Robin Hood

[Garmard]

Would anyone kindly tell me their take on the Robin Hood legend? Do you believe this man existed and in what part of the country do you think he was most active,eg Yorkshire/Nottinghamshire.

[jno]

probably not, but who knows. The fact that legends tie him to different parts of the country suggests he is at most a composite of various criminals.

[Garmard]

I agree jno, but i have been doing some research in various books and on the net and in the oldest so-called-Rhymes of Robin Hood written circa 14th century, it seems to place Robin and Little John in a place called Barnsdale near the great North road.It is made clear that he hates monks and priests(of them he'd beat and bind) and way lays them on that same Great North Road(A1)......So the legend seems to be most active in Yorkshire?
Anyone have any more knowledge relating to this??

[robbo966]

I'd say Notts as it's full of criminals !

[boxtops]

If he was Robin of Loxley then that's Sheffield, but his "taking from the bad and giving to the good" has come down the years as some sort of moral tale. If he existed then as jno says, history has probably become muddled over the years - I don't know how long after his alleged existence, the first stories about him started to circulate.

[Garmard]

In Walter Scotts Scotchicron dated around the 14th Century he mentions that from Ynglewood(English Wood) came the famous murderers and freebooters Robyn Hode and Lytle Johan. It would seem he had no morals as i think most scholars would conclude the same.

[Garmard]

I believe this to be true helen.

[Garmard]

Are you a published writer helen?