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"… at the end of the twentieth century Robin Hood remains almost as elusive as ever. Any quest, however enjoyable, for the greenwood hero is by definition a journey on which it is still a good deal easier to travel than to arrive." 1

1 Page xxiii Rymes of Robyn Hood

THE BIRTH OF THE LEGEND

To be able to find out how and why the Robin Hood legend came into existence one has to look at the time period in which it happened. This question alone is not easy when Robin Hood is concerned. The first time we hear about him in writing is in 1304. At that time it is clear that we are dealing with an established legend 4. But that is not the end of it. Because before that time several persons, often criminals escaped from justice, had been given that particular last name. One as early as 1261-1262, but more about that in the next chapter.

Thus the birth of the legend has to be placed before this time. And so much earlier that a legend can have been created and developed.

We have three Scottish chroniclers, each of whom have given a different year of Robin Hood's life. The first, Andrew of Wyntoun, writes in 1420 that Robin Hood and Little John committed their exploits between 1283 and 1285:

"Little John and Robin Hood, Outlaws were commended good, In Inglewood and Barnysdale They used all this time their travail." 5

In the 1440s John Fordun or Walter Bower, who completed Fordun's work, wrote about Robin Hood under the year 1266:

"about this time arose from the dispossessed and banished that famous Robert (sic) Hood and Little John with their companions. They lived as outlaws among the woodlands and thickets, of whom the common people are so extravagantly fond of celebrating in tragedy and comedy; and the ballads concerning whom, sung by jesters and minstrels, delight them above all others; of whom certain commendable things are recited." 6

John Major, who is also the first to be positive towards Robin Hood ascribed in 1521 a lifetime to Robin Hood under Richard the 1st:

"It is estimated that about the time of Richard the First there flourished those most famous robbers, Robert Hood, an Englishman, and Little John, who lay in wait but spoiled of their goods only those that were wealthy. They took the life of no man unless either he attacked them or offered resistance in the defence of his property. Robert supported by his plundering one hundred bowmen, ready fighters everyone, with whom four hundred of the strongest would not dare engage in combat. The feats of Robert are sung all over Britain. He would allow no woman to suffer injustice, nor would he spoil the poor, but rather enriched them from the plunder taken from abbotts. The robberies of this man I condemn, but of all the robbers he was the most humanist and the chief." 7

That he placed Robin Hood under Richard the 1st - Richard the Lionheart (1190-1199) - has been of great importance to the legend; today one cannot see Robin Hood in a different period. Jim Lees does not think, however, that Major meant Richard the Lionheart, but the brother of King Henry the 3rd. This Richard acted for some time as regent of England, and he was also known as "King" Richard or more correctly "Richard D'Allmaine" - Richard King of the Germans . 8

The question is how reliable these sources are and whom one should believe. Apart from these years and considerations we have nothing to rely on except some hints in "A Gest of Robyn Hood", such as "Edwarde, our comly kynge" 9. That makes it almost impossible to find one specific time for the birth of the Robin Hood legend. However, I will try to explain some of the conditions that can explain why the Robin Hood legend was able to come into existence.

In medieval England highway robbery and outlaw bands in the English forests were nothing new or unusual, it was rather normal. And it wasn't only the poor and criminals who were highway robbers. Also the gentry hired people to rob 10, for example as a part of a personal feud. And of course the peasants had to pay the biggest price for it. Corruption wasn't unusual either. A strong patron was often a way to a favourable outcome of a trial. Sheriffs were known to help, for a certain price.

In a ballad from 1305 11- at a time when the Robin Hood legend was already established - we see how the outlaw life is praised and the legal system is accused of corruption and injustice. In it the forest is praised and the audience is encouraged to come to the forest and join the "companies" there. He, the narrator, has been falsely accused and is thus an outlaw. In the middle ages to be declared outlaw was considered to be the same as a false accusation. To declare a person outlaw was the final way for the law but it was still one which was often used. It is therefore easy to understand why the outlaws were helped by the common population - e.g. the outlaw in this ballad asks for help in the form of prayers. Thus, it would not be difficult for Robin to be portrayed as a "noble" bandit. And it is not difficult to see why a legend as the one about Robin Hood could become popular.

