1 00:00:02,480 --> 00:00:06,200 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday. This week we talked about Eustace the Monk, 2 00:00:06,480 --> 00:00:08,720 Speaker 1: and we mentioned that he's been cited as one of 3 00:00:08,720 --> 00:00:13,280 Speaker 1: the possible inspirations for the character of Robin Hood. We 4 00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:16,320 Speaker 1: did an episode called Who Was the Real Robin Hood 5 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:19,320 Speaker 1: years ago, and in that episode I said I might 6 00:00:19,360 --> 00:00:22,080 Speaker 1: want to do an episode on Eustace the Monk one day, 7 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:27,080 Speaker 1: and then I completely forgot about it. Yay brains. That episode, though, 8 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:29,840 Speaker 1: is Today's Saturday Classic, and it originally came out on 9 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:36,560 Speaker 1: June fifth, twenty thirteen. Enjoy Welcome to Stuff You Missed 10 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:46,960 Speaker 1: in History Class, a production of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome 11 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:49,720 Speaker 1: to the podcast. I am Tracy B. Wilson and I'm 12 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:53,120 Speaker 1: Holly Frye. And today we have a listener request. Hooray. 13 00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:57,280 Speaker 1: We have many who was the real Bloody blog? Yeah? 14 00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:01,040 Speaker 1: So we have who was the real Moriarty kind of thing? Yeah. 15 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:03,640 Speaker 1: And one of our off requested things, in this case 16 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:06,800 Speaker 1: by Michael and many other listeners, is who was the 17 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:10,720 Speaker 1: real Robin Hood? Yeah? Yeah, Which is a tricky question. 18 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:13,640 Speaker 1: In point of fact, it kind of is. Robinhood style 19 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:17,360 Speaker 1: characters have been showing up in literature since the fourteenth century, 20 00:01:17,360 --> 00:01:20,320 Speaker 1: but as a concept. He's kind of been around longer 21 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:23,880 Speaker 1: than that, at least seven hundred years, but his earliest 22 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:27,920 Speaker 1: appearance in literature was in English ballads that were singing 23 00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:31,040 Speaker 1: the tales of a Sherwood Forest criminal who squared off 24 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:34,960 Speaker 1: against the Sheriff of Nottingham. Maid Marian and Friar Tuck 25 00:01:35,080 --> 00:01:38,280 Speaker 1: came on later, but Sherwood Forest and the Sheriff and 26 00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:41,320 Speaker 1: Little John and will Scarlett are all there pretty early on, 27 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:44,880 Speaker 1: along with the idea of robbing rich people, but not 28 00:01:44,959 --> 00:01:49,520 Speaker 1: necessarily giving that up to the poor Adams long later too. 29 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:54,880 Speaker 1: Historians who actually lived during the medieval period seem to 30 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:57,320 Speaker 1: have assumed that Robin Hood was actually a real person 31 00:01:57,400 --> 00:02:00,440 Speaker 1: who lived in the twelfth or thirteenth century, but their 32 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:03,800 Speaker 1: accounts aren't consistent at all, and modern historians aren't so 33 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:08,040 Speaker 1: sure about any of that. There's just not evidence to 34 00:02:08,080 --> 00:02:10,920 Speaker 1: support it necessarily. There's a lot of question marks, and 35 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:13,200 Speaker 1: some of the grander elements of the Robin Hood lore 36 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:16,239 Speaker 1: are also pretty tricky when you get into the logic 37 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:19,240 Speaker 1: of them seven score merrymen may have been able to 38 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:22,600 Speaker 1: feed and clothe themselves just working with the spoils of 39 00:02:22,639 --> 00:02:26,799 Speaker 1: their robbing, but surviving the winter, and staying warm without 40 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 1: shelter would have been a little bit trickier. Yeah, it's 41 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:32,560 Speaker 1: not a very warm part of the world without some 42 00:02:32,639 --> 00:02:36,679 Speaker 1: kind of permanent structure to take some kind of refuge 43 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:39,160 Speaker 1: from the climate, in which then would have been easily rated. 