Post by auntym on Feb 5, 2019 16:16:09 GMT -6
www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/magazine/2019/01-02/origins-of-england-folk-lore-robin-hood/?cmpid=org=ngp::mc=social::src=twitter::cmp=editorial::add=tw20190205hist-robinhoodorigin::rid=&sf207289796=1
History Magazine
Who was the real Robin Hood?
Just as Robin Hood eludes the sheriff of Nottingham, pinning down the folk hero's exact origins challenges scholars.
English painter Edmund George Warren’s 1859 painting of Robin Hood and his Merry Men in Sherwood Forest. The outlaws gathered in the greenwood under the great tree reflect a set of idealized symbols of old England many centuries in the making.
Photograph by Christie's Images/Scala, Florence
By J. Rubén Valdés Miyares /
PUBLISHED February 5, 2019
Stealing from the rich to give to the poor, Robin Hood and his Merry Men are a permanent part of popular culture. Set in England during the reign of King Richard the Lionheart, the adventures of Robin Hood follow the noble thief as he woos the beautiful Maid Marian and thwarts the evil Sheriff of Nottingham. The story has been around for centuries, but its most familiar elements are also the most recent additions. (See also: Medieval cave tunnels revealed as never before.)
Like the roots of Sherwood Forest, the origins of the Robin Hood story extend deep into English history. His name can be found all over the English map: Robin Hood’s Cave and Robin Hood’s Stoop in Derbyshire; Robin Hood’s Well in Barnsdale Forest, Yorkshire; and Robin Hood’s Bay, also in Yorkshire. When the story is traced back to its 14th-century beginnings, the figure of Robin Hood changes with time. The earliest versions would be almost unrecognizable when compared to the green-clad, bow-wielding Robin Hood of today. As the centuries passed, the tale of Robin Hood evolved as England evolved. With each new iteration, the Robin Hood legend would absorb new characters, settings, and traits—evolving into the familiar legend of today. (See also: Traveling through unfettered Yorkshire.)
Robin's Haunt Beech trees in Sherwood Forest near Nottingham. Extending over some 450 acres today, the former royal forest still contains numerous veteran oaks of around 500 years old.
The first Robins
In 19th-century England numerous scholars embarked on a search for Robin Hood after the publication of Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe in 1820. Set in 1194, Scott’s novel takes place in England during the Crusades. One of the featured characters is Locksley, who is revealed to be Robin Hood, the “King of Outlaws, and Prince of good fellows.” Scott portrayed Robin as an hoannable Englishman loyal to the absent King Richard; this popular characterization renewed modern interest in the figure of Robin Hood and the question of whether or not this “King of Outlaws” was based on a real person. (See also: Jesse James: Rise of an American outlaw.)
Historian and archivist Joseph Hunter discovered that many different Robin Hoods dotted the history of medieval England, often with variant spellings. One of the oldest references he found is in a 1226 court register from Yorkshire, England. It cites the expropriation of the property of one Robin Hood, described as a fugitive. In 1262, in southern England, there is a similar mention of a man called William Robehod in Berkshire. The previous year there had been a reference to “William, son of Robert le Fevere member of a band of outlaws”—believed to be the same person. In 1354, farther north in Northamptonshire, there is a record of an imprisoned man named “Robin Hood” who was awaiting trial. Because Hunter and other 19th-century historians discovered many different records attached to the name Robin Hood, most scholars came to agree that there was probably no single person in the historical record who inspired the popular stories. Instead, the moniker seems to have become a typical alias used by outlaws in various periods and locations across England.
A popular hero
When historical records failed to yield a definitive personage behind the noble outlaw, scholars than turned to the popular culture of medieval England: folklore, poetry, and ballads. These three formats all grew out of an oral tradition. Some theorize that they originally derived from troubadours’ songs that reported news and events. (See also: The hellish history of the devil: Satan in the Middle Ages.)
The first known reference in English verse to Robin Hood is found in The Vision of Piers Plowman, written by William Langland in the second part of the 14th century (shortly before Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales). In Langland’s work a poorly educated parson repents and confesses that he is igannant of Latin:
I kan noght parfitly my Paternoster as the preest it syngeth,
But Ikan rymes of Robyn Hood...
The Middle English translates roughly to “Although I can’t recite the Lord’s Prayer (Paternoster), I do know the rhymes of Robin Hood.” Putting Robin Hood’s name in an uneducated character’s mouth demonstrates that the legend would have been well known to most commoners, regardless of whether they could read or write.
