ROBERT I THE BRUCE (1274–1329) king
of Scotland Robert the Bruce—later Robert I, king of
Scotland—was the son of Robert de Brus (d. 1304),
the sixth lord of Annandale, and Marjory, countess of
Carrick (d. 1290). He was born on July 11, 1274, at
Turnberry Castle in Ayrshire. JOHN BARBOUR’s poem
The BRUCE (1375) provides one version of Robert the
Bruce’s story.
The Bruce family laid claim to the Scottish throne
through its relation to David I of Scotland, but their
claim was rejected in 1292. Robert then sought to
make himself more appealing by aligning himself with
WILLIAM WALLACE in the Rebellion of 1297, and by
identifying himself with Scottish independence.
On March 25, 1306, Robert seized the Scottish
throne. After England’s Edward I died on July 7, 1307,
Robert began the reclamation of Scotland, including
waging a civil war against opposing Scottish nobles,
and consolidated his power. On June 23–24, 1314,
Scottish forces met and defeated English forces under
Edward II at Bannockburn, though Edward II escaped.
Bruce continued raiding in the north of England until
1328, when Edward II recognized Scotland as inde-
pendent in the Treaty of Edinburgh.
FURTHER READING
Barrow, G. W. S. Robert Bruce and the Community of the
Realm of Scotland. 3rd ed. Edinburgh: Edinburgh Univer-
sity Press, 1988.
Mackenzie, Agnes Mure. Robert Bruce, King of Scots. 1934.
Reprint, Edinburgh: Oliver/Boyd, 1956.
Scott, Ranald McNair. Robert Bruce, King of Scots. London:
Hutchinson, 1982.
Mark DiCicco
ROBIN HOOD BALLADS A distinct sub-
genre of the outlaw tale, the Robin Hood ballads trace
their roots back to the Middle Ages. As with many BAL-
LADs, they were told or sung many years before being
recorded beginning in the 15th century. The fi rst refer-
ence to them in English literature is found in WILLIAM
LANGLAND’s PIERS PLOWMAN, where Sloth, who cannot
remember his paternoster (Our Father), can easily
recall the “rymes of Robyn hood” (B-text, Passus 5, l.
402). Another sermon from the same time period
admonishes people in a similar fashion.
Through the tales were popular, the Robin Hood
of these early medieval ballads is not the Robin Hood
of today. He is not concerned with social justice; he
is concerned with self-preservation, mockery of oth-
ers, and self-gratifi cation. He is also violent and self-
ish. He fl ed into the forest because he killed the
king’s foresters, not because he was cheated of his
legacy. He is also not egalitarian: His men kneel to
him. The medieval Robin is neither a peasant fi ght-
ing for rights nor a displaced noble—he is a yeoman
(a farmer who owns his own farm). In a number of
the ballads, Robin is set against the church, and by
the 16th century, the “steal from the rich, give to the
poor” theme began to emerge as Robin steals from
abbots and distributes the gains. The name became
associated with treason, and in 1605, Guy Fawkes
and his conspirators were branded “Robin Hoods” by
Robert Cecil.
See also “BIRTH OF ROBIN HOOD, THE”; GEST OF ROBYN
HODE, A; “ROBIN HOOD’S DEATH AND BURIAL”; TALE OF
GAMELYN, THE.
FURTHER READING
Knight, Stephen, ed. Robin Hood: An Anthology of Scholarship
and Criticism. Cambridge: Brewer, 1999.
———. Robin Hood: A Complete Study of the English Outlaw.
Oxford and Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell, 1994.
Knight, Stephen, and Thomas Ohlgren, eds. Robin Hood and
Other Outlaw Tales. Kalamazoo, Mich.: Medieval Institute
Publications, 1997.
Ohlgren, Thomas H. “Teaching Robin Hood at the Univer-
sity: A Practical Guide.” In Robin Hood: The Many Faces of
that Celebrated English Outlaw, edited by Kevin Carpenter,
145–154. Oldenburg, Germany: Bibliotheks-und Infor-
mationssystem der Universität Oldenburg, 1995.“ROBIN HOOD’S DEATH AND BURIAL”
(“THE DEATH OF ROBIN HOOD,”
“ROBIN HOOD’S DEATH”) ANONYMOUS
(15th century) This later BALLAD is sometimes
referred to as “The Death of Robin Hood” or simply
“Robin Hood’s Death.” While neither of the two surviv-
ing manuscripts date to the Middle Ages, the content of
the poem resembles such early ROBIN HOOD BALLADS as
A GEST OF ROBYN HODE, and most scholars accept a
medieval composition date. The surviving texts differ
slightly, leading some early editors to present both“ROBIN HOOD’S DEATH AND BURIAL” 345