The question is then how it came into existence. There are at least three theories:

a) Robin Hood is a historical person,

b) Robin Hood is a completely fictitious person

c) Robin Hood is a mythological figure

Robin has been associated with different forest gods. For example "The Green Man", who, from ancient times, has been a fertility god. He stands for the changing of the seasons; when winter came he died and in spring he was reborn in a ritual birth. Or Robin's name "Hood" might be a distortion of "Wode" or "Hode" - forest gods. Another figure he in more resent times have been compared to is "Robin Goodfellow" - a kind of pixy, a trickster.

It is easy to see why Robin Hood had been associated with these gods. He lives in the forest, his name is Robin Hood, and in the legend Robin's tricks with different persons, especially with the sheriff of Nottingham, are often emphazised.

This theory can, however, be dismissed, according to J. C. Holt 12 . For in the oldest texts we have about Robin Hood there is nothing indicating anything mythological or pagan. Robin Hood is devoted to the Virgin Mary, and in those texts that is very important cf. "A Gest of Robyn Hode". First later has the mythological/pagan element been added. For instance through the May Games. Now, however, it is often a part of the Robin Hood legend 13.

Apart from the theory about a completely fictitious person some scholars think that the Robin Hood legend was originally two separate legends; one in Barnsdale in Yorkshire, and one in Sherwood in Nottinghamshire 14. That explains for instance why the early texts do not agree on where Robin Hood lived; if it was in Barnsdale or in Sherwood. Other things are likewise explained with this theory, but I will not go into that here.

J.C. Holt does not believe that the legends can be purely fiction 15. The legend is not exaggerated. There are exaggerations but not any more than in other legends with foundation in reality. The places mentioned do exist. He believes that it is most likely that it is a mix of fiction and reality 16. But we know nothing with any certainty. No one at the time Robin Hood lived, whenever it was, has written that he knew Robin Hood or had seen him. But of course that does not prove that no one had. Only few, primarily monks, knew how to read and write so it was up to them alone to pass on history. And the clergy did not like the common people's enthusiasm for the legend. So they would not be the first ones to write about him.

Consequently, we have no way of finding out how the legend started. Its origin is lost forever.

In the next chapter I will try to consider the question whether or not there was a historical Robin Hood.

References

4 See the chapter "The first references"
5 The Quest for Robin Hood page 30
6 The Quest for Robin Hood page 31
7 Jim Lees; The Quest for Robin Hood, page 134
8 Jim Lees; The Quest for Robin Hood, page 134
9 "A Gest of Robyn Hode" stanza 353 and "The oldest texts - 1400-1600"
10 Dobson & Taylor: Rymes of Robyn Hood page 26
11 "An Outlaw's Song of Trailbaston".
12 D & T: Rymes of Robyn Hood page 250
13 J. C. Holt: Robin Hood page 56 see for example the tv-series "Robin of Sherwood" 
which is filled with black magic and pagan gods.
14 D & T: Rymes of Robyn Hood page 15
15 J.C. Holt: Robin Hood page 56
16 see next chapter 

IS THERE A HISTORICAL ROBIN HOOD?

"True, Robin as we know him is not a historical man, he is a legend. In some ways that's stronger and more important than being a man. So is there a 'historical' Robin Hood (as in a figure who inspired the legend) perhaps not, is there a Robin Hood, most definitely. He lives in our hearts and imagination." 17

A s I briefly mentioned in the last chapter at least 7 men, mainly criminals, were between 1261 and 1300 given the surname of "Robinhood" in some form or another in different official documents. Thus, a search for a historical Robin Hood has to start before this period. There are several more or less likely candidates for a historical Robin Hood. In the following I will treat two of these. Robert de Kyme and a Robert Hod.

Most scholars agree that the original Robin Hood was a peasant. Their argument is that there is nothing in the earliest ballads which states that he is a nobleman. He is a "yeoman". Furthermore it was not until later, especially with Munday's plays in 1600 that Robin Hood was really identified with a nobleman. But Jim Lees does not share that opinion. He is convinced that the historical Robin Hood was noble and that he has identified him. His candidate is Robert de Kyme. He lived in the 13th century and was the pretended Earl of Huntingdon - a title which today is part of the modern legend. Robert was outlawed and many things in the span of his life co-ordinates with "A Gest of Robyn Hode" .18.

