The term seems to be applied as a form of shorthand to any fugitive or outlaw. Even at this early stage, the name Robin Hood is used as that of an archetypal criminal. This usage continues throughout the medieval period. The name was still used to describe sedition and treachery in 1605, when Guy Fawkes and his associates were branded "Robin Hoods" by Robert Cecil. Howard Pyle, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (SeaWolf Press, 2018 (original 1883), ISBN 978-1949460520).

Robin Hood's Progress to Nottingham (Child Ballad 139,in Forresters titled Robin Hood and the Forresters I) That walketh by gren -wode shawe;/Ne no knyght ne no squyer/ That wol be a gode felawe." And the Gest sums up: "he was a good outlawe,/ And dyde pore men moch god." [16] R. B. Dobson and J. Taylor (eds.), Rymes of Robin Hood (Sutton Publishing Ltd, 1997, ISBN 0750916613), 5. Forest law was extremely unpopular, among all sections of society, but it achieved its purpose of retaining vast areas of semi-wild landscape over which the king and his court could hunt. Yet the very wildness of the land made it a perfect place for fugitives to hide out, and this is why areas such as Sherwood Forest and Barnsdale feature so prominently in outlaw legend. In the 1973 animated Disney film Robin Hood, the title character is portrayed as an anthropomorphic fox voiced by Brian Bedford. Years before Robin Hood had even entered production, Disney had considered doing a project on Reynard the Fox; however, due to concerns that Reynard was unsuitable as a hero, animator Ken Anderson adapted some elements from Reynard into Robin Hood, making the title character a fox. [92] Robin and MarianThe antiquarian Joseph Hunter (1783–1861) believed that Robin Hood had inhabited the forests of Yorkshire during the early decades of the fourteenth century. Hunter pointed to two men whom, believing them to be the same person, he identified with the legendary outlaw: I always like to start by painting flesh on faces and hands, as I find that this gives the miniatures some character which helps when I am choosing colours for clothing and equipment. Flesh was painted using Crusader Flesh, which I find excellent. No other shading or highlighting has been added. Alan a’ Dale and more Merry Men

The Robin Hood legend has thus been subject to numerous shifts and mutations throughout its history. Robin himself has evolved from a yeoman bandit to a national hero of epic proportions, who not only supports the poor by taking from the rich, but heroically defends the throne of England itself from unworthy and venal claimants. Then [c.1266] arose the famous murderer, Robert Hood, as well as Little John, together with their accomplices from among the disinherited, whom the foolish populace are so inordinately fond of celebrating both in tragedies and comedies, and about whom they are delighted to hear the jesters and minstrels sing above all other ballads. [11] Robin Hood and the Monk". Lib.rochester.edu. Archived from the original on 24 December 2009 . Retrieved 12 March 2010. Jeffrey Richards, Swordsmen of the Screen: From Douglas Fairbanks to Michael York, p. 190, Routledge & Kegan Paul, Lond, Henly and Boston (1988). Johnson's "The Sad Shepherd" ". Lib.rochester.edu. Archived from the original on 4 April 2010 . Retrieved 12 March 2010.The earliest surviving text of a Robin Hood ballad is the 15th-century " Robin Hood and the Monk". [22] This is preserved in Cambridge University manuscript Ff.5.48. Written after 1450, [23] it contains many of the elements still associated with the legend, from the Nottingham setting to the bitter enmity between Robin and the local sheriff.

The earliest surviving Robin Hood text is "Robin Hood and the Monk." This is preserved in Cambridge University manuscript Ff.5.48, which was written shortly after 1450. It contains many of the elements still associated with the legend, from the Nottingham setting to the bitter enmity between Robin and the local sheriff. [13] Through retellings, additions, and variations, a body of familiar characters associated with Robin Hood has been created. These include his lover, Maid Marian; his band of outlaws, the Merry Men; and his chief opponent, the Sheriff of Nottingham. The Sheriff is often depicted as assisting Prince John in usurping the rightful but absent King Richard, to whom Robin Hood remains loyal. He became a popular folk figure in the Late Middle Ages, and his partisanship of the common people and opposition to the Sheriff are some of the earliest-recorded features of the legend, whereas his political interests and setting during the Angevin era developed in later centuries. The earliest known ballads featuring him are from the 15th century. Child, Francis James. The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, Volume 2. Dover Publications, 2003. ISBN 0486431460Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. [1] In some versions of the legend, he is depicted as being of noble birth, and in modern retellings he is sometimes depicted as having fought in the Crusades before returning to England to find his lands taken by the Sheriff. In the oldest known versions, he is instead a member of the yeoman class. Traditionally depicted dressed in Lincoln green, he is said to have stolen from the rich to give to the poor. Ohlgren, Thomas. Robin Hood: The Early Poems, 1465-1560. (Newark: University of Delaware Press, 2007. ISBN 978-1611493092