44 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:42,840 Speaker 1: So that brings it to the question of is robinhood 45 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:46,040 Speaker 1: a fictional blend of outlawed daring do and some wish 46 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:49,480 Speaker 1: fulfillment because lots of people like to see other people 47 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:52,799 Speaker 1: get their come upance? Oh yeah? Or was he a 48 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:56,160 Speaker 1: real person or a combination of both? A great question 49 00:02:56,960 --> 00:03:00,000 Speaker 1: that might not be one hundred percent answered ever. Nope, 50 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:03,280 Speaker 1: but we're going to examine all of the various possibilities. Yeah. So, 51 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:06,360 Speaker 1: in the Middle Ages, places like Sherwood Forest weren't just 52 00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:09,480 Speaker 1: vast landscapes of tree cover like we might think of 53 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:13,000 Speaker 1: the word forest today. They were kind of a hodgepodge 54 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:16,760 Speaker 1: of wooded areas and cultivated ground, so the nobility could 55 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:19,600 Speaker 1: use them to hunt and to grow food, and there 56 00:03:19,639 --> 00:03:22,480 Speaker 1: are also laws about how everyone else was allowed to 57 00:03:22,600 --> 00:03:25,760 Speaker 1: use the forest. But the places that were best for 58 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:29,920 Speaker 1: game hunting were also great for hiding, So places like 59 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:33,040 Speaker 1: Sherwood Forest were perfect for outlaws to call home. It 60 00:03:33,080 --> 00:03:35,760 Speaker 1: was a great place to hide out, and it was 61 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:38,400 Speaker 1: extra great because it was illegal for them to even 62 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:41,000 Speaker 1: be doing that, so it was a perfect setting for 63 00:03:41,040 --> 00:03:44,480 Speaker 1: these robin Hood style adventure stories that have persisted throughout 64 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:48,360 Speaker 1: the ages. The earliest known written reference to robin Hood 65 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:52,560 Speaker 1: is a passing reference in William Langlan's allegorical poem The 66 00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:55,760 Speaker 1: Vision of Pierce Plowman, which was written in the late 67 00:03:55,800 --> 00:04:00,600 Speaker 1: thirteen seventies. He says, I don't know perfectly our father, 68 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:03,360 Speaker 1: as the priest sings it. I know rhymes of Robin 69 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:07,080 Speaker 1: Hood and Randolph, Earl of Chester, but neither of our 70 00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:10,480 Speaker 1: Lord nor of our Lady. The least that ever was written, 71 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:13,280 Speaker 1: So he's basically saying, I don't really know my prayers, 72 00:04:13,320 --> 00:04:16,960 Speaker 1: but I do know robin Hood. And after that there's 73 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:20,280 Speaker 1: a series of ballads and stories that came along throughout 74 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:24,560 Speaker 1: the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, great hits like robin Hood 75 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:29,440 Speaker 1: and the Monk, The Little Jest of robin Hood, Robin 76 00:04:29,480 --> 00:04:33,960 Speaker 1: Hood his Death, Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne, and 77 