Monument to Robin Hood in Nottingham

The Ballads of Robin Hood were first mentioned around 1377 in William Langland's poem The Vision of Peter Plowman, and their earliest records date from the mid-15th century.

In the early ballads, Robin was a yeoman, that is, a free small landowner; in later ballads he appears as the Earl of Huntingdon, who lived in the 13th century, unjustly deprived of his title and estate. Error in footnotes: Incorrect call: invalid keys, for example too many keys were specified or the key was incorrect.

It is the middle of the 15th century that dates back to the oldest of the ballads about the “noble robber” - “Robin Hood and the Monk”, and at the end of the 15th century “A Small Gesture about Robin Hood” appears ( A Lytell geste of Robyn Hode).

The homeland of Robin Hood is called the village of Loxley, by the name of which Robin himself is sometimes called - Robin Loxley. His forest army numbers several dozen free shooters. All of them are excellent archers, brave, inventive and noble people in their own way.

Etymology

Word "hood" in English means "hood" and indicates an element of Robin Hood's clothing, and with an erroneous Russian etymology from the English. good - “good” is connected only by a similar sound. In general, “hood” is not only a hood, but also several other similar headgear - bashlyk, cap, hood, human or horse helmet (the main thing is that it covers/protects the entire head). Robin Hood and his opponent Guy of Gisborne wear headdresses called by the same word - a hood and a knight's helmet. But the word “hood” also has a figurative meaning - “to hide (cover with a hood).”

The word "robin" translates as "robin", but it is possible that the name of the hero is the result of a reinterpretation of the expression "Rob in hood" - "Robert ("rob", "robber" also means "robber") in the hood." This is what Robin called Marian when he won the archery tournament and proclaimed her queen of the tournament.

Both of these meanings, hood-hood and robin, are played out in the popular television series “Robin of Sherwood” (“Robin of Sherwood”, UK, 1984-1986), where the main character is often called “Robin in the Hood”.

There is also a known association of Robin Hood with Robin Goodfellow, or Puck - a forest spirit in the folklore of the Frisians, Saxons and Scandinavians.

According to the English writer Stephen R. Lawhead (English) Russian, author of the Robin Hood: The Raven King trilogy (English) Russian(2006-2009), the word "gud" in the Celtic language means "sorcerer" [ ] .

The image of Robin Hood in culture

Literature

Feature films

TV series

• Robin Hood / Robin Hood(). Six episodes. The series was produced by the BBC. Starring: Patrick Troughton. Robin Hood's first appearance on television. The 30-minute episodes were broadcast live and survive only in fragments.
• The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955-1959, 4 seasons, 143 episodes in total). Starring: Richard Greene. It has not been translated into Russian.
• The Misadventures of Robin Hood / The Misadventures Of Robin Hood(UK, 1976). Sketch on The Benny Hill Show. As Robin Hood: Benny Hill.
• “Robin of Sherwood” (UK, 1983-1985, 3 seasons, 26 episodes in total). Starring: Michael Praed, Jason Connery.
• The New Adventures of Robin Hood / The New Adventures of Robin Hood(1997-1999, 4 seasons of 13 episodes). As Robin Hood: Matthew Porretta.
• Back to Sherwood (Canada, ). Starring: Aimee Castle ( Aimee Castle).
• "Robin Hood" / Robin Hood (2006-2009). 3 seasons of 13 episodes. The series was produced by the BBC. As Robin Hood: Jonas Armstrong.
• "Once Upon a Time" / Once Upon a Time(2011, ABC television). As Robin Hood: Sean Maguire, as well as Tom Ellis.
• "Doctor Who" / Doctor Who (2014, BBC). Season 8 Episode 3; as Robin Hood: Tom Riley.
• In the series "Charmed" episode 14 of season 7, the ex-demon Drake thinks that he is Robin Hood due to a spell. Also in the same episode, some scenes from the story of Robin Hood are parodied.
• a series of sketches “Robin and Marian Hood” in the Russian sketch show “Unreal Story” (STS, 2011-2013)

Cartoon series

• Animated series Jet Robin Hood/ Rocket Robin Hood (Canada, USA, -). The action takes place in the year 3000 on the Sherwood asteroid, where Robin Hood and his band of "merry astronauts" fight against the evil sheriff.
• Brave Robin Hood (USSR, 1970). This cartoon featured a song by M. Ziv to the verses of Evgeniy Agranovich (“The sorcerers performed a miracle on Robin Hood in the thicket...”).

Scientists still do not agree on whether the robber Robin Hood actually existed. There is a version that the legends about the noble robber are echoes of ancient pagan cults of forest creatures. Proponents of this hypothesis cite as evidence one of the nicknames of the Celtic god Puck, who always walked with a retinue of not very kind spirits. This Puck was called Robin Goodfellow. However, today the mythological origin of Robin Hood is not taken seriously by most historians. The fifty legends and legends about the forest robber that have reached us do not contain anything fantastic. The images of Robin Hood and his associates are extremely down-to-earth; they are endowed with many features of real people.

The period in which the Robin Hood legends originated is almost non-controversial. The first mention of people singing ballads about the terrible robber Robin Hood is found in a poem by William Langland dated 1377. So the ballads about Robin appeared, apparently, in the 14th century.

