Robin Hood was from Kent, not Sherwood Forest - Experts
UK: The real-life inspiration for Robin Hood - the heroic outlaw in
English folklore - lived near Tunbridge Wells and not the royal Sherwood
Forest, known for its association with the legendary figure, experts
claim.
Legend has it that Robin Hood robbed from the rich to give to the
poor, resisted "bad" King John and hid out in Sherwood Forest. However,
a new study by historian Sean McGlynn suggests Robin Hood actually
preyed on French invaders, fought in support of the King and came from
near Tunbridge Wells, in Kent, The Telegraph reported.
McGlynn, an academic at the University of Plymouth and the Open
University, has amassed evidence suggesting Robin Hood is based on
William of Kensham, a largely forgotten 13th century forest bandit.
McGlynn investigated the life and career of the renegade, using medieval
chronicles, and unearthed remarkable parallels with the folk hero,
including his tactics, his band of men, his forest hideout and his
popular acclaim.
Interestingly, William was living at just the time when the Robin
Hood legend is believed to have emerged. There have been other
contenders put forward by historians as the inspiration for Robin Hood,
but none have been universally accepted and the exact source of the
legend has been fiercely contested. McGlynn, a specialist in medieval
history, has also analysed these alternative candidates and believes
William's claim is by far the strongest, dismissing the rivals as
"squalid criminals".
William is the only one to have wielded a longbow, the weapon most
associated with Robin Hood, the report said. His claim to be the
inspiration for Robin Hood rests on his daring ambushes against an
invading force under Prince Louis of France in 1216 and 1217. William
and his band of 1,000 men had taken to the forests of the Kentish Weald
- the area between the North and South Downs - after the French invaded
southern England at the invitation of barons opposing King John.
They became skilled at raiding the French forces and McGlynn believes
they may have returned property which had been stolen from the locals. -
DECCAN HERALD
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