These entertaining stories date back to the time when Chaucer
wrote his "Canterbury Tales," when the minstrel and scribe stood
in the place of the more prim and precise modern printed book.
The question of whether or not Robin Hood was a real person has
been asked for many years, just as a similar question has been
asked about William Tell and others whom everyone would much
rather accept on faith. It cannot be answered by a brief "yes" or
"no," even though learned men have pored over ancient records and
have written books on the subject. According to the general belief
Robin was an outlaw in the reign of Richard I, when in the depths
of Sherwood Forest he entertained one hundred tall men, all good
archers, with the spoil he took; but "he suffered no woman to be
oppressed or otherwise molested; poore men's goods he spared,
abundantlie relieving them with that which by theft he got from
abbeys and houses of rich carles." Consequently Robin was an
immense favorite with the common people.
This popularity extended from the leader to all the members of his
hardy band. "God save Robin Hood and all his good yeomanry" is the
ending of many old ballads. The clever archer who could outshoot
his fellows, the brave yeoman inured to blows, and the man who
could be true to his friends through thick and thin were favorites
for all time; and they have been idealized in the persons of Robin
Hood and his merry outlaws.
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