Strange as it may seem to a modern reader, neither the legendary Robin Hood nor his possible historical prototype could have met Richard the Lionheart and even been contemporaries of the famous crusader king. The acquaintance of the robber and the monarch was invented in the middle of the 18th century, and it was popularized by Walter Scott. The Scottish novelist did not care much about the historical accuracy of his books, but the power of his talent has been making readers believe that Robin Hood lived in the 12th century for 200 years. This opinion was “cemented” by numerous followers of Sir Scott, who forced Robin and Richard to meet on the pages of books, movie screens and computer monitors.

Robin Hood's Gang

In fact, Robin Hood could live and rob only at least a century after the reign of Richard. Only in the 13th century did archery competitions appear in England - an invariable feature of the ballads about Robin Hood. An active member of the Sherwood gang, Brother Tuck in legend is called a “friar,” that is, a member of a mendicant monastic order. Such orders appeared in England only a few decades after the death of Richard the Lionheart.

It turns out that if the real Robin Hood existed, he could have lived between the mid-13th and 14th centuries. Are there any contenders for the title of prototype of the Sherwood robber who lived at this time? It turns out there is, and more than one.

Most often, a certain Robert Hoad is named as the “real” Robin Hood. Some Russian-speaking supporters of this version, violating modern rules for transcribing English proper names, prefer to write the surname Hode as “Goud” or even “Good”. But phonetic tricks as arguments in a historical dispute hardly look convincing. Nothing in Robert Hoad's biography indicates that he was interested in robbery.

Possible grave of Robin Hood

He was born in 1290 in the family of forester Adam Hoad, who lived near the town of Wakefield in northern England. In 1322, Earl Warren, master of Hoad, joined the Duke of Lancaster's rebellion against King Edward. The rebellion was defeated, its leaders were executed, and ordinary participants were declared outlaws. Robert Hoad's house, where his wife Matilda was already raising several children, was confiscated by the authorities. In 1323, Edward II visited Nottingham, and a few months later the name of Robert Howde appeared on the lists of the king's servants for a couple of years. The Gazette, dated November 22, 1324, reads: "By order of His Majesty the King, that Robert Howde, ex-Guardsman, should be given 5s. in view of his no longer serving in the palace." Houd died in 1346. This biography is easily combined with one of the ballads, in which Edward II, disguised as an abbot, visits Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest, forgives all the robbers and takes them into his service. However, all this may be nothing more than a coincidence.

Even less is known about the other applicant for the title of Robin Hood prototype. The name of one Robin Hoad appears in the year 1226 in the court records of the city of York. It says that the man's property, valued at 32 shillings and 6 pence, was confiscated and he was declared an outlaw. Further traces of Robin Hod are lost, and not necessarily in Sherwood Forest.

Finally, the third applicant is of noble origin. His name was Robert Fitzut, Earl of Huntington. The only reason for appointing a scion of an ancient family as the leader of a bandit gang is a gravestone near Kirklees Abbey, where, according to legend, Robin Hood died. The famous archer bequeathed to bury himself where the last arrow fired from his bow would fall. And then in the middle of the 18th century a sensation broke out: the grave of Robin Hood was found. A certain William Stukeley, a doctor, freemason and amateur historian, wrote in his book “Paleographica Britannica” that the Sherwood robber belonged to the family of the Earls of Huntington. As evidence, he cited an inscription on a grave near Kirklees Abbey. It read: “Here, under this little stone, lies Robert, the true Earl of Huntington. There was no archer more skillful than him. And people called him Robin Hood. England will never see criminals like him and his men again.”

Robin Hood and Little John

This stone can still be seen today, although it is located on private property. True, it is almost impossible to see the inscription - it has been almost completely erased. The authenticity of it, and of the grave itself, was already in great doubt in the 19th century: the text was written not in Old English, but in the language of the 18th century, “aged” with the help of gross errors. The date of death at the end of the inscription aroused even greater suspicion: “24 cal: Dekembris, 1247.” If we use the Roman calendar format adopted in 13th-century England, we get “23 days before December.” No inscription with a similar spelling of the date is known. Modern scientists believe that both the inscription and the stone are fakes of the 18th century.

By the way, the origin of Robin Hood from the village of Loxley, which became especially popular after the film “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,” is not seriously considered by anyone. This name is not mentioned either in the ballads about Robin Hood or in documents associated with its possible prototypes. Loxley was first mentioned as the birthplace of the Earl of Huntington by Joseph Wriston in 1795, defending the theory of the archer's noble origins. It is not clear what motivated him in doing so.

Sheriff of Nottingham

It is quite possible that Robin Hood does not have a specific prototype known to historians. Perhaps in the 13th century there lived in Sherwood Forest a cheerful and successful robber, of which there were many in England at that time. He helped peasants he knew several times, and stories about this, growing with new details and conjectures, turned into folk legends. At least several of Robin Hood's friends and enemies known from the ballads have clearly legendary origins.

