17th century… “Robin Hood’s Rescue of the Three Squires” and the Political Economy of Banditry 30 Mar 2018 Many Robin Hood ballads were printed as broadsides during the seventeenth century. The majority of them depict Robin Hood as a rather inept outlaw who, every time he stops somebody,…
18th century… Mack the Knife: The “True” Story Behind the Song 28 Oct 2017 The popular song Mack the Knife was based upon the story of an eighteenth-century highwayman named Captain Macheath. This post traces the literary life of this fictional character. Most people,…
18th century… The Critical Reception of Mrs. Brown of Falkland’s Robin Hood Ballads 16 Sep 201616 Sep 2016 Paper Presented to the Women's History Network Conference, Leeds Trinity University, 16-17 September 2016. Abstract: The earliest ballads of Robin Hood such as A Gest of Robyn Hode (c.1450) and…
11th Century… The Legend of Robin Hood 4 May 20164 May 2016 A Forthcoming Public Talk to be delivered at Pontefract Castle, Sunday 8 May 2016 Introduction The Renaissance poet Michael Drayton authored a monumental work entitled Poly-Olbion which was published in…
18th century… Joseph Ritson (1752-1803) 5 Feb 2016 One of the more interesting characters that I have come across in the course of my research is the antiquarian, Joseph Ritson (1752-1803). Ritson was born in Stockton-on-Tees northern England.…
18th century… The Birth of Robin Hood 29 Oct 201529 Oct 2015 The ballad The Birth of Robin Hood is of uncertain date, and never appeared in Joseph Ritson’s influential Robin Hood: A Collection of all the Ancient Poems, Songs, and Ballads…