The Adventures of Robin Hood

Clothes and livery in The Adventures of Robin Hood are recurring visual symbols used throughout the narrative to indicate identity as well as unity. As a literary device, clothes and livery come to support the overarching theme of The Creation of an Outlaw Society. The most significant set of clothing in the story is Robin and his men’s outlaw outfit in Lincoln green, described as “doublets and hose of Lincoln green, in hoods of green or russet and in knee-boots of soft brown leather” (45). The author uses the Lincoln green outfit as a means to indicate any given character’s association with Robin Hood, be it when they gather together as outlaws in Sherwood Forest, support him when he rescues Will Scarlet from execution, or when Maid Marian escapes from Arlingford Castle to join Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest in Chapter 7. Though Robin apparently dons Lincoln green clothing himself, the garments are usually worn by his outlaws and carry the notion of medieval livery, a type of clothing distinct to each noble household worn by its servants and footmen. Typically, livery is used as a way to identify an individual and determine the noble with whom they serve to make sure social conventions between the nobility are observed according to rank and status.