Outlawed! - National Museum of Australia

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Time, change and continuity Culture and identity Outlawed! Investigating legend and reality From 28 November 2003 the National Museum of Australia is presenting a major interactive exhibition, Outlawed! Discover the stories behind the world’s rebels, revolutionaries and bushrangers. This exhibition will explore the rich theme of the enduring popularity of the folklore of the outlaw. In this unit students have the chance to explore some of the ideas and exhibits that will be featured in the exhibition. The National Museum of Australia at Acton opened in March 2001 as part of the celebrations for the Centenary of Federation. The Museum employs a fresh and exciting approach to Australian history, culture and environment. Each National Museum unit of work in asks students to consider the stories and concepts behind Museum themes, objects and images, and can be used with students in Society and environment, History, Geography and English. Curriculum Guide: Student Learning Outcomes By the end of this article students will be better able to achieve these learning outcomes that are common to most states’ and territories’ Society and Environment Key Learning Area: Time, continuity and change (History) Culture and identity • Knowledge of key events in Australian history • Critical evaluation of evidence • Analyse representations of history over time • Compare image or legend with reality • Appreciate the cultural context in which legends are developed and changed • Understand how culture is transmitted and changed over time • Describe some cultural influences on Australian identity ‘Outlawed!’ Introductory Activity ‘Outlaw’ words (1) This unit is about ‘outlaws’. But what does the word ‘outlaw’ mean, and what variations are there within the word? The word literally means ‘one excluded from the benefits and security of the law’. But there is a range of meanings within that definition. Look at this list, and match the appropriate definition to each. (You can check your answers on page 16.) Bandit A A British term for a robber, particularly one on horseback who robbed travellers Bushranger B One who tries to overthrow and replace the existing system Highwayman C One who fights against the rule of his or her country by an illegitimate ruling group or a foreign power Criminal D An armed robber Rebel E One who uses violence to achieve political change Revolutionary F A person who habitually or regularly commits crimes Freedom fighter G An Australian term for a robber who operated in the bush Terrorist H One who opposes existing authority or controls ‘Outlaw’ words (2) Some of these words are neutral in their meaning, others involve a judgement. Place each of these eight ‘outlaw’ words on this scale, from the worst type of outlaw to the best. For example, you might decide that a criminal might be close to the worst, because their actions harm others but are done just for their own benefit. Teachers can use this unit as a way of exploring the ‘outlaw’ theme in their classrooms in a number of different ways: • as a preliminary activity to taking their students to visit the exhibition • after a visit to the exhibition, as a way of reflecting on what students have seen • by selecting particular parts of the unit and implementing them into already existing curriculum emphases in their own classes • as a unit specifically on outlaws. Click on images to view in large format Worst Neutral Best Later you will be asked to place the specific outlaws in the case studies on this scale. © National Museum of Australia and Ryebuck Media 2003 1
‘Outlawed!’ CASE STUDY 1 What are the key characteristics of an outlaw? Investigating Robin Hood Robin Hood by Louis Rhead, 1912 1 Probably every person in your class has heard of Robin Hood. Test this by carrying out a simple survey — a show of hands. 2 Robin Hood, if he existed at all, would have lived before the year 1400 and in England – that is, over six hundred years ago, and in a country on the opposite side of the world to us in Australia. Why do we still know about him? Test this by asking those in your class who know about Robin Hood how they know about him. For example, is it through films? Or story books? Or some other way? 3 Many people may know about Robin Hood, but what do they know of him? Brainstorm to record all the things that the class knows about him. Organise this information under the headings in the Outlaw Summary Grid on the back cover. (You will need to have a separate summary grid like this one for each of the seven outlaws you focus on in this unit.) 4 You can do the same survey for an older group of people – such as your parents and their friends. See if their idea or image of Robin Hood is the same as yours. Chances are that you will come up with something very similar to this set of ideas about him: Robin Hood became an outlaw as a result of an injustice against him by the Sheriff of Nottingham. He operated in Sherwood Forest, an area that he knew well and in which he could operate effectively. As an outlaw, Robin was determined to right the wrongs being committed against the ordinary people. He stole from the rich and gave to the poor. As an outlaw, his ‘crimes’ were those defined by the wealthy and powerful in society – such as killing the king’s deer (as the only source of food) and robbing those who were exploiting the poor. He only used violence against the ‘baddies’, and would only kill in self-defence. He was loved and supported by the ordinary people, and opposed by those who supported the evil Sheriff. Robin broke the laws made by the Sheriff, but was true to the real person in power, the absent King Richard I (or Richard the Lion Heart), away at the Crusades. This presents the Robin Hood we know — but you may be surprised to learn that this is a very different Robin Hood to the original mythic one. The very first mention of him is in a poem written in 1377. The earliest description of Robin Hood comes from five surviving poems or ballads, and a fragment of a play, written down between 1400 and 1500. In these stories Robin helps a knight with a debt, then recovers the money by robbing the abbot who imposed the debt. There are some archery contests, Robin disguises himself as a potter and captures the sheriff, kills a mediaeval ‘bounty hunter’ who is after him, and then Robin himself is killed through the treachery of a cousin. 5 Look at this summary of some of the features of Robin Hood in these stories, and discuss the main similarities to and differences from this Robin and the Robin you know. • Robin is a yeoman (a small landowner), not a peasant or a knight and certainly not a nobleman. • He lives in the forest of Barnsdale in York, not Sherwood Forest in Nottingham. • Robin only uses the bow and sword (not a staff). • There is no Maid Marian – Robin is devoted to the Virgin Mary. • The King is Edward, not Richard or John. • The stories are not concerned with maladministration or bad government. • He does not carry out actions to help the poor. • He robs from the rich, but does not give to the poor – he just leaves them alone. • He sometimes behaves brutally – beheading slain enemies, and disfiguring their faces • He has great personal qualities – he is truthful, generous, devout, courteous. • He kills the Sheriff. • His main man is Little John, who joins the band after having served as a soldier for the Sheriff. • Robin is not against authority, but the way it is exercised by the local authorities. 2 © National Museum of Australia and Ryebuck Media 2003
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Outlawed! - National Museum of Australia

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