Sleepy History - Robin Hood

Episode Date: August 2, 2026

✨Sleepy History is written and narrated by humans. ✨Narrated By: Simon MattacksWritten By: Alicia Steffann Trace the fascinating history of Robin Hood, from his possible roots in medieval gang rivalries to popular adaptations of his story like the comedic Men in Tights. Narrated by our beloved Simon Mattacks, allow the story of Robin Hood and his origins bring you to a deep and impactful sleep. Includes mentions of: Literature and Literary History, British History #History #Sleep #Robin #Hood #fiction #literature About Sleepy HistoryExplore history's most intriguing stories, people, places, events, and mysteries, delivered in a supremely calming atmosphere. If you struggle to fall asleep and you have a curious mind, Sleepy History is the perfect bedtime companion. Our stories will gently grasp your attention, pulling your mind away from any racing thoughts, making room for the soothing music and calming narration to guide you into a peaceful sleep. Want to enjoy Sleepy History ad-free? Start your 7-day free trial of Sleepy History Premium: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://sleepyhistory.supercast.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Have feedback or an episode request? Let us know at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠slumberstudios.com/contact⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sleepy History is a production of Slumber Studios. To learn more, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.slumberstudios.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the most beloved tales of the Western world is that of Robin Hood and his merry men. From oral traditions to books and films, his exploits of entertained readers and audiences for centuries. But who was the real Robin Hood, and when did his story begin? Was he a ruthless criminal or an altruistic hero and swoon-worthy leading man? Tonight, we'll go back. to his earliest possible origins many hundreds of years ago. From his first name check in a medieval classic, for his roles in the glossy Hollywood movies of today

will trace the twisting path of Robin Hood from a minor fireside tale to a major legend of pop culture. So just relax and let your mind drift as we explore the sleepy history of Robin Hood. Each year, about 350,000 visitors make their way to Sherwood Forest, which is in Nottinghamshire, located in the East Midlands of England. Even though it's a fraction of its original 100,000 acres, Sherwood is now a carefully managed and much-loved National Nature Preserve,

occupying a little more than a thousand acres. If you navigate to common online sites, information about Sherwood may lead with the fact that it was originally proclaimed by William the Conqueror, or that it was actually mentioned in the famous Doomsday Book, in 1086. You might also find out it contains the highest concentration of ancient trees in Europe. But of all these fascinating details, the one that probably reigns supreme is that Sherwood Forest is inextricably linked with the legends of Robin Hood and his band of merry men. In fact, Sherwood Forest and its keepers appear to lean heavily on Robin Hood to keep the public engaged with its many honorable conservation pursuits. Every summer, the Robin Hood Festival offers visitors a feast of medieval themed activities that range from jousting to weaponry demonstrations to storytelling. This is all, of course, to bring Robin Hood's universe to life.

As the website for the forest suggests, his heroic acts still bring an air of magic to the woodlands he is said to have roamed. In describing the value of this protected woodland, the website says that, as a unique habitat, much of what thrives there is rarely seen outside the forest. And even here,

some of its more elusive species are hard to spot, making sightings all the more exciting and memorable. Between the rare old oaks and the thriving ones, wildlife, there is certainly plenty of real magic effort to Cherwood. And the rest? The tales of Robin Hood, that its keepers tend with such good nature, well, that part of the history of the area is quite a bit less certain than many people might think. To root out the origins of Robin Hood, it's necessary to return to the earliest recorded mention of the

Robin Hood Tales. To do this, we must travel back to a time even before Chaucer wrote the Canterbury Tales. Sometime between 1370 and 1386, a man named William Langland composed a narrative poem called Pierce Plowman. In it, there is a passage that says, I do not know my paternoster as the priest sings it, but I do know, rhymes of Robin Hood. Now, of course, this snippet of poetry doesn't mean Langland invented Robin Hood, but rather that his legends had been around long enough to show up as a matter of common knowledge in someone's poem at the time. And there's more evidence to consider. Fairly soon after, in the early 1400s, another mention showed up in a work called

friar Dawes' reply. Refraised from the Middle English text, the words basically say, many men speak of Robin Hood and never shot his bow. It is a sentiment even modern people can easily grasp. Around the same time, a publication called Dives and Porper complained that parishioners would rather hear a song of Robin Hood than Mass or Matins. And he was also mentioned alongside other folk heroes

in a religious tract of a similar era. We can conclude from all these clues that by the late 14th century and early 15th centuries, the stories of Robin Hood had been around at least for a little while. So this raises the question, who inspired these already famous? stories. All that these early references tell us is that Robin Hood was some sort of hero of the people, that he was an archer, and that folks had some pretty great stories about him already

circulating, but it doesn't reveal the time period in which he was thought to have lived or any other identifying details. To find some of that information, scholars travel forward in time, to the late 15th and early 16th centuries, which was when the earliest ballads were written about this mysterious outlaw, giving us stories entirely focused on Robin Hood himself. There are a few narrative ballads that form this picture. Perhaps the oldest is Robin Hode and the monk. It survives in manuscript form and was also reprinted in the 19th century.

