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Robin Hood (aka Robyn Hode, Robin o'the Hood, etc.) was an outlawed Englishman who lived sometime prior to 1377. No actual date of his existence has been established for certain. Later embellishments gave the reasons for his outlawry as being tricked into poaching on the King's deer -- other variations made Robin a nobleman, outlawed due to false charges by his enemies. He escapes to the forest, with Sherwood Forest being the most popular locale, and becomes champion to the oppressed and a thorn in the side of the local establishment.
The common elements of his life as an outlaw are as follows:
- Robin meets Little John (aka John Little) in a contest with quarterstaffs on a log bridge, whence Little John joined Robin's well-established band of outlaws.
- Robin fights a quarterstaff duel with a foppish stranger in red who beats Robin soundly; the stranger turns out to be Robin's long-lost relative Will Gamwell, redubbed Will Scarlet.
- Robin rescues a widow's three sons from being unjustly hanged by the Sheriff of Nottingham.
- Robin rescues his outlaw friend Will Stutley from the Sheriff's gallows.
- Robin and his band rescue the sweetheart of minstrel Alan-a-Dale from a forced marriage.
- Robin meets an impoverished knight on the road and finds out the knight is to lose all he owns because he cannot pay a debt to greedy church officials. Robin's loan aids the knight and provides a chance to embarrass the unscrupulous ministers.
- The Sheriff holds an archery tournament offering a golden arrow as the prize, hoping to lure Robin into a trap. Robin, in disguise, wins the tournament and makes off with the prize.
- Robin disguises himself as a tradesman (potter, butcher) and manages to trick the Sheriff into entering Sherwood Forest, whence the Sheriff is 'invited' to join the revealed Robin and his band for dinner.
- Robin is captured attending services in disguise at St. Mary's church, and is rescued from the Sheriff's dungeons by Little John.
- Robin has a sword fight in Sherwood with a vicious hired assassin, Guy of Gisbourne, and kills him. Donning the dead man's clothes, Robin then rescues Little John from the Sheriff.
- After 'inviting' a traveling band of abbotts to his dinner table, Robin finds out that his guests include the King of England, who had come to Sherwood in disguise hoping to meet for himself the famous outlaw. Impressed by Robin's loyalty and fortitude, the King pardons the outlaws and hires them into his service.
- Feeling old and ill, Robin visits the Prioress of Kirklee's Abbey so that she may tend to him. She bleeds him (a common medical practice), but, either being bribed or having her own vengeful agenda, she allows him to bleed to death. Realizing too late that he is done for, Robin summons Little John and shoots an arrow, requesting that he be buried where the arrow lands. (The very earliest version has the Prioress in cahoots with Roger of Doncaster, an enemy of Robin's.)
Additional ballads from later years include the following:
- Marian, a childhood friend of Robin's, finds herself bereft of fortune and friends. Disguised as a boy, she seeks out her one-time companion in Sherwood and ends up battling Robin until finally they recognize each other. Still in love after so many years, they are married in the forest.
- Robin hears of a sturdy friar at Fountain's Abbey and decides to 'interview' him as chaplain for his outlaws. Robin's practical jokes finally lead to him and the friar crossing swords until, each admiring the other's skill as a warrior, Tuck decides to join Robin's band.
- Robin plays a joke on the Bishop of Hereford by disguising himself as a clueless shepherd poaching the King's deer. When captured, Robin turns the tables on the Bishop who ends up a 'guest' at a dinner in Sherwood Forest.
- Robin, pursued by his enemy the Bishop of Hereford, takes refuge in the home of a merry little old woman. At her behest they exchange outfits, and Robin then rescues her from an extremely surprised Bishop.
- The Queen of England gives Robin and his men temporary amnesty so they may come to London and shoot in her favor in the King's tournament. Robin and his men win the match, but the King, ignoring his wife's promise to the outlaws, tries to capture them as they return to Sherwood.
In still other tales, the following are sometimes included:
- Robin, Will Scarlet and Little John journey to London to battle the evil Prince of Aragon and his two gigantic warriors, lest the princess be forced to marry him. Defeating the besiegers, Robin asks King to pardon the outlaws, while Will Scarlet is the lucky winner to marry the princess.
- Robin anonymously tries his hand as a crewman on a fishing boat in the English Channel. Being a lousy fisherman, he earns the scorn of captain and crew - until he rescues all from pirates using his skill with the bow. (There is a place in England called Robin Hood's Bay where the tale theoretically took place.)
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