Robin Hood

Robin Hood is the English folk hero, an outlaw of the medieval era who is famous for his robbing the rich to feed the poor and fighting against injustice and tyranny. He operates with his “seven score (2 десятка)” (140 strong) group of fellow outlawed yeomen – named theMerry Men for their famed jollity – who were based in hideouts (в дебрях) in Sherwood Forest and Barnsdale Forest. The chief enemy of the Merry Men is the villainous Sheriff of Nottingham who is overtaxing the people into poverty, and in some tales the villain is Prince John, based on John of England.

Riding through the royal forest of Sherwood on a glorious May morning, you don’t have a care in the world. Then you hear a bird call, the faint rustling of trees, and suddenly a man armed with a longbow appears in your path. He wears a feathered cap, or is that a hood? You can’t see the man’s face clearly, but you don’t have to. He is dressed in green, the colour of Robin Hood – the most famous English outlaw of all time.

Don’t worry, he won’t harm you. He’ll invite you to join him and his outlaw band for a feast (пир). The meal of choice? (Что выбираете?) Venison (оленина) or freshly-killed deer? Only a king is allowed to hunt it, but then Robin never did worry about the law.

After your feast, Robin, or his faithful lieutenant Little John, will ask you a question. How much money are you carrying? If you answer truthfully, you may keep all that you have. If you need money, then Robin will give or lend you some. But if you lie to him – if you hoard (припрячете) your money, well... you won’t have that money for very long. It will go to help someone in need.

Robin Hood is an outlaw. Just as commoners are allowed to hunt harmful wolves, anyone can hunt Robin Hood. The sheriff would pay for Robin’s capture just as surely as he would pay for a wolf’s head. Robin and his band are often called wolfsheads by their enemies.

In many stories, Robin is devoted to the Virgin Mary. But in some versions, he is the “son” of the pagan forest god Herne the Hunter. And others say he’s one of the “Fair Folk” or the “Little People”, the magical inhabitants of Britain. But surely Robin’s strongest allegiance (верность) is to his band of Merry Men – Little John, Friar Tuck, Will Scarlet, Much the Miller’s Son, Alan a Dale and above all Maid Marian, his true love. Robin Hood is a champion archer. Once, he snuck (затесался) into a Nottingham archery tournament. The prize for winning the contest was an arrow with a silver shaft (древко) and golden head and feathers. It was a tough contest. Some people say Robin’s leading opponent shot an arrow into centre of the target. It seemed impossible to beat that shot. But bold Robin Hood took aim and fired an arrow with such uncanny precision (неимоверная точность) that it split his opponent’s arrow in two. Thus, Robin won the tournament and the gold and silver arrow.

There are many stories where Robin meets a stranger, often a simple tradesman like a potter, tanner and so on. Robin picks a fight. But the stranger overpowers him. Robin then asks the stranger to join his band. This is how many of the most famous Merry Men met Robin Hood. Robin Hood is a master of disguise. Dressed as an old woman he tricked an evil bishop. Turned hangman (палач), Robin rescued three of his men.

But who was Robin Hood before he became an outlaw? The earliest stories say he is a yeoman. But a well-known later tale has another explanation for Robin’s outlawry. A tall lad of 15, Robin went to Nottingham to attend a fair. He was stopped by 15 surly foresters who mocked (насмехались) Robin’s youth and said Robin was too young to shoot a bow. Robin wagered (заработал) 20 marks on his skill. Then, Robin shot and killed a deer that was over 550 yards away. The foresters refused to pay up and were going to beat up young Robin. But Robin managed to shoot and kill all fifteen of them. For this, he was outlawed. Other stories say that Robin is the son of a forester. Or that he is Sir Robin of Locksley, a knight who returned from the Third Crusade to find his land stolen by the sheriff.

Many movies end with King Richard pardoning Robin Hood. But in the ballad version of this tale, Robin grows bored with service to the king (called King Edward in an early ballad) and heads back to the forest to live as an outlaw for another 22 years.

In 1247, Robin was ill and looked for help from his cousin, the Prioress of Kirklees. A common medical treatment in the middle ages was to bleed someone. But the Prioress betrayed Robin and drained too much of his blood away. Robin had just enough strength to blow his hunting horn and summon his men. Little John burst into the room, and threatened to kill Robin’s treacherous cousin. But Robin stopped his faithful friend. Robin would never harm a woman.

Some stories say that Robin managed to fire one last arrow and the dying outlaw told Little John to bury him where it landed. And near Kirklees there is a grave that was said to belong to Robin Hood. Perhaps Robin was killed that wintry day in 1247. But his spirit remains alive – whenever good friends gather or the underprivileged need a champion. For centuries people have taken the name of Robin Hood.