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:37,039 Speaker 1: robin Hood and the Kurtle Friar. So there's not so 78 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:39,840 Speaker 1: much of a really noble rob from the rich give 79 00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:41,960 Speaker 1: to the poor focus and a lot of these older 80 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:46,600 Speaker 1: stories there is definitely a lot of robbing, not necessarily 81 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:49,040 Speaker 1: a lot of giving, and some of the early stories 82 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:52,960 Speaker 1: Robin is just really violent, and he's not a fallen 83 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:56,680 Speaker 1: noble in these stories, which is an idea that was 84 00:04:56,720 --> 00:05:00,279 Speaker 1: attributed to him later. He's a commoner, a peasant, or 85 00:05:00,720 --> 00:05:02,960 Speaker 1: at the highest a yeoman, which was kind of a 86 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:07,800 Speaker 1: middle class situation. The king mentioned in these early works 87 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:11,440 Speaker 1: is Edward, probably meaning Edward the Second, while a lot 88 00:05:11,440 --> 00:05:14,279 Speaker 1: of the more modern portrayals talk about a Prince John 89 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:17,640 Speaker 1: or a King John. And Little John and Will Scarlett 90 00:05:17,720 --> 00:05:20,400 Speaker 1: are also early names that show up in the context 91 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:23,279 Speaker 1: of being Robin's mary men. But as we said before, 92 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:27,160 Speaker 1: there was no made Marian in these early ballads or 93 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:30,640 Speaker 1: Friar Tuck. Those really got added in later. In the 94 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:34,120 Speaker 1: context of literature, Robin Hood got upgraded to a nobleman 95 00:05:34,279 --> 00:05:37,640 Speaker 1: in sixteen oh one, and Anthony Monday's plays The Downfall 96 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:40,520 Speaker 1: of Robert Earl of Huntington and the Death of Robert 97 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:46,120 Speaker 1: Robert Earl of Huntington around seventeen seventy. Robin Hood's Garland 98 00:05:46,279 --> 00:05:48,800 Speaker 1: being a complete history of all the notable and merry 99 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:52,200 Speaker 1: exploits performed by him and his men on diverse occasions, 100 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:54,880 Speaker 1: to which is added a preface giving a more full 101 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:58,280 Speaker 1: and particular account of his birth, et cetera than here 102 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:01,560 Speaker 1: any hitherto published came out. That's quite a title. I 103 00:06:01,600 --> 00:06:06,880 Speaker 1: love those extremely long titles. And this particular piece of 104 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:09,720 Speaker 1: literature added more stories and more characters to the robin 105 00:06:09,720 --> 00:06:12,400 Speaker 1: Hood lore. So there was lots of robin Hood meeting 106 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:15,479 Speaker 1: somebody in the woods, fighting with that person, and then 107 00:06:15,720 --> 00:06:18,320 Speaker 1: eventually inviting him to join him and the merry men 108 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:23,719 Speaker 1: in their exploits. By the nineteenth century, Robinhood stories were everywhere. 109 00:06:24,279 --> 00:06:27,760 Speaker 1: Howard Pile's The Merry Adventures of Robinhood of Great Renown 110 00:06:27,839 --> 00:06:32,039 Speaker 1: in Nottinghamshire came out in eighteen eighty three. This gathered 111 00:06:32,080 --> 00:06:35,359 Speaker 1: lots of Robinhood stuff into one place and also adapted 112 00:06:35,400 --> 00:06:38,279 Speaker 1: it for children, and it became a source material for 113 00:06:38,360 --> 00:06:41,240 Speaker 1: a lot of the later robin Hood writing. This was 114 00:06:41,279 --> 00:06:44,960 Speaker 1: an illustrated book. It was really expensive for its time 115 00:06:45,200 --> 00:06:48,599 Speaker 1: compared to other books, and it was wildly successful. And 116 00:06:48,720 --> 00:06:53,560 Speaker 1: following that there were plays, operas, comic books, films, films, films, 117 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:59,080 Speaker 1: films and more films. So many Robin Hood, movies, costumes, merchandise. 