Of the entire Sherwood gang, only Little John left some material traces. The Derbyshire village of Heathersage proudly calls itself the birthplace of Robin Hood's closest friend. At the local cemetery they will readily show you his grave, albeit with a modern stone slab without indicating the date of death. When this burial was opened in 1784, they found the skeleton of a real giant. This convinced everyone that the grave was genuine: after all, John was nicknamed the Kid as a joke; according to legend, he was seven feet tall (213 centimeters). In court documents of the 14th century, it was also possible to find a mention of a certain John Le Little, who robbed people in the vicinity of Wakefield. But this can hardly be considered another proof of the reality of the existence of Little John, because nicknames given by height are not uncommon.

Robin Hood and Maid Marian, 1866. Painting by Thomas Frank Hafey

Traces of Robin Hood's remaining associates can only be found in folklore. Some of his friends do not appear in the early versions of the legends; they became members of the gang already in the late Middle Ages. Around the same time, Robin Hood had a lover. The name Marian is not mentioned in folk ballads, but this character was traditionally present at folk May holidays as the May Queen. Somewhere in the 15th century, Robin Hood became the hero of these walks, usually held at the edge of the forest. How could you not make a wonderful couple? The rest is the work of writers and filmmakers.

The origin of Robin Hood's eternal opponents is also rather vague. The Sheriff of Nottingham, of course, existed, but none of the legends mention his name. So a dozen royal officials who took turns in this post for several centuries could have felt an acute personal hostility towards the Sherwood robber. The cruel knight Guy of Gisborne, who wore horse skin instead of a cloak, is a legendary figure. At the beginning of the millennium, there were separate legends about him, and at the end of the 15th century he appeared in the ballads about Robin Hood.

Bishop's oak

Who the heroes and anti-heroes of Sherwood Forest really were is known for certain today only by the huge oak tree standing in the thicket at the crossroads of major roads. It is more than a thousand years old; back in the 19th century, special supports had to be made for the huge branches. According to legend, it was under this giant that Robin Hood forced the captured bishop to dance. Since then, the tree has been called the Bishop's Oak. Whether this actually happened or not is a mystery.

A romantic hero who robbed the rich to help the poor, or a bloodthirsty bandit who was idealized by subsequent generations? What is the true face of the daring daredevil named Robin Hood?

In the historical chronicles of six hundred years ago, it is possible to find only a brief mention of the rascal of the same name, who hunted in the forests of Central England.

However, it is unlikely that the petty villain would have received the attention of chroniclers if his actions did not stand out in any way from other events of those troubled times. And yet, when wars, plague and famine were commonplace, the historiography of that time devotes several lines to it. Popular rumor took care of the rest.

Through the depths of time, numerous legends about the romantic robber have reached our days, whose name is now, oddly enough, more widely known than during his lifetime. This name is Robin Hood.

Truth and fiction

March 1988 - Nottingham City Council, in east-central Britain, released a report on the city's most famous citizen. Because over the years the council has received thousands of inquiries about Robin Hood and his gallant squad, the council decided to make a definite statement on this matter.

Despite the fact that the legends about Robin Hood have a long history, members of the city council took it upon themselves to question the authenticity of the legend about the elusive Robin and find out who Robin Hood was.

After a thorough study of Nottingham's distant past, researchers came to the conclusion that the brave hero, who robbed the rich to help the poor, did not even know Maid Marian - according to legend, Robin Hood's lover. Monk Tuk, as they believe, is a completely fictitious person. Little John was an angry and grumpy man, who had nothing in common with the carefree character from folklore. This is the interpretation of the research results.

Having debunked the legend, the council members hoped to gain fame as pioneers. However, they were only the latest in a long line of skeptics. Because when studying the story of Robin Hood, it is almost impossible to separate fact from fiction. And before them, many undertook to explore this exciting story, but this did not dim the image of Robin at all.

So, who is Robin Hood, where is the truth and where is the fiction about a man whose exploits still excite readers, cinema and television viewers to this day? Some are inclined to accept on faith what serious researchers have revealed: Robin robbed people on the Great North Road near Barnsdale in South Yorkshire and was engaged in looting with his gang of criminals in Sherwood Forest, 30 miles from Nottingham. Others are more attracted by the romantic version of the legend that this handsome hero actually robbed, but only the rich, in order to give the stolen goods to the poor.

Facts in history

The first reports that Robin Hood ruled the forests and heaths of England date back to 1261. However, he was first mentioned in written sources only a hundred years later. This was done by the Scottish historian Fordun, who died in 1386.

The following information about Robin Hood in the chronicles dates back to the 16th century.

According to the chronicler John Stow, he was a robber from the reign of Richard I. He was the leader of a gang that included hundreds of brave outcasts. They were all excellent archers. Although they traded in robbery, Robin Hood “did not allow oppression or other violence against women. He did not touch the poor, giving them everything that he took from the saints and noble rich people.”

We will look at this story from the most benevolent positions. Let's start with the fact that the fact of the existence of Robin Hood has documentary evidence. He lived in Wakefield, Yorkshire, in the 13th and 14th centuries.

The documents record that the legendary robber was born in 1290 and was named Robert Hood. Old registers give three spellings of the surname: God, Goad and Goode. But no one disputes the origin of Robin: he was the servant of Earl Warren.

How did a peasant son end up on the path of a robber?

