the forest did not bring Lancelot to the chapel, he would have stayed heartbroken and grieving, but who knows what would have happened to the devastated man. Thus, the woods grant him solace to mend the holes in his life and therefore acts a sanctuary for a desolate Lancelot.

A Gest of Robyn Hode follows the trials and tribulates of the infamous Robyn Hode, more commonly known as Robin Hood. In the vast majority of adaptions of the medieval outlaw story, the forest is a locus for activity both good and bad for Robyn and his group of Merry Men. The forest-dwelling outlaws rely on the wooded area for sustenance and community. Therefore, needless to say, the forest is a haven for the outlaws removed from their society. Joseph F. Nagy notes in his article how “Robin Hood can survive for periods within the civilized world […] but he prefers to live in the wilderness far from normal human habitations” (Nagy 199). Robyn Hode generally making the active choice to dwell in the woods speaks to how he reveres the forest as a beloved sanctuary. Furthermore, in Thomas H. Ohlgren’s introduction to “The Gest of Robyn Hode,” he states that

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 greenwood.’ […] The forest encapsulates the virtues of an ideal realm. […] Opposed to the forest are the engrossing negative values of the dominant social, political, and economic powers (Ohlgren 360).

The solidification done by Ohlgren of the forest as a ‘refuge’ is integral to the argument of the forest as a place of safety and haven for the criminalized outlaw. It becomes clear as to part of why Robyn Hode dislikes living in civilization – the forest contains an ‘ideal’ alternative society, whereas outside the forest is where treachery occurs. Therefore, in the woods Robyn Hode is safe.

A scene produced by Dominic Minghella’s 2009 production “Robin Hood” by BBC symbolizes the love that Robyn Hode has for the forest. While the original Malory text does not divulge the emotion behind the connection between Robyn Hode and the woods, the 2009 “Robin Hood” reflects Robyn Hode’s true appreciation for his haven. To set the scene, Robin Hood and his beloved friends have just escaped the village in which they blew up with Byzantine Fire in order to save their collective lives. When the outlaws burn down the village, it truly speaks to how they do not rely on the civilization in any way – the woods are all they need. When escaping, they dash into the nearby forest. With relief, enchantment, and amazement, Robin Hood looks up at the trees at says “this is Sherwood, this is home” (Minghella). Upon escaping the life-or-death threats that laid in the village, Robin finds solace in returning to the forest. In the forest, they are safe from the fire, and those who wanted to hurt them. The emotions overwhelm him as he reinforces the forest as his safest, most loved, and only true home.

Njal’s Saga contains a quote which truly reverberates with Robin Hood’s love for the forest. The outlaw says: “lovely is the hillside – never has it seemed so lovely to me as now, with its pale fields and mown meadows, and I will ride back home and not leave” (Cook et al.123). Here, the forest is given time to be respected by those who use it, and revere it as a haven. There is a clear connotation of love for the woods in this description of his ‘home.’ The grassy area is painted to be a peaceful sanctuary safe from harm. A beloved home is also how the forest can be interpreted in A Gest of Robyn Hode and its adaptions.

Robyn Hode’s story also integrates elements of the natural law, and how the outlaw regards the different laws in the society. Compared to if the outlaws braved the royal court in the villages, in collective numbers within the woods they are stronger, and thus the space of the woods is a source of safety. Combined, the outlaws have formed an alternative society which they love, in contrast to the one ruled by the King. The introduction to Medieval Outlaws by Thomas H. Ohlgren talks about natural law, and states that “according to medieval political theory, man’s law ought to follow the law of nature, which in turn reflected the eternal law of God” (Ohlgren xxix). Robyn greatly despises the King and his laws. He frequently disregards them, and as noted by Joseph F. Nagy, “he and his men are devoted hunters; it is both a means of survival in the forest and pastime for them” despite how “it is one of the king’s forests” and thus it is illegal to hunt game (Nagy 198, 200). Robyn’s blatant disregard for the King’s laws further implicate his disrespect for the laws built by the central authority.

