Heroes of Merrie olde England

[good2skull]

King Arthur, Merlin, all that....did they, pseudonyms included, exist ? Who has the definitive answer ? Oh yeah - Robin Hood too.

[incitatus]

All of them are doubtful. The Arthurian myth cycle does not appear before Giraldus Cambrensis and most of the fripperies such as the round table were invented in the Middle Ages to fuel the myth of courtly love.
Robin Hood appears as a myth before he is attached to the richardian usurpation period, so may be based on a real outlaw. Its all a bit dodgy though.

[good2skull]

So, does England have any real medieval folk heroes ?
The Irish have Byran Boru, the Scots William Wallace (okay not quite in the Mel Gibson sense but you get the picture), who is England's?

[incitatus]

They fade. Generaly speaking folk heroes last as long as they are needed. For example Prince Hal was a folk hero (Henry V), but few remember him now. So was Edward Longshanks. Hotspur, the Black Prince...they all fade.Marshall Wade too, he even appears in a largely unsung verse of the National Anthem ("...and with a mighty rush, rebellious Scots to crush").
As to how real the two you mention are....the versions people remember are far from the truth. Thats how myth works.
If I could suggest a hero that should be revived...Eleanor of Aquitaine...Just the right mixture of wisdom, rebelliousness, empowerment and strumpethood.