Jim Lees builds his theory of a noble Robin Hood especially on "A Gest" and the meaning of the middle-English words. He does not think that the word "yeoman" refers to Robin's social status but is just used as "a good guy". Furthermore, he believes that "yeoman" means a man of some status. Another argument he uses is that when Walter Bower writes that Robin and Little John were praised in "tragedy", he in fact speaks of a nobleman who has become an outlaw. He relies on Chaucer's definition of a tragedy which states that; "Tragedy means a certain kind of story,As old books tell, of those who fell from glory, People that stood in great prosperity And were cast down out of their high degree. Into calamity and so they died." 19

He might be right. The World Wide Robin Hood Society has begun a search of a man who could have the conclusive proof that Robert de Kyme was in fact Robin Hood. 20 It is a very interesting theory, because today the Robin Hood on films is always, or nearly always, of noble birth. He is the Earl of Locksley or Huntingdon. So today it is an established part of the legend that he is a nobleman, even though he is still portrayed as a "commoner" in some versions. The two versions co-exist today.

However, several scholars have criticised this theory, among others J. C. Holt. He criticises it particularly due to the pedigree, made by Dr. William Stukely in 1746, which Jim Lees has revised and used for his theory. He believes that this pedigree is pure fiction.

The other candidates for Robin Hood are mostly common men.

As I briefly mentioned in the last chapter the oldest "Robin Hood"-surname, is from 1261-62. This surname is more interesting than the others that have been found. In this case it is actually possible to see how it was "created". William, son of Robert le Fervere (the Smith), appears in 1261 in Berkshire. The following year he appears again, this time as William Robehod. At some point in the administration-process the name has been changed by someone who has known the legend and thereby found it appropriate to change the name. That means that in 1262 the legend of Robin Hood was already known, and consequently that any historical person has to be found before this time. We have a candidate for it. He is mentioned in the York assizes in 1226. Among the fines mentioned there is one for Robert Hod, fugetive. The next year the name appears again this time in a more everyday language as Hobbehod. We hardly know anything about this man; the document which could tells us more about the charges against him has not survived. One thing is certain however; he had escaped justice and was thus an outlaw.

Furthermore, he is the only "original" Robin Hood - being given this nickname - who is know to have been an outlaw .21.

Holt thinks however, that another theory is more likely. William became William Robehod in 1262 - a Robin Hood was created. Holt believes that things indicate that there was not a real Robin Hood, but many. Each of them added something of his own history to the legend. Through time the legend has become such a mix of fiction and reality that it is now impossible to find the origin of it, and thereby determining whether it is fictitious or historical.

I think that Holt's theory, that one historic person has started it all in some way and others have then helped create the legend with his own accomplishments, seems highly probable. I am convinced that the legend must have originated in something historic. I cannot imagine that Robin Hood is a throughout fictitious character. However I can not believe that the present legend surrounding his name is completely true, and that is what Holt's theory states.

Together with this question about a "historic" Robin Hood, there is the question whether this search for this person is important. We have the legend as it exists today and to find a person who perhaps won't look like "our" Robin Hood will not change anything. But still people have tried to find him for hundreds of years. And today it is almost a part of the legend itself. It is a interesting and exiting quest but it has no real importance for the legend. There is a Robin Hood whether he is a historical person or not. Robin Hood today is more than a historical person, he has become his legend. The legend has developed through 800 years so the "real" Robin Hood will not be "our" Robin Hood .

References

17 From Robin Hood - "Bold outlaw of Barnsdale and Sherwood" website. This quotation is from the discussion
   forum "The Blue Boar Inn", but the site has been updated so this quotation has been lost.
   I have, however, used this quotation none the less, because it gives the essence of the 
   question of a search for a historical Robin Hood.
18 See more in the chapter "The oldest texts - 1400-1600
19 The Quest for Robin Hood page 127
20 See World Wide Robin Hood Society Bulletin, January 2000
21 J.C. Holt: "Robin Hood" page 54 See also World Wide Robin Hood Society Main Forum,
 

THE FIRST REFERENCES

The first time we meet Robin Hood in written sources is in 1304, if you ignore the nicknames to criminals mentioned earlier. The name appears in a title of a poem about William Wallace .23 In this Wallace is described as the Scottish Robin Hood:

"(This is a) Latin saying or rhyme by the Prior of Alnwick in the time of the Scots war at Dunbar in the time of Edward I about William Wallace, the Scottish Robin Hood. He sings (writes) many things, but scurrilously." 24

That means that already at that time an established legend existed. The second time we hear about Robin Hood is in Piers Plowman from 1377.

