Why Is Robin Hood Bad

Robin Hood the Man, the Myth, the Legend

Intro: Robin Hood, the famous outlaw, hero, and idol whose influence spanned centuries into the modern age. There are many speculations on who exactly Robin Hood is or what he did, but one thing that is certain is that his legend of being a hero who helped the poor by stealing from the government and the rich has evolved in different manners throughout time, whether it be through small or large changes. Robin Hood is most known for stealing from the government and the rich to give to the poor which stems from his original incarnation during the 14th century which marks his beginning, then in the 16th century the image of Robin hood began to become tainted, later in the 1940’s he was depicted as a hero

in The Once and Future King, but not for the same reasons as he was originally, and finally in modern times Robin Hood has been depicted as a vigilante and hero in the show Arrow, but not for the same reasons as its first inspiration.
Body Paragraph #1: The first depictions and mentions of Robin Hood stems from as far back as the 14th century. During the 13th Century “Robin Hood (was) a heroic outlaw in English folklore, a highly skilled archer and swordsman (from Sherwood, Nottingham). He has become known for ‘robbing from the rich and giving to the poor’ ... The origin of the legend is claimed by some to have stemmed from actual outlaws, but some say it is only from ballad and story.”(nottinghamcastle.org.uk) This demonstrates how the first incarnation of Robin Hood did indeed help the poor by doing what he is most known for, robbing the rich and government, but there are still debates on whether or not he was fact or fiction. Furthermore Robin Hood was viewed as an “ … anti-establishment rebel who murders government agents and wealthy landowners.” (History.com staff) This is also significant because at the time the government and the aristocrats (the rich) treated the poor unfairly and horribly, so the act of murdering government officials and aristocrats done by Robin Hood caused the poor to view him as an Idol and give them hope by standing up against those oppressing them.
Body Paragraph #2: Later during the 16th-17th Robin Hood was still depicted as the outlaw from Sherwood, Nottingham.

However his image as a hero who stole from the government and the rich began to become tainted due to his actions. During this time period this iteration of Robin hood influenced puritan forces, who were also named “Little Robins and Little Johns” to fight against the government, and “ … In 1641, the Puritan forces in the Parliament got fed up with King Charles I and kicked off a little fracas known as the English Civil War .... This ended with Charles I being beheaded in January 1649.” Afterwards, the government essentially banned anything which involved Robin hood or fun, however this did not stop the circulation of Robin Hood related things (Allen w. Wright, “Wolfshead Through the Ages”) . This signifies how Robin Hood was viewed as a bad influence in the eyes of the government, but still remained the hero of the people. Moreover Robin hood’s Image began to become tarnished because of conflictions with the protestant church. His conflictions arose when Robin Hood began to do acts “ … (which included) such charitable activities of building almshouses. It also includes such violent activities as castrating monks...Now, his former devotion to the Virgin Mary and the mass did not balance his anti-clerical robberies.”(Allen w. Wright, “Wolfshead Through the Ages”) This displays how Robin Hood was portrayed as a hero because he still helped the poor by “doing charitable acts”, but he was also shown as an outlaw who murdered religious figures and stole to give to the poor in order to oppose the church, which caused conflicting opinions on whether Robin hood was actually the man who stole from the rich and gave to the poor or if he was simply another ruthless

criminal.
Body Paragraph #3: Although the version of Robin Hood in The Once and Future King is different from the actual Robin Hood he is still adored. “(Wart & Kay)They ran like wild colts as before, and went to see Robin when they had a mind to, and had innumerable adventures too lengthy to be recorded.” This portrays how Robin Hood was well know to Arthur(Wart). Secondly, he was not mentioned as Robin Hood, instead he was Robin Wood. Robin Wood and Robin Hood did share similarities in the novel as shown,“‘Oh!’ cried the Wart in delight. ‘I have heard of you, often, when they tell Saxon stories in the evening, of you and Robin Hood.’ ‘Not Hood,’ said Little John reprovingly.” This demonstrates that Robin Hood is known well in the story, but as an other person, and those that claim to be Robin Hood do it because they will do the same as helping out the poor.
Body Paragraph #4: Throughout time Robin Hood has inspired an modern day character named Arrow. Both characters have similarities background information within each other. For the beginning for the Arrow “Arrow is the alter ego of Oliver Queen, born into a rich family… stranded on a deserted island for 5 years… He then returns home to, in his words, ‘save my city,’ from the people who are ruining it through their greed.” While for Robin Hood ,“is also (said to be) from a wealthy family; he is the noble Earl of Huntingdon, and in most versions of the legend he too returns home after a long period of absence, and decides to take up the plight of the people against the corrupt lords of medieval England.”(gesteofrobinhood.com). Which then means that the Arrow was inspired to be a 21th century of Robin Hood. But this is not the only similarities shared within one another. Furthermore, the Arrow seeks to “reform; whilst his main targets are large corporations which skirt the edge of the law and exploit the common people…” As for Robin Hood, “seeks to establish, or re-establish, justice or ‘the old ways,’ that is to say, fair dealing in a society of oppression… He does not seek to establish a society of freedom and equality” (Hobsbawm, 1969, p.55). This shows how each character are the same but also have different reasons for their actions. Their overall main reason to doing what they do is to fix the corrupt government and help out the poor citizens to find justice.
Conclusion: Who is Robin hood or what did he do over time? One thing is certain, Robin Hood has evolved over time since his first known appearance.Robin Hood’ was known for stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, in the beginning he was portrayed as an outlaw who stole from the rich and gave to the poor, then his image began to worsen over time, after this in literary examples such as The Once and Future King Robin Hood was depicted as a Saxon hero, and in modern ages he was depicted as a hero and vigilante in the show Arrow. If Robin Hood’s stories would have never been told would society still have a familiar outlaw/hero idol?