century. This ballad establishes many aspects of the Robin Hood legend that are consistent for this early period. First, Robin is a yeoman. The meaning of the term has morphed over time, but the best way to think of a yeoman for our purposes is someone who is neither a nobleman nor a peasant. In modern terms, it's pretty safe to say that Robin Hood was sort of middle class. For example, a small landowner. Second, he was greatly devoted to the Virgin Mary, which was a desirable quality in numerous Christian religions of the era. It also introduces the characters of Little John and Much the Miller's Son,

as well as his nemesis, the sheriff. Lastly, this was the only early ballad to specifically mention Sherwin. Forest. It's important to note that this story really portrays Robin Hood as a violent outlaw. His enemies do not survive the story. This would be a surprise to many modern-day fans of the folk hero who have grown up with a much gentler image of him. But one has to understand that at this time in history, it was quite acceptable to be a devout Catholic who still harbored a lot of resentment toward the monks, bishops, and nobles, who so often appeared as villains in his tales. Therefore, his violence was accepted. Close on the heels of Robin Hode and the monk

was a ballad called Robin Hood and the Potter. Like the monk story, this piece was almost certainly communicated through the oral tradition before being written down. But in contrast, In contrast to some of the other early ballads, which seemed to have been sung, this one appears to be a poem that would have been recited by a minstrel. Whereas Robin Hode and the monk served as a swashbuckling thriller, this poem was more comical in nature, with little of the violence and excitement of its predecessor. The lighter tone was a perfect example of the different shapes Robin Hood would take over the different shapes Robin Hood would take over the

take over the coming years. Sometimes he was thrilling. Sometimes he was funny. It depended on the tale. The existing manuscript that helped scholars date the Potter story seems to be from right around 1500. And it has posed challenges that medievalists are used to dealing with. For example, the person who recorded the poem seems to have made errors such as writing science, lines twice. Additionally, the scribe seems to have had a heavy Midlands dialect, which probably affected the wording. Nonetheless, it's a priceless early window into the legend. Another of the early ballads that shows the more ruthless version of the outlaw is Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne, which is from a famous compilation now called the Percy Folio. This collection, this collection

of manuscripts was compiled by Bishop Thomas Percy during the 17th century. But its contents were much older, dating back as far as the 12th century. It had a lot of treasures in it, including some Arthurian legends, and there were eight ballads about Robin Hood. Although Percy and his predecessors appear to have really put these old manuscripts through the ringer, writing on them and accidentally lopping off words and the like, the stories survive today in the British Museum.

The story about Guy of Gisborne may date to about the same time as Robin Hode and the monk, and it contains some pretty graphic retribution. Again, it shows how Robin Hood's image changed as time went on, and he was viewed as a more altruistic character. It's entirely possible that all three of these ballads were circulating via the oral tradition at about the same time, but there's no way to know their exact chronology now. Suffice to say that Robin Hood was a many-faceted legend right from the start.

The next breadcrumb in our search takes us to the third. the ballad often called a little guest of Robin Hood. Numerous copies of this piece survive, having been apparently widely distributed about 30 years after the printing press came to England. Although that printing took place in the early 16th century, scholars believe the content may have existed much earlier, even as far back as the year 1400. Similar characters appear in the ballad, and Robin is again a commoner. But one very interesting detail is that the story is clearly set during the reign of one King Edward. Regardless of which of the five Edwards it refers to, this would have occurred between the years

1272 and 1483. Another evolution, this ballad shows, versus Robin Hode and the monk, is that he is depicted as a man of the people who obeys a strict moral code. In that respect, he is one step closer to the Robin Hood we prefer today. Now, at this point, as a modern listener, you may be thinking, wasn't Robin Hood always talking about King Richard and his dastardly brother, King John? If you are, that would be completely understandable. As the centuries went on, the setting of his story shifted as much as his character, creating a whole new version of Robin Hood that dominates film and literature today. But let's push Paul. on that discussion because it's important to return to the first versions of Robin Hood to find out if all those early legends were actually based on a real person from the medieval period.

