Was Robin Hood a real person?

Find out more about the history of The Real Robin Hood, including videos, interesting articles, pictures, historical features and more. Get all the facts on HISTORY.com. read more

Academics, meanwhile, have combed the historical record for evidence of a real Robin Hood. English legal records suggest that, as early as the 13th century, “Robehod,” “Rabunhod” and other variations had become common epithets for criminals. read more

The earliest known legal records mentioning a person called Robin Hood (Robert Hod) are from 1226, found in the York Assizes, when that person's goods, worth 32 shillings and 6 pence, were confiscated and he became an outlaw. read more

Robin of Locksley the earl of Huntingdon was mentioned as a candidate in the 17th century in a poem by Thomas dale the dean of York, but the authenticity of this is highly questionable. It would have been written many centuries after the life of the so called "Real" Robin Hood and was probably invented to legitimise the character. read more