118 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:03,360 Speaker 1: Robinhood was like a marketing JUGGERNAUTI yeah, he's become kind 119 00:07:03,400 --> 00:07:07,960 Speaker 1: of just an iconic figure, especially in the world of 120 00:07:08,600 --> 00:07:22,240 Speaker 1: English stories. So is there na truth to all of this? 121 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:28,400 Speaker 1: The earliest One of the earliest historical notations of Robinhood 122 00:07:28,400 --> 00:07:31,920 Speaker 1: was from John Major, a Scottish historian who wrote his 123 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:34,840 Speaker 1: Great His History of Greater Britain in fifteen twenty one. 124 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:38,920 Speaker 1: He claims Robinhood did his criminal living in Sherwood Forest 125 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:43,600 Speaker 1: in eleven ninety three. In eleven ninety four, Should I 126 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:46,440 Speaker 1: read what he says about? Yes, give us a little passage. Hey, 127 00:07:46,480 --> 00:07:49,560 Speaker 1: he says about this time it was as I conceive 128 00:07:49,760 --> 00:07:54,200 Speaker 1: that they're flourished, those famous robbers, Robert Hood, an Englishman 129 00:07:54,320 --> 00:07:56,840 Speaker 1: and little John, who lay weight in the woods, but 130 00:07:56,960 --> 00:08:00,320 Speaker 1: spoiled of their goods those only that were wealthy. They 131 00:08:00,320 --> 00:08:03,000 Speaker 1: took the life of no man unless either he attacked 132 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:06,280 Speaker 1: them or offered resistance in defense of his property. Robert, 133 00:08:06,320 --> 00:08:10,360 Speaker 1: supported by his plundering one hundred bowmen, ready fighters, everyone 134 00:08:10,800 --> 00:08:13,680 Speaker 1: with whom four hundred of the strongest would not dare 135 00:08:13,760 --> 00:08:16,640 Speaker 1: to engage in combat. The feats of this Robert are 136 00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:19,880 Speaker 1: told in Sons all over Britain. He would allow no 137 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:22,920 Speaker 1: woman to suffer injustice, nor would he spoil the poor, 138 00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:26,640 Speaker 1: but rather enriched them from the plunder taken from abbots. 139 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:30,000 Speaker 1: The robberies of this man I condemn, but of all robbers, 140 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:33,360 Speaker 1: he was the humanist and the chief. So it's pretty 141 00:08:33,440 --> 00:08:38,319 Speaker 1: much solidly in favor of Robin Hood. Not cool for stealing, 142 00:08:38,440 --> 00:08:41,560 Speaker 1: but definitely cool for all that other stuff. Yeah, and 143 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:44,840 Speaker 1: other historians of the time, including Andrew of Wyntune and 144 00:08:44,920 --> 00:08:49,680 Speaker 1: Walter Bauer, concurred that Robin Hood was active during the 145 00:08:49,679 --> 00:08:54,080 Speaker 1: middle and late twelve hundreds, so they all sort of 146 00:08:54,080 --> 00:08:56,840 Speaker 1: have this consensus about him being a real person, although 147 00:08:56,840 --> 00:09:00,960 Speaker 1: their dates are different. Yeah, much of today's historical writing 148 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:04,960 Speaker 1: is not quite so sure that he was a real person, 149 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:08,560 Speaker 1: and most of that research has involved sifting through old 150 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:11,920 Speaker 1: court records, which is what we will talk about next. 151 00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:16,080 Speaker 1: But the court records, even though they're legal documents, don't 152 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:21,640 Speaker 1: entirely support the literary and historical writings. So I'm sure 153 00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:25,760 Speaker 1: some people are not so enthused about no, because some 154 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:28,600 Speaker 1: people want to believe, they want to find a true 155 00:09:28,679 --> 00:09:31,880 Speaker 1: Robinhood in the mix. Yeah, So the name Robert Hodd 156 00:09:32,320 --> 00:09:35,520 Speaker 1: appears in court documents in twelve twenty five, and this 157 