I also liked his comment that Robin models the principles his social betters fall short on - where clergymen are venal and materialistic, he’s devout, where nobles are greedy, he’s generous and so on. Holt’s detailed look at the ballads about Robin and a handful of other references shows the difficulties of establishing anything factