Old English Heroism: Generosity

A family donates money to a worthy charity. People give to the Salvation Army at Christmas. A child gives his fruit snacks to his friend. We all know generosity when we see it, but have you ever stopped to consider that it’s actually a heroic quality? Let me show you what I mean.

I consulted my pal Merriam-Webster and found that generosity is “the quality…of being generous.” Shocking. (Doesn’t that kind of definition remind you of those people who say, “I don’t know. Can you go to the bathroom? Or did you mean, ‘May I go to the bathroom?’”) At any rate, I looked up “generous” just to get to the bottom of the issue, and that was much more helpful; someone who’s generous is “liberal in giving” and is “characterized by a noble or kindly spirit.” (There, now. Was that so hard?)

In light of those definitions, let’s see how Robin Hood and Superman are openhanded and selfless heroes.

ROBIN HOOD

Openhanded with the Poor

We all know that Robin Hood is a pretty openhanded guy. After all, his motto is, “Take from the rich and give to the poor.” He doesn’t relieve the rich of their wealth for his own benefit—or at least not exclusively for his own benefit. Instead, he passes on the bounty. In one of the old Middle English ballads, Robin and his men meet a forlorn knight ambling through the forest. The knight tells them that he’s lost almost all his money in an attempt to help his son. After they’ve checked his wallet to make sure he’s telling the truth, Robin invites him to stay for a feast and gives him all the money he needs.

But even though he willingly gives to the needy, he often takes from the undeserving, too. Later on in the same ballad, a dishonest monk passes by. He tells Robin that he doesn’t have much money, but when they check his purse, they find quite a bit! Robin has no qualms about taking this money and giving half of it to the poor knight when they see him again later. Robin also takes what isn’t his when he goes hunting, since the king had claimed all the deer in the forest as his own property. However, Robin hunted freely in order to feed himself, his men, and their friends. So whether he’s stealing or hunting, Robin does so with an open heart and an open hand.

Selfless with his Safety

When you think of being selfless, Robin Hood may not be the first example to pop into your mind. That’s probably because we often associate selflessness with a grave, pious attitude, and Robin Hood is far from this. But I think he’s selfless nonetheless because he sacrifices his safety to challenge the powers that be in defense of the defenseless. And he does it with a smile. Some of the Middle English ballads and the old Disney cartoon seem to capture this impishness best. Although I’ve only seen bits and pieces of Men in Tights (don’t be angry!), it seems they really capitalized on the lightheartedness of the Robin Hood story too. In fact, it looks like it could have been a sequel to Monty Python and the Holy Grail. But I digress.

Robin Hood is an example of selflessness because his endeavors to help the poor always involve risking his own safety. Whenever he robs from the rich, whether by stealth or by force, he puts his life on the line. He is at risk with the commoners because of the price on his head, and he is hunted and hated by his dual nemeses: Sir Guy of Gisborne and the Sheriff of Nottingham. But despite these dangers, he always manages to take what he needs and then make a brilliant escape.

He also puts his life on the line when he goes hunting. That’s right—shooting a deer was a capital offense. I’ve already mentioned that the king had claimed all the deer as his own property, but this meant that taking one for yourself was considered treason and would earn you a date with the hangman. But of course Robin never ends up filling a noose for his infractions. Instead, he is able to live a long and happy life as a generous outlaw.

SUPERMAN

A Noble Spirit

Again, I don’t know if the word “generous” is very often associated with Superman, but maybe it should be. See, while Superman doesn’t walk around distributing money or donating to charities, he still models a generous heart in the sense of a “noble or kindly spirit.” He anonymously saves those who are in danger, not looking for any recognition as Clark Kent but hiding behind his spandex and hair gel instead.

For example, in the movie Man of Steel, the nosy reporter, Lois Lane, is determined to discover and expose his identity in her newspaper column. Superman could have accepted the offer of fame and recognition, but instead he trusts his father’s advice to remain unknown. He knows that his best chance at helping people is to lead two lives, even though it costs him many relationships. Thankfully, Lois comes to understand his reasoning and chooses to fall in love with him rather than expose his story. What a gal.

Sometimes, however, being noble isn’t black and white. At the end of the film, Superman is forced to choose between sparing General Zod—one of the last remaining Kryptonians—and saving a family of tourists that Zod is about to destroy. The tension is palpable as Superman wrestles with the choice, feeling it to be a catch-22. In the end, his choice breaks his heart, but he felt it to be the right one. The noble choice isn’t always easy.

A Selfless Hero

Also in the movie Man of Steel, Superman shows a pattern of self-sacrifice at the expense of his own comfort and security. It all begins in junior high when he saves a bus full of students from drowning, even though it would reveal his powers to anyone watching. The choice is costly, but that doesn’t stop him then or later. When he’s an adult, Clark hears that a group of oil rig workers is going to die unless he intervenes. However, helping them means revealing his current alias and having to leave town…again. He makes his choice faster than a speeding bullet, saving the lives of the workers at the expense of his own livelihood.

These little choices and small sacrifices mold his character into one of consistent selflessness so that when greater battles arise, he is ready to face them like a man (or an alien, I guess).  And the climax of the movie, he takes a superhuman amount of pummeling to save the people of earth, never worrying about the cost to himself (or the city’s architecture). And even though he does it to protect them, they all turn on him in the very next movie. Hey, no one said it was easy to be generous.

The Takeaway

If you’ve been tracking with me through this series, you’ve seen how the Old English heroic traits of fortitude, prudence, loyalty, and generosity aren’t just outdated concepts; they’re just as common in modern heroes as in ancient ones. It’s almost like they’re timeless. Next week in our final post of the series, we’ll see just why that is. Don’t miss it!

Check out the next post here!