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Jaime el Barbudo and Robin Hood: bandit narratives in comparative perspective

Dodds, Ben

Authors

Ben Dodds



Abstract

In a famous scene in a medieval Robin Hood rhyme, Robin invites the king, who is disguised as a monk, to dinner. Before they begin the meal Robin summons his gang by blowing on his horn and 140 men arrive, kneeling before their master. The king is impressed and mutters to himself: ‘Here is a wonder semely syght; Me thynketh, by Goddes pyne, His men are more at his byddynge Then my men be at myn.’ There is a similar scene in Florencio Luis Parren˜o’s 1868 novel about the Spanish bandit Jaime el Barbudo (1783–1824). A lieutenant sent to capture Jaime is tricked by the bandit and finds himself impressed by Jaime’s control over his men: ‘How do you make your men obey you without rules and discipline?’ ‘By being the bravest, the best informed, first in the face of danger and last when the booty is being shared out.’

Citation

Dodds, B. (2011). Jaime el Barbudo and Robin Hood: bandit narratives in comparative perspective. Social History, 36(4), 464-481. https://doi.org/10.1080/03071022.2011.617115

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Dec 1, 2011
Deposit Date Mar 13, 2012
Journal Social History
Print ISSN 0307-1022
Electronic ISSN 1470-1200
Publisher Taylor and Francis Group
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 36
Issue 4
Pages 464-481
DOI https://doi.org/10.1080/03071022.2011.617115

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