Another confession:

I haven’t seen this one in years.

However, I did find a new love for Robin Hood stories in my last year of college. I took a seminar on Medieval Law, and naturally we spent some time with outlaws. Some quick things:

1) Robin Hood? Not a fox. However, he is a lot like a medieval Batman. And I absolutely wrote my final paper on that subject, and it got an A, thank you very much.

2) King John, while no Alfred the Great, really wasn’t the complete villain the stories have made him out to be. It was actually Richard, the so called “Lionheart,” who was a pretty lousy king. He didn’t even really speak English! (Of course, it was a different sort of English back then.)

3) There might have been more than one Robin Hood! Think of it like James Bond, or the Doctor. There will always be a 007, or a Time Lord bopping about in a police box, but it’s not always necessarily the same guy. “Robin Hood” was more a way for the repressed people of that time to fight back against a ruling class that they felt had no business taking over their land.

Still, this movie is a lot of fun. And everyone’s adorable. Little John is and always will be my favorite.

I’m sure if I went back I’d find lots of medieval jokes to enjoy now, but for the time being here are just a few fun quotes to take away from this one.

— “Faint heart never won fair lady.”

— “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”   “Or forgetful.”

— “Oh, he’s so handsome… just like his reward posters.”

Next time: The Ladies’ Paradise, by Emile Zola. Or: I finally read a French novel!