History Main / Outlaw

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'' has the Band of the Hawk being declared outlaw (in the classical sense of the word) by the King after Griffith's indiscretion with Princess Charlotte gets him thrown into the Tower of Rebirth to be put to the torture.

-->--'''Lee Scoresby''', ''[[Literature/HisDarkMaterials Northern Lights]]''

Several of Literature/{{the Icelandic sagas}} have outlaws as main or supporting characters, even attributing the initial settlement of Iceland to outlaws from Norway. And some versions of RobinHood will have this be the explicit status of the Merry Men.

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[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* By the futuristic setting of ''Manga/OutlawStar'', the term has decayed even further. "Outlaws" are independent spaceships and their crews who have no formal allegiance to the government or pirate guilds.

* ''ComicBook/LuckyLuke'': The Daltons are the most typical example of outlaws on the loose in this comic strip and that's saying something, because Luke has also combatted UsefulNotes/BillyTheKid and UsefulNotes/JesseJames.
* ComicBook/BatLash is wanted by the state and federal authorities, and cannot stay long in once place lest anyone discover there is a price on his head.

* ''Film/TheOutlawJoseyWales'': In which Creator/ClintEastwood plays an outlaw who managed to remain out of the clutches of the law.
* Aussie and Kiwi cinema also features outlaws as anti-hero protagonists. These include the bushrangers in ''Film/JesseJames, Film/CaptainThunderbolt, Film/TheOutlawMichaelHowe, Film/TheProposition, Film/MadDogMorgan, Film/VanDiemensLand, Film/WolfCreek'', and the fugitive Maori protagonists of ''{{Film/Utu}}'' and ''Film/TheDeadLands''.

* ''Film/DeathRidesAHorse'': The main antagonists are a group of Western bandits who slaughter families and frame people with glee.
* In ''Film/Posse1975'', Howard Nightingale, a USMarshal, leads an elite uniformed {{Posse}} to track down and capture infamous train robber Jack Strawhorn.

* ''Literature/TheIcelandicSagas'': Famous heroic outlaws are Grettir Ásmundarson (''Literature/TheSagaOfGrettirTheStrong'') and Gisli Súrsson. Grettir supposedly survived almost 20 years as an outlaw, Gisli twelve years, before they were tracked down and killed by their enemies. Outlaws also occur as villains in other sagas, as outlaws often would turn to robbery, waylaying or even murder to feed themselves.
* ''Literature/VolsungaSaga'': Sigi, the ancestor of the Volsungs, is outlawed in his home country for murder. Generations later, his descendants Sigmund and Sinfjotli, on the run from villainous King Siggeir, live as outlaws in the forest for years.
* ''Literature/TheVinlandSagas'': Erik the Red's discovery of Greenland is attributed to his being declared outlaw in first Norway, then Iceland.
%%* ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'' and ''Literature/TheChildrenOfHurin'': Túrin Turambar and his Gaurwaith gang are modelled after medieval outlaws.%%How?

* ''Literature/JonShannow'', being set in an AfterTheEnd western, has a lot of them, like Daniel Cade. They're usually the main antagonists of the book until the real BigBad shows up.
%%* ''Literature/OutlawsOfTheMarsh'': The heroes.
* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': The Death Eaters are a band of [[FantasticRacism pureblood supremacist]] wizards and witches. In the war that forms the backstory of the series, [[DaChief Head of Magical Law Enforcement]] Barty Crouch, Sr. published a writ of Outlawry against them, authorizing the use of Unforgivable Curses against them, when their use would otherwise send the caster to [[TheAlcatraz Azkaban]] for life.

* Titular protagonist of ''Theatre/GotzVonBerlichingen'' ends up receiving, from UsefulNotes/HolyGermanEmpire courts, an Imperial ban, much like what happened to the character in RealLife:
->'''Selbiz''': "''The Ban of the Empire is laid upon you — your Castle given up to plunder, and your body to be devoured by birds and beasts of prey!''"

* The heroes of ''Series/WildBoys'' are all bushrangers.

