It's hard to find someone who has never heard of this man - he is a heroic outlaw, the legends of whom began to appear in English folklore long ago. The legend says that he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman who robbed from the rich and gave everything to the poor.
The fact of real existence of Robin Hood is still debated among scholars, as in medieval England the name Robert (Robin was its very common diminutive) was really popular, as well as the surname Hood, which depicted a hood-maker or else someone who wore a hood.
Over the years, there has been a huge number of retellings, variations and adaptations of the story of Robin Hood. Nowadays, the legend is still being adapted in many TV series, films and also in literature.
One of the most famous film adaptions are:
Robin and Marian (1976) is a British-American romantic adventure film, starring Sean Connery and Audrey Hepburn. It was filmed in Zamora, as well in some small medieval villages in Navarre, Spain.
2. Robin Hood (1973) is a Walt Disney animated adventure comedy film. Walt Disney's interest in the tale of Reynard the Fox helped to make the idea of filming Robin Hood come true. In the end, the film was very positively received by the critics and the public.
A big number of retellings also helped to develop other characters related to Robin Hood:
Maid Marian - often said to be Robin Hood's lover. She was never mentioned in the earliest stories and her appearance in the ballads is unknown. In the existen stories, Maid Marian is depicted as a beautiful and loyal woman of high level of courage and independence, that's why she is thought to be one of the earliest strong female characters in English literature.
The Merry Men - a group of outlaws and at the same time friends of Robin Hood who accompany him in his journeys. The Merry Men appeared in the earliest ballads of Robin Hood (in which there were some of their names mentioned - Little John, Much the Miller's Son, and William Scarlock or Scathelock) and are still popular in modern adaptations. The phrase Merry Man was originally meant to describe any outlaw, knight, or similar leader.
The Sheriff of Nottingham - the main antagonist in the legend of Robin Hood. He is usually shown as a man who mistreats the inhabitants of Nottinghamshire, subjecting them to unaffordable taxes. So, Robin Hood and his group of outlaws fight against him.
The early ballads of Robin Hood say that he and his merry men were living in Sherwood Forest, in Nottinghamshire. Interestingly, this is a real place which is famous specially for the legend of Robin Hood.
Even though the historicity of Robin Hood has not been proven, he continues to be one of the most well-known legendary heroes of English folklore. Films and television series being still famous prove that this legend will never die.
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