ROBIN HOOD

Robin Hood is a figure in English folk tales. Many accounts of Robin Hood, though not the very earliest, bear a striking similarity to accounts of the life of Fulk FitzWarin, a Norman noble, who was disinherited and became an outlaw and an enemy of John of England. In the oldest legends the outlaw's enemy is the sheriff due simply to his profession, but in later versions the sheriff is

an evil ruler and gravely abuses his position, stealing land, levying excessive taxation, and persecuting the poor. In some tales the villain is Prince John, based on the historical John of England, who is seen as the evil brother of King Richard the Lionheart. In the oldest versions surviving, Robin Hood is a yeoman, but in some later versions he is described as a nobleman, the earl of Locksley, who was unjustly deprived of his lands. In other stories, he has served in the crusades, returning to England to find his lands pillaged by the dastardly sheriff. In some tales he is the champion of the people, fighting against corrupt officials and the oppressive order that protects them, while in others he is an arrogant and headstrong rebel, who delights in bloodshed, cruelly slaughtering and beheading his victims.

In modern versions of the legend, he is famous for robbing the rich to provide for the poor and fighting against injustice and tyranny. His band consisted of "seven score" (140) group of fellow outlawed yeomen – called his "Merry Men". Robin Hood and his band's tales are usually associated with the area Sherwood Forest and Nottinghamshire, though most historians point towards him having been a Yorkshire man.

LITTLE JOHN

Little John is a fictional character in the legend of Robin Hood. Usually, John is depicted as Robin's chief lieutenant and second-in-command of the Merry Men.

He appears in the earliest recorded Robin Hood ballads and stories. In the early tales, Little John is shown to be intelligent and highly capable. He is also known to have disagreements with Robin Hood. In the 15th-century ballad most commonly called "Robin Hood and the Monk", after being ill-treated by Robin, Little John leaves in anger. When Robin Hood is captured, it is Little John who plans his leader's rescue. In thanks, Robin offers Little John leadership of the band, but John refuses.