That's what scholars have long sought to discover. And of course, as any researcher knows, when you're using source material that is 800 years old, you're going to be grasping us. straws. Here are some of the facts we have to work with. First, the name Robin was a nickname for Robert in the medieval period. So, when viewing the sparse written records of the time, researchers are looking for anyone named Robert, and it was a pretty common name. Second, spellings were very inconsistent, so that widens the number of names of people who could could be the real Robin Hood, but it also creates more uncertainty. There are enthusiasts and academics who went very, very far down various rabbit holes, investigating people who had names like Robin Hood.

There was a medieval Robert Hood who got in trouble with the law between 1213 and 1216, but there's no other evidence to suggest he's the man. A Robert Hodd showed up in 1226, branded an outlaw, and going also by the names Robert Hood and Robert Hobbarhod. He was in the right place too, but it was the wrong time. 1226 was long after the reign of Richard and John, and before the reign of even Edward I. There is a Robert Fitztooth and a Robert Fitz Odo, but both of these people also have major inconsistencies with the early Robin Hood stories. In short, there's really no clear winner.

Now, let's go back to the fact that the last ballad we mentioned was set during the time of a King Edward. And you may recall that the reins of the five Edwards ranged from 1272. to 1483. This is at odds with almost all the modern interpretations of Robin Hood, which place him in the earlier time of King Richard the Lionheart and his brother, the detestable King John, from 1189 to 1216. And that's why modern audiences expect the earlier time period to be the setting.

But the fact is, of the early sources that mention a king, at all, none of them are Richard or John. Only Ed. There are also those who suggest that Robin Hood was just an alias for one of the other daring outlaws of the day. Historian Sam Taran unpacked the possibilities in an article he wrote about crime gangs in the East Midlands area of medieval England, where Robin Hood supposedly roamed. Two of the real real real-life crime families operating there at the time were the Cotterles and the Follvilles. In keeping with Robin Hood mythology, these two groups thrived in the fairly dense wilderness that included Sherwood Forest.

It was a great place to be an outlaw back then because it was easy to make mischief and quickly vanish. As background, in the early 14th century, Edward II had been a weak king who allowed people to curry favour with him. Eventually, he was deposed by his own wife, Isabella, and her lover, Roger Mortimer. His infant son, Edward III, was placed on the throne. So people were not feeling upbeat about their monarchy at the time, and there was a lot of room for resentment and corruption.

The Kotrol and Falville gangs stepped into this vacuum because they probably saw it as an opportunity. It's important to note that, unlike the early Robin Hood, who was a commoner, these corrupt groups were filled with men of privilege and connections. They were sons of landowners, for example, or even minor lords. Tarran points out that the Falvillian. even had endowed villages in their names. In the Falville family, the leader was named Eustace. His father, John Falville, served as MP for two counties

and as a Justice of Leicestershire to boot. Meanwhile, Sir William Anne of the Cotterall family had received constable ships and had served as keeper of castles under King Ebert II. With these types of advantages, the Falville and Cotterall men were adept at using good weapons, and they had the all-important relationships that greased the wheels of corruption. Why would privileged men resort to crime, you might wonder? According to Taran, there were many motivations, ranging from the payment of debts to revenge.

If you're thinking, this sounds like an episode of The Godfather, You're not wrong. The two families eventually got by simply by scaring people with their reputations. As such, they could easily threaten folks, even in writing, and extort them. Tarran points out that in Pierce Plowman, William Langland referred to the Fulfills, saying that they were using their own brand of law to fix it for false men. One might ask how he could say something so complimentary about such bad people. But this epitomizes the shoulder-shrugging about the outlaws during that time.

Langland's written celebration of their lawlessness was on trend with the general resentment of the establishment at the time. Were any of these Falvilles or Cotterles the real Robin Hood? There's no good evidence of that. But, as Terran points out, his character was part of the mood at that time. This was the world that produced the literary Robin Hood, if not the real one. Britannica summed up that connection saying that, The authentic Robin Hood ballads were the poetic expression of popular aspirations in the north of England during a turbulent era of baronial rebellions and agrarian discontent,

which culminated in the Peasant's Revolt of 1381. The theme of the free but persecuted outlaw, enjoying the forbidden hunting of the forest, and outwitting or killing the forces of law and order, naturally appealed to the common people. By the beginning of the 15th century, Robin Hood had become a popular subject of plays and festivities around the holiday of May Day. It seems that this was where the character of Maid Marian became romantically linked to him, as Marion was already an established part of May Day law on her own.