1322 - Robin went into the service of a new master, Sir Thomas, Earl of Lancaster. When the count led a revolt against King Edward II, Robin, like the count's other servants, had no choice but to obey his master and take up arms. However, the uprising was crushed, Lancaster was captured and beheaded for treason. His possessions were confiscated by the king, and the count's people who took part in the rebellion were declared outlaws.

Robin found the perfect refuge in the deep Sherwood Forest, in Yorkshire.

Sherwood Forest covered an area of ​​25 square miles and was adjacent to Yorkshire. The Great Northern Road, built by the Romans, passed through Sherwood and Barnsdale Woods and was a busy road. This attracted the attention of outcast robbers.

This is how the legend of Robin Hood, a man in green clothes, matching the color of the forest, appeared.

New stories

The legends about Robin are replete with many funny stories about his daring adventures and antics. One of them tells how the arrogant and narrow-minded Bishop of Hertsford, on his way to York, met Robin and his people, who were roasting venison obtained from the royal hunting forests.

Mistaking Robin's men for simple peasants, the bishop ordered the capture of those who killed the deer. The robbers calmly refused: the deer could no longer be resurrected, and everyone was terribly hungry. Then, at a sign from the bishop, those around the fire were surrounded by his servants. The robbers, laughing, began to beg to spare them, but the bishop was adamant. Robin eventually got tired of the bickering. He gave the signal, and the rest of the gang arrived from the forest. The stunned bishop was taken prisoner and began to demand a ransom.

Wanting to teach his hapless hostage a lesson, Robin forced him to dance a jig around a huge oak tree. To this day, that place in the forest is called “the bishop’s oak.”

They also say that once Robin, accompanied by his best friend Little John, paid a visit to the Whitby monastery. The abbot asked them to show off their vaunted skill in archery. It was necessary to shoot from the monastery roof. Robin and Little John gladly granted his request. They did not disgrace their glory.

Passed from mouth to mouth, one of the most beloved stories about how Robin met Edward II has been preserved in people's memory. According to legend: the king, concerned that the number of his deer was melting before his eyes, disappearing into the insatiable wombs of the robber people, wanted to clear his forest of poachers once and for all.

The king and his knights, dressed as monks, headed to Sherwood Forest, knowing that Robin Hood and his gang were lying in wait for unlucky travelers there. And they were right. The robbers stopped them and demanded money.

The disguised king declared that he had only 40 pounds (a rather insignificant amount for that time). Robin took 20 pounds for his men and returned the rest to the king.

Then Edward told the leader that he was being summoned to Nottingham to meet with the king. Robin and his men fell to their knees and swore their love and devotion to Edward, then invited the "monks" to dine with them - to taste the king's own venison!

In the end, Edward realized that Robin was simply mocking him. Then he revealed himself to the robbers and forgave them on the condition that they all come to the court for service as soon as he calls them.

This story, of course, seems implausible, created by the imagination of Robin Hood admirers. But, after all, maybe not everything in it is fiction.

The fact is that this incident is described in “The Little Feat of Robin Hood,” published in 1459. It is known for certain that the king visited Nottingham in 1332. We also know that a few months after this, the name Robin Hood was mentioned in reports of Edward's yard.

However, he soon suddenly disappeared from the royal court, only to reappear in the forest and in popular rumor.

So, let's continue the story about the brave adventures of Robin Hood. He appeared at St. Mary's Church in Nottingham, where a monk recognized the robber and informed the sheriff. Robin was captured only after he single-handedly killed 12 soldiers with his sword. Even while in captivity, the fearless leader had no doubt that his loyal friends would not leave him. Shortly before Robin was due to stand trial, Little John launched a daring attack and returned the bandit brethren to their leader. For complete justice, the robbers tracked down and killed the monk who betrayed Robin.

Forest Brotherhood

It is impossible to talk about Robin Hood without paying tribute to his merry band and his legendary friend Maid Marian.

Robin's closest assistant was Little John, supposedly not a funny guy at all, but a sullen and very vulnerable guy. Most likely, he was called the Kid as a joke, since he was quite tall. This was discovered when his grave in Heathersage was opened in 1784 and the bones of a rather tall man were found.

As for Brother Tuck, opinions differ about him. Some believe that this legendary character combines the features of two fat monks, others believe that he really was such a cheerful person who loved to have fun and dance in the company of forest brothers. Perhaps it was Robert Stafford, a priest from Sussex (early 15th century), who sometimes, under the pseudonym of Brother Tuck, participated in the adventures of a merry gang.

Maid Marian as a character also fits well with the theory that the image of Robin originated from folk tales about traditional May holiday festivities and games. Marian could simply be a girl chosen for her beauty as the “Queen of May.”

Contradictory image

The legendary adventures of Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest supposedly ended in 1346. It is believed that he died in Kirkless Monastery after a serious illness. The abbess treated Robin with copious bloodletting, as a result of which, weakened and bleeding, he never recovered from his illness.

This is the romantic image of Robin Hood, a daredevil and benefactor. But the Anglo-Saxons have a strange tendency to denigrate their idols, and Robin suffered more than anyone else from this.

Director of the Nottanham Lore of Robin Hood exhibition, Graham Black, said: “We are close to knowing the true identity of Robin Hood.”

According to Black, the real story of Robin dates back to 1261, when William, son of Robert Smith, was outlawed in Berkshire. The law clerk who wrote the decree named him William Robinhood.

