How old is the legend of Robin Hood?

Answer 1

The age of the legend is very difficult to estimate exactly, since it is unknown precisely when Robin Hood may have lived (if he was a real person), and unfortunately records from the time are incomplete. Another problem is that it is almost certain that the first Robin Hood tales were transmitted orally (i.e. through the songs of the minstrels, and popular rhymes and tales).

The earliest literary reference is usually taken to date from 1377, when William Langland wrote the Middle English work Piers Plowman - in a throwaway reference, the character Sloth (a lazy priest) tells us that he doesn't know his Lord's Prayer perfectly, but does know tales of Robin Hood:

I kan not parfitly my Paternoster as the preest it singeth, But I kan rhymes of Robyn Hood, and Ranulf erle of Chestre

We can say with certainty, then, that the legend was already known by 1377. The earliest known written tales of Robin Hood probably date from the mid-1400s, and in many ways are quite different from the legend we know today - for instance, the tales can be quite violent; Maid Marian or Friar Tuck are absent (having entered the tradition later); there is very little 'robbing from the rich to give to the poor' (though Robin is a 'good outlaw'); and Robin is a yeoman rather than a disinherited Earl.

However, there is some evidence that the tradition goes back further than this: Professor J. C. Holt in his book Robin Hood argues that the occurrence in official records of the surname 'Robinhood' and its variants, the earliest example of which goes back to 1261-2, shows an already-developing tradition, and that the surname is likely applied as a nickname to criminals after the Robin mould. The legend is therefore known to date back about 750 years, and perhaps further.

However, it doesn't appear that Robin can have lived much earlier than this first reference, and so if there was an 'original' Robin Hood, it is even possible that his legend began to spread in his own lifetime.

Given the Robin Hood story line emerges from the excessive taxation of the House of Plantagenets, the French rulers over England at the time, it seems logical that the advent of the Robin Hood tales would correlate to the Crusades and more specifically to King Richard the Lion Heart who died in France in 1199 and was succeeded by his even more evil brother John.

Another interesting tidbit: John agreed to then later reneged and finally signed a charter to give commoners basic human rights in exchange for fending off a French invasion of England. Although John was basically evil, his charter became known as the Magna Carta which is the foundation of American democracy.

Answer 2

He became a outlaw for killing a deer, and then robbing the rich.

Answer 3

15

Answer 4

19