Robin the Hood

The image of the hero of these ballads and legends arose in the XIII - the first half of the XIV century ^[1] . The artistic version of Walter Scott is popular, according to which Robin lived in the second half of the XII century (that is, he was a contemporary of Richard the Lionheart and John Landless ). A number of historical details speaks against Scott's version: for example, archery competitions began to be held in England no earlier than the 13th century .

Ballads about Robin Hood were first mentioned around 1377 in the poem by William Langland “Vision of Peter Pachar”, and their earliest records date from the middle of the 15th century ^[1] .

In the early ballads, Robin was a Yeomen , that is, a free small-scale landowner, in later he appears to be unjustly deprived of the title and estate of the Earl of Huntingdon , who lived in the XIII century ^[1] .

In The Scottish Chronicle (1447) by Walter Bower , an abbot of the Incholm monastery of the Augustinians in the Gulf of Firth of Forth , reports on the "famous thug Robert Goode" and his associate Little John , who, according to the chronicler, acted during the uprising of Count Simon de Monfort (1263-1265), and whom “the stupid common people overly glorify in tragedies and comedies and about whom he enthusiastically listens to ballads sung by minstrels and jesters” ^[2] .

It is the middle of the 15th century that dates the oldest of the ballads about the “noble robber” - “Robin Hood and the Monk”, and at the end of the 15th century the “Little Gesture of Robin Hood” ( A Lytell geste of Robyn Hode ) appears.

The homeland of Robin Hood is called the village of Loxley , by the name of which sometimes Robin himself is also named - Robin Loxley. His forest army has several dozen free shooters. All of them are excellent archers, bold, inventive and in their own way noble people.

Popular heroes of this epic , along with Robin Hood himself, are also his assistants: Little John (also: Baby John, Baby John, Baby John), Brother Took - monk, Will Scarlett (also: Scarlock, Skadlock, Skatlock, Skatelok), Mach, the miller’s son , Alan from Hollow (Alan-e-Dale) and Robin's wife (girlfriend) is virgin Marian . The main opponents of the robbers are the Sheriff of Nottingham, Bishop of Herford and Prince John .

The word “ hood ” in English means “ hood ” and indicates an element of Robin Hood's clothes, and with erroneous Russian etymology from the English. good - “good” is associated only with a similar sound. In general, “ hood ” is not only a hood, but also several other similar hats - a cap , cap , hood , human or horse helmet (the main thing is that it covers / protects the whole head). Robin Hood and his opponent Guy Gisborne wear hats called the same word - a hood and a knight's helmet. But the word “hood” also has a figurative meaning - “hide (cover with a hood)”.

The word “robin” is translated as “ robin ”, but it is possible that the name of the hero is the result of rethinking the expression “Rob in hood” - “Rob (Robert) (“ rob “,“ robber “also means“ robber “) in the hood”. So Robin called Marian when he won the archery tournament and proclaimed her the queen of the tournament.

Both of these meanings, hood-hood and robin-robin, were played in the popular television series Robin of Sherwood (Great Britain, 1984-1986), where the protagonist is often called Robin in the Hood.

Also known is the association of Robin Hood with Robin Good Small ( Eng. Robin Goodfellow ), or Pak ( Eng. Puck ) ^[3] - a forest spirit in the folklore of Frisians , Saxons and Scandinavians .

According to the book “Robin Hood” by Stephen R. Lowhead , the word “Hood” in Celtic means “sorcerer” .

• English and Scottish ballads / Per. S. Ya. Marshak . - M .: Nauka, 1973. - 156 p. - ( Literary monuments ).
• Ballads about Robin Hood / Per. from English I.M. Ivanovsky . - L .: Detgiz, 1963 .-- 80 p. - ( School library ).
• Clyde's waters. English and Scottish folk ballads and songs / Per. I.M. Ivanovsky . - L .: Lenizdat, 1987 .-- 208 p.
• Complete collection of ballads about Robin Hood / Per. S. Y. Marshak , N. S. Gumilyov , M. I. Tsvetaeva . Comp. V.V. Erlikhman . - M .: AST LLC, 2015. - 150 p.: Ill. - ISBN 978-5-17-087916-8 .
• Robin Hood . Ballads / Ed. sub. V.S. Sergeeva. Per. N. S. Gumilyova , S. Ya. Marshak , G.V. Ivanov , G.V. Adamovich and others. - M.: Science; Ladomir, 2018 .-- 888 p. - ( Literary monuments ). - ISBN 978-5-86218-562-1 .

• Morozov M.M. Selected Articles and Translations. - M.: Fiction, 1954. - 596 p.
• The mythology of the British Isles. Encyclopedia / Ed. and comp. K. Korolev. - M .: Eksmo; St. Petersburg: Terra Fantastica, 2003 .-- 640 p. - ISBN 5-699-03526-5 .
• J.W. Walker. The True History of Robin Hood (1973)
• . "Swordsmen of the Screen: From Douglas Fairbanks to Michael York" (1977) , ed. Routledge , ISBN 978-0-71008-478-1
• . Robin Hood (1982) , ed. , ISBN 0-500-27541-6
• John Bellamy Robin Hood: An Historical Inquiry (1985)
• G. Phillips, M. Kitman. Robin Hood The Man Behind the Myth (1995) , ed.
• Ronald Hatton “The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain” (1997) , ed. Oxford University , ISBN 978-0-19288-045-1
• . Robin Hood: A Mythic Biography (2003) , ed. , ISBN 978-0-80143-885-1
• . “A Brief History of Robin Hood” (2010) , ed. Constable & Robinson , ISBN 978-1-84901-301-7

• Gershenzon M.A. Robin Hood .
• Morozov M.M. Ballads about Robin Hood // Selected Articles and Translations - M .: GIHL, 1954.
• Boris Nevsky. Forward to the past. Robin Hood // World of Fantasy.
• Robin Hood - Bold Outlaw of Barnsdale and Sherwood
• site with Robin Hood plays, poems, ballads, etc. (eng.)
• Site with info about Robin Hood, the society, Nottingham & Robin Hood activities, Robin Hood forum & mailing list, etc. (eng.)