Robin Hood

Ah, the tales of Robin Hood and his Band of Merry Men. Robin Hood, in his tunic and hose. His green cap and his leather shoes, and his welsh long bow. Beside him was Alan-a-Dale, William Scarlet, and Little John. And since they were all new born to the greenwood, they needed a friar and they picked Friar Tuck. I have watched the film The Adventures of Robin Hood for many a times, and the Warner Brothers swashbuckling film is the cream of all the crop. In fact, the tale of an Anglo-Saxon, whether yeoman or noble, turning Outlaw in order to bring justice to the Shire is one beloved by many.

The antagonists include Sir Guy of Guisborne, the Shire-reeve (or Sheriff) of Nottingham, and Prince John Plantagenet himself. He had been the centre of many a ballad, being England's version of Hercules, Charlemagne, or even King Arthur. Robyn Hode is a bandit and outlaw, wherein he receives reconcilation with King Richard Plantagenet and was pardoned by the King for his service to England.

But the problem remains, Robin Hood is a paradox.

Is Robin Hood a legend or an actual outlaw that was in Nottingham during the time of King Arthur's reign? Was he a peasant, yeoman, or even a nobleman? No two tales of Robyn Hode is the same, and the stories span an incredible range that its impossible to get them all together into one whole. However, we are only going through the most popular parts of the legend. To start with, we need to turn to one of the recent sources: Howard Pyle's account of Robin Hood, or more precisely, the introduction.

From the Introduction to the Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle
"In Sherwood Forest, near Nottingham Town, a famous outlaw whose name was Robin Hood. No archer ever lived that could speed a gray goose shaft with such skill and cunning as his, nor were there ever such yeomen as the sevenscore merry men that roamed with him through the greenwood shades. Right merrily they dwelled within the depths of Sherwood Forest, suffering neither care nor want, but passing the time in merry games of archery or bouts of cudgel play, living upon the King's venison, washed down with draughts of ale of October brewing. Not only Robin himself but all the band were outlaws and dwelled apart from other men, yet they were beloved by the country people round about, for no one ever came to jolly Robin for help in time of need and went away again with an empty fist."

Howard Pyle sets Robin Hood during the reign of Henry the Second. Most stories set him during the reign of King Richard, Henry's heir to the Throne.

Genesis of the Legend
We all try to tell the story of Robin Hood in original ways. He's been an outlaw when he killed some foresters. He became outlaw when he returned from the Crusades. He's also been the Earl of Huntingdon, a good yeoman, or a simple peasant. Was he inspired by Hern the Hunter? Or was he simply a misunderstood Roman Catholic? Every year, the legend becomes embellished with each new telling and retelling. While in earlier chapters of this work, we get right down to the world in which the outlaw lived, so we are exploring the tale here.

The Tale of Robin Hood has been going strong for six hundred years. From the 13th Century to now in the 21st Century. Sadly, no one has the last word on the Outlaw, except for two Men, and so far no one dared ask them as of yet, the truth of the matter. After all, no one believes that it could be possibly that easy. So, there are many a Medievalists' opinions on the matter of the Outlaw of Sherwood Forest.

Who was Robin Hood?
There are two different Robin Hoods. One is Robin the Yeoman (Robin Longstride? Robert Hode?) and the other is Robin the saxon noble (Robin of Locksley, or Robin of Loxley), who was outlawed and disinherited. It's not possible to neatly reconcile the two (although the 1984 series says there was two, and the recent movie says that he was a Yeoman raised to nobility by Robert of Loxley).