"If I shulde deye bi this day · me liste noughte to loke;
I can noughte perfitly my pater-noster · as the prest it syngeth,
But I can rymes of Robyn hood · and Randolf erle of Chestre,
Ac neither of owre lorde ne of owre lady · the leste that evere was made." 25

 "On old Englis it is said
Unkissid is unknowun;
And many men speken of Robyn Hood,
And shotte nevere in his bowe." 

23 Scottish freedom fighter, executed 1305
25 The Quest for Robin Hood page 29
25 D &T: Rymes of Robyn Hood page 1
26 D & T: Rymes of Robyn Hood page 2
27 D & T: Rymes of Robyn Hood page 2
28 Rymes of Robyn Hood page 3
29 see the chapter "The birth of the legend"         

THE OLDEST TEXTS - 1400 -1600 30

The Robin Hood legend has never been static. So, to find out; firstly how the legend looks today and why it looks that way. Secondly why it is still popular after 700 years or more, one has to examine how and why it has changed through the centuries. We have three texts before 1600. Two of them are "Robin Hod and the Monk", which is the oldest text we have, and "A Gest of Robyn Hode" which is a little later. The problem with many Robin Hood ballads is that they have only survived in later texts but they still show signs of medieval/earlier origin. It is therefore often difficult to date them precisely.

Most scholars believes that "A Gest" is pieced together of many earlier, now lost, ballads. It is thus not the "original" Robin Hood ballad. The "original", how the legend looked before, is lost. But J. C. Holt has tried to examine what has been added through the times, and if possible, at what time 31. But exactly what the legend consisted of before, we have no way of knowing for certain. The references we have does not mention anything, or only a little, except the name. There is nothing about the content of the legend. "A Gest" is therefore considered not to be the (original) legend in the middle ages but the way it looked when "A Gest" was written down, around 1500. "A Gest" is the longest and thus one of the most important of the early surviving ballads 32.

So, even though it was written down later than "The Monk", I will describe how the Robin Hood character looks in this text first. Thereby I will lay the foundation of the legend and from this describe the changes which have been made through the centuries.

"A Gest" consists of three separate tales; 1) the tale of the knight and the repayment of his debt 33. 2) Robin Hood and the sheriff of Nottingham 34, and 3) Robin Hood and the king 35

In between these a few other stories are mixed, for instance "Robin Hood and the Monk" 36 and "Little John and the sheriff". The ballad ends with a seven stanzas long summary of Robin Hoods death 37. All these stories undoubtedly originated in separate ballads but have been collected in "A Gest" in an attempt to make a continual tale. Thus, there are many loose ends, for instance when we hear that the knight and his men put on clothes which they have bought overseas 38. We hear nothing about this journey..

It would carry us too far if I summarised "A Gest" here so I will only describe some characteristic things in it.

Little John and Will Scarlok - or Scarlet -, are here from the start, but there are no Friar Tuck or Maid Marian. Robin is very religious and devoted to the Virgin Mary. For instance he lends £400 to the knight when he gives his word by her.

We do not hear that Robin robs the rich to give to the poor but something of the kind we do hear. We do hear about the law 39 the outlaws have to live by; they are not allowed to touch women, or honest peasants. But the sheriff of Nottingham and the bishops they must note. And in the final stanza we hear that "he was a good outlawe, and dyde pore men moch god.". So something of the sort we do hear.

Robin is constantly described as courageous, just, "curteyse", "prude", etc. The sheriff and the abbot are however described as false and greedy. For example the sheriff does not keep his word not to touch Robin 40. - The sheriff dies in the end - the Good is victorious.

The outlaws "invite" guests to dine with them but after the feast the guests have to pay, but only according to wealth. If the guest lies, as the monk, he has to let go of all he has, but if he speaks the truth, as the knight, Robin Hood takes nothing or half, as he does with the king. So he rewards honesty and those who needs help can count on the outlaws. The funny thing is, however, that all the "bad guys" lie and all the "good guys" tell the truth. Which is very convenient. When the king, whose name is not Richard, but "Edwarde, our comly kynge" 41 , goes into the forest to find Robin Hood he is invited to dine with them. During a show of archery Robin misses the target and as punishment the king knocks Robin to the ground. So, though Robin is a master archer and leader of the outlaw band, he is not infallible or invincible. That fact is emphasized later 42.

