All of our lives we have heard the tales of Robin Hood or Robin of Loxley. In a way, it sort of reminds one of the tale of King Arthur. It is a tale that might be fiction or it might be fact. The things that most of us have heard and seen in Hollywood films just embellish the legend of Robin, but the first thing that we have to ask ourselves is, WAS THERE REALLY A ROBIN HOOD to start with? How can you verify, with absolute certainty, that someone actually lived almost 900 years ago, specially if that person was an outlaw and lived in the woods at a time when records were sparse to begin with?

Robin Hood

I thought that it might be prudent to start at the end, that is, by finding the grave of Robin Hood. A grave was pointed out in the sixteenth century by John Leland the historian for King Henry VIII. He said that a grave at Kirklees was the resting place of Robin Hood. There was a Priory there and it's ruins are near Brighouse in West Yorkshire. It is said that in the time of Robin Hood, the Priory was run by his cousin a nun and he had went there to be bled for his health. A few hundred years later, a headstone was placed there by Sir George Armytage II which called him, Robert Earl of Huntingdon as Robin Hood. William Stukeley's Itinerarium Curiosum 1776 had a map in it of Robin Hood's burial place and again it was listed as Kirklees. It is said that the grave is near what was an ancient highway. The highway wasn't used after 1815, it had been replaced by a better road. It always seems that there is a fly in the ointment. Here is the bad thing about the grave, most experts think it is in the wrong place. The reasoning behind this is the fact that the grave has been moved a few times. The chances of the site actually being the grave of Robin Hood are pretty slim. The general area does seem to bear out, according to historical records.

Just for the sake of this article let's assume that there was a person named Robin Hood. Why would a rich noble become an outlaw. Hollywood showed us that his lands were taken by the Sheriff of Nottingham and his father killed. It went on to say that Robin had been a knight, in the Crusades, fighting with King Richard the Lion Hearted, but that the king's brother, John, wanted the throne and the sheriff worked for John. Here is a little tidbit for you. Remember how the Da Vinci code stated that the Angevin kings were the descendants of Jesus? John was the last of the Angevin kings. Was John really as evil as he was painted in the movies? I let you decide after I tell you a fact about him. He starved the wife and child of William de Braose to death in prison and also hung dozens of hostages. So, what do you think? There is no doubt what so ever that John and Richard were real people. A historian in the seventeenth century stated that Robin ran away from home after wounding his step father. This is far from the legend that I just told you about. He also stated that Little John was the son of the Earl of Huntley. A grave exists for Little John. It is on the grounds of Hathersage Church. There is a stone on Little John's gave that acknowledges him as the lieutenant of Robin Hood.

There are so many different tales about Robin Hood that it would be impossible to pick the one that is absolutely correct, if indeed, any of them are. One thing about the early tales is that they don't all picture Robin as the generous thief that robs from the rich and gives to the poor. Some picture Robin as a Saxon who hated the Norman authorities. England had been under Normal rule for about 100 years by the time of Robin Hood. The first mention of Robin Hood that we can find, was in William Langland's Piers Plowman in 1377. It seems that in 1439 there was a person in England that got a gang of criminals together and moved into the woods. It does seem to have been too late to have been Robin Hood, but it is quite a coincidence. A work was written sometime around 1450 that cited the fact that Robin Hood arose from the ranks of nobles who had been deprived of their estates.

What about Maid Marian? Did she actually exist? It doesn't seem that any of that is true. It seems that she was introduced into the tale of Robin Hood in a later time period.

How did Robin Hood die? Ancient ballads sing about him being betrayed and killed by a relative at the priory. Many people believe that his cousin simply let him bleed to death during a bleeding session. It was believed during these times, that occasional bleeding was very good for you and many people practiced this. What a great relative to have, but maybe it wasn't as sinister as it sounds? Perhaps they both fell asleep while he was being bled or maybe she couldn't stop the bleeding? How would we ever know?

Let's look to see if one more of Robin's Merry Men was an actual person. Will Scarlet has to be the person we look for. In the movies he is always pictured as the singing minstrel. He was known by at least six differently spelled last names. He is spoken about in the very early ballads about Robin Hood. Some think that Will Scarlet was really a noblemen named Young Gamwell, of Maxfield. Supposedly he left his estate after he killed the cook. It is believed that the grave of Will Scarlet is marked by a monument that sits in the middle of Sherwood Forest. The stone is from the old church tower and doesn't bear any name on it. It is said that Scarlet was killed by the sheriff's men and Little John immediately avenged him.

Well, what do you think? Was Robin Hood real? Did any of his men actually live? These are questions that have been puzzling historians for many hundreds of years. You are welcome to leave your comments.