Robin Hood: Fact or Fiction?
Many have heard of his adventures with Little John, Friar Tuck, Maid
Marian,
and his band of merry men, but are any of these adventures described in
the
ballads of Robin Hood based upon truth or are these stories just some
tall
tales told to children to teach them moral value? And, if these
stories are
true, then what time period did he exist in?
Fiction
“When sharves been sheene,
And shradds full fayre,
And loves both large and longe,
It is merye walking in the fair forest
To heare the small birds’ song.”
This is the same description of the spring forest that opens all of
the
Robin Hood ballads. Robin Hood was the legendary hero of twelve-century
England. He stole
from
the rich and gave to the poor. He lived in Sherwood Forest with Little
John, Friar Tuck, Maid Marian, and his band of “merry men”. He was the
hero
of at least thirty Middle English ballads. His
logic was that it was better to be an outlaw than face a corrupted
justice
system.
“Robin Hood”
“Gone, the merry morris din;
Gone, the song of the Gamelyn,
Gone, the tough-belted outlaw
Idling in the ‘grene shawe’;
All are gone away and past!
And if Robin should be cast
Sudden from his turfed grave,
And if Marian should have
Once again her forest days,
She would weep, and he would craze:
He would swear, for all his oaks,
Fall’n beneath the dockyard strokes,
Have rotted on the briny seas;
She would weep that he wild bees
Sang not to her – strange! that honey
Can’t be got without hard money!”
--John Keats-1820
Richard the Lionheart, in the ballads of Robin Hood, was the absent
king.
He spent most of his time in the “Holy Land” or in captivity. When
Richard
finally did come back, what happened on his way back to England helped
to
start the Robin Hood Legend.
On his way back from the “Holy Land” during the crusades, Richard the
Lionheart was taken hostage by Leopold and was held for ransom. Robin
Hood
raised money to pay for the ransom and freed King Richard.
Because of
Robin’s efforts to raise the money for Richard’s ransom,
Richard
returned to England and reclaimed the throne from his brother, Prince
John,
for the time that he was back.
When Richard learned of Robin’s help to pay his ransom, he went in
search
of Robin in Sherwood Forest to thank him for his help and devotion to
him.
There, Robin Hood and his men pledged allegiance to him.
While Richard was still home in England, Robin and his men were able
to
come out of hiding since they had Richard’s favor, however, they soon
fell
into disfavor in society again when Richard left England and went back
to
the Holy Land. Robin once again fled to the forest again where he was
reunited with his men. Robin was forced to stay there for supposedly
the
rest of his life since Richard was soon killed in the crusades and
Prince
John once again took the throne of England.
Another main character of the Robin Hood ballads was Prince John.
John’s
tyrant behavior of the English people also helped to start the legend
by
giving Robin his reason to fight- to help the oppressed. Robin hated
John
and vowed to stay loyal to Richard. When Richard left England, John
took
the throne and began to tax the people to gain riches for himself
knowing
his brother was out of his way. Even most of Richard’s ransom that
Robin
had raised by robbing people for went to John. Robin often stole from
people like John who were benefiting from the unfair taxing of the
English
people. All of this wealth went to the poor. Robin’s donations to the
poor
helped them survive the tyranny of Prince John’s reign.
Upon Richard’s return, Prince John threw himself at his brother’s
mercy and
Richard forgave his brother. When Richard died in the crusades, Prince
John
finally got the throne for good.
“Robyn hod in scherewod stod
hodud and hathud and hosut and schod
Four and thuynti arrows he bar in hits hondus.”
This is a description of Sherwood Forest where Robin Hood was believed
to
have lived.
Being in disfavor with society, Robin had to find a place to hide away
from
the public eye. He found this place in Sherwood Forest.
Sherwood Forest covered about 100,000 acres and was the home of the
king’s
deer; therefore, it was off limits to peasants by law. Robin illegally
killed some of the king’s deer for many of his and his men’s feasts.
Inside of Sherwood Forest, is the Greenwood encampment, which is Robin
and
his men’s home. In the middle of this encampment stood the Major Oak.
This
tree was the “council tree” of the outlaws.
During the time of Robin Hood, many people saw Sherwood Forest as a
dangerous place where many ambushes and robbing took place and
therefore
tried to almost always travel in large groups of people for protection.
However, to Robin and his men, the outlaws, they saw this forest as
protection and safety against the Sheriff’s men.
Of course, Robin had to have his faithful companions by his side
through
all of these hardships. Some of the main characters and friends of
Robin in
the Robin Hood ballads include Little John, Will Scarlet, Allan A dale,
Friar Tuck and Maid Marian.
Little John was most well known for his huge stature and immense
strength
and was Robin’s loyal friend and helped Robin directly with much of his
deeds. He was the only one of the outlaws to be at Robin’s death.
