Robert ‘Robin’ Hood of Wakefield, West Yorkshire was a forester turned outlaw living in the forests of Barnsdale, South and West Yorkshire. The earliest ballads and place names making mention of Robin Hood have the same geographic setting. They tell of him lying in wait along the main local highway of the time through the forest in Barnsdale. He invited travellers to dine with his group then decided which travellers to rob and which to help based on both their status of wealth or poverty and on their honesty when it was demanded they pay for the meal they had already eaten.
This Robin also fits the time period of known historical time period markers such as the longbow, a weapon iconic in the depiction of Robin Hood today, being in common usage in the early 14th century and more specifically King Edward the second’s tour of the North in 1323. This came about as a result of the revolt staged by the Earl of Lancaster out of Pontefract Castle in Yorkshire and gives reason why Robin may have become an outlaw as one of the failed revolts treasonous supporters. The Robin of the ballads also had a long running feud with the Sheriff of Nottingham who’s remit the revolt had brought as far north as Yorkshire. It’s worth mentioning that Sherwood Forest extended as far north as Yorkshire at this period of time. The ballads tell of Robin eventually killing the sheriff by beheading him with his sword.
This Robin was accompanied in the forest by his friends ‘John the little’ (Little John) mentioned in court records as being from Beverley and Will Scathlock (Will Scarlet) meaning lock smasher who was also mentioned in the ballads. Robin was also eventually joined living in the forest by his wife Matilda who may be the original inspiration for Maid Marion.
The grave of Robert Hood of Wakefield is said to be situated Kirklees Priory which was levelled in Henry VIII’s dissolution of the monasteries. The grave marker is not the original one and has been moved from it’s original place in the grounds. His wife Matilda is shown in the records to be the cousin of the proprietor of the Kirklees Priory where Robin died. The proprietor is alleged to have been the one who killed him by leaving him to bleed out after he went there to be bled for his health, a common remedy of the time. The guest house where he stayed and died remains still standing. <> The story goes that he shot an arrow to mark the spot he wished to be buried but the place the grave marker exists now is much too far for even the most skilled of bowmen to shoot an arrow. The tale could just be poetic licence or perhaps the original grave site does indeed lie closer to the guest house.
This Robin Hood does appear to be the source of many of the story origins however the given last name “Robinhood” came into common usage for criminals and outlaws prior to the writing of the ballads and prior to the life of Robert “Robin” Hood of Wakefield and the reign of Edward the second. Some inspiration for the stories contained in the ballads may have filtered down from earlier tales.
William of Cassingham retreated to the woods of The Weald in Kent, Southern England in 1216 to raise a guerilla war with an army of bowmen after King John was defeated by Prince Louis of France. Even after the death of King John he fought on to defeat Louis and bring the boy King Henry the third to the throne.
Fulk Fitz Warine, circa 1197, from Whittington Castle in Shropshire was ousted from his castle and outlawed which led him to dwell in the forests of the Welsh borders. Whilst there stories tell of him inviting people to supper and then demanding that they pay, just like the later stories of Robin of Wakefield in the ballads. Fitz Warine lived during the reign of Richard the Lionheart who has come down through history as the reigning king at the time of Robin Hood.
Robert Odo the lord of Loxley in Warwickshire also lived during the reign of Richard the Lionheart. He lost Loxley manor when he was outlawed and lived the surrounding woodlands before his title, home and lands were restored by King Richard returning from the crusades. It’s likely that Robin “Lord of Loxley” likely got added to the stories because of him.
There is no historical record of an outlaw called Robert/Robin coming from Loxley in Sheffield just a suggestion of a house he could potentially have been born in the 17th century much later than older stories of Robin Hood which actually have potential candidates who are mentioned in the records. It looks like historians just assumed that the Loxley nearest to Sherwood Forest was a likely fit for the rumour he came from Loxley so Sheffield staked a claim on him long after the fact.
The original concept of Robin Hood may have come from much older origins. The Pagan god of the forest The Green Man was also traditionally known as Robin Goodfellow. It’s likely the later woodland based outlaw figures played upon the mythical ancient forest god in how they presented themselves leading to Robin Hood being a role that was knowingly played by many forest outlaws wanting to adopt a legendary woodland warrior persona.
Perhaps the Robin Goodfellow/ Green Man icon became shortened to Robin Good then because outlaws needed to hide their identity and likely wore hoods and robbed people and hid out in the forest that became Robin Hood. Add in someone who actually happened to be called Robert/Robin with the real surname Hood who became an outlaw and is the most fitting of the whole story in terms of historical and political accuracy. This Robin fit the legend already within common parlance and he became well know for killing the Sheriff of Nottingham. Henceforth ballads were written with lots of details pertaining to his life and friends and including previously existing folk tales such as the scam of getting people to pay for an already eaten supper. Then people may have added a line or two such as “Lord of Loxley” or “Richard the Lionheart restored his lands” from their own local area folk tales or lent their expectations of him being from the Loxley near Sheffield or actually from Nottingham that’s where the Sheriff was from or because they were the nearest locations to the more modern, reduced in size, Sherwood Forest.
The result being the mish mash of myth and legend and actual history. Robin Hood of today is therefore based partly on the history and records of real people and partly on the distorted story passed down via a game of telephone spanning a thousand years or so.
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