In the end Robin dies but only because of treason. There is no other way for the hero to die than by treason.

"Robin Hood and the Monk" is the oldest surviving Robin Hood ballad we have; it's from about 1450. It is much more exiting then the "A Gest", and the character sketches are much better as well. Here we for instance hear about a conflict between Robin and Little John because of Robins violent temper - a thing which is also mentioned in other of early ballads. Once again we hear that he is deeply devoted to the Virgin Mary - he even risks his life to go to Mass in Nottingham!

The oldest texts are much more violent than the later legend. Without delay Robin kills the sheriff in "A Gest", justified by the sheriff's cowardly capture of Sir Richard 43. In addition Little John and Much kill the monk and the squire to shut their mouths in "The Monk" 44. But, despite the violence of these actions it does not seem repulsive to the reader. The end justifies the means in this context. And it does take place in a medieval society.

In the 15th and 16th centuries there were "peoples plays" about Robin Hood. Persons were hired to play Robin Hood and Little John. They gathered money, "gatherings" for the church to be used for charity. Perhaps this has been a large contributor to the idea of "robbing the rich to give to the poor".

In the 16th century Robin Hood played a dominant role in the English May Games and the later Morris Dances and thereby the common knowledge of Robin Hood was promoted. Through these festivals more characters were added to the legend, for instance Maid Marian and Friar Tuck. Thus, this period when the legend was a part of these festivals was, though it was only brief, probably one of the most important periods in the legend's history. More characters were added and the legend was diffused.

References

30 Through the development of the legend there are of course several things taking place 
   at the same time, there are for example also plays about Robin Hood in this period with 
   ballads. But it would be impossible to sketch all of them here so I'm only going to 
   describe the largest "media" and changes.
31 J. C. Holt: Robin Hood page 191
32 The oldest Robin Hood ballads were not sung, as for example the "real" ballads but were 
   recited. Not until later do the texts bear signs of having been sung.
33Fyttes (part) I, II, IV
34 Fyttes III, V, VI
35 Fyttes VII, VIII
36 it is not the same as the ballad "Robin Hood and the Monk"
37 "A Gest", stanza 450
38 "A Gest", stanza 97
39 "A Gest", stanza 10-16
40 "A Gest", stanza 296
41 "A Gest", stanza 353
42 see "the expansion of the legend 1600-1800"
43 "A Gest", stanza 331
44 "Robin Hood and the Monk", stanza 52

THE EXPANSION OF THE LEGEND - 1600 - 1800

T hroughout the 17th century the May Games and the Morris Dances continued. The legend had now expanded to every social class.

There were two large "periods" in this time period. The first period consisted of plays, and the other of ballads. The plays changed the legend forever. The ballads preserved the legend for posterity.

Even though plays about Robin Hood had existed before a change took place in the 17th century with the Elizabethan dramatics. Anthony Munday's two plays 45; "The downfall" and "The death of Robert, earl of Huntingdon" from 1600 are the only ones to have survived though the theme has been used often by the dramatics of this time. Munday immediately identifies Robin Hood as the Earl of Huntingdon and the action takes place in Richard the Lionheart's days. Maid Marian's name is Maltilda and she is sought after by Prince John, and Queen Elinor is in love with Robert! This obstructs Robert's and Matilda's love. Robert is indebted to his uncle, the prior of York. Robert's servant betrays him and Robert is outlawed, and becomes Robin. This is followed by several events and in the end King Richard returns. Surprisingly Robin asks the King to take Prince John back in his grace! Never before and never again has such a thing been seen. - Munday treated some of his various sources with "a freedom which occasionally borders on violence."46 as it is clearly shown here. He fully uses his "artistic freedom".