MORE PICTURES & CONTINUE READING: www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/magazine/2019/01-02/origins-of-england-folk-lore-robin-hood/?cmpid=org=ngp::mc=social::src=twitter::cmp=editorial::add=tw20190205hist-robinhoodorigin::rid=&sf207289796=1
History Magazine
Who was the real Robin Hood?
Just as Robin Hood eludes the sheriff of Nottingham, pinning down the folk hero's exact origins challenges scholars.
English painter Edmund George Warren’s 1859 painting of Robin Hood and his Merry Men in Sherwood Forest. The outlaws gathered in the greenwood under the great tree reflect a set of idealized symbols of old England many centuries in the making.
Photograph by Christie's Images/Scala, Florence
By J. Rubén Valdés Miyares /
PUBLISHED February 5, 2019
Stealing from the rich to give to the poor, Robin Hood and his Merry Men are a permanent part of popular culture. Set in England during the reign of King Richard the Lionheart, the adventures of Robin Hood follow the noble thief as he woos the beautiful Maid Marian and thwarts the evil Sheriff of Nottingham. The story has been around for centuries, but its most familiar elements are also the most recent additions. (See also: Medieval cave tunnels revealed as never before.)
Like the roots of Sherwood Forest, the origins of the Robin Hood story extend deep into English history. His name can be found all over the English map: Robin Hood’s Cave and Robin Hood’s Stoop in Derbyshire; Robin Hood’s Well in Barnsdale Forest, Yorkshire; and Robin Hood’s Bay, also in Yorkshire. When the story is traced back to its 14th-century beginnings, the figure of Robin Hood changes with time. The earliest versions would be almost unrecognizable when compared to the green-clad, bow-wielding Robin Hood of today. As the centuries passed, the tale of Robin Hood evolved as England evolved. With each new iteration, the Robin Hood legend would absorb new characters, settings, and traits—evolving into the familiar legend of today. (See also: Traveling through unfettered Yorkshire.)
Robin's Haunt Beech trees in Sherwood Forest near Nottingham. Extending over some 450 acres today, the former royal forest still contains numerous veteran oaks of around 500 years old.
The first Robins
In 19th-century England numerous scholars embarked on a search for Robin Hood after the publication of Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe in 1820. Set in 1194, Scott’s novel takes place in England during the Crusades. One of the featured characters is Locksley, who is revealed to be Robin Hood, the “King of Outlaws, and Prince of good fellows.” Scott portrayed Robin as an hoannable Englishman loyal to the absent King Richard; this popular characterization renewed modern interest in the figure of Robin Hood and the question of whether or not this “King of Outlaws” was based on a real person. (See also: Jesse James: Rise of an American outlaw.)
Historian and archivist Joseph Hunter discovered that many different Robin Hoods dotted the history of medieval England, often with variant spellings. One of the oldest references he found is in a 1226 court register from Yorkshire, England. It cites the expropriation of the property of one Robin Hood, described as a fugitive. In 1262, in southern England, there is a similar mention of a man called William Robehod in Berkshire. The previous year there had been a reference to “William, son of Robert le Fevere member of a band of outlaws”—believed to be the same person. In 1354, farther north in Northamptonshire, there is a record of an imprisoned man named “Robin Hood” who was awaiting trial. Because Hunter and other 19th-century historians discovered many different records attached to the name Robin Hood, most scholars came to agree that there was probably no single person in the historical record who inspired the popular stories. Instead, the moniker seems to have become a typical alias used by outlaws in various periods and locations across England.
A popular hero
When historical records failed to yield a definitive personage behind the noble outlaw, scholars than turned to the popular culture of medieval England: folklore, poetry, and ballads. These three formats all grew out of an oral tradition. Some theorize that they originally derived from troubadours’ songs that reported news and events. (See also: The hellish history of the devil: Satan in the Middle Ages.)
The first known reference in English verse to Robin Hood is found in The Vision of Piers Plowman, written by William Langland in the second part of the 14th century (shortly before Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury Tales). In Langland’s work a poorly educated parson repents and confesses that he is igannant of Latin:
I kan noght parfitly my Paternoster as the preest it syngeth,
But Ikan rymes of Robyn Hood...
The Middle English translates roughly to “Although I can’t recite the Lord’s Prayer (Paternoster), I do know the rhymes of Robin Hood.” Putting Robin Hood’s name in an uneducated character’s mouth demonstrates that the legend would have been well known to most commoners, regardless of whether they could read or write.
MORE PICTURES & CONTINUE READING: www.nationalgeographic.com/archaeology-and-history/magazine/2019/01-02/origins-of-england-folk-lore-robin-hood/?cmpid=org=ngp::mc=social::src=twitter::cmp=editorial::add=tw20190205hist-robinhoodorigin::rid=&sf207289796=1