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

Dodds, Ben

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
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1502562