Robin Hood and his Merry Men

The Robin Hood story has all the ingredients of an excellent legend: a dashing outlaw, clad in green and skilled in archery and sword-fighting, robbing from the rich to give to the poor, with a group of ‘Merry Men’ in tow (including a fat monk, Friar Tuck) and a forest hideout (Sherwood Forest); a beautiful maiden (Maid Marion); a dastardly sheriff (the Sheriff of Nottingham); a beloved king (Richard the Lionheart) and his conniving younger brother (Prince John). There are various different tales and versions of tales about Robin Hood, but these key elements are the ones best known and perpetuated in movie versions of Robin Hood, the classic one being the swashbuckling hero portrayed by Errol Flynn in the 1938 Hollywood film.

As with any legend, it’s hard to separate the facts from the fiction. He’s been a popular figure in English folklore since Medieval times, and the tale was the subject of many ballads, the earliest of which was written down in the 15th century. The earliest historical references to a Robin Hood figure begin in the late 1220s, but the main body of historical ‘evidence’ comes from the 15th century. The original references to Robin Hood suggest that he wasn’t the aristocrat he’s made out to be in later versions of the tale, but a simple yeoman – an attendant on a nobleman’s household. Nor was he originally someone who robbed from the rich to give to the poor; this romantic embellishment came much later. The story of Robin Hood is perhaps best viewed in light of the fact that he was a figure who stood up for the downtrodden: the reigning monarch was seen as tyrannical, using the law for his own end. Thus Robin – though an outlaw – was seen as honourable.