Little John’s grave lies at Hathersage in Derbyshire and still can be
found
today. Will Scarlet’s mention in the Robin Hood ballads dates back to even some
of
the earliest of the many stories written. He is described as a
trustworthy
kinsman. Although it is not known for a fact, many believe that Will was buried
in a
churchyard at Blidworth in Nottinghamshire.
Friar Tuck, in the ballads of Robin Hood, is depicted as a peaceful
man who
was asked to become a member of Robin’s outlaws after a fight between
him
and Robin after the Friar dropped Robin in a stream that Robin had made
Friar Tuck carry him across. This fight is said to have taken place at
Fountain Dale in Nottinghamshire.
Allan A dale did not play such a crucial role in the ballads of Robin
Hood.
According to legend, he was a minstrel of Greenwood. Robin
befriended
this man and asked him to become a part of the group of outlaws.
Maid Marian was a beautiful and clever woman who fell in love with
Robin
and one of the most crucial aspects to the Robin Hood Legend. Legend is that
Robin and Marian were married in a church near Sherwood
Forest called Edwinstowe.
According to the legend of Robin Hood, his cousin, the prioress, and
Sir
Roger of Doncaster in Kirklees Priory killed Robin.
Final Verses of “A Gest of Robyn Hode”
“Syr Roger of Sonkestere
By the pryoresse he lay
And there they betrayed good Robyn Hode
Through theyr false playe.
Cryst have mercy on his soule
That dyed on the rode!
For he was a good outlawe
And did poor men much good.”
Opinion
There are many conflicting opinions about whether or not Robin Hood
had in
fact existed and, for people that do believe that he did exist, there
are
also conflicting opinions about when he actually existed.
For those who don’t believe he existed, some call him a “creation of
the
ballad muse” while others see his name as a “corruption of ‘Robin of
the
Wood’”, a generic name for forest outlaws. However, even if Robin Hood didn’t
exist, he still has become a symbol
for
freedom and resistance to petty tyranny.
As for the argument about when Robin Hood actually lived, many
historians
believe that he lived anywhere between 1190-1307. The evidence
supporting
the opinion that he lived before 1400 is that the first tale was made
by
1400 so the legend of Robin Hood would have to have been well know long
before then.
Another piece of evidence that supports that Robin lived sometime long
before the fourteenth century is that some of the earliest ballads were
sung
during the fourteenth century. Although many, those who believe that Robin
existed, agree that King
Richard the Lionheart and Prince John were the rulers of England during
the
time of Robin Hood, there are those who believe that Robin Hood
actually
existed during King Edward the second’s reign.
Some supporting evidence that Edward the second was in fact in power
during
Robin Hood’s time are the large number of outlaws in England, an
anti-tax
sentiment and famine.
Fact
There is much controversy over who this man was and there is no agreement as to the details of Robin
Hood’s
existence.
Historically, Richard the Lionheart went on the crusades to escape
raising
taxes to pay for his debts. Prince John took the throne in place of
his
brother’s absence as a replacement king of sorts and was forced to
raise
taxes to pay for his brother, Richard’s, debts and for the money used
to pay
for expenses and campaigns during the crusades.
Perhaps Prince John was never raising taxes for his own wealth, but he
had
to pay for his brother’s lack of responsibility for his own mistakes
and
debts.
Sherwood Forest, the place where Robin and his outlaw friends
supposedly
lived, still exists today in England, though much smaller. In Robin’s
time,
the forest was supposed to have covered around 100,000 acres of land.
Today, it only covers about 450 acres.
The earliest mention of Robin Hood is in William Langland’s poem “The
Vision of William Concerning Piers Plowman”. This poem was written in
1377
and was to be said by a priest in his book named Sloth. The poem says:
“I do not know my paternoster perfectly as the priest sings it.
But I know the rhymes of Robin Hood and Randolph, the earl of Chester.”
There were at least eight people before 1300, thought by many to be
Robin
Hood’s time, who were given the name “Robin Hood” as a nickname and at
least
five of the eight people with this nickname were outlaws or people
accused
of criminal activity.
The only way that Robin Hood, if he had actually existed, would have
been
able to come out of hiding and live a normal life would be a royal
pardon.
He would have been one of the most wanted criminals of his time, but,
if he
had existed, he would have been the product of a violent and repressed
society.
A reference of Robin Hood was found in the 1850’s in a historical
document
referencing to a forester named Robert Hood, son of Adam Hood that was
born
in 1280. He was said to live with his wife, Matilda in Wakefield,
Yorkshire. There are theories that his Robert and Matilda Hood could
have
moved to Sherwood and become Robin and Marian Hood.
Supposedly, Robin’s grave can still be seen today where he was
supposed to
have died in the ballads; in Kirklees Priory. However, most of
Kirklees
Priory is now ruined and you can only see a partial inscription of
“Here
lies Robard Hude…”