* ''VideoGame/HorizonZeroDawn'' has the Nora tribe do this as the most common punishment for lawbreakers. It is a lot less severe than most examples: There are various time periods per crime (Murder is set by ten years of being an outcast), and the warriors are not instructed to kill the outcasts. On the other hand, the outcasts are not allowed to be spoken to, nor are they allowed shelter nor free travel throughout the Sacred Lands. Aloy, the main character, is a born and raised an outcast from the start of the game.
* In the tribal societies of ''VideoGame/KingOfDragonPass'' and its SpiritualSuccessor ''VideoGame/SixAges'', outlawry is the most serious punishment a clan can mete out to one of its members. While a great hero can survive on his or her own in the wilderness, and a few outlaws survive as desperate bandits or are adopted into a clan, for most people outlawry is a death sentence. As such, both the Orlanthi of [=KODP=] and the Riders of ''Six Ages'' tend to reserve it for serious offenses, such as kinslaying, adultery, and Chaos worship (among the former), or assaults on elders and sexual relations with Orlanthi (among the latter).

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* Irregulars from ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'' who broke the rules of the Tower by entering it on their own volition. But because they were capable of doing that, nobody feels [[TheDreaded an ounce]] [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast of urgency to]] [[OneManArmy pursue them.]]

* Saturday from ''Webcomic/CucumberQuest'' is styled after the Western outlaw and speaks in [[StockAmericanPhrases cowboy slang]].

* SantaClaus becomes one in the ChristmasSpecial ''Santa Claus is Coming to Town'', after the grouchy and ill-tempered lawmaker [[TheGrinch Burgermeister Meisterburger]] outlaws toys. (Among other things, this explains why Santa grows a beard, travels at night, and access houses via chimney. The outlaw status persists for several years, but is eventually lifted after Meisterburger's family dies off and citizens reject his silly ideas, regarding Santa as a hero.

* In the old days, [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfPiracy pirates]]. Governments of England, France and Spain essentially declared open season and many of them were executed with out so much as a trial or legal protection, they were declared "Hostis Humani Generis" - "Enemy of all Mankind". Things improved later under Governor Woodes Rogers who tried a more moderate approach but even taking the pardon didn't prevent UsefulNotes/{{Blackbeard}} from being killed. The only ones with an actual duty to try and get them to surrender before exterminating them were the captains specifically ordered to hunt them down, as some pirates had been forced to join and freeing them was a priority.

* Aussie and Kiwi cinema also features outlaws as anti-hero protagonists. These include the bushrangers in ''Film/JesseJames, Film/CaptainThunderbolt, Film/TheOutlawMichaelHowe, Film/TheProposition, Film/MadDogMorgan, Film/VanDiemensLand, Film/WolfCreek'', and the fugitive Maori protagonists of ''{{Film/Utu}}'' and ''Film/DeadLands''.

The term "outlaw" reaches back to at least Old Norse; it denotes a person who has been declared guilty of a crime ''in absentia'' and has chosen to escape for whatever reason, and is thus [[TheStateless placed outside the protection of the law]]. Members of the community were forbidden to aid or abet the outlaw in any way lest [[PunishedForSympathy they suffer the same punishment as the outlaw]], and as they were outside the protection of the law, they had no legal rights, meaning anyone could kill them with impunity. Thus, the outlaw could not live in the community, but was forced to flee to the wilderness or another country to try to survive until their sentence of outlawry expired or their relatives could somehow lift it. At the time, there were no established prisons or dedicated police, so long-term imprisonment was rare. An outlaw in the medieval era was known as a "wolfshead"--they were equated to a wolf in the eyes of the law, and were to be [[KillOnSight hunted down like one]].

The term "outlaw" reaches back to at least Old Norse; it denotes a person who has been declared guilty of a crime ''in absentia'' and has chosen to escape for whatever reason, and is thus [[TheStateless placed outside the protection of the law]]. Members of the community were forbidden to aid or abet the outlaw in any way lest [[PunishedForSympathy they suffer the same punishment as the outlaw]], and as they were outside the protection of the law, they had no legal rights, meaning anyone could kill them with impunity. Thus, the outlaw could not live in the community, but was forced to flee to the wilderness or another country to try to survive until their sentence of outlawry expired or their relatives could somehow lift it. At the time, there were no established prisons or dedicated police, so long-term imprisonment was rare. An outlaw in the medieval era was known as a "wolfshead"--equated to a wolf in the eyes of the law, and to be [[KillOnSight hunted down like one]].

