Robin Hood.... Fac or Fiction?

Robin Hood (spelled Robyn Hode in older sources) is a heroic outlaw in English folklore, and, according to legend, was also a highly skilled archer and swordsman. The outlaw has derived a reputation for performing humanitarian deeds, and in particular for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes. According to some accounts, the legend has its roots in the activities of actual medieval outlaws, or the ballads or tales that circulated about them.



Robin Hood became a popular folk figure in the medieval period, and continues to be widely represented in modern literature, films and television. In the earliest sources Robin Hood is ayeo man, but later portrayals raise him to the level of an aristocrat wrongfully dispossessed of his lands and made into an outlaw by an unscrupulous sheriff.


FACT OR FICTION?


Many historians are convinced that Robin Hood was a real person, more or less accurately portrayed. Sir J.C. Holt (1989:55) argues for a "historical" Robin Hood placed in the 13th century. Alternatively, the origin of the legend is claimed by some historians to have stemmed from actual outlaws, or from tales of outlaws, such as Hereward the Wake, Eustace the Monk, Fulk FitzWarin and William Wallace.