This module explores the representations of a range of heroes and outlaws, both real and legendary, in literary and historical texts written in England from the twelfth to the sixteenth century. We will study tales of some of medieval England’s most famous heroes outside of the Arthurian tradition, along with stories of Robin Hood and other outlaws, tracing the roots of the Robin Hood legend in earlier narratives. We will investigate how accounts of these heroes and outlaws developed across time, and how they took shape in different regions, languages, genres, and material forms. We will consider themes of identity, otherness, monstrosity, Englishness, violence, chivalry and justice, as we explore how accounts of England’s heroes and outlaws blur the distinctions between these categories, testing the limits of the human and the law. Students will be expected to read Middle English texts in their original language. Medieval French and Latin sources will be made available in translation.