The term "outlaw" reaches back to at least Old Norse; it denotes a person who has been declared guilty of a crime ''in absentia'' and has chosen to escape for whatever reason, and is thus [[TheStateless placed outside the protection of the law]]. Members of the community were forbidden to aid or abet the outlaw in any way lest [[PunishedForSympathy they suffer the same punishment as the outlaw]], and as they were outside the protection of the law, they had no legal rights, meaning anyone could kill them with impunity. Thus, the outlaw could not live in the community, but was forced to flee to the wilderness or another country to try to survive until their sentence of outlawry expired or their relatives could somehow lift it. At the time, there were no established prisons or dedicated police, so long-term imprisonment was rare. An outlaw in the medieval age was called a "wolfshead," meaning they were equated to a wolf in the eyes of the law, and were to be [[KillOnSight hunted down like one]].

The term "outlaw" reaches back to at least Old Norse; it denotes a person who has been declared guilty of a crime ''in absentia'' and has chosen to escape for whatever reason, and is thus [[TheStateless placed outside the protection of the law]]. Members of the community were forbidden to aid or abet the outlaw in any way lest [[PunishedForSympathy they suffer the same punishment as the outlaw]], and as they were outside the protection of the law, they had no legal rights, meaning anyone could kill them with impunity. Thus, the outlaw could not live in the community, but was forced to flee to the wilderness or another country to try to survive until their sentence of outlawry expired or their relatives could somehow lift it. At the time, there were no established prisons or dedicated police, so long-term imprisonment was rare. An outlaw in the medieval age was called a "wolfshead", meaning they were equated to a wolf in the eyes of the law, and were to be [[KillOnSight hunted down like one]].

The term "outlaw" reaches back to at least Old Norse; it denotes a person who has been declared guilty of a crime ''in absentia'' and has chosen to escape for whatever reason, and is thus [[TheStateless placed outside the protection of the law]]. Members of the community were forbidden to aid or abet the outlaw in any way lest [[PunishedForSympathy they suffer the same punishment as the outlaw]], and as they were outside the protection of the law, they had no legal rights, meaning anyone could kill them with impunity. Thus, the outlaw could not live in the community, but was forced to flee to the wilderness or another country to try to survive until their sentence of outlawry expired or their relatives could somehow lift it. At the time, there were no established prisons or dedicated police, so long-term imprisonment was rare. In the medieval age, outlaws were called "wolfsheads," meaning they were equated to wolves in the eyes of the law, and was to be [[KillOnSight hunted down like them]].

The term "outlaw" reaches back to at least Old Norse; it denotes a person who has been declared guilty of a crime ''in absentia'' and has chosen to escape for whatever reason, and is thus [[TheStateless placed outside the protection of the law]]. Members of the community were forbidden to aid or abet the outlaw in any way lest [[PunishedForSympathy they suffer the same punishment as the outlaw]], and as they were outside the protection of the law, they had no legal rights, meaning anyone could kill them with impunity. Thus, the outlaw could not live in the community, but was forced to flee to the wilderness or another country to try to survive until their sentence of outlawry expired or their relatives could somehow lift it. At the time, there were no established prisons or dedicated police, so long-term imprisonment was rare. In the medieval age, an outlaw was called a "wolfshead," meaning that he or she was equated to a wolf in the eyes of the law, and was to be hunted down like one.

* In the UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire, the Emperor, the Imperial Diet and various Imperial courts could declare people as being under Imperial ban for refusing to submit to lawful orders, such as John Parricida in 1309 for the murder of his uncle King Albert I of Germany or Götz von Berlichingen for kidnapping and robbery both times in the 1520s; excommunicated were also automatically under Imperial ban. Such persons were outside Imperial protection, ''vogelfrei'' ("as free as birds") and could be killed with impunity. Sometimes, such bans could be imposed on entire Imperial Estates (cities, principalities), meaning they could be invaded by their neighbours and lose any Imperial immediacy in the future.

* "Music/HoldingOutForAHero" by Bonnie Tyler: The demonic cowboys are quite the bunch in burning down Bonnie's house and threatening her with [[WhipItGood neon whips]] in the video.

