William Hall Clawson

Of all the early traditional tales of Robin Hood, none is more important than the "Gest of Robyn Hode," a 450 stanza poem telling of Robin's rescue of an indebted knight, his conflict with the Sheriff of Nottingham, his encounter with the king, and his death. The "Gest" is the single most important source of the Robin Hood legend (many later tales are derived from it), and most Robin Hood scholarship derives from it. That which does not, frankly, isn't worth having.

And yet, few books really try to examine the "Gest" in itself. They study Robin Hood, using the "Gest" as part of the study. The result is often to gloss over the peculiarities of this poem.

Clawson is one of the major exceptions. This book is all about the "Gest." In particular, it is a study of the various components which were assembled to make up the "Gest."

Sadly, it is an example of the "riotous criticism" which was all too common in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The "Gest" unquestionably combined several sources -- but Clawson thinks he has found dozens. He breaks it up into more pieces than a smashed piece of pottery.

What that means is that this book is a source of suggestions -- but always of suggestions that need to be sifted. Are you a Robin Hood scholar? You need it. Are you someone who just wants to study the legends of Robin Hood? Spend your money on Dobson & Taylor's Rymes of Robyn Hood or Knight & Ohlgren's Robin Hood and Other Outlaw Tales instead.

Official Disclaimer: The author (Robert B. Waltz) has himself published a book on the Gest of Robyn Hode. But it, too, is a specialist volume and does not affect the above recommendations.… (more)