11 h 51 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
In the greenwood, an outlaw helps the poor, defies the greedy, and keeps the sheriff of Nottingham guessing.
Robin Hood lives among loyal friends, robs the rich, and outwits the sheriff. But these old poems and ballads reveal a rougher figure: a devout, quick-tempered yeoman. Compiled by Joseph Ritson, this collection brings you close to the verses in which the famous outlaw’s story first takes shape.
A Gest of Robyn Hode anchors the collection with a long narrative woven from older tales. Shorter ballads bring encounters with strong strangers, comic brawls, disguises, rescues, and revenge. Alongside them, Ritson’s introduction, life of Robin Hood, and notes explore the legend with a scholar’s insistence on accuracy rather than guesswork.
What you’ll discover
- The legend’s long spine Follow A Gest of Robyn Hode through linked tales of the outlaw’s world.
- Strangers on the road Meet the strong strangers who challenge Robin in the shorter ballads.
- More than comic brawls Discover darker tales where disguise, rescue, trickery, and revenge bring danger close.
- A scholar tests tradition Explore Ritson’s notes and biography, where careful comparison matters more than guesswork.
- Poetry with a pulse Read the short stanzas aloud and feel their steady beat and returning phrases.
Who will love it
Readers who love outlaw legends, old English ballads, archery, folklore and the story of how a hero grows over centuries. It suits anyone curious about the sources behind the Robin Hood we know.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Ritson gathers every scrap about Robin Hood
- The life gives Robin a birth and a band
- The notes show how far the legend had spread
- A Lytell Geste brings several adventures together
- Shorter early pieces show tricks and a hard blow
- In Part Two, strangers fight Robin and become friends
- Disguises, rescues and a queen's wager drive the later ballads
- The appendix adds a play, a monk and old songs
- How to read these ballads aloud and enjoy them
Formats and delivery
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 11 h 51 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 7 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Read and hear Robin Hood in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Robin Hood
by Joseph Ritson (Herausgeber)
A knight with ten shillings, a proud sheriff and an outlaw who feeds his guests before he robs them.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
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In short
A knight with ten shillings in his purse sits down to dine with an outlaw. A proud sheriff loses his silver in Sherwood.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Ritson gathers every scrap about Robin Hood
This book is a collection, not a single tale. Ritson wanted every old poem, song and ballad about the outlaw in one place, and he says plainly that some pieces are better than others. He prints his sources and takes no credit for their weak spots.
He starts from a puzzle. Why would the name of an outlaw from the twelfth or thirteenth century still be sung in the late eighteenth? He hunted for years through manuscripts, black letter ballad sheets, plays and old chronicles. Earlier biographers had given him little, so he built his own account from fragments.
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What is Ritson's Robin Hood about?
It is a collection of old poems, songs, ballads and plays about the outlaw Robin Hood, with a life of him and notes on the evidence. It also holds a glossary for older words.
Is Robin Hood a true story?
Ritson gathers chronicles, plays, proverbs and place names, but he admits the evidence is thin. The book lets you see what was said and judge how much is history and how much is legend.
Who are Little John, Friar Tuck and Maid Marian?
Little John is Robin's right-hand man, Friar Tuck a fighting friar and Marian his beloved. Ritson notes that Marian appears in few early poems but features strongly in the plays and May games.
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