They got it wrong about Robin Hood

13-01-24 00 / episode: 362

They got it wrong about Robin Hood They got it all wrong about Robin Hood but you know they really didn't. What am I talking about? Well I wanted to find out more about Robin Hood so I did a bit of research. It turns out the modern day story of Robin Hood and the real person are quite a bit different. They really embellished the story over the years. Hi and welcome to the Les Perras podcast episode number 362. This episode is about Robin Hood, the real person and the myth. There's a lot of things that we think about Robin Hood today that are simply not true. Let's take a look at a few features of the modern story that aren't quite correct. First is the Sherwood Forest then made Marion and then friar tuck. At the end, let's take a look at the true story of Robin Hood.

Sherwood Forest

Sure there was a place called the Sherwood Forest and there is today but we have to take into account the meaning of forest back in medieval times. Forest didn't always and only mean a place with lots of treats could also be an area owned by nobility. Now these areas that were called forest were private property and they were usually used for hunting by the nobility. This means that if Robin Hood was living there and hiding out there, it was a good place to get wild game for food so he could live.

Maid Marion

Marion did not really exist. She got attached to the legend of Robin Hood in about 1820. Someone wrote a French romance and in that romance they use the names of Robin and Marion. She became quite a popular feature of the story and stuck and it's a lot more romantic. Well, guess what people like romances.

Friar Tuck

Friar Tuck was not part of the story and he's probably a total fiction just like Marion. He joined the Robin Hood legend in about 1475 in a play about Robin Hood. His character has changed over the years. He was serious and later he became a jolly irresponsible fellow. This is where it becomes a little bit suspicious because a lot of the friars back then actually were kind of lazy and living off the work and labor of other people.

His Tombstone

 Here underneath this little stone
 Lies Robert, Earl of Huntingdon
 Ne’er [never] archer was as he so good
 And people called him Robin Hood
 Such outlaws as he and his men
 Will England never see again.

They're actually was a guy called Robin Hood who lived in England. He also died in England. He was the Earl of Huntingdon, and he was really a good archer. He had a nickname, and that was Robin Hood. He had a group of men who followed him around. He and his men were outlaws at least in the eyes of some. And he died in 1247. That's about all we know for sure about Robin Hood. Everything else was fiction added to his story along the way to make it more romantic and perhaps sell movies and books. Personally, I like the more romantic version. It's a lot more fun.