Robin Hood Reading Suggestions

 

As I did for King Arthur (post here), today I present reading suggestions for those interested in Robin Hood.

I've already discussed who Robin may have been and where/when he may have lived- see post here if interested- so today's focus is purely on stories about him. 

In literature, we first hear of Robin second-hand.  Early references include mentions in Piers Plowman and the Scotichronicon (both from the late 1300s).  The first stories about Robin we get are from Medieval ballads.  The first surviving date from 1450, and contain some of the elements later Robin Hood tales feature.  A good account here delves deeper into these first tales.  Some early plays feature Robin as well- and a bit later (1600s), Shakespeare mentions him in two of his works.  As time progressed, the thief evolved into the "rob from the rich, give to the poor" hero we know today.  As with King Arthur, in recent years literature on Robin has increased dramatically, and spread to several genres (including historical fiction and romance).  Arthurian books have the upper hand in terms of quantity, but Robin enjoys his share of retellings and reinventions.  

Update (from June 2017): originally, I concluded this post with a list of Robin Hood works.  I've moved that to my main Robin page.