Introduction

This introduction to “Explorations in Realism and Verisimilitude in Post-Medieval Robin Hood Texts,” a special issue of The Bulletin of the Association for Robin Hood Studies, explores the ways in which the Robin Hood tradition emphasizes realism while also creating fictive worlds and narratives. The stories of Robin Hood often explore elements of historical reality, yet they frequently, and many times simultaneously, incorporate tropes that belong to genres such as speculative fiction, fantasy, science fiction, fairytales, and contemporary romance. This special issue includes essays that explore the (at time paradoxical) predilection of Robin Hood texts that embrace realism, verisimilitude, and fiction.