In fact, for hundreds of years, the French tradition had included a Robin de Bois, in English Robin of the Woods, who was paired with a Marion. These two were integrated in their own May Day celebrations. The French Robin and Marion were generally involved in rustic activities in their stories and were actually unrelated to the figure of the English Robin Hood initially. Some scholars believe the English and French May Day Roald. Robbins got blended together, and Marion came along for the ride. This was also the era when Friar Tuck became part of the cast of characters. It was really during the 16th century

that the character of Robin Hood began to shape-shift away from the reckless and violent outlaw of the early stories. In 1521, historian John Major wrote the history of Greater Britain. In it, he placed Robin Hood's life during the reign of Richard I and his brother, John. In May 1585, James VI was reportedly entertained with a Robin Hood play at Dilton Castle in Scotland, and Shakespeare certainly did his part to keep Robin Hood's legend alive, mentioning him in multiple plays. When it comes to evolving Robin Hood, story, it's worth mentioning the year 1601. That was when English playwright Anthony Monday published two Robin Hood plays,

telling a tale called The Downfall and The Death of Robert Earl of Huntington. He seems to have drawn upon a variety of earlier sources, but it's especially notable that he set the play during the reign of Richard I. and he also characterized Robin as being part of the gentry instead of a commoner. This established another new piece of the Robin Hood we know and love today. But before we leave the 16th century behind, it's important to mention how the advent of printing changed the way his stories were transmitted. A type of publication called A Broadside Ballad became popular.

It was really just a valid printed on a single cheap sheet of paper. They were extremely popular. Scholars estimate that millions were printed in London, and they spread easily to the countryside. As such, they were also often quite simple and focused on popular topics. It's no wonder that Robin Hood stories fit right in. There's no existing Robin Hood Broadside Ballad that dates earlier than the 17th century, but these printed pieces seem to have really overtaken the oral tradition during the 1600s. By the time the 18th century dawned, printed Robin Hood stories were the main vehicle for the legend,

and consider how his popularity in the broadside ballads shaped his character. The popular audience wasn't interested in a lofty high-born Robin. Rather, they liked reading about a rowdy commoner who wasn't always very mature. As a result, Robin's character went through a period of flirting with comedy. He was, for lack of a better description, a Robinhood of entertainment and cheap thrills. The popularity of the broadside ballads continued to shape this character through the 18th century. In the latter half of the 18th century,

Thomas Percy published the aforementioned Percy Folio, and an antiquary named Joseph Ritson published a landmark collection of Robin Hood literature called Robin Hood, a collection of all the ancient poems, songs, and ballads now extant relative to that celebrated. celebrated Outlaw. Although the title would use some work by today's standards, the Ritson publication brought the more ancient version of Robin Hood to a new audience as the 19th century dawned. In doing so, he opened the door for fresh interpretations and visions for Robin Hood

and his cast of characters. Ritson also delved into some dubious sources and claimed to have identified the real Robin Hood as a man named Robert Fitztooth, who'd come from a place called Loxley, and who was born around 1160, during the reign of Richard I. He also stated that this Robin had some claim to the title of Earl of Huntington. Historian Matt Philpott also credited Ritson, with positioning Robin Hood as a righteous defender of the In an article about the emergence of modern rogues, he said, Ritzen's interest in Robin Hood stemmed from his political opinions and fitted into the context of his times. He then further explained that Ritson had returned from a trip to Paris with an admiring

view of the government of post-revolutionary France. His view of Robin Hood was a sign of that admiration. In 1819, Britson's friend Walter Scott published the classic medieval romance, Ivanhoe. This celebrated novel has been credited with helping inspire a 19th century fascination with chivalric romance and medievalism. In it, Robin Hood appeared as a yeoman archer who conducted his adventures during the reign of Richard I. For this version of the legend, he was known as Robin of Loxley. Ivanhoe represented a truly notable shift in the motivations and behaviors of the Robin Hood character.

In the world of Ivanhoe, Robin was unfailingly loyal to King Richard, a Saxon, in a world where the Normans had previously dominated. This Robin was still a thief. That hadn't changed. But in contrast to the earliest versions of his character, he had become an outlaw as a reaction to unfair Norman persecution. Furthermore, he ruled his company of men with fairness and equity, giving back a portion of their spoils to charity.

