A statue of Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest, near Edwinstowe in Nottinghamshire. Some of the earliest tales of Robin Hood locate him further north, haunting the Barnsdale Road in Yorkshire, or as far as Inglewood Forest in Cumbria. The anonymous Polychronicon (1460) located him in Sherwood and assigned him to the reign of Edward I (r. 1272-1307); but Walter Bower (1440) set Robin in the struggle between Henry III (r. 1216-1272) and Simon de Montfort, whereas John Major (1521) pushed him all the way back to Richard I (r. 1189-1199). Most likely, Robin is a composite, and all of these are as false as they are true.
ABOUT this time it was, as I conceive, that there flourished those most famous robbers Robert Hood,* an Englishman, and Little John, who lay in wait in the woods, but spoiled of their goods those only that were wealthy.* They took the life of no man, unless either he attacked them or offered resistance in defence of his property. Robert supported by his plundering one hundred bowmen, ready fighters every one, with whom four hundred of the strongest would not dare to engage in combat. The feats of this Robert are told in song 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 abbots.* The robberies of this man I condemn, but of all thieves he was the prince and the most gentle.
* In John Major’s Latin original, Robertus Hudus.
* See for example Robin Hood and the Debt of Honour.
* Today, Robin’s name is sometimes invoked by champions of the forcible redistribution of property by the State. It is difficult, however, to imagine him entrusting such a mission to the likes of the Sheriff of Nottingham or the Church hierarchy. See also Adam Smith on Fit and Proper Persons, and stories tagged Robin Hood (6).
Précis
In the reign of Henry VIII, Scottish historian John Major stated his belief that the famous outlaw Robin Hood had lived in the days of King Richard I. Major deplored the acts of robbery credited to Robin, but added in mitigation that he never took life wantonly, and was the very soul of chivalry towards women and the poor. (59 / 60 words)