Other court documents survive that mention people named Robinhood, most of them criminals. Therefore, researchers believe that if Robin Hood really existed, then he most likely acted before that time.

The most likely candidate for this dubious role, according to Graham Black, is Robert God, a resident of the archbishopric of York, who escaped justice in 1225. Two years later he is mentioned in written documents as Hobhod.

Where does the romantic version of the legend come from?

According to some versions, Robin was a nobleman. But this is a clear invention of the playwright, who in 1597 wanted to attract the nobility to his theater. Previously, Robin was considered a vassal of the lord.

The fame of Robin Hood as the greatest archer comes from wandering storytellers who passed on from mouth to mouth ballads about the legendary robber, recorded in the second half of the 15th century.

As for Maid Marian, they believe that she was a beauty under the care of the treacherous Prince John. She first met Robin when she was ambushed by his men. However, scientists do not agree with this version, claiming that Marian appeared in a French poem of the 13th century as a shepherdess with her shepherd Robin. Only 200 years after the appearance of this poem did it finally become part of the legend of Robin Hood. And Marian gained the reputation of an immaculate virgin much later under the influence of chaste Victorian morality.

According to legend, Brother Tuk was a merry glutton who amused the robbers with his funny antics and jokes. The monk was unsurpassed in stick fights. In fact, it turns out that Brother Tuck also existed. This name was given to the priest of the Lindfield parish from Sussex, in reality a murderer and robber, when in 1417 a royal decree was issued for his arrest, the priest went on the run.

James Holt, professor of medieval history at Cambridge University and author of Robin Hood, wrote: “Written evidence suggests that Brother Took organized his band of bandits two hundred miles from Sherwood Forest, centuries after Robin Hood. In fact, Brother Tuck was quite far from harmless gaiety, for he ravaged and burned the hearths of his enemies.”

Little John, Robin's right-hand man, was capable of brutal murder. It was he who killed the monk suspected of betraying Robin, then beheaded the monk’s young servant, a witness to the murder.

But Little John did a lot of brave things. One of them, which has already been mentioned, is the rescue of Robin Hood from a well-fortified prison guarded by the guards of the notorious Sheriff of Nottingham.

Regarding Robin Hood, Professor Holt wrote: “He was absolutely not what he was described as. He wore a cap like a monk's hood. There is absolutely no evidence that he robbed the rich in order to give money to the poor. The legend acquired these fabrications 200 or more years after his death. And during his lifetime he was known as a notorious looter.”

And yet, following the legends of hoary antiquity, we prefer to see in Robin Hood a defender of the oppressed and powerless, a brave and cheerful chieftain, every now and then wiping the nose of those in power.

And we want to believe that, finishing a life path full of various exploits, our hero, on the verge of death, blew the horn with his last strength, as if sending news about himself to the future, and we still hear the echoes of this signal in our hearts.

Historical prototype of Robin Hood

For 600 years now, scientists have been puzzling over where the world-famous ballad hero, leader of the forest robbers Robin Hood, came from, or rather, who he was based on, and whether he really existed. At least the four most common versions equally prove the existence of Robin, but they only argue about the prototypes. For example, Robert Goad (aka Good or Hod), born in 1290, lived during the reign of the English king Edward II. In 1322 Robert became a servant of the Earl of Lancaster. The count rebelled against the king and was executed, his possessions were transferred to the state treasury, and the participants in the uprising were declared outlaws. And then Robert hid in Sherwood Forest, organizing a criminal group with the mission of extorting money from the rich - nobles and royal servants. Also, one historical document says that this same Robert worked as a porter at the court of Edward II from March 24 to November 22, 1324 - so he had a chance to repent, receive forgiveness and enter the royal service. But by the time this could be done, Robert Goad was already seriously ill, and in 1346 he died in the Kirkley monastery from blood loss.

Another legend, somewhat similar in the chronology of events, states that Robert Goad lived in Witherby and escaped from the king's justice - this fact is stated in a court document from 1226 found in the London Public Record Office. The document also states that the sheriff of York took possession of the property of the escaped “Robin Hood”, but did not transfer the money to the treasury, and a year later put him on the wanted list, calling him “a criminal and villain of our land.” A little later, the robber was found and executed.

Another common version about the mysterious Robin Hood emphasizes that he was from the yeoman class (free artisan) from the village of Loxley, obsessed with a thirst for justice and prone to various extraordinary games. Many alternative versions, which say that Robin was supposedly the eldest son of the Earl of Huntington, refutes the fact that bards would rather write ballads and glorify not the count’s son, but a peasant socially close to them, helping the poor.

And finally, according to the fourth modern version, it is believed that Robin Hood lived during the times of Richard I, John I and Henry III, i.e. at the end of the XII - mid-XIII centuries. Since the hero was outlawed for a long time and became very famous for his exploits, soon every fifth robber began to be called “Robin Hood.” The deeds of all the Robin Hoods were summed up, from which ballads and legends were formed.

Most historical sources are divided into two directions, according to which it is possible to establish at least the era of Robin Hood. Some believe that Robin appeared under King Edward II or Edward III (1307-1377), others are inclined to believe that he was a contemporary of Richard the Lionheart (1189-1199). One thing remains clear: Robin Hood is a collective image, tailored from ballads and legends of different times and different generations.

