Medieval Lives: The Outlaw

In the lawless world of the Middle Ages, a poor man’s only hope for justice lay with those bold man living lives of freedom in the forest: the legendary outlaws of Medieval England. Heroes who bestrewed the greenwood, fearlessly wearing only tights and little short tunics that hardly covered their bottoms.

The Medieval outlaw has come to represent freedom and justice for the common man. But were there really outlaws like Robin Hood in Medieval England? And if not, why do we think there were? And another thing: was the law so out of reach for ordinary people? And did the forest really represent freedom? And, of course, the key question: did the outlaws never wear trousers?