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PAGE 20 T Q-Notes T July 24, 1999 White Rabbit is your Dance Music headquarters. You will find the hottest compilations from the circuit parties.... and the latest CD & CD singles - domestic & imports - from your favorite artists. White Rabbit is your George Michael, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, Cher, Madonna, Tori Amos, Ani DiFranco, everything store. If it’s hot, in the bars and it’s been released. White Rabbit will have it! Charlotte: 834 Central Ave. 28204 (704) 377-4067 Greensboro: 1833 Spring Garden St. 27403 (336)272-7604 Raleigh: 309 W. Martin St. 27601 (919)856-1429 j^?/ www.WhiteRabbitBooks.com & Things New Extended Charlotte Hours: Monday-Thursday 10am-9pm Friday lOam-IOpm Saturday 10am-9pm Sunday 12pm-8pm Robin Hood — queen of thieves by Dan Van Mourik Q-Notes Staff LONDON, ENGLAND—Robin Hood has been portrayed through the years as a swash buckling hero — by such notable actors as Errol Flynn, Sean Connery and Kevin Costner — who robs from the rich and gives to the poor. But according to two professors, rather than king of thieves, the outlaw was more likely queen. Perhaps Mel Brooks was closer to the truth in his movie Robin Hood: Men In Tights. Stephen Knight, professor of English litera ture at Cardiff University, believes Robin pre ferred his “merrie men” to Maid Marian. He decided Robin was gay after studying l4th cen tury ballads, the earliest known accounts of his deeds, which detail his relationships with his men, especially Little John and Will Scarlet. “The ballads could not say outright that he was gay because of the prevailing moral climate, but they do contain a great deal of erotic imag ery,” he said. “The green wood itself is a sym bol of virility and the references to arrows, quiv ers and swords make it clear too,” he told Londons Sunday Times. He said the ballads showed that Maid Marian — described as Robins true love — never existed. Knight thinks her name was added by 16th-century authors who wanted the tale of the outlaw to be more respectable to het erosexual readers. Littlejohn, not Maid Marian, was more likely Robin’s true love. His theory won backing from Barry Dob son, professor of medieval history at the Uni versity of Cambridge. “In the 12th century, homosexuality was accepted, but in the 13th the church became much less tolerant and such people were driven underground,” he said. Robin has been portrayed as an aristocrat who became an outlaw after his lands were con fiscated by King John in the 1190s. He fights Theatre » Art • Music against the unjust king, robbing the rich to give to the poor. He is rehabilitated when Richard Lionheart, the rightful king, returns from the Crusades and makes Robin the first Earl of Huntingdon, a title that still exists today. The ballads, however, suggest the real Robin came from yeoman or peasant stock, that he roamed Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire in the late 13th or I4th century and that his popular ity came not from giving away money but from his ability to flout authority. Written in Chaucerian English, made more complex by a strong dialect, one ballad’s trans lation includes the verse: “When Robin Hood was about 20 years old; he happen’d to meet Little John; A jolly brisk blade right fit for the trade, for he was a lusty young man.” One of the earliest works, “Robin Hood and the Monk,” describes the intimate friendship between Robin and Littlejohn. It depicts them having a row over money that Knight describes as “almost domestic.” Similar themes are ex plored in “Robin Hood and Guy of Gisbourne” — again Robin and Little John have a falling out but are reunited. Some historians believe that Robin was a genuine character, but that ballads have been embellished with the exploits of other outlaw gangs, among many of which homosexuality would also have been common. The reassessment of one of Britain’s greatest folk heroes was greeted by gay activists as a welcome — if belated — ouung. But the Robin Hood Society said the claims were damaging to one of the great role models for children. Peter Tatchell of the gay rights group Out rage was delighted by the new academic specu lation: “His lifestyle alone was enough to pro voke speculation. It’s about time school history lessons acknowledged the contribution of fa mous homosexuals.” But Mary Chamberlain of the Robin Hood Society was outraged: “Robin remains a highly regarded figure the world over and children like to play at being Robin Hood. These claims could do a lot of damage.” Whether Costner got it right in Robin Hood: King of Thieves or Brooks did in Robin Hood: Men In Tights, Robin will always be a swash buckling hero, to many a gay man. ▼ . . • To establish and nur ture a network of busi ness and professional re sources. • To encourage fellow ship and support among business, professional and charitable pursuits. • To provide and pro mote positive role mod els in the Gay and Les bian community. 1255-1 lAST bLVD SUITl 201 CdARLOTK nc 28203 70 4 50 5 - 5 0 7 5 Wednesdays Socialize & Network at 5:30pm Call (704) 565-5075 for location Monday. August 16 Dinner Meeting Program to be announced. Cocktails/Networking at 5:30pm Dinner at 7:00pm Holiday Inn Center City Call today for reservations (704) 565-5075 C^o^tE CENTER CITY 230 N. 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