The real Robin Hood

I promised this post a while back so apologies for the delay. Was there a real Robin Hood? When beginning any work of historical fiction, you need to research your subject. I’ve attempted to track this most famous of all outlaws, but any evidence I turned up was either incomplete or the candidates for Robin Hood were just illusive enough to slip through the net. Read on and make up your own minds.
There are ongoing debates as to whether or not Robin Hood actually existed. No one has ever been able to prove that he did, though it hasn’t been for lack of trying.
In the earliest ballads, the story of Robin Hood is set during the reign of Edward II. The manor rolls of Wakefield in Yorkshire show that a Robert Hood lived during this period. He is a strong candidate for Robin Hood as he lived close to Barnsdale, the original home of Robin before he later moved to Sherwood. Robert Hood supposedly aided Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, in his rebellion against the king. However, he was forced to go on the run when the rebellion failed. His wife was named Matilda, the original name of Maid Marian as first seen in Anthony Munday’s play. There is also a Robin Hood shown as working for Edward II, who was struck off (no reason given), but there’s no proof that these were the same man, and the name Robin or Robert and the name Hood were common.
The setting for the legend of Robin Hood has altered over time. Later ballads move Robin’s place of refuge from Barnsdale to Sherwood Forest. The stories take place during the reigns of Henry II and his son Richard, known as the Lionheart. It is about this time too, that Robin’s backstory begins to emerge. He appears to have been born during the reign of Henry II in the village of Locksley. Many story-tellers, including myself, have set Locksley as a fictional village near Nottingham and on the borders of Sherwood Forest. Sherwood is actually at some distance from Nottingham town centre, but convenience wins out over geographical accuracy.
There is in fact a Locksley in Yorkshire and also in Warwickshire, where, interestingly, a Robert Fitz Odo lived at the time of Henry II. We know next to nothing about him, except that he was a knight and that this title was later removed. We have no record of him after that. A drawing of Robin Hood’s grave is similar to a grave in Locksley, but there’s no proof that this is the grave of Robert Fitz Odo.
So, we now have a rough birth place for Robin, and that isn’t the only change. He goes from a man of the peasant class to a nobleman, variously known as Robin of Locksley, or as Robert, Earl of Huntingdon. As a young man, he accompanies King Richard on crusade, returning to England to find his lands and title stolen. He then becomes an outlaw and dedicates himself to fighting the tyranny of the Sheriff of Nottingham and Richard’s brother, Prince John. Records show that there were outlaws active around this period, some even bearing the name of Robin Hood or similar variations. However, this cannot be considered as certain proof as the term Robin Hood was often used to describe thieves and outlaws.
Personally, I would like to believe Robin Hood did exist. If I’m honest, I would lean towards Robert of Wakefield as being the strongest candidate. Another theory is that Robin Hood isn’t a person at all but the Green Man, a forest spirit. Some theories state that Robin Hood and Robin Goodfellow (better known as Puck, immortalised by William Shakespeare in A Midsummer Night’s Dream) are in fact one and the same person. The most likely explanation is that Robin Hood is any or all of these people and that these various people and myths have been combined to form the legend we know today. His story continues to evolve as new authors add their spin to this timeless tale, but the overall image hasn’t changed.