Hero of Medieval England

Not far from the city of Nottingham lay Sherwood Forest. The Great Northern Road, laid by the Romans, passed through it - one of the main roads in Northern England. In the 11th century, after the conquest of England by the Normans, the new rulers harshly oppressed the Anglo-Saxons and treated them with undisguised contempt. Suffice it to say that the kings of the Norman and Angevin dynasties who ruled the country did not know a word of the language of the indigenous inhabitants of England.

The Anglo-Saxons, of course, rebelled - many of them went into the forests, creating gangs there for self-defense. Robin Hood became the leader of one of these gangs. His gang consisted of hundreds of valiant free shooters - fighters for the idea. Some became as immortal figures in folklore as Robin Hood himself. For example, the deputy chieftain, a healthy thug nicknamed Little John, whom Robin defeated in the famous stick fight at the river ford. And also the corpulent monk Tuk - a big fan of drinking, snacking and fighting. And other very colorful characters - such as Will Stutley-Scarlett, the minstrel Alan-o-Dale, Robin Hood's beloved Marion. They all wore green cloaks and were excellent archers, “good guys” who fought for economic justice by taking money from monks and landowners and giving it to the needy.

To live in the forest, you need to eat something, and that means hunt. In medieval England, such activity was considered criminal on a par with robbery, to the point that a poacher who shot a deer doomed himself to public hanging. Smaller game was punished in proportion to its size - for example, a rabbit could simply have its hand cut off. All the game that lived in the forest belonged only to the king; no one had the right to hunt there without permission. The king’s lands were guarded by specially appointed foresters, calling the robbers “arrogant rabble,” and they tried to catch poachers at every opportunity.

One day, the Bishop decided to take a walk through Sherwood and came across Robin's gang in the forest, where they were carefreely roasting venison. The bishop did not immediately realize that in front of him were the famous robbers whom the sheriff had been looking for for so long, and ordered his guards to seize the poachers. Those who loved to have fun from the heart, Robin and his friends, began to pretend to be simple serfs, begging for mercy. When Robin got tired of the fun, he gave a sign, and the rest of the gang rushed to their aid. The bishop was taken hostage and forced to dance a jig around a large oak tree. Since then, this oak has been called “Bishop’s”, and many ballads talk about the royal foresters as the eternal enemies of Robin Hood.

However, the foresters did not have the same power as the Sheriff of Nottingham, because in medieval England, the sheriff was a very significant figure, akin to the governor. Appointed personally by the king, the sheriff exercised all military, police, administrative and judicial powers in the county. He also collected taxes, some of which he took for himself without permission. The king, of course, did not know about this, but the peasants and aristocracy perceived him as their natural enemy. Not to mention the criminals from Robin Hood's squad, who mocked the official as best they could.

One day, the sheriff ordered the three sons of an old widow to be hanged because they shot a deer in the royal forest. This incident gave Robin another reason to have fun. Dressed in the clothes of a simple artisan, he hurried to Nottingham - to the square where the poachers were to be executed. Literally a second before the execution, Robin blew his horn, to the call of which all his friends immediately jumped up, beating off the prisoners.

The sheriff could not do anything about the “damned robber.” Once he even complained to the king, blaming his impotence. The king gave him wise advice - to resort to cunning, for which the sheriff came up with an “insidious” measure. He announced an archery competition in which the winner receives an arrow made of pure gold. Oddly enough, Robin fell for the simple trick and was about to set off for Nottingham when Little John advised him to change his green cloak to a multi-colored one. The sheriff did not recognize Robin, who arrived in such an outfit, allowing the robber to safely win the competition and hide in the forest along with the golden bow.

Very often the ballads talk about how Robin and the gang shook out the purses of fat abbots and monks. This was not done without reason, because the church was then the largest landowner and took three skins from the peasants.

And yet, why do they say that Robin was a nice guy? He did not harbor any fierce hatred for the nobles and even helped them if they were in trouble. For example, one knight had to mortgage his estate to the local abbot, and when the time came to pay the debt, he went to the abbey to ask for a deferment. Having met Robin on the road through Sherwood, who was about to rob him, the knight told a sad story about his situation. Robin Hood, mistaking him for a noble man, gave him money to pay off his debt, and the rest of the gang showered him with gifts.

Even in ballads there was the concept of a boomerang - good from fate for doing good to someone. One day, on a forest road, Robin Hood met a king who, according to legend, was “returning incognito from the Crusade.” Either in a fight with the king, or in a conversation with him, Robin managed to charm the monarch so much that he, having had enough of the gang, forgave them all their sins and accepted them into his service.

The Love and Death of Robin Hood

There should be a place for love in every story, even if it is a legend about a robber and a scoundrel. Initially, the slogan of Robin Hood and his associates was not “to rob and kill everyone,” but only evil and wealthy citizens who made capital through theft. This did not apply to women - they were in no way subjected to abuse or humiliation by the gang. One day, during the next “raid,” Robin met Marion, a noble and immaculate girl, and immediately fell in love with her. For a long time, posing as a count, Robin Hood sought her favor. Their feelings turned out to be mutual, but soon the hero had to return to Sherwood to his friends. Saddened by the separation, Marion changed into a man's dress and went to look for her lover. By chance, the couple met on a forest road, where Robin, in the dark, mistook her for a rich traveler and decided to rob her. Marion also did not recognize her betrothed in the robber and began to bravely defend herself. Robin Hood was pleasantly surprised by such an active attack and proposed to make peace. Soon the misunderstanding was cleared up, and they lived happily in the forest.

