Robin Hood image

Robin Hood

Culture, Diversity, Getting on and Giving back is at the Heart of the Midlands with Robin Hood

Robin Hood legend or myth?

Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film.

According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer, swordsman and an outlaw living in Sherwood Forest with his 'Merry Men'. Famed for robbing the rich to give back to the poor.

 

The Adventures of Robin Hood Official Trailer  - Basil Rathbone Movie (1938)

 

Who was the real Robin Hood?

Robin Hood – the heroic archer in English folklore who supposedly robbed the rich and gave to the poor – but hard facts about him are decidedly thin on the ground. But there can be no doubt Robin Hood is one of the world’s best loved folk heroes, and Nottinghamshire is proud to be the motherland of this spirited outlaw. Uniting universal themes of adventure, altruism and rebellion, his adventures have been retold down the generations, from medieval ballads to Hollywood blockbusters.

 

Robin Hood (2010) Official Theatrical Trailer - Russell Crowe

 

Robin Hood and Sherwood Forest - world famous

Nottingham and Sherwood Forest are famous throughout the world as the place of Robin Hood's daring exploits. The origins of his legend owe more to folklore and literature than historical record, and other northern forests also lay claim to be his home. Through retellings, additions, and variations, a body of familiar characters associated with Robin Hood has been created. These include his lover, Maid Marian, his band of outlaws, the Merry Men, and his chief opponent, the Sheriff of Nottingham. The Sheriff is often depicted as assisting Prince John in usurping the rightful but absent King Richard, to whom Robin Hood remains loyal. His partisanship of the common people and his hostility to the Sheriff of Nottingham are early recorded features of the legend, but his interest in the rightfulness of the king is not, and neither is his setting in the reign of Richard I. He became a popular folk figure in the Late Middle Ages, and the earliest known ballads featuring him are from the 15th century (1400s).

 

Kevin Costner Robin Hood Prince of Thieves 1991

 

Robin Hood's Story has been told by playwrights

Several playwrights, including William Shakespeare, featured Robin Hood in their works. Most notable was Anthony Munday, who wrote two plays centred around Robin Hood. Munday reinvents the outlaw as an aristocrat: Robert, Earl of Huntington, whose uncle disinherits him. Robert flees to the forest where he becomes Robin Hood. There he meets Maid Marian, and the two fall in love. No longer was Robin Hood a yeoman; he had been gentrified for new audiences.

 

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955).  Sir Robin of Locksley returns to England from fighting in the Crusades to discover that the notorious Sir Roger de Lille has been given his family's lands and castles, and has had Robin declared an outlaw. Robin takes refuge in Sherwood Forest and joins a band of outlaws led by Will Scatlock who names him Robin of the hood. Starring: Richard Greene, Leo McKern, Wiloughby Gray & Alfie Bass

 

Robin Hood: Fact or Fiction? (Medieval Legend Investigation Documentary). Tony Robinson sets out to sift the fact from the fiction on whether Robin Hood, the legendary dispossessed nobleman hiding out in Sherwood Forest did actually exist.

 

Authors would continue to reinvent Robin Hood

Drawing on the medieval foundations, authors would continue to reinvent Robin Hood for their own times over the centuries. Walter Scott repackaged Robin Hood for Ivanhoe in the 19th century, while Howard Pyle most famously re-created the legend for a children’s book, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood of Great Renown in Nottinghamshire, in 1883. Pyle’s work gained a new audience for Robin Hood in the United States, which seemed to hunger for more tales of the Prince of Thieves in years to come. In 1917 author Paul Creswick teamed up with notable illustrator N. C. Wyeth to create a colourful Robin Hood, one of the most visually striking renditions of the tale.

 

Robin Hood - The Disney Version Trailer.  A long time ago, in a faraway land, legend tells an extraordinary tale of courage and friendship.... Get ready for swashbuckling adventure, unforgettable characters, memorable music, and lots of laughs in Disney's ROBIN HOOD. Heroic Robin Hood -- along with his trusted companion Little John and his devoted band of merry men -- conjures up one famously funny and daring deed after another to outfox greedy Prince John and bring happiness to the residents of Sherwood Forest.

 

Robin Hood migrated from the page to the cinema

In the early 20th century Robin Hood migrated from the page to the cinema, and the tale was reinvented and retold time and again with stars like Douglas Fairbanks, Errol Flynn, Sean Connery, and Daffy Duck all taking their turn in the lead role. In each version, glimmers of the original ballads and poems remain visible as each new version adds more to the legend of the Prince of Thieves.

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