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:38,360 Speaker 1: is the earliest known record of a criminal's name that 158 00:09:38,559 --> 00:09:41,880 Speaker 1: may have morphed its way into robin Hood. There is 159 00:09:41,920 --> 00:09:44,240 Speaker 1: another man that appears in the court records from twelve 160 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:46,960 Speaker 1: sixty one in twelve sixty two, and in the twelve 161 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:51,000 Speaker 1: sixty one document he's named William son of Robert Lefeverre, 162 00:09:51,480 --> 00:09:55,840 Speaker 1: and in twelve sixty two he's William robhod suggesting that 163 00:09:55,880 --> 00:09:59,319 Speaker 1: the court transcriber knew of the Robinhood legend and possibly 164 00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:02,520 Speaker 1: ascribed his name to an outlaw. From there, there are 165 00:10:02,559 --> 00:10:06,200 Speaker 1: other robe Hoods and robin Hoods in legal records, including 166 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:10,520 Speaker 1: people who deliberately took robe Hood or robin Hood as 167 00:10:10,559 --> 00:10:13,720 Speaker 1: their last names in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and 168 00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:17,520 Speaker 1: people who adopted Little John as pseudonyms. And so it's 169 00:10:17,559 --> 00:10:22,079 Speaker 1: basically people who heard this famous name and decided that 170 00:10:22,120 --> 00:10:25,680 Speaker 1: should be their name too, because they were outlaws. Yeah, 171 00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:28,600 Speaker 1: and all of these robe Hoods and robin Hood's muddy 172 00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:30,800 Speaker 1: the waters when you're actually trying to look for a 173 00:10:31,240 --> 00:10:34,679 Speaker 1: real source of the stories. It certainly makes it seem 174 00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:36,720 Speaker 1: like robin Hood was enough of a legend by the 175 00:10:36,720 --> 00:10:40,040 Speaker 1: thirteenth century that people wanted to adopt his name as theirs. 176 00:10:41,160 --> 00:10:43,800 Speaker 1: There are also a couple of other examples of Robin 177 00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:48,160 Speaker 1: Hood who were definitely criminals, but there's some reason that 178 00:10:48,320 --> 00:10:50,560 Speaker 1: historians say he was not the right guy. He either 179 00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:53,400 Speaker 1: lived too far away, or he was just a straight 180 00:10:53,480 --> 00:10:56,040 Speaker 1: up murderer and you know, didn't do the kind of 181 00:10:56,160 --> 00:11:00,160 Speaker 1: thieving that Robin Hood was known for. And apart from that. 182 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:04,080 Speaker 1: In eighteen fifty two, Joseph Hunter published a book citing 183 00:11:04,120 --> 00:11:06,319 Speaker 1: a Robin Hood who worked as a porter in the 184 00:11:06,400 --> 00:11:09,880 Speaker 1: King's court in thirteen twenty four, and he connected this 185 00:11:09,920 --> 00:11:12,360 Speaker 1: to a journey the king is described as taking in 186 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:16,640 Speaker 1: the ballad a Jest of Robin Hoad. Hunter speculates that 187 00:11:16,679 --> 00:11:19,360 Speaker 1: this is the same person as a Robin Hood who 188 00:11:19,400 --> 00:11:22,480 Speaker 1: was outlawed in thirteen twenty two, but there's no proof 189 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:25,600 Speaker 1: that these are actually the same person, and without the connection, 190 00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:28,319 Speaker 1: it doesn't really seem to add up or hold up. 191 00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:31,040 Speaker 1: Then we get into the suspects whose names do not 192 00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:35,720 Speaker 1: sound like the words Robin and Hood. Roger Godbird was 193 00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:39,880 Speaker 1: a thirteenth century farmer turned baron turned criminal who ambushed 194 00:11:39,960 --> 00:11:42,840 Speaker 1: rich travelers with his band of men the Sheriff of 195 00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:46,240 Speaker 1: Nottingham captured him and held him in Nottingham Castle, and 196 00:11:46,320 --> 00:11:49,800 Speaker 1: his criminal dealings went on from around twelve sixty seven 197 00:11:49,880 --> 00:11:54,280 Speaker 1: to twelve seventy two. A couple of writers have published 