Robin Hood

For the roller coaster, see Robin Hood (roller coaster).

A statue of Robin Hood near the castle in Nottingham

Robin Hood is a folk hero from the Middle Ages in England. He is a legendary person, and people have told stories about him for centuries. There are also many books, plays, movies, and cartoons that tell stories about Robin Hood.

There are many different versions, but in most stories, Robin Hood is an outlawed nobleman who lives in Sherwood Forest near the town of Nottingham, England. He has two powerful enemies. The first is Prince John, who is acting as king while his brother, King Richard the Lionheart, is fighting the Crusades in the Middle East. The second is the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham. They are Robin Hood’s enemies because they abuse their powers and take money from poor people. Using his intelligence and his archery skills, Robin Hood steals back this money and returns it to the poor.

In many stories, a group of faithful followers called The Merry Men accompanies Robin. In the earliest Robin Hood stories, The Merry Men were Little John, Much the Miller’s Son, and Will Scarlet. Later stories added Friar Tuck, Alan-a-Dale, and Maid Marian.

In the media

There have been many movies about Robin Hood, including "The Adventures of Robin Hood" starring Errol Flynn. In the 1970s, Disney made a movie where the characters were shown to be animals. Robin and his lover (Marian) are foxes.