Robin HoodFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, searchFor other uses, see Robin Hood (disambiguation).Robin Hood memorial statue in Nottingham.Robin Hood is an archetypal figure in English folklore, whose story originates from medieval times but who remains significant in popular culture where he is painted as a man known for robbing the rich to give to the poor and fighting against injustice and tyranny. His band consists of a "seven score" group of fellow outlawed yeomen – called his "Merry Men".[1] He has been the subject of numerous films, television series, books, comics, and plays. In the earliest sources Robin Hood is a commoner, but he would often later be portrayed as the dispossessed Earl of Huntingdon. There is no consensus as to whether or not Robin Hood is based on any historical figure and little reliable historical evidence exists to support either side of this debate.OverviewIn popular culture Robin Hood and his band are usually seen as living in Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire. Much of the action of the early ballads does take place in Nottinghamshire, and the very earliest known ballad does show the outlaws operating in Sherwood Forest[2] So does the very first recorded Robin Hood rhyme, four lines from the beginning of the 15th century beginning "Robyn hoed in scherewode stood"[3] However, the overall picture from the surviving early ballads and other early references[3] shows Robin Hood based in the Barnsdale area of what is now South Yorkshire (which borders Nottinghamshire), and other traditions also point to Yorkshire.[4][5] A tradition dating back at least to the end of the 16th century gives his birthplace as Loxley in South Yorkshire, while the site of Robin Hood's Well in Yorkshire has been associated with Robin Hood at least since 1422.[6] His grave has been claimed to be at Kirklees Priory in West Yorkshire, as implied by the 18th century version of Robin Hood's Death, and there is a headstone there of dubious authenticity.[7]The first clear reference to "rhymes of Robin Hood" is from the late-14th century poem Piers Plowman, but the earliest surviving copies of the narrative ballads which tell his story have been dated to the 15th century or the first decade of the 16th century. In these early accounts Robin Hood's partisanship of the lower classes, his Marianism and associated special regard for women, his outstanding skill as an archer, his anti-clericalism and his particular animus towards the Sheriff of Nottingham are already clear.[8] Little John, Much the Miller's Son and Will Scarlet (as Will "Scarlok" or "Scathelocke") all appear, although not yet Maid Marian or Friar Tuck. It is not certain what should be made of these latter two absences as it is known that Friar Tuck for one was part of the legend since at least the later 15th century.[9]In popular culture Robin Hood is typically seen as a contemporary and supporter of the late-12th century king Richard the Lionheart, Robin being driven to outlawry during the misrule of Richard's evil brother John while Richard was away at the Third Crusade. This view first gained currency in the 16th century and has very little scholarly support.[10] It is certainly not supported by the earliest ballads. The early compilation A Gest of Robyn Hode names the king as "Edward", and while it does show Robin Hood as accepting the king's pardon he later repudiates it and returns to the greenwood. The oldest surviving ballad, Robin Hood and the Monk gives even less support to the picture of Robin Hood as a partisan of the true king. The setting of the early ballads is usually attributed by scholars to either the 13th century or the 14th, although it is recognised they are not necessarily historically consistent.[11]The early ballads are also quite clear on Robin Hood's social status, he is a yeoman. While the precise meaning of this term changed over time, including free retainers of an aristocrat and small landholders, it always referred to commoners. The essence of it in the present context was "neither a knight nor a peasant or 'husbonde' but something in between".[12] We know that artisans (such as millers) were among those regarded as "yeomen" in the 14th century.[13] From the 16th century on there were attempts to elevate Robin Hood to the nobility and in two extremely influential plays Anthony Munday presented him at the very end of the 16th century as the Earl of Huntingdon, as he is still commonly presented in modern times.[14]As well as ballads, the legend was also transmitted by "Robin Hood games" or plays that were an important part of the late medieval and early modern May Day festivities. The first record of a Robin Hood game was in 1426 in Exeter but the reference does not indicate how old or widespread this custom was at the time. The Robin Hood games are known to have flourished in the later 15th and the 16th centuries.[15] It is commonly stated as fact that Maid Marian and。