Robin Hood

a noted English outlaw. He is said to have lived about 1160-1247. According to popular belief, he surrounded himself with a band of daring spirits and lived by killing the king's deer and relieving the purses of fat churchmen and travelers. The greenwood of Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire and the vales of Barnes-dale were his home. According to one account, he was a staunch Saxon driven to the forest to escape the tyranny of the Normans. At any rate, he was a bold spirit. Little John, a man of gigantic stature and a master stroke with the quarterstaff and broadsword, was his lieutenant. Friar Tuck played the priest in time of need. Will Stutely, Will Scarlet, and Midge, the miller's son, were of the band. They built huts of bark and branches. They slept on beds of leaves covered with the skins of deer. They built roaring campfires and feasted on venison and wine. Allan-a-Dale, the minstrel, gave them music for their dancing, and Robin himself taught them to fit the arrow and wield the cudgel. They lived a boisterous, outdoor life. The fat abbots, the sheriff, that is to say the judge, of Nottinghamshire, and the Bishop of Hereford were their aversion. Every innkeeper within a day's journey of the forest was in league with them. They plundered the wealthy and aided the poor. Woe betide the proud noble who ventured to oppress a poor man. His game was killed, his cattle were stolen, and it behooved him to keep his armor closed in passing a copse lest a gray goose shaft sped from the bow of Robin or one of his men reach him. Robin and his followers made it their boast that they never hurt fair maid or man in woman's company.

At the end of his adventures Robin fell ill of a fever. He applied for aid to the treacherous prioress of the nunnery of Kirklees. According to the medical practice of the day, she let his blood, but unsuspected by Robin, allowed his very life to bleed away. In his weakness, he blew three weak blasts on his horn. His faithful followers came, but too late. Robin raised himself by a last effort, looked out through the window, drew his bow for the last time, and directed that he be buried where his arrow fell.

The first mention of Robin Hood in literature occurs in Piers Plowman, the date of which is about 1377. A loutish country lad, Sloth by name, professes little knowledge of the Lord's Prayer, but knows the rhymes of Robin Hood. The literary material pertaining to Robin Hood--ballads and country-side traditions--have been woven into a connected tale by more than one writer. One of the most successful attempts is The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle. Under the name of Locksley, Scott introduces Robin and his band of archers in Ivanhoe.

Robinson Crusoe. See Defoe; Daniel