Robbing the rich and giving it to the poor is one thing, but robbing the King’s deer would be unforgivable, especially if it was King John’s who was notorious for his tyranny and cruelty. Conversely, preserving these wild areas for game also provide perfect cover for outlaws to hideout in while living off the land by poaching the King’s deer and game. The Royal Forests were huge and not just areas of woodland, but included heath and scrub lands, often with human settlements within or around its boundaries. Who ever was the king they would have been expecting and pressing the Sheriff of Nottingham to capture and punish Robin Hood. In the ballad ‘A Gest of Robyn Hode,’ the king is named as ‘Edward.’ As the legend of Robin Hood seems to have grown over centuries it is difficult to be exact. The monarch of the time is generally considered to be King John while his brother, King Richard was absent at the Crusades. Under the cover of Sherwood Forest he and his Merry Men rang rings round these two as they tried their hardest to capture them. His arch rival was the Sherriff of Nottingham aided and abetted by Sir Guy of Gisbourne. Maid Marion was his famous love interest. Little John, Will Scarlet, Much the Miller’s Son, Alan-a-Dale and Friar Tuck are the most well known of Robin’s Merry Men. ‘Merry Men’ were followers of any one who commanded a following. The term ‘Merry Men’ is a generic term used to describe followers of leaders such as outlaws or knights. Most of what we know about them comes from the ballads about Robin Hood. Any one who wanted to join had to fight Robin and beat him. Their number varies from 20 to 140 over time. The Merry Men were his followers and fellow outlaws. Robin Hood and Little John by Louis Rhead – Public Domain The Merry Men This also had the appeal of the righteous lord who in loyally upholding the true monarch’s law in his absence is wronged by the usurper King John. In later versions he becomes a lord who had been dispossessed by the notoriously unjust King John for his support of King Richard who was away on the Crusades. Robin not only broke the law and got away with it he made the authorities look foolish. In Robin Hood the people found a hero who was one of their own and who successfully stood up against their oppressors. Not surprisingly, this would probably be a cause of massive resentment among the ordinary people who would have wanted to supplement their meagre livelihood from the free forest resources of meat, wood and land. Punishments for breaking the law included being blinded in both eyes or to have the hands cut off. Ordinary people could not hunt, clear or cultivate land within in its bounds.Īlthough not all of their former rights were taken they were much more restricted in what they could do. This would only be given to his barons and noblemen on license and at a price. The forest and everything in it belonged to the king and he alone could give permission for its use. People living in or around a Royal Forest were subject to these laws and they were believed to be the cause of much resentment. The penalty for breaking them was notoriously harsh. These were designed to protect the game such as deer, boar, wolves or hares and game birds for the benefit of the king. In Robin’s day Sherwood was one of the Royal Forests and was subject to the Forest Laws. In this role as a working class hero he successfully cocks a snook at the law and authority, gaining much sympathy and support from the peasants and yeomanry who saw themselves as oppressed by an all powerful royal hierarchy. In earlier versions of the legend his status was that of a yeoman who had fallen foul of the law through injustice.
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