That right there was the Robin Hood who would persist throughout the ensuing decades and centuries. It fit right in with the blossoming of romantic literature that continued throughout the 19th century. Furthermore, it was in sync with the general political mood of the times. As Philpott puts it, Ritson, Scott and other literary writers of the 19th century, were less bothered with authenticity or historical accuracy and more interested in creating atmosphere. Robin, as provider to the poor and enemy of the rich, fitted into discourses about wealth, power and authority

that was prevalent in the 19th century. In 1883, a writer named Howard Pyle released a compilation of Robin Hood tales that cemented the Outlaw's image for the next century. Pyle was already a working illustrator and writer, and this volume of Robin Hood stories was his first novel. In his book, Robin Hood and his merry men, Pyle went back to the old ballads of yore and rewrote them, reshaping the character and actions of Robin Hood into those of the of the newer, romantic character. These stories were much more appropriate for children,

and in keeping with the vision of Walter Scott, they presented Robin Hood as an altruistic, upstanding action figure. And just as the printing press had changed the way Robin Hood stories were told, so too did the advent of the film industry. 1908 saw the debut of the first Robin Hood. film in England.

But he got a much bigger stage in the 1920 silent film called Douglas Fairbanks in Robin Hood, which had a big Hollywood opening and was one of the most expensive films of the 1920s. The Fairbanks movie stuck to the 19th century ideals of Robin Hood and included the entire cast of characters, from Little John to Maid Marion and Frya Tuck. In 1938, Errol Flynn became the second megastar to take on the role.

His movie, The Adventures of Robin Hood, was filmed in colour and won three Academy Awards. This iteration of the legend also lent plenty of weight to the supporting characters. Marion was played by Olivia de Haverland, Basil Rathbone, and Claude Raines, also big stars, portrayed Sir Guy of Gisborne and Prince John. It was a box office smash and became a defining role for its leading man. Ivanhoe got the silver screen treatment in 1952, complete with a star-studied cast that included such luminaries as Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Fontaine and Robert Taylor.

In keeping with the Ivanhoe book, Robin Hood was just a supporting character. He was played by actor and TV personality Harold Warrander. In 1973, Disney gave the Robin Hood story its own colourful animated version. The studio made it a truly light-hearted and comedic affair by drawing all the characters as animals and giving the story a comical. tone. It received mixed reviews from critics, but the kids must have loved it because it was a box office success. Soon after, a promotional poster for the 1976 movie Robin and Marion proclaimed, Love is the greatest adventure of all. With Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn playing the two leads,

it reached new heights of romance in the canon of Robin Hood stories. This film retold the ancient story from The Little Guest of Robin Hood, but cast-made Marion in a prominent role. This is notable because, of course, she hadn't been in the original story at all. Maid Marion was definitely here to stay. The kids of the 1980s and 90s could never forget the movie Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, which cast Kevin Costner in the title role, and featured a supporting cast full of big names in Hollywood, such as Morgan Freeman, Mary Elizabeth Master Antonio,

Alan Rickman, and Christian Slater. Critics weren't all fans of the movie, but it turned out to be the second highest-grossing film of 1991. Further, Alan Rickman won a BAFTA Award for his portrayal of the evil sheriff. Giving the film additional reach and staying power, Brian Adams won a Grammy Award for the title song, Everything I Do, I Do It for You.

Sean Connery made a cameo appearance as King Richard, which was an entertaining nod to his role of decades earlier in Robin and Man. But the prior movie successes were not safe from a little lighthearted ribbing. In 1993, Mel Brooks released a parody called Robin Hood Men in Tights. Starring actors and comedians such as Carrie Elwis, Richard Lewis and Dave Chappelle, it poked fun at the previous more serious retellings of Robin Hood. Although its reviews were mixed, it was another box office success and has a cult following to this day.

And still, the legend endured. Director Ridley Scott tried his hand at it in his 2010 movie, which got another mixed reception. In his New York magazine review of the Scott film, critic Anthony Lane said of its star Russell Crowe that, like the movie around him, he looked distinctly underjoyed. His robin seemed pathologically glum. In an era when so many movies were gritty and full of violent action, it appears that people still wanted some of the jaunty adventure and the romance and color that the Robinhood legend had collected over the years. Lane further clarifies that opinion by saying,

Although we got a few flashbacks to Robin's traumatized childhood, nobody is less in need of a backstory. He is the creature of a perpetual now. That last phrase, the creature of a perpetual now, says so much about the resiliency of the Robin Hood. We will almost certainly never know for sure whether our favorite English outlaw was a real person. And to sticklers for detail,

it may be unsettling that his era in history is fluid, or that his personal characteristics have changed with the times. But that flexibility, that quality of plasticity, is one of the defining characteristics of most classic stories that survive the ages. Robin Hood is a hero capable of reflecting society's values like a mirror. Whatever qualities we aspire to, whatever dreams we have for ourselves, his story morphs to fit the mould. And along with the morals that he dishes out, or perhaps the lack thereof, there is always

adventure to be had, plus a little romance. Because of that, it will always be the right time and the right place for a new version.