Robin Hood

Robin Hood, yes, Robin Hood. That is where it really all began. "It" being all of these things that I like that you see on my blog: the swords, the bows, the green, the brown, the capes, the knights, the ladies, the castles and the rivers. Now days, I like these things for slightly different reasons, but the seed that grew was planted years ago by Robin Hood.

I still remember when I first found out about Robin and I am very ashamed to say that it was through the, ahem, animated "Robin Hood". We can't all be perfect. It was not long, though, before I learned about the real Robin Hood. I read every Robin Hood book I could get on. I was quite young in those days, still in that glorious stage of being able to play, so it was a favorite pastime of mine to play Robin Hood with Kae. Well, that is, if she was maybe, perhaps, willing to consent to stoup to the activity. I was Robin. She was every one else. And the beloved playhouse was the "Blue Boar Inn".

It always did, and still does, make me very sad that Robin always dies in the end. Why couldn't he just settle down and live a long happy life and no one ever know when exactly it was that he died peacefully of old age. But, alas, it could not be so. Or at least he could have died in battle, or something.

This old "robbing the rich to give to the poor," I don't really like that line so often associated with this great man. To me, and perhaps me alone, it doesn't seem right some how. He took from wealthy, gluttonous, slimebag aristocrats the money which they had wrongly obtained (generally by way over taxing) from the peasantry and he returned it to the starving innocent families. Therefore, I find the phrase "robbing the rich to give to the poor" totally inadequate and somewhat deceiving.

I have always loved Robin Hood, always gotten excited when I here him mentioned, always gotten mad when they make some new warpation of him (i.e. movie/TV show) and I always shall, I mean Cate Blanchit as Maid Marian? Old enough to be her mother. (All due respect.) Anyhow. All movies and TV shows aren't bad though: the Earl Flynn movie is good and the Richard Greene TV show (from the 50s) is very good.


I guess the really neat thing about Robin is that he always did what he knew was right no mater what would befall him because of it. In the absence of the King he and his men looked after the people the best they knew how and all the while there lives being risked, constantly being hunted by treachery claiming to be justice, they were sort of a Medieval A-Team. That's not what I meant to say but I guess it is true.


There have always been Robin Hoods and maybe there always will be. They seldom have the exact plots or even very similar plots, it is the caricature of the person. These people are often fictional, but I am sure there have been a few real life Robin Hoods.