SO far we have learnt that Robin Hood was a general name that thieves and outlaws used to escape the law. But you may be still be wondering- So where did the legend come from? We know that Robin Hood wasn’t one individual person, and therefore that that mythical view of him can’t be the source of legends told across hundreds of years. But what if this group of thieves each had a part of their adventures that contributed to the legend? What if the gossips of medieval Britain, the poor in search of hope and the everyday people in search of a good story, and even the world of today had heard of these different wrongdoers and had just happened to believe that they were the same person and melted, moulded their stories to become the adventurous, …show more content…
In a court entry dated at this time it was stated that Robyn hood was “paid off because he could no longer work”. This is an important part of the earlier legends f robyn hood (EXPAND)
THis Robbyn hood, or outlaw using this name is speculated to be Robert hood of wakefield who is mentioned in 1316 in a court document. Barnsdale, the legendary birthplace of robin hood, is only 10 miles from this place. But the importance of this Robin hood? Well this is where maid marian comes in- he had a wife, a wife named matilda, of which was Maid Marians real name in two Elizabethan plays. This robert hood was also later found out by a writer in the 1600’s to be the son of a forrest dweller named Adam- a name that is in in some robin tales of today.
But what about the adventurous tales of an outlaw who was the leader of a gang of merry men?
Well this is where we come to Robert of wetherby- or hobbehod. THis man was a known outlaw and was listed in a yorkshire court document in 1225 that a “Robert hood: fugitive” owed money Liberty of St. Peter's York, Professor James C. In some of the earlier ballads Robin hood fought against and abbot- the head of and abbey of