ABSTRACT
Highway robbery was considered to be the most serious form of theft. Not only were the king’s subjects placed in great personal jeopardy because these robberies were always carried out with violence and force of arms (vi et armis), thus “putting the fear” into the victims, but also infringing on the freedom of travel and stealing from wealthy merchants or, in this case, from a carriage that carried large sums of money could damage the delicate English economy. Furthermore, because all roads and rivers were the “king’s highways”, committing robbery upon them was tantamount to stealing from the king himself, which stopped just short of treason. Some highway robbers were gentlemen riding on horseback, who were professionals in their trade and who, since the times of Robin Hood, had developed a celebrity status in English literature and society. As this chapbook makes clear, the reality was usually different: the crime was caused by debt and necessity and was carried out by amateurs who did not have the common sense to mask their faces, a fact that quickly led to their arrests. The story of the boy and the lion that is appended to this tale provides an example of the author’s belief that these highwaymen were to be counted among the beasts of prey. No matter how gentle they appeared to be, nor how well educated or refined they were, their “natural fierceness” will return at the least provocation. Like a number of other chapbooks in this collection, the criminals are treated as subhuman creatures. Thus, this story is a cautionary tale, warning readers to be always wary of the “natural estate” of their fellow man.