198 00:11:54,320 --> 00:11:58,000 Speaker 1: books claiming that Roger Goldbird was the real Robin Hood, 199 00:11:58,120 --> 00:12:02,200 Speaker 1: including David Baldwin and Brian Ben's. Baldwin also claims that 200 00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:06,720 Speaker 1: he discovered a thirteenth century grave belonging to Godbird. Baldwin's 201 00:12:06,720 --> 00:12:10,760 Speaker 1: book is Robin Hood the English Outlaw Unmasked, and Benson's 202 00:12:10,760 --> 00:12:15,280 Speaker 1: book is titled Robin Hood The Real Story. But Robahod 203 00:12:15,520 --> 00:12:19,680 Speaker 1: and other pseudonyms meaning Robin Hood were already in use 204 00:12:19,800 --> 00:12:24,200 Speaker 1: before Goldbird appeared in the historical record, so writing for 205 00:12:24,280 --> 00:12:28,640 Speaker 1: History Today, Sean McGlenn actually cites William of Kencham aka 206 00:12:29,200 --> 00:12:32,200 Speaker 1: Willikin of the Wild, and he was loyal to the 207 00:12:32,200 --> 00:12:35,200 Speaker 1: Crown and led a resistance band of about one thousand 208 00:12:35,320 --> 00:12:40,320 Speaker 1: archers against French invaders in twelve sixteen. His resistance was 209 00:12:40,400 --> 00:12:43,720 Speaker 1: quite successful and as a reward he was granted wardenship 210 00:12:43,800 --> 00:12:46,720 Speaker 1: of the seven hundreds of the Wild, a division of land, 211 00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:50,920 Speaker 1: with wild being a heavily wooded place McGlenn argues that 212 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:54,119 Speaker 1: he has the right blend of hero and outlaw qualities 213 00:12:54,160 --> 00:12:56,000 Speaker 1: because the English would have viewed him as a hero 214 00:12:56,360 --> 00:12:59,280 Speaker 1: while the French would have viewed him as an outlaw. 215 00:12:59,360 --> 00:13:03,080 Speaker 1: And there are also some other real outlaws who aren't 216 00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:05,920 Speaker 1: that often cited as a real robin Hood, but whose 217 00:13:06,520 --> 00:13:10,200 Speaker 1: activities may have influenced some of the stories of robin 218 00:13:10,200 --> 00:13:15,200 Speaker 1: Hood shanigans that came along laterally. You don't really have 219 00:13:15,280 --> 00:13:18,199 Speaker 1: to look far during that period of history to find 220 00:13:18,240 --> 00:13:21,120 Speaker 1: people who were fighting in the woods using bows and arrows, right, 221 00:13:21,160 --> 00:13:25,199 Speaker 1: that was a pretty common thing. So what is folk Fitzwarren, 222 00:13:25,320 --> 00:13:27,480 Speaker 1: who spend some time living in the forest and fighting 223 00:13:27,520 --> 00:13:31,400 Speaker 1: against King John. Another is hero Ward the Wake, an 224 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:33,920 Speaker 1: outlaw who fought the Normans not long after the Battle 225 00:13:33,960 --> 00:13:37,040 Speaker 1: of Hastings. And a third is Eustace the Monk, who 226 00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:39,000 Speaker 1: I think I might want to do an episode on 227 00:13:39,800 --> 00:13:43,400 Speaker 1: later on, because Eustace the Monk just sounds like a 228 00:13:43,440 --> 00:13:45,679 Speaker 1: delightful thing to talk about, and he's not really delightful 229 00:13:45,679 --> 00:13:48,920 Speaker 1: though he became a mercenary after leaving the monastic life 230 00:13:48,960 --> 00:13:52,720 Speaker 1: to avenge his murdered father. Even William Wallace fits this 231 00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:56,920 Speaker 1: very general description of guy who was an outlaw and 232 00:13:57,600 --> 00:14:02,040 Speaker 1: fought from the woods. Yeah, when Robinhood changes and evolves 233 00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:05,720 Speaker 1: with the times. So in his earliest incarnations he was 234 00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:08,200 Speaker 1: tied to the violence that was common in the Middle Ages. 235 00:14:08,880 --> 00:14:11,280 Speaker 1: But then, in a trend that is probably quite familiar 236 00:14:11,320 --> 00:14:14,560 Speaker 1: to modern audiences, public sentiment was beginning to see royalty 237 00:14:14,760 --> 00:14:18,000 Speaker 1: and wealthy people in general as a bunch of tyrants 238 00:14:18,040 --> 00:14:20,480 Speaker 1: who were abusing the law and making life harder for 239 00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:24,920 Speaker 1: the commoner. So that, you know, mindset was ripe for 240 00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:27,520 Speaker 1: criminals who would try to take these people down a 241 00:14:27,560 --> 00:14:30,400 Speaker 1: notch and stories that would celebrate that kind of activity. 