First mentioned by William Langland in the late 14th century, Robin Hood is known to us through ballads and folksongs, old chronicles and plays, medieval allusions, folklore and place names. Robin Hood folk songs are found in the U.S. as well as in England and Scotland The earliest stories are centered on Barnsdale in Yorkshire, but later the emphasis shifts to Nottingham and Sherwood Forest. Originally a yeoman, Robin was upgraded to aristocrat in the 16th century, but he remains essentially a champion of the poor and oppressed. How far Robin Hood was based on a historical character and how far he is an archetypal outlaw or a Greenwood myth is the subject of this wide-ranging study. Includes a gazetteer of Robin Hood sites and an annotated filmography.