In further accordance with the natural law, Robyn rejects the King as the true authority. Instead, Robyn abides to the laws of surviving in the forest. The forest as an extension of the law of God is key when one considers that while hating the church, Robyn is a very religious man. Evidence for his religiosity is exemplified in how his “custom was to hear three masses everyday before he dined; one in honor of God the Father, another for the Holy Ghost, and the third of Our Dear Lady, the Virgin Mary” (Ohlgren 367). Robyn’s love for the nature that surrounds him is intertwined with his love for God—he abides to no other power. An example of the intertwined powers is in the phrase he uses: “By God that died on the tree” (Ohlgren 371). In the traditional bible stories, Jesus is crucified on a wooden cross. However, Robyn’s colloquial interpretation the story insinuates that Jesus died on a tree. To incorporate the tree in lieu of the cross is to connote religion, plus its humanized figures, and the forest as going hand in hand. Thus, the tree is holy. Robin Hood’s religious relationship to the forest via Natural Law is bolstered the 1992 film “Robin Hood” produced by Allan Dwan. During the film, there are multiple occasions where speech and narration is written out onto black screens during and in-between scenes. A pattern on the text-screens is that the word ‘Forest,’ attached to no other word, is always capitalized (Dwan). Forest is not a proper noun; therefore, it should not be capitalized. To make sense of the choice to capitalize the ‘F’, one must think of the forest as an entity. For the same reason the ‘G’ in God is capitalized, the ‘F’ in forest is as well – despite not taking a human form like God might, the forest is proven time and time again to be an omnipotent being. Thus, by personifying the forest, the similarities in which Robin Hood connects from God to the Forest are characterized. By integrating the forest and God in this way, Robyn exemplifies his loyalty to the natural law.

There continues to be a relevant number of religious undertones which intertwine with the forest. At the end of A Gest of Robyn Hode, Robyn makes a false deal with the Royal court. Robyn Hode lost a bow and arrow challenge with King Edward, and the price was to “come home to [his] court and dwell with [him]” (Ohlgren 388). Robyn claims he needs to leave his duties to the royal court to “build a fair chapel in Barnsdale, dedicated to Mary Magdalene […] as a pilgrim” (Ohlgren 390). A religious pilgrimage is a sacred journey a dedicated believer takes to achieve forgiveness and dedicate themselves further to religion. The pilgrimage is a concept furthered by the church; thus, it is confusing when Robyn Hode suggests this as he despises centralized anything. However, the plan of a typical religious pilgrimage is just a trick to escape from his duties to the King of England. When it comes time for Robyn to leave for his ‘pilgrimage’, he goes returns right away to the forest, which greets him with “delicate notes of birds merrily singing” (Ohlgren 390). The singing of the birds solidifies the forest as a peaceful place for Robyn, or in other words, a haven. While not a traditional pilgrimage centering around organized religion, to Robyn Hode it is a type of pilgrimage, nonetheless. To return to the forest when having pledged to go on a pilgrimage shows that Robyn Hodes’s incredible devotion to religion center around the Natural Law which combines both religion and nature as ruling. Religion is often used a means for individual to feel comfort about the turbulent world around them, and Sherwood Forest is the place where Robyn lives and loves to be. To combine the two as part of Robyn Hode’s core ideology is to suggests that since religion is in nature, and nature is his home, then by proxy Robyn experiences a sanctuary type of haven within the woods.

Multiple film adaptions of A Gest of Robyn Hode have been produced, and almost all of them represent Sherwood Forest as, again, a locus for Robyn and his Merry Men where they thrive happily away from the King’s immediate realm. In the majority of adaptations, the forest maintains the same integral embodiment that the original story does. The movies generally do a very good job at establishing the forest as a leafy green, densely wooded landscape. Careful imagery is in direct contrast to how A Gest of Robyn Hode lacks any clear imagery, or even emotive language. In particular, Dwan’s 1922 adaptation “Robin Hood” does an exemplary job of painting the picture that A Gest of Robyn Hode did not. The Sherwood Forest is portrayed as a beautiful place, not the looming and treacherous landscape it is depicted as where you go “if ye be brave” (Dwan). From the perspective of Robin Hood the outlaw, it is shown to be a welcoming place – his literal ‘lair’ is there, and so are his friends (Dwan). That contradiction highlights the differences in how the forest functions for the village-dwellers and the outlaw.

From A Gest of Robyn Hood alone, it is clear that Robin Hood loves the forest, but in the 1922 movie the visual depiction of Robin within the woods solidifies the adoration. Using visual imagery, the film does not have to use words to get viewers to understand Robin’s connection to the forest. The first way this is done is how Robin is always in green (Robin Hood 1992). Robin Hood is even named by scholar W.E. Simeone as “the green clad hero living in the greenwood” (Simeone 27). At first, the color of his clothes may seem like a trivial detail. However, when one considers how for Robin Hood the forest acts as a lifeline, a home, and a higher power, dressing to blend into the foliage is worth taking note of. By dressing like the forest, Robin Hood is able to further camouflage into the trees for safety. Robin Hood wears green and thus becomes an extension of the woods. To go a step deeper, by mimicking the aesthetics of the forest, Robin Hood shows his devotion to the woods as seen in his dedication to Natural Law which, again, links the love for God to the love for Nature (Ohlgren xxix). Like a Catholic wears a cross around their neck, Robin Hood wears the colors of the forest. Thus, the forest is his sacred haven as proven by his way of dressing to mimic the leafed oasis and prove his devotion to the powers within the trees.