* UsefulNotes/{{Lampiao}}: An early 20th century Brazilian outlaw.

* ''Literature/HisDarkMaterials'': panserbjornes can be exiled from Svalbard and put under outlawry by their peers, meanings they could be killed at sight, without need of regular duel. Iorek Byrnison us put through this for killing Hjalmur Hjalmursson [[spoiler:Iofur Raknisson drugged with the help of Mrs Coulter so that he don't stop the fight]].

* Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were famous for robbing banks and trains with their Hole in the Wall gang. They eventually fled to Bolivia and tried to go straight but resorted to robbery again and eventually ran afoul of the military/
* [[LandDownUnder Australian example]]: UsefulNotes/NedKelly, infamous for the home-made suit of armour worn in his last stand. During Australia's colonial days, outlaws were known as 'Bushrangers', and there's a number of songs about them.

** It seems as though many if not most renowned gunfighters have spent some time as both outlaws and lawmen. For example, Johnny Ringo spent some time working as a town marshal in Texas before falling in with the Cowboys, and was by all accounts efficient, well-liked and reasonably honest.
* Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid tried going straight in RealLife as well, working as guards. It was the first time Butch Cassidy had ever killed anyone. In TheMovie, they're given the RobinHood treatment.

* The main antagonists of ''Film/DeathRidesAHorse'' are a group of Western bandits who slaughter families and frame people with glee.
* The main antagonists of ''Film/GodsGun'' are a criminal gang who have taken over a town.

* The main antagonists in ''Film/DeathRidesAHorse'' are a group of Western bandits who slaughter families and frame people with glee.

* RobinHood and his Merry Men are perhaps the most well-known medieval outlaws in fiction.

* Famous heroic outlaws from the [[Literature/TheIcelandicSagas Sagas of Icelanders]] are Grettir Ásmundarson (''Literature/TheSagaOfGrettirTheStrong'') and Gisli Súrsson. Grettir supposedly survived almost 20 years as an outlaw, Gisli twelve years, before they were tracked down and killed by their enemies. Outlaws also occur as villains in other sagas, as outlaws often would turn to robbery, waylaying or even murder to feed themselves.
* From the Icelandic ''Literature/VolsungaSaga'' (a legendary saga): Sigi, the ancestor of the Volsungs, is outlawed in his home country for murder. Generations later, his descendants Sigmund and Sinfjotli, on the run from villainous King Siggeir, live as outlaws in the forest for years.
* In ''Literature/TheVinlandSagas'' Erik the Red's discovery of Greenland is attributed to his being declared outlaw in first Norway, then Iceland.
* Túrin Turambar from ''Literature/TheSilmarillion'' and ''Literature/TheChildrenOfHurin'' and his Gaurwaith gang are modelled after medieval outlaws.
* The Seablite gang in ''Literature/DarkLife'' are undersea outlaws who prey on ocean-floor pioneers.
* The ''Literature/JonShannow'' books by Creator/DavidGemmell, being set in an AfterTheEnd western, has a lot of them, like Daniel Cade. They're usually the main antagonists of the book until the real BigBad shows up.
* The heroes of the classical Chinese romance ''Literature/OutlawsOfTheMarsh''.
* The Death Eaters in ''Literature/HarryPotter'' are a band of [[FantasticRacism pureblood supremacist]] wizards and witches. In the war that forms the backstory of the series, [[DaChief Head of Magical Law Enforcement]] Barty Crouch, Sr. published a writ of Outlawry against them, authorizing the use of Unforgivable Curses against them, when their use would otherwise send the caster to [[TheAlcatraz Azkaban]] for life.

* Aussie and Kiwi cinema also features outlaws as anti-hero protagonists. These include the bushrangers in ''Film/JesseJames, Film/CaptainThunderbolt, Film/TheOutlawMichaelHowe, Film/TheProposition, Film/MadDogMorgan, Film/VanDiemensLand, Film/WolfCreek, and the fugitive Maori protagonists of ''{{Film/Utu}}'' and ''Film/DeadLands''.

** It seems as though many if not most renowned gunfighters have spent some time as both outlaws and lawmen.

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