Biography
Take your life in your hands as we encounter some famous English outlaws, and trace Robin's roots in early British mythology
The Basics
The many stories and legends of Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men (not forgetting Maid Marian) form one of the richest and most complex bodies of English mythology of all. Living by their own rules in the northern forests, they set themselves apart from society, acting as outlaws in taking money and goods from rich travellers and redistributing them among the poor.
Outlaws
Robin Hood is an outlaw, meaning someone "outside the law". Unable to claim any legal protection, an outlaw could be hunted down like a wild animal. The outlaw's life was dangerous, yet it was also seen as enviable, since he was free from all the restrictions of ordinary life. He did not have to work or go to church and he paid no taxes.
Robin and Bad Prince John
Film versions of Robin Hood often place the story in 1192-4, when King Richard the Lionheart was a prisoner of the German Emperor Henry VI, and his scheming brother, Prince John, came close to seizing the throne.
Early British Mythology
The most complete body of early British mythology to pre-date the Robin Hood legends is the world of King Arthur and his Round Table. These romances date from early medieval times, and are distantly based on a historical figure whose true name is the subject of continuing dispute. He is likely to have been a Celtic warlord who made one of the last stands (perhaps even the last stand) against the invading Anglo-Saxon hordes in around AD 500, at the Battle of Badon Hill.
