Robin Hood

Robin Hood is a legendary English outlaw, known principally from ballads.

The historical origins of the story are uncertain. Official records dated 1225-7 refer to a fugitive from justice in the York area named Robert Hod or Hobbehod. From 1261 onwards, examples are found in various records around the country of people surnamed Robinhood or similar. At this place and time surnames were not hereditary, so they were rather in the nature of nicknames. These occurrences suggest there was already a well-known character after whom they were named. There is a reference to poems about Robin Hood in the work of William Langland in 1377, but that gives no information.

The next sources are two Scottish historians from the firts half of the 15th century, who date Robin Hood and Little John to 1283-5 and 1266 respectively. Shortly after, around 1450, we have the first surviving stories.