First Masked Hero in Literature
Oct. 18th, 2011 12:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stickmakerI may have found him. In the 1890s a penny dreadful magazine printed a series of stories presenting Springheeled Jack as a masked champion of the people.
This predates Dr. Syn (The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh), the Scarlet Pimpernel (who wore disguises but doesn't seem to have worn a mask) and Zorro.
Are there any earlier candidates?
Let me refine my terms, here. I'm looking for the first (in terms of publication date) character who used a masked identity to fight crime and injustice. Whether a specific costume is involved is optional.
I'm also interested in the earliest setting for such characters. The Scarecrow/Dr. Syn was in the Eighteenth Century. Are there any earlier candidates?
This predates Dr. Syn (The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh), the Scarlet Pimpernel (who wore disguises but doesn't seem to have worn a mask) and Zorro.
Are there any earlier candidates?
Let me refine my terms, here. I'm looking for the first (in terms of publication date) character who used a masked identity to fight crime and injustice. Whether a specific costume is involved is optional.
I'm also interested in the earliest setting for such characters. The Scarecrow/Dr. Syn was in the Eighteenth Century. Are there any earlier candidates?
