Robin Hood as Seen Through the Eyes of Democrats, Libertarians and Republicans

[Wraith20878]

5. The Robin Hood we know today was in the 1%

But the reality is we have no idea what class he was in, if he even existed at all. Every time the story was told, his characteristics would change depending on who was telling the story. Sometimes he was a landless peasant, other times he was a yeoman farmer, and still other times he was a nobleman who lost is inheritance. This is one of the main reasons the story has remained popular for so long, it has been constantly reinvented to remain relevant.

The version I grew up with was the Erroll Flynn version, which came out in 1938. As a child, I never saw this version's Robin Hood as a progressive hero, but looking back on it, it makes sense. The movie plays up the idea that England was sharply divided between the rich Norman Barrons and the Poor Saxons. Robin is a Saxon nobleman who is outlawed for standing up against Prince John and his oppression of the poor.

Later in the film, Marion asks Robin why he would choose to live as an outlaw in the forest, and points out to him that one of the people he had recently helped was a Norman.

Robin Hood: Norman or Saxon, whats that got to do with anything? It's injustice I hate not the Normans.
Marion: But it's cost you your rank, your lands. Its made you a hunted outlaw when you could have lived in comfort and security. What's your reward for all this?
Robin Hood: Reward? You just don't understand do you.

This was the Robbin Hood I always found heroic, the one who realized that injustice was the true enemy.