Good guy or bad guy? A medieval document casts doubt on our pre-conceptions about a medieval folk hero and legend.

Who was Robin Hood? Romantic legend casts him as outlaw, archer, and hero of the people, living in Sherwood Forest with Friar Tuck, Little John and Maid Marian, stealing from the rich to give to the poor — but there is no historical proof to back this up. The early ballads portray a quite different figure: impulsive, violent, vengeful, with no concern for the needy, no merry band, and no Maid Marian.

Hodd provides a possible answer in the form of a medieval document rescued from a ruined church on the Somme. The testimony of the monk Matthew describes life with the half-crazed bandit Hodd in the greenwood. Following the thirteenth-century principles of the “heresy of the Free Spirit,” he believed himself above God and beyond sin. Hodd and his crimes would have been forgotten without Matthew’s minstrel skills, and it is the old monk’s cruel fate to know that not only has he given himself up to apostasy and shame, but that his ballads were responsible for turning the murderous felon Robert Hodd into the most popular outlaw hero and folk legend of England, Robin Hood.

Written with his characteristic depth and subtlety, his sure understanding of folklore and precise command of detail, Adam Thorpe’s ninth novel is both a thrilling re-examination of myth and a moving reminder of how human innocence and frailty fix and harden into history.

About the Author

Adam Thorpe’s first novel, Ulverton, was published in 1992. Since then he has written six other novels — most recently, Between Each Breath, two collections of stories and four books of poetry. He lives in France with his wife and family.

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