Robin Hood plays should be banned, wrote an advisor to King Henry VIII in 1536 – they were, he argued, teaching the public how to defy the king’s officers. It was basically the medieval equivalent of claiming video games make kids violent, part of a longstanding movement to ban performances and tales of Robin Hood. This hero was really a villain, these medieval campaigners complained.
A new film out tomorrow, The Death of Robin Hood, echoes this claim. Set in the far north of England in the year 1247, the film sees a wounded Robin Hood (Hugh Jackman), a “wicked and murderous bandit”, reflect on his life of crime. “He was no hero,” claims the film’s tagline.
