The Ecology of the English Outlaw in Medieval Literature

Analyzing outlaw literature as a form of nature writing, Harlan-Haughey suggests that it often reveals more about medieval anxieties respecting humanity's place in nature than it does about the political realities of the period. She argues that outlaw narratives such as the Anglo-Norman romance Fulk Fitz Waryn, the Robin Hood ballads, and the Tale of Gamelyn became particularly popular at moments of national ecological and political crisis.