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 Legend has
it that Robin Hood was an outlaw living in Sherwood Forest with his
'Merry Men' - but did he really exist?
There
are several versions of the Robin Hood story. The Hollywood
one is that of an incredibly handsome man - Errol Flynn - clothed in
garments of Lincoln green, fighting and outwitting the evil Sheriff
of Nottingham.
However
the first known literary reference to Robin Hood and his men was in
1377, and the Sloane manuscripts in the British Museum have an
account of Robin's life which states that he was born around 1160 in
Lockersley in Yorkshire. No such place exists in either
Yorkshire or Nottinghamshire but there is a Loxley in Staffordshire.
Another chronicler has it that he was a Wakefield man and took part
in Thomas of Lancaster's rebellion in 1322.
One
certain fact is that he was a North Country man, with his
traditional haunts as an outlaw in Sherwood Forest and a coastal
refuge at Robin Hood's Bay in Yorkshire.
One well known story about Robin that places him in Whitby,
Yorkshire, is about him and Little John having a friendly archery
contest. Both men were skilled at archery and from the roof of
the Monastery they both shot an arrow. The arrows fell at
Whitby Lathes, more than a mile away. Afterwards the fields where
the arrows landed were known as Robin Hood's Close and Little John's
Close. Robin
became a popular folk hero because of his generosity to the poor and
down-trodden peasants, and his hatred of the Sheriff and his
verderers who enforced the oppressive forest laws, made him their
champion. Some chroniclers date his exploits as taking place
during the reign of Edward II, but other versions say the king was
Richard I, the Lionheart.
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All
versions of the Robin Hood story give the same account of his
death. As he grew older and became ill, he went with Little
John to Kirklees Priory near Huddersfield, to be treated by his
aunt, the Prioress, but a certain Sir Roger de Doncaster persuaded
her to murder her nephew and the Prioress slowly bled Robin to
death. With the last of his strength he blew his horn and
Little John came to his aid, but too late.
Little John placed Robin's bow in his hand and carried him to
a window from where Robin managed to loose one arrow. Robin asked Little John
to bury him where the arrow landed, which he duly did.
A
mound in Kirklees Park, within bow-shot of the house, can still be
seen and is said to be his last resting place. Little
John's grave can be seen in Hathersage
churchyard in Derbyshire.
But what of Maid Marion? Not much of Robin's career is
known, but nowhere in the chronicles is Maid Marion mentioned,
so we must assume she was 'added' to the stories at a later
date.
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So,
Robin did exist, but not in quite the same way as the Robin Hood we
all think of, the cinematic ROBIN OF SHERWOOD, Prince of Thieves! ©
E.P.C |