Robin Hood
Robin Hood
royaume d'Angleterre
8 min read
A legendary hero of English folklore, Robin Hood is an archer and outlaw said to have operated in England during the Middle Ages. An iconic figure of popular resistance, he embodies the ideal of robbing from the rich to give to the poor.
Frequently asked questions
Key Facts
- A legendary figure with no definitive historical evidence, first mentioned in English popular ballads from the 14th century onward
- Hero of Sherwood Forest in England, symbol of revolt against feudal injustice
- Central figure of English medieval legend, robbing from the rich to give to the poor
- Popularized through ballads, chivalric romances, and oral traditions of the late Middle Ages
- A myth still very much alive in popular culture, inspiring literature, theatre, and film
Works & Achievements
Robin Hood makes his home in Sherwood Forest, where he organizes a band of outlaws. This base becomes a symbol of resistance against oppressive authority and of life on the fringes of feudal society.
Robin Hood captures wealthy lords and royal officials, redistributing their wealth to peasants and the poor. This act becomes the heart of his legend and the archetype of popular social justice.
Robin Hood consistently stands against the Sheriff of Nottingham, the embodiment of unjust royal power. This rivalry symbolizes the conflict between popular justice and the oppressive feudal order.
Robin Hood gathers around him men such as Little John and Will Scarlet, forming a community of outlaws bound together by values of equality and brotherhood in Sherwood.
The legend of Robin Hood spreads through ballads and oral storytelling across England, making him a major folk hero who embodies the medieval common people's aspirations for justice and equality.
Robin Hood establishes the literary and cultural model of the justified outlaw — one whose criminal acts are given moral legitimacy by a righteous cause. This prototype would go on to influence literature and culture for centuries.
Anecdotes
Robin Hood appears in written texts for the first time around the 14th century, notably in William Langland's poem 'Piers Plowman', dated around 1377. Contrary to popular legend, no contemporary historical document from the 12th century mentions an archer by that name operating in England. Historians consider that the historical figure of Robin, if he existed at all, remains impossible to identify with any certainty.
In the 14th and 15th centuries, the legends of Robin Hood were passed down orally before being recorded in popular ballads and tales. These later sources describe how Robin supposedly fought against the abuses of feudal authority and the excessive levies of the clergy. However, modern historians have found no reliable documentary evidence of his exploits.
Legend places Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest, near Nottingham, as the hideout for his band of outlaws. This specific geographical setting, mentioned in later accounts, helped transform Robin into a universal symbol of revolt against injustice. Archaeologists and historians have explored the region without uncovering any tangible evidence of his historical existence.
The 14th- and 15th-century accounts portray Robin as a socially ambiguous figure: some versions present him as a dispossessed nobleman defending the poor, while others depict him as a common criminal. This variation across later sources shows that Robin Hood is above all a literary and folkloric creation reflecting medieval social tensions, rather than a reliable historical portrait.
The character of Robin Hood experienced a major literary revival from the 16th century onward, with theatrical and novelistic adaptations. In each era, authors reinvent Robin according to the moral and political concerns of their time, confirming that we are dealing with a living legend rather than an established historical fact.
Primary Sources
Lythe and listin, gentilmen, That be of frebore blode; I shall you tel of a good yeman, His name was Robyn Hode.
In England there was a man called Robin Hood, who was a great plunderer and a great thief...
Around this time there was in England a celebrated outlaw by the name of Robert Hood, who with his companions committed great acts of robbery.
Here beginneth a mery geste of Robyn Hood and of his life, and the notable acts which he did in his time.
Key Places
Famous forest in Nottinghamshire where Robin Hood is said to have established his hideout with his companions. It is the legendary heart of his outlaw activities and his redistribution of wealth to the poor.
City in central England where the Sheriff who pursued Robin Hood is said to have ruled. This rivalry between the hero and the local authorities is central to the legends.
Region of northern England associated with certain variants of the Robin Hood legends, particularly later 15th-century traditions that place him in this area.
Forest in Yorkshire mentioned in medieval ballads as an alternative base of operations for Robin Hood, particularly in the earliest traditions.
A traditional location associated with Robin Hood's legendary death in some versions of the stories. Medieval ballads place his demise in the vicinity of this cathedral.
Some later versions of the Robin Hood legends place him in Scotland, particularly 15th-century traditions that claimed this figure for Scottish folklore.