Another way in which the 1922 adaption “Robin Hood” uses visual imagery to depict his deep connection to the forest is through his bodily movements. In Joseph F. Nagy’s article, Nagy draws the conclusion that “from society’s point of view, [Robin Hood] is a creature of nature” (Nagy 200). From Nagy’s point of view, Robin Hood has such a bond with the woods that he is truly part of it. That said, Robin Hood’s synchronicity with the woods is evident in how the director chose to alter his movement – he jumps, hops, skips at a very quick pace. The directors take every scene with Robin Hood in it and speed up his body in relation to those around him who do not dwell in the forest (Dwan). Professor Erussard noted in class during the screening of the film that Robin Hood moves ‘like a grasshopper’ – a forest-dwelling insect. The movement of Robin Hood’s body is relatively insignificant in terms of plot development. However, in terms of Robin Hood’s relationship to the forest it is an incredibly fascinating insight. Through mimicking a creature from nature, Robin Hood establishes his deep connection to the woods. As understood from A Gest of Robyn Hode, the forest is an adored home for Robin Hood and the 1922 adaptation bolsters the presence of that connection.

Television adaptation “Robin of Sherwood” (1984-1986) done by Richard Carpenter presented viewers with critical insight as to how the outlaw, especially Robin Hood, views the forest as an ideal space for survival. In one essential moment, Robin Hood says, “I know the forest, and they don’t” (Carpenter). The ‘they’ in this quote refers to the people who live in the village, including the king and his men. Robin Hood is well aware that he is able to manipulate the woods in ways that the king and those who work under him simply never will. Robin can use his vast knowledge of the woods to manipulate the space in the way that serves him best. In this sense, there is a parallel between Robin Hood and Gisli. As aforementioned, when hunting down the outlawed Gisli, one of the men notes how difficult it is to move in the forest (Gisli 528). Gisli then uses the shroud of the shrub in the forest to swiftly murder one of his attackers (Gisli 528). In this line, Robin Hood has entire confidence in his ability to navigate the woods. In fact, Robin Hood’s line reflects how he actually has so much belief in his understanding of the forest that he bets his survival on how he can avoid death just by knowing the terrain best. Through the multiple examples provided, it is evident how the outlaw has mastery over his environment, thus making the woods his ideal terrain for which to survive. He knows it best after being removed from regular society, and thus he can use it to protect himself seamlessly.

In medieval outlaw tales, the outlawed individual experiences the forest in terms of haven and protection. In reference to Gisli Sursson’s Saga, Gisli can manipulate the forest to his protective needs while other non-outlaws cannot. The ability to use the forest as a means of survival is also displayed by Robyn Hode and is brought to life in Richard Carpenter’s “Robin of Sherwood” (1984-1864). Similarly, Lancelot from Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur embraces the woods as he loses his sanity, and he leaves the forest a healed man protected from his own impulsive mental decay. The forest is represented as an entity in both Lancelot’s story and A Gest of Robyn Hode. For Lancelot, the woods deliver him to a safe place where he can mend his broken heart and mind. Robyn Hode’s experience with the woods as an entity revolves around a religious connection as described by Natural Law. “Robin Hood” (2006) also emphasize the forest as an entity through consistently capitalizing the letter ‘F’ in ‘forest’. The 1922 “Robin Hood” exemplifies Robyn Hode’s connection to the forest through his grasshopper-like movements and green outfit which matches the foliage. Through paying careful attention to both glaring evidence and slight details in these works, it is apparent that the forest is a place of haven and protection for the outlaw.

Works Cited

Andersson, Theodore M. “From News to Narrative: Escape Tales in Medieval Iceland.” Scandinavian Studies, vol. 86, no. 4, [Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study, University of Illinois Press], 2014, pp. 379–97, https://doi.org/10.5406/scanstud.86.4.0379.

Barraclough, Eleanor Rosamund. “Inside Outlawry in ‘Grettis Saga Ásmundarsonar’ and ‘Gísla Saga Súrssonar’: Landscape in the Outlaw Sagas.” Scandinavian Studies, vol. 82, no. 4, [Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study, University of Illinois Press], 2010, pp. 365–88, http://www.jstor.org/stable/25769041.

Cook, Robert, translator. Njal’s Saga. Edited by Ornolfur Thorsson and Bernard Scuddler, Penguin Books, 2001.

Dwan, Allan, director. Robin Hood. 1922.

“Gisli Sursson’s Saga.” The Sagas of Icelanders, edited by Ornolfur Thorsson and Bernard Scudder, Penguin Books, 1997, pp. 497-557.  

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