Food and Feast in Premodern Outlaw Tales - Scholarly

In this review of Food and Feast in Premodern Outlaw Tales editors Melissa Ridley Elmes and Kristin Bovaird-Abbo assemble eleven essays that illuminate how food and feasting shape outlaw narratives from the tenth through the seventeenth centuries and into modern film. The collection will most interest scholars and students of medieval literature, food studies, and cultural history because its chief strength is a sustained, interdisciplinary focus on how meals and consumption reveal social order, identity, and resistance in texts such as Robin Hood legends, Anglo-Scottish border ballads, and cinematic medievalism.

Key Features

• Interdisciplinary approach: Essays combine history, literary studies, and food studies to deepen understanding of premodern outlaw texts.
• Wide chronological range: Coverage spans the tenth to the seventeenth centuries and traces continuities into modern cinematic adaptations.
• Textual variety: Contributors examine Old English, Middle English, and French narratives alongside border ballads and early modern drama for broad comparative insight.
• Focus on feasting scenes: Close readings of meals and hospitality reveal how food practices encode power, community, and transgression.
• Thematic breadth: Essays integrate gender studies and film studies to show how outlaw icons are reshaped across media and eras.

Who It's For

This volume is best for graduate students, researchers, and instructors seeking focused essays on the intersection of food studies and outlaw literature, particularly those teaching medieval literature, cultural history, or film adaptations of medieval themes. Readers who appreciate close reading supported by historical context will find the collection productive and thought-provoking.

Those seeking a general introduction to Robin Hood or a mass-market narrative retelling should look elsewhere; this is a scholarly collection of essays rather than a popular overview or single-author monograph and assumes some familiarity with medieval literary traditions and critical methods.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Interdisciplinary essays offer fresh perspectives by intersecting food studies with outlaw narratives.
• Textual range across languages and media provides comparative depth and cross-period connections.
• Attention to cinematic medievalism links historical materials to contemporary cultural reception.

Cons

• The scholarly focus and specialized vocabulary mean this is less accessible to casual readers interested in popular Robin Hood stories.

Specifications

Title	Food and Feast in Premodern Outlaw Tales
Editors	Melissa Ridley Elmes, Kristin Bovaird-Abbo
Content	Eleven original scholarly essays
Scope	10th through 17th centuries and cinematic adaptations
Disciplines	History, literary studies, food studies, film studies, gender studies
Topics	Robin Hood, outlaw narratives, ballads, medieval feasting

Our Verdict

Food and Feast in Premodern Outlaw Tales is a valuable scholarly collection for specialists interested in how meals and feasting inform outlaw identities and social critique across medieval texts and their filmic afterlives. Its interdisciplinary essays make it good value for academic readers and instructors seeking material for courses on medieval culture, food history, or adaptation studies.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this book cover Robin Hood specifically?
Yes. Several essays include fresh analysis of the Robin Hood legend alongside other outlaw narratives to show thematic continuities.

Is the book accessible to non-specialists?
While insightful, the collection is aimed at scholars and assumes familiarity with medieval literature and critical approaches, so it is less suited to casual readers.

What disciplines does the book engage?
The essays draw on history, literary studies, cultural and food studies, gender studies, and film studies for interdisciplinary readings.