I grew up reading about the tales of Robin Hood, his many adventures and daring exploits. Seeing his feats of bravery and daring inspired me, and his generosity was unique in the unforgiving world governed by the Sheriff of Nottingham. I considered the band of merry men to be the ultimate form of friendship, and I even tried to make my own bow (unsuccessfully) at one point. I now understand that many of the stories I grew up with were fabricated, or at least highly exaggerated. This won’t stop me from enjoying the stories, but it does spark my interest about where they originated.

Nearly all of the sources that I used stated that the first time Robin Hood’s story was seen recorded was in 14^th through 16^th century old English ballads.

There are countless of these verses written in archaic language. All agree that Robin Hood was an outlaw or bandit of sorts who lived near either Nottingham or York, the reasons for his banditry are disputed. Some theories are quite mundane, and say that he simply went into debt. Others are a great deal bloodier, such as the ballad that speaks of a young Robin getting caught by a troop of the king’s foresters for killing a deer, and then mowing down the men with arrows and escaping into the woods. This is how it ends: “Some lost legs, and some lost arms, And some did lose their blood, But Robin Hood he took up his noble bow, And is gone to the merry green wood.” Whatever the cause of his retreat into the forest, he was known as an anti-establishment figure who had a strong disdain for the unfair taxation of the impoverished people who lived nearby.

One of the biggest controversy to the Robin Hood story is uncovering his identity. Did all of the stories originate from the actions of one man, or were there multiple “chivalrous” bandits whose collective deeds resulted in a single legend? As the name ‘Robert’ was very common during the 12^th and 13^th centuries, and the surname ‘Hood’ could have been given to one who often wore an actual hood, there very well may have been dozens of Robin Hoods gallivanting around England throughout the years. Another idea relates to Robin’s thievery. If someone was held up on the road by a man with a hood, it’s not too far of a stretch to say that they were accosted by a “robbing hood”. As for the merry men, most of the earliest ballads have mention of Little John and Will Scarlet, but Maid Marian and Friar Tuck were noticeable absent, leading to the assumption that these characters were not part of the original story, but were added later to augment it.

Robin Hood’s exaggerated history shows how easily facts can become romanticized and how the victors write the history books. Traditionally, Robin Hood lived at the time of King Richard the Lion-Hearted and the Crusades, though the Crusades were seen as a heroic endeavor and the king was thought to be the paramount of justice and chivalry. This is one example of how ordinary men can become folk legends just through passing stories along orally and emphasizing their most idealistic traits.

I enjoyed finding out more about a figure who I was so fascinated with, and there is still so much more yet to be learned. No one has solid evidence for what actually happened, and the only written records are old ballads. We will probably never know the entire truth about Robin Hood, but that ultimately just adds to the intrigue!