The exploits of Robin Hood and his robbers continued to shock the kingdom for some time, but after a few years, as the ballads say, the energetic and cheerful hero felt unwell. He was no longer able to fight; his arms were weak. Since there was no medicine at that time, he decided to seek help from the Kirkley monastery, whose inhabitants were famous for the art of “opening blood.” In the Middle Ages, this was considered almost the only and best remedy for any serious illness.

The nuns, either out of malice and conspiracy, or out of ordinary imprudence, drained so much blood from Robin's veins that he barely remained alive. Finally realizing that the end had come for him, Robin blew his horn, and Little John rushed after him. With the help of a faithful friend, the heroes return to the forest, Robin Hood pulls the bowstring for the last time and shoots a golden arrow, bequeathing to bury himself where it falls. So, according to legend, Robin passed away with dignity and humility.

After the end of the story of Robin Hood, a May holiday in his honor existed in England for a long time, when peasants went into the forest to collect fresh green branches. This custom indicates that in the popular consciousness Robin Hood was united with the pagan forest deity.

Sergey Lvov

He spent his life in the forest. Barons, bishops and abbots feared him. He was loved by peasants and artisans, widows and the poor. (From ancient chronicles.)

This is how they talk about his death. One day, a glorious archer felt that his hands did not have enough strength to pull the bowstring, and his legs were having difficulty walking along the usual forest path. And then he realized: old age was approaching...
He went to a monastery, whose abbess was known as a skilled healer, and asked to be treated. The nun pretended to be delighted by his arrival, cordially escorted the stranger to a distant cell, carefully laid him on the bed, and with a sharp knife opened a vein in his powerful arm (bloodletting was then considered a good remedy for many ailments). And, saying that she would return immediately, she left.
Time passed slowly. The blood flowed faster. But the nun still did not return. Night has fallen. Dawn came after the night, and then the shooter realized that he had become a victim of betrayal. Above the head of his bed was a window into the forest. But the bleeding man no longer had enough strength to reach the window. There was barely enough breath in his chest to blow the curved hunting horn for the last time. A faint, trembling sound of horns sounded across the forest. A faithful friend heard the calling signal. In alarm, he hurried to help.
Late! No one could have saved the shooter. So the enemies, who for many years could not defeat Robin Ghul either in a hot battle or in a stubborn duel, tormented him with black betrayal.
The ancient historian names the year and day when this happened: November 18, 1247.
Several centuries have passed. Wars began and ended. The shortest lasted several days, the longest - a hundred years. Devastating epidemics swept through the cities and villages of England. Uprisings broke out. Kings came and went on the throne. People were born and died, generations replaced generations.
However, a stormy series of events, as they liked to say in ancient books, could not erase the name of Robin Hood from the memory of the English.
One day, it was about two hundred and fifty years ago, a heavy carriage slowly drove into a small town near London. The carriage was elegant and luxurious: only the most important people in the kingdom rode around in one of these. Indeed, an important gentleman was sitting in the carriage: the Bishop of London himself! He came to the town to read a sermon to the townspeople. While the carriage was traveling from the city gates to the church square, the bishop managed to notice that the town seemed to have died out. The bishop was not surprised by this. This means that the rumor of his arrival preceded the carriage, and the townspeople hurried to the church: they do not often see and hear his Eminence. And he habitually imagined how he would get out of the carriage, how he would slowly ascend the steps of the temple through the respectfully parting crowd... But the church square was empty. There was a heavy lock on the church doors.
The bishop stood for a long time in the empty square, turning purple with anger and trying to maintain a dignified appearance befitting his rank and solemn vestments, which was not at all easy in front of a locked door.
Finally, a passer-by, hurrying not to go to church, said to the bishop as he walked:
“Sir, you are waiting in vain, we are celebrating Robin Hood’s day today, the whole city is in the forest, and there will be no one in the church.”
There are different stories about what happens next. Some say that the bishop got into the carriage and returned to London, uttering in his mind words that bishops do not usually utter. Others claim that he went to the city meadow, where the townspeople, dressed in green caftans, depicted scenes from the life of Robin Hood, and joined the spectators.
What kind of life was this? Why is the memory of her preserved for centuries? Why could an entire city remember Robin Hood for many hours in a row and think only about him?
What do you know about Robin Hood, except those pages of Walter Scott's novel "Ivanhoe", where he is depicted under the name of the brave yeoman, free peasant Loxley?
Robin Hood has two biographies. One is very short. Scientists have collected it bit by bit in ancient chronicles. From this biography you can learn that Robin Hood was ruined by rich enemies and fled from them to Sherwood Forest, a dense and dense bowl that stretched for many tens of miles. Fugitives like him joined him. He united them under his command into a formidable detachment of “forest brothers” and soon became the real ruler of Sherwood Forest. Robin Hood and his archers, numbering more than a hundred, hunted forbidden royal game, feuded with rich monasteries, robbed passing Norman knights, helped the persecuted and the poor.
