A.J. Pollard - Böcker

A.J. Pollard takes us back to the earliest surviving stories, tales and ballads of Robin Hood, and re-examines the story of this fascinating figure. Setting out the economic, social and political context of the time, Pollard illuminates the legend of this yeoman hero and champion of justice as never before.Imagining Robin Hood questions:what a ‘yeoman’ was, and what it meant to be a fifteenth-century EnglishmanWas Robin Hood hunted as an outlaw, or respected as an officially appointed forest ranger?Why do we ignore the fact that this celebrated hero led a life of crime?Did he actually steal from the rich and give to the poor?Answering these questions, the book looks at how Robin Hood was ‘all things to all men’ since he first appeared; speaking to the gentry, the peasants and all those in between. The story of the freedom-loving outlaw tells us much about the English nation, but tracing back to the first stories reveals even more about the society in which the legend arose.An enthralling read for all historians and general readers of this fascinating subject.

A.J Pollard takes us back to the earliest surviving stories of Robin Hood, the stories, tales and ballads of the fifteenth century and he re-examines the story of this fascinating figure. Setting out the economic, social and political context of the time, Pollard illuminates the legend of this yeoman hero and champion of justice as never before.Imagining Robin Hood examines:* what a ‘yeoman’ was, and what it meant to a fifteenth-century Englishman* Was Robin Hood hunted as an outlaw, or respected as an officially appointed forest ranger?* Why do we ignore the fact that this celebrated hero led a life of crime?* Did he actually steal from the rich and give to the poor?Answering these questions, the book looks at how Robin Hood was ‘all things to all men’ since he first appeared; speaking to the gentry, the peasants and all those in between. The story of the freedom-loving outlaw tells us much about the English nation, but tracing back to the first stories reveals even more about the society in which the legend arose.An enthralling read for all historians and general readers of this fascinating subject.

Henry V is the best-known military hero in English history: better known than Marlborough or Wellington, or his grandfather, Edward III. He enjoyed more success against the French than any of them, coming tantalisingly close to conquering that vast country and imposing an English dynasty; this in a reign of just nine years, in only seven of which he was at war. Even before he died the heroic myth, later enshrined by Shakespeare, was being created. His victories have become the touchstone of English nationalism, English militarism and English imperialism. For good or ill, Henry V now signifies the one-time ‘Greatness of England’. He was a military genius, yet his megalomania was not always in the best interests of his own kingdom, let alone the people of France who suffered at his hands. Behind the carefully constructed nationalist myth was a cold, calculating, ruthless ruler who, before his early death, revealed ominous tyrannical tendencies.