Hood, Robin Folk Figure. Traditionally, the leader of a band of legendary English outlaws. Modern scholarship generally agrees that the origin of the Robin Hood legend lies somewhere in the eleventh or twelfth century probably in Yorkshire. Several contemporary works seem to refer to such tales without recording them. The first literary reference to Robin Hood was apparently 1377. One of the oldest surviving ballads is ‘A Gest of Robyn Hode', which was not published until the late 1400s. In all of the...[Read More] (Bio by: Iola) Cause of death: Murder (exsanguinating hemorrhage) Kirklees Priory, Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England
John, Little Folk Figure. Traditionally, second in command of Robin Hood's legendary Merry Men. Little John appears in the very earliest of the surviving Robin Hood tales, including ‘A Gest of Robyn Hode' published after 1490. The ballad ‘Robin Hood and Little John' claimed the outlaw's name was John Little, scholars have found many historical figures with the name, including the outlaw, John le Litel, a raider circa 1318, and Littel John, c. 1323, who appeared to have been a poacher. It is difficult to...[Read More] (Bio by: Iola) Kirklees Priory*, Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England *This location is unconfirmed or in dispute.
Tuck, Friar Folk Figure. Traditionally a member of Robin Hood's legendary band of Merry Men. Tuck is not in the earliest surviving Robin Hood ballads, but first appeared as Frere Tuk in a fragment of the Robin Hood legend, ‘Robin Hood and the Sheriff,' dated about 1475 and was possibly based on the historical figure, Robert Stafford a chaplain of Lindfield, Sussex, who had turned thief. Robert Stafford, did apparently employ the alias of Friar Tuck around 1417. The Tuck character seems to have combined...[Read More] (Bio by: Iola) Kirklees Priory*, Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England *This location is unconfirmed or in dispute.