242 00:14:31,200 --> 00:14:34,440 Speaker 1: And nowadays Robinhood is a challenger of authority and he 243 00:14:34,480 --> 00:14:37,720 Speaker 1: writes wrongs, and the people who do these kinds of 244 00:14:37,720 --> 00:14:41,240 Speaker 1: things are celebrated as Robinhood figures. So yeah, we don't. 245 00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:45,040 Speaker 1: Sometimes they're animated as cute little foxes. I know. I 246 00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:46,640 Speaker 1: was going to ask you if you had a favorite 247 00:14:46,720 --> 00:14:48,800 Speaker 1: robin Hood, and I thought that that might be the 248 00:14:48,800 --> 00:14:50,840 Speaker 1: one that you would say. It's high on the list. 249 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:55,000 Speaker 1: Don't get me wrong, Yeah, but I don't. I have 250 00:14:55,080 --> 00:14:58,880 Speaker 1: a detested Robinhood. Oh no, who is it. It's the 251 00:14:59,080 --> 00:15:01,880 Speaker 1: Kevin Costner. Oh, Yeah, it's one of the movies I 252 00:15:01,960 --> 00:15:04,400 Speaker 1: just I had to leave. I couldn't make it through 253 00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:07,480 Speaker 1: the whole thing. Yeah, I think there are people this 254 00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:10,280 Speaker 1: is not about that comment. There are people who get 255 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:13,240 Speaker 1: really angry about portrayals of robin Hood that they're like, 256 00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:16,680 Speaker 1: that's not how it was. When how it was we 257 00:15:16,720 --> 00:15:19,960 Speaker 1: don't know. Yeah, Well, the earliest depictions a lot of 258 00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:23,000 Speaker 1: the things that we just sort of assume have always 259 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:25,440 Speaker 1: been the case about robin Hood weren't really so much there, 260 00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:29,400 Speaker 1: Like the giving to the poor part, Yeah, not always present. 261 00:15:29,720 --> 00:15:31,640 Speaker 1: A lot of times it was just robbing. I just 262 00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:33,680 Speaker 1: thought it was a poorly made movie that it could 263 00:15:33,680 --> 00:15:37,920 Speaker 1: have been about anything valid. But I do really like 264 00:15:37,960 --> 00:15:43,080 Speaker 1: the Disney version, even though of course it's completely manipulated 265 00:15:43,160 --> 00:15:46,560 Speaker 1: to be really cute. See and yeah, history kind of 266 00:15:46,560 --> 00:15:49,160 Speaker 1: gets tossed out the window a bit, mostly because Foxes 267 00:15:49,200 --> 00:15:53,560 Speaker 1: don't wear clothes. No, they typically do not do that. 268 00:15:56,120 --> 00:15:58,560 Speaker 1: I like robin Hood. I need too. It's such a 269 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:01,280 Speaker 1: fun story, and I like that it is something that 270 00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:05,560 Speaker 1: evolves and kind of becomes what any part of history 271 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:08,200 Speaker 1: and culture needs it to be. Yeah, and I would 272 00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:10,480 Speaker 1: kind of rather we never know if there was a 273 00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:14,840 Speaker 1: definite number one real person who was quoting the real Robinhood. 274 00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:18,400 Speaker 1: I like them to be kind of mythic in legendary. Well, 275 00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:23,760 Speaker 1: unless somebody discovers a magical historical artifact, you get your wish. Okay, 276 00:16:24,240 --> 00:16:33,840 Speaker 1: let's not ever do that. Thanks so much for joining 277 00:16:33,880 --> 00:16:36,640 Speaker 1: us on this Saturday. Since this episode is out of 278 00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:38,640 Speaker 1: the archive, if you heard an email address or a 279 00:16:38,640 --> 00:16:41,520 Speaker 1: Facebook RL or something similar over the course of the show, 280 00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:45,480 Speaker 1: that could be obsolete now. Our current email address is 281 00:16:45,720 --> 00:16:50,600 Speaker 1: History Podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. 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