In the second play, "The death…" Robin dies in the first act. He dies a "romantic death"; his love (for Matilda) keeps him alive long enough to say goodbye. The rest of the play is about "the lamentable Tragedie of chaste Matilda" 47

In 1632 Martin Parker, the most respected professional ballad-writer in London, writes "A True Tale of Robin Hood" 48. It is an attempt to collect the legend at the time - as was, as mentioned earlier, probably the case with "A Gest" as well. It shows that many of the characteristic things in the modern legend has crystallised themselves at this time. Marian and Friar Tuck are not there, but Robin is the Earl of Huntingdon and he lives at the time of Richard the Lionheart. Parker puts more emphasis on Robin's "gentleness" and generosity towards the poor than his predecessors. He is also very hostile towards the clergy - which is an aspect of his own time and attitude rather than an element in the Robin Hood legend itself. He has no comic features in his tale which many, or most, of the other Robin Hood ballads of the 17th century have. His "A True Tale.." was not as popular as many of the other ballads of the time were..

After 1649, when the puritans had taken power in England, Robin Hood plays were prohibited together with a lot of other things; all things pagan, Catholic and unrestrained.

Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries Robin Hood ballads were printed as broadsheet ballads. They were, unlike the medieval ballads, supposed to be sung. These ballads quickly became the main means of expression for the legend. There were quickly many of these ballads and it is after inspiration from these that Parker writes his "A True Tale". More tales were created but most of them were stereotyped and created to fit a certain prosody and melody. Thus, the legend was preserved but it had to pay by being frozen in content. Robin was now not a nobleman but a urban figure. The most popular tales, if one should judge that by the ballads that survives, are when Robin is in (single) combat with a artisan and is defeated by him. Robin is consequently not invincible in these ballads - only to the sheriff. Robin in the broadsheet ballads is less tragic, less heroic, and less mature than the Robin Hood character in the middle ages.

The courteous elements are either suppressed or the object of coarse parody. There is no romantic element in the legend which was highly the case in the two previous texts. If there is a romantic element it is humorous and not emotional. These ballads are not great art; they were printed after supply and demand, nothing else. But they did supply the legend with the now well-known element of single-combat as a way for Robin to get new members, but showing himself not to be invincible.

After 1688 the broadsheet ballads continued but not to the same extent at all, and only a few have survived. Now these ballads were not the main means of expression for the legend. Instead it was Robin Hood Garlands which brought the legend onwards in the 18th and 19th centuries. They were normally thicker, due to more ballads, and thereby more expensive than the normal garlands. There was normally 16 ballads in a Robin Hood garland and it was normally the same ballads. The garlands were nothing more than collections of the old broadsheet ballads and nothing new was added.

The first attempt to liberate the legend of the dead weight which had piled up was made in 1765 when Thomas Percy published a book in which one could read "Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne" 49. This started a ballad mania and a new and modern Robin Hood character. A huge interest appeared around Robin Hood, but the old idea that Robin Hood was inappropriate for serious study was difficult to wipe out.

Joseph Ritson is the man who holds the credits of the rehabilitation of Robin Hood after this period with stagnation. In 1795 he published a collection of the oldest ballads and through the 19th century it has been reprinted again and again, and today it remains one of the most important works about Robin Hood. Only in 1888 with Francis Child 50 his work was surpassed. Ritson even went further than just giving a study of Robin Hood. He also popularised and legitimised the serious study of Robin Hood and pushed on the question of a historical Robin Hood. Furthermore, he made an influential interpretation of the legend. He is the first who really changed Robin Hood to a throughout ideological hero. It is from him the revolutionary Robin Hood dates. It was very much because of his own ideas; he was a strong advocate of the French revolution and this is evident in his interpretation of Robin Hood, where the People are the "good guys".

"[Robin Hood is] a man who, in a barbarous age, and under a complicated tyranny, displayed a spirit of freedom and independence which has endeared him to the common people, whose cause he maintained (for all opposition to tyranny is the cause of the people), and, in spite of the malicious endeavours of pitiful monks, by whom history was consecrated to the crimes and follies of titled ruffians and sainted idiots, to suppress all record of his patriotic exertions and virtuous acts, will render his name immortal." 51

References

45 D & T: Rymes of Robyn Hood page 220
46 D & T: Rymes of Robyn Hood page 222
47 D & T: Rymes of Robyn Hood page 222
48 D & T: Rymes of Robyn Hood page 187
49 one of the oldest and most violent of the Robin Hood ballads
50 collector of Robin Hood texts
51 see Benturner says, "welcome…" (see www.benturner.com))

THE MODERN LEGEND - 1800 - 2000

T he broadsheet ballads and the Garlands were now becoming extinct but the legend was saved by professional writers and poets. It had to pay a high price for this survival; no writer was able to make the legend contemporary and thus Robin became, not a real outlaw, but an idyllic symbol of pre-industrial "merry England", filled with nostalgia.

