The term Wild West refers to the frontier society of 19th-century USA. Around the masculine, saloon-bar world of the gold rushes and the cowboy cattle-drives of Texas, California, and the largely unsettled western territories there early developed a mythology. Bandits such as Billy the Kid and Jesse James were romanticised, as were General Custer and his 'last stand'. An early perpetrator of the myth was Edward Z. C. Judson, who, under the pseudonym Ned Buntline, wrote penny (dime) novels romanticising the exploits of his friend W. F. Cody as 'Buffalo Bill'. The latter in turn organised 'Wild West Shows' from 1883 onwards, which included the appearance of the Indian Chief Sitting Bull and which travelled as far afield as Europe.
There is no evidence that the West was much less law-abiding than the rest of the USA. Nonetheless, the 'Wild West' was no purposeless myth; it suggested an arena in which individuals struggled to make order out of chaos and to progress through individual effort and moral worth. The North American continent had had a succession of 'Wests', as its frontiers receded, and that known as the Wild West was the last. It disappeared after 1890, with the end of Indian hostilities, the decline of the long-distance cattle drives, the building of the railways, and the steady growth of population. Research Wild West
The chauffeur were French bandits who, about 1793, pillaged, burned, and killed in parts of France. They were so called because they used to burn the feet of their victims to extort money. Research Chauffeur
Robin Hood was a legendary English folk hero who led a band of outlaws in Sherwoodforest and opposed the tyranny and excessive taxes of King John.
Robin Hood is first mentioned by the Scottish historian Fordun, who died in 1386. According to Stow, he was an outlaw in the reign of Richard I (twelfth century). He entertained one hundred tall men, all good archers, with the spoil he took, but 'he suffered no woman to be oppressed, violated, or otherwise molested; poore men's goods he spared, abundantly relieving them with that which by theft he got from abbeys and houses of rich carles'. He was an immense favourite with the common people, who have dubbed him an earl. Stukeley says he was Robert Fitzooth, Earl of Huntingdon.
According to one tradition, Robin Hood and Little John were two heroes defeated with Simon de Montfort at the Battle of Evesham, in 1265. Fuller, in his Worthies, considers him an historical character, but Thierry says he simply represents a class - that is the remnant of the old Saxon race, which lived in perpetual defiance of the Norman oppressors from the time of Hereward.
An old sporting magazine of December, 1808, says the true name of Robin Hood was Fitzooth, and Fitz being omitted leaves Ooth, and converting th into d it became 'Ood'. He was grandson of Ralph Fitzooth, Earl of Kyme, a Norman, who came to England in the reign of William Rufus. His maternal grandfather was Gilbert de Gaunt, Earl of Lincoln, and his grandmother was Lady Roisia de Bere, sister to the Earl of Oxford. His father was under the guardianship of Robert, Earl of Oxford, who, by the king's, order, gave him in marriage the third daughter of Lady Boisia.
The traditions about Fulk Fitz-Warine, great-grandson of Warine of Metz, so greatly resemble those connected with 'Robin Hood', that some suppose them to be both one. Fitz-Warine quarreled with John, and when John was king he banished Fulk, who became a bold forester.
The traditional bow and arrow of Robin Hood are religiously preserved at Kirklees Hall, Yorkshire, the seat of Sir George Armytage; and the site of his grave is pointed out in the park.
It is generally thought that Robin Hood died in 1325, which would bring him into the reign of Edward II, not Richard I, according to Sir Walter Scott.
In the accounts of King Edward II's household is an item which states that Robin Hood received his wages as king's valet, and a gratuity on leaving the service'. One of the ballads relates how Robin Hood took service under this king. Research Robin Hood
Bandits is a crime comedy starring Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Cate Blanchett and Troy Garity in a story about two notorious criminals who break out of a jail and embark on a spree of bank robberies in an attempt to raise sufficient money for a life of luxury, only to get caught up with a neurotic woman. Bandits was directed by Barry Levinson in 2001. Research Bandits
Seven Samurai is an action drama starring Takashi Shimura, Toshiro Mifune, Yoshio Inaba, Seiji Miyaguchi, Minoru Chiaki and Daisuke Kato in a story about villagers in 17th century Japan hiring samurai warriors to defend their property against annual raids by bandits. Seven Samurai was directed by Akira Kurosawa in 1954. Research Seven Samurai
The Undefeated is a western starring John Wayne, Rock Hudson, Tony Aguilar, Roman Gabriel and Marian McCargo in a story about two soldiers from opposing sides who unite during the American Civil War to fight a gang of bandits. The Undefeated was directed by Andrew V McLaglen in 1969. Research The Undefeated
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Abbreviations
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