The authorities announced a reward for the capture of Robin Hood many times. But not a single peasant into whose hut he entered, not a single one of the “forest brothers” was seduced by these promises.
That's all, or almost all, that historians know about Robin Hood.
The second biography of Robin Hood is much more detailed. From it you can learn how he first encountered the royal foresters and how this meeting ended; how he met the fugitive monk - Brother Tuck - and Little John, who became his assistants, and how Robin Hood won archery competitions, how he was at enmity with the sheriff of Nottingham, who oppressed the peasants, how he refused to serve King Richard the Lionheart.
Where is all this and more about Robin Hood recorded? Not in historical works, but in folk songs - ballads, as literary historians call them.
They were composed throughout England over many centuries. The author of these songs was the people, and the performers were traveling singers. Songs about Robin Hood were overgrown with various details, several small songs merged into one, or one large one broke up into several small ones... The singers who sang these ballads, if they knew how to write, wrote down the words of the song and, for a fee, gave them to those who wished to copy them. And when the first printing houses appeared in England, songs about Robin Hood began to be printed. At first these were separate sheets with prints of songs. They were eagerly bought up by residents of cities and villages, who celebrated Robin Hood Day once a year in the summer.
It was in these songs that the second biography of Robin Hood gradually took shape. In it he is the way the people imagined him. If the ancient Latin chronicle claims that Robin Hood was a nobleman, then the folk song decisively calls him the son of a peasant. The common people of England began to consider the legendary biography of Robin Hood as his real biography. For many decades and even centuries, everything that was told about Robin Hood in songs was believed by the British as an immutable historical fact.
There is interesting evidence for this. One of the oldest ballads tells how Robin Hood, as a fifteen-year-old youth, went to the city of Nottingham for an archery competition. Halfway there, the royal foresters stopped him and began to mock him. “Will this boy, who can barely bend his own bow, dare to appear in front of the king in a competition!” - they exclaimed. Robin Hood bet with them that he would hit the target within a hundred feet, and won the bet. But the royal foresters not only did not pay him for his winnings, but threatened to beat him if he dared to show up at the competition.
Then Robin Hood, as the ballad enthusiastically reports, shot all the mockers with his bow. The people did not like the royal foresters, who did not allow the poor man to collect brushwood in the forest, much less hunt forest game or fish in forest streams and rivers. Not liking the royal foresters, folk singers sang this ballad with delight.
And so in April 1796, that is, five centuries after Robin Hood lived, a message appeared in one of the English magazines. Here it is: “When workmen were digging in a garden at Coxlane, near Nottingham, a few days ago, they came across six human skeletons lying close together in a neat row. They are believed to be part of the fifteen gamekeepers he killed in his time for Robin Hood."
One can imagine how the magazine publisher asked the author of the note: “Are you sure that these are the same skeletons?” And the author answered, as journalists of all times answer: “Well, let’s write in the word “supposed” for caution.” But neither the author nor the publisher thought of doubting that Robin Hood really fought with the royal foresters on the road to the glorious city of Nottingham : after all, this is what is sung about in ballads!
Why did Robin Hood become a favorite hero of folk songs? To answer this question, we may have to remind you of what you learned in history lessons: in 1066, England was captured by the Normans led by William the Conqueror. They took away land, houses and property from the indigenous population of England - the Saxons - and imposed their laws on them with fire and sword. An ancient historian names Robin Hood as one of those who were robbed of their land.
Enmity between the old and new rulers continued two centuries later. Do you remember what place the enmity between Saxon and Norman nobles occupies in Walter Scott's book "Ivanhoe"? However, the Saxon nobles soon made peace with the conquerors. But the songs about Robin Hood were not forgotten. They were sung by the detachments of peasants who rebelled under the leadership of Watt Tyler. The people felt in their hearts: the struggle of Robin Hood, glorified in songs, is not only the struggle of the Saxons against the Normans, but in general the struggle of the people against the oppressors.
I'm leafing through an old book that contains ballads about Robin Hood one after another. Here is a ballad about how Robin Hood fought with his other worst enemy - the knight Guy Guysbourne, and how, having defeated him and dressed in his clothes - and you need to know that Guy Guysbourne always wore a tanned horse skin over his armor - he again outwitted Sheriff of Nottingham. Here is the ballad "Robin Hood and the Bishop", which tells how Robin Hood took out his anger against the church on the bishop. Here is a ballad about how Robin Hood saved the three sons of a poor widow - and in each of these ballads he is always the same: brave in battle, faithful in friendship, a joker, a merry fellow, a mocker, an ageless folk hero.
I told you about Robin Hood, as he was portrayed in folk ballads, and now you yourself can see how Walter Scott changed this image when he brought him to Ivanhoe.
In Walter Scott, Yeoman Locksley, the name under which Robin God is written in the novel, becomes Richard's faithful assistant. Robin Hood, as his people praised him, refused to serve King Richard the Lionheart.
People remember Robin Hood exactly as he was sung in ancient folk songs. And this is the immortality of Robin Hood.

Drawings by P. Bunin.