In 1818 Walter Scott's "Ivanhoe" was published and it has been important to the Robin Hood legend throughout the whole 19th century. It portrays a whole new Robin Hood figure. It is a person who, despite his courage and loyal followers, are condemned to follow the passing of time and die 52. John Keat's "Robin Hood: To a Friend" 53 is a good example of this attitude and it was present throughout the 19th century. It is his dirge to Robin Hood. It is written in 1818, a time when it was really respectable to write about Robin Hood for the first time and when the cult around Robin Hood was at it's peak; three texts were for example written this year 54.

More important than these nostalgic texts has in the last 150 years been the large juvenile interest. The legend has probably for much longer been read mainly by children and young people. The legend has had an appeal to juveniles because of the adventure and "the free life in the forest" etc. But for the first time books were published especially for this age group. And that has helped securing the survival of the legend.

At the end of the 19th century Robin Hood conquered America and the climax came with Howard Pyle's book "The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood" 55 in 1883. Since then it has been reprinted several times. In his book Pyle ties the traditional ballads into one story.

Since that time there has been numerous retellings of the legend and today most Robin Hood books are often written and considered as children's books.

In this century (the 20th century) another media has gained ground as promoter of the Robin Hood legend; the film. The first film appeared in 1909 and others quickly followed suit. The most popular and to many the only "classic" film is "The Adventures of Robin Hood" starring Errol Flynn from 1938. Here, as in most of the Robin Hood films 56, Robin is a nobleman. The most important elements in the films are Robin's fight against the Sheriff of Nottingham and his fight for justice for the Saxons. The films all take place under Richard the Lionheart. Today it is thus close to impossible to remove Robin from this time period. It is so incorporated a part of the legend that it is impossible.

In the films Robin is often an outlawed nobleman and a leader of a Saxon rebellion against the tyrannical Normans. He regains his title and the King gives him the aristocratic Marian - she is often also the king's ward - at the his return.

Another change has happened due to the film. It has been necessary to press the legend down to the length of a normal feature film and thereby some of the periodical structure which exists in the legend has been lost 57. An exception to this is the British tv-series from the 80's 58. It consists of 26 episodes and nearly all of them are independent from the rest. The series is filled with magic and pagan gods, Robin is for instance the son of Herne - a forest god. I think it is one of the best modern versions of the Robin Hood legend. It is realistic and gives you a very good insight into the characters. None of them are infallible. There are fights in the camp and the group only has seven members, not more than a hundred as in Pyle's novel. Furthermore, Robin Hood dies in this series and is revived in a new shape and social status. The first Robin Hood is a peasant, son of a rebel, and the next one is son of a nobleman - the son of the Earl of Huntingdon 59.

One of the modern novels about Robin Hood is Robin McKinley's "The Outlaws of Sherwood". It is very different than the usual portrayal of the legend. Robin is no master archer, Marian is. He is a pessimist and against a "rebel band" in the forest. He has been a forester - he is by no means a nobleman - so he knows the work of the foresters from within and knows how difficult it would be to hide in the forest, no matter how large it might be. The novel is very realistic. You hear about the problems they have in surviving and hiding in the forest and you are given a very good insight in the characters. All in all I think it is an excellent novel about Robin Hood, perhaps one of the best I've read.

Now as never before the Robin Hood legend is subjected to scholarly investigation. But still many questions remain unanswered. His is still as elusive as when the Sheriff was looking for him 700 years ago 60.

References

52 D & T: Rymes of Robyn Hood page 57
53 D & T: Rymes of Robyn Hood page 198
54 Scott's "Ivanhoe", Peacock's "Maid Marian" and Keat's "Robin Hood: To a Friend"
55 The complete title is: "The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood of Great Renown 
   in Nottinghamshire"
56 an exception to this is the tv-series from the 1980's "Robin of Sherwood"
57 see for example Howard Pyle's Robin Hood - the chapters are episodes and 
   not necessarily coherent
58 "Robin of Sherwood"
59 There are two versions of the legend living side by side today. 
   The series is an excellent example of this.
60 See quotation on the first page