Was there a real Robin Hood?
Donald Trump was recently compared to a modern-day bastardized version of Robin Hood, who takes from the rich and takes from the poor.
How true is the old tale that Rob Hood took from the rich in order to provide for the poor?
Robin Hood has captivated many "hearts" and "minds" over the past century, with 6 mainstream movie title:
1) The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029843/
2) Disney's Robin Hood (1973)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070608/
3) Robin and Marian (1976)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075147/
4) Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102798/
5) Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107977/
6) Robin Hood (2010)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0955308/
This is the myth and legend around Robin Hood. Despite the variations in the movies, the theme and story that pervades each generation of movie goers is that of the world's ultimate outlaw. From wherever and whenever it came at some point in the Middle Ages, this is a tale that will continue to entice people into the future.
Story
There are many version of this story, the oldest surviving tale "A Mery Geste of Robyn Hoode" , dating back to 1492-1543. The most popular story is of a brave and noble King Richard the Lionheart heading off to the Holy Crusades. This left John, his evil brother, to usurp the throne and start his reign of torment. Aided by the Sheriff of Nottingham, they tax people until those who can't or don't want to pay are imprisoned or worse.
Enter Robin Hood. His base of operations was deep int he Sherwood Forest, assisted by his band of "Merry Men", including the not-so Little John and the jovial drunk Friar Tuck. They would steal from the paths through the forest, and put a wrench in the Sheriff's plans to loot from the people.
Things didn't stay merry. The Sheriff came up with a plot to lure Robin and capture him with an archery tournament. As expected, robinis captured. Death is a foregone conclusion until Maid Merian rescures Robin with the help of the Merry Men, but she gets captured. Robin of course, goes back to the castle to rescue her as well. He defeats the evil-doer Sheriff, just in time for King Richard to return and reclaim the throne.
Mary and Robin live happily ever after. The end.
Science or Fiction?
The earliest reference is from a drunk priest saying he can recite the rymes of Robyn Hood, in 1377.
In 1450, the story is put into text as a robber who is recognized by a monk and gets arrested, only to be rescued by his outlaw partner Little John breaks him out of jail.
The most compelling evidence for who Robin Hood could be, is from 1262, in the King's Rememberance's Memoranda Roll of Easter. It mentions pardoning someone who seizing personal possessions of a fugitive without a warrant. That fugitive was William Robehod.
But is this accurate? Or is another account from the Slone Manuscripts that the famous outlaw was born in Locksley (Yorkshire), in 1160?
It could be that the story of the outlaw was so ingrained in the national consciousness, that people easily referred to outlaws and fugitives as Robehod, Robert Hod or Robyn Hood?
It could also be that it's a contraction of "Robin of the Wood", to "Robyn o' the Wood", and then "Robyn Hood".
Is the real Robin Hood the Robert, Earl of Huntington? Robin of Locksley? William Le Fevre? We may never know precisely.
History
The evil King John was a real part of history, taking despotism to new lows with high taxes, unwinnable wars, trumped up charges, and starving to death.
His vile incompetence, turned the once reviled outlaws, into a champion for the common people.
This was ripe ground for a real or fictional outlaw hero to emerge. Not only was the forest a great place to hide out in the middle ages, but also has a protected land of the king where normal people feared being caught upon and so acted a double-dose of defiance against the corrupt king.
There were also other outlaws of the time that may have lent to the story of Robin Hood. One was Fulk FitzWarin, who has his land taken by King John, given to another rival, whom Fulk then murdered and fled as an outlaw, spurring admiration for his act of defiance.
The two most contested places for the origin of Robin Hood, are Yorkshire and Notthinghamshire. The latter winning out in most minds since it directly references the common story's location of the evil Sheriff. But none of their respective historical claims stands up to requirements for evidence. There is no clear victor, but Robin was likely a man of the north of England.
Conclusion
Wherever he came from, men and woman alike were adopting the story as part of their own worldview and narrative of the past. Even William Shakespeare adored the narrative and wrote him into two of his plays, "The Two Gentlemen of Verona", and "As You Like It".
Here is an endearing passage about Robin and the mythos that lasts:
"About this time it was, as I conceive, that there flourished those most famous robbers Robert Hood, an Englishman, and Little John, who lay in wait in the woods, but spoiled of their goods those only that were wealthy. They took the life of no man, unless he either attacked them or offered resistance in defence of his property. Robert supported by his plundering one hundred bowmen, ready fighters every one, with whom four hundred of the strongest would not dare to engage in combat. The feats of this Robert are told in song all over Britain. He would allow no woman to suffer injustice, nor would he spoil the poor, but rather enriched them from the plunder taken from the abbots. The robberies of this man I condemn, but of all robbers he was the humanest and the chief."
- John Major's Historia Majoris Brittaniae (1521), (1892, pp. 156-67)
The part on bold is the usual imagery most people think of when hearing "Robin Hood". Sticking it to the corrupt, taking them down, and giving back to the common folk who have the constant boot against their throat. We can still identify with this even in our digitl times. The heoroic underdog live on.
We might not know if Robin Hood was real or fake, rich or poor, where we has born and where he met his fate, but one thing is sure: the story and legend is one that captivates the "hearts" and "minds" of each successive generation.
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Author: Kris Nelson / @krnel
Contact: [email protected]
Date: 2016-11-13, 9:42am EST
Regardless of his name, the real criminal was Prince John (and his lackey).
We all dream of an ideal world, but there will always be oppressors and oppressed. Despite our intellectual abilities, it seems that these behaviors are part of the imperfect nature of humans.
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