From Sherwood Forest to University Park
PA169/06 — October 09 2006
He's one of the world's most enduring legends and his origins and identity have been a hot topic for debate for hundreds of years. Now the world's most famous outlaw is swapping Sherwood Forest for University Park.
The University of Nottingham's School of History is to launch a new Robin Hood Pathway in its MA programme. The one-year, full-time course will explore the earliest origins of the legend, placing Robin in historical context and examining how and why the myth of the man who stole from the rich to give to the poor has remained so strong.
With its prominent place in the earliest surviving stories of Robin Hood and his outlaw companions, Nottingham will provide a fitting home for what is thought to be the first Masters programme on Robin Hood in the world.
The new MA pathway will accept students from October 2007, offering them the opportunity to explore the medieval origins and subsequent development of our most enduring and popular legendary figure.
Students will work with rare 15th century manuscripts and early printed books alongside other archival evidence which details the social, cultural and political contexts of outlawry in English society. One of these manuscripts the Forest Book includes the oaths taken by foresters, the officials who maintained Sherwood Forest.
Stories, songs, plays and other cultural forms provide evidence of a hugely popular and wide-ranging Robin Hood tradition by the 16th and 17th centuries, and the MA will examine the wider historical context of the medieval Robin Hood stories. It will provide those with an interest in late medieval history with the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the world in which the Robin Hood tales gained such widespread appeal.
In many ways it is the tension between the historical and the mythic elements of the greenwood legend that continues to make Robin Hood such a compelling figure. MA students will be encouraged to compare the many manifestations of the forest outlaw from the medieval and early modern ballad, through the modern romantic novel to representations in contemporary culture on film and television including his latest BBC incarnation. They will ask why and how Robin Hood has endured as such a genuinely popular hero.
The Robin Hood MA pathway will sit within an established portfolio of postgraduate courses in the University's School of History. These courses equip students with a range of research and other transferable skills, while offering the flexibility to tailor a programme of studies to an individual's particular interests. The School of History offers a wide range of optional modules in medieval history such as Power and Authority: Records of the Medieval World or Muslims and Christian in the medieval Mediterranean and Anglo-Saxon England.
Dr Rob Lutton, Lecturer in Medieval History and pathway leader in Robin Hood studies, said: The new MA pathway in Robin Hood studies at Nottingham provides an exciting opportunity for anyone with an interest in the origins and development of England's most enduring legendary figure to ask searching questions about the relationships between popular culture and history.
Dr Colin Heywood, the Head of the School of History, said: We are pleased to add this innovative new pathway on Robin Hood to our MA programme. It will be taught on an interdisciplinary basis by our team of medieval historians and by specialists in other schools. The University of Nottingham has a long tradition of researching late 12th century society in England and Normandy, making it the perfect environment for students to understand the context for the Robin Hood legends. Those taking the course will look at the wider social and cultural perspectives on the subject, using 600-year-old manuscripts as their source material.
Ends
Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham undertakes world-changing research and provides teaching of the highest quality. Ranked in the THES World Top 100 Universities, its academics have won two Nobel Prizes since 2003. An international institution, the University has campuses in the United Kingdom, Malaysia and China.
More information is available from Dr Lutton on +44 (0)7831 723151, r.lutton@fashion.arts.ac.uk or Tara de Cozar, Internal Communications and Media Relations Officer in the Public Affairs Office at The University of Nottingham, on +44 (0)115 846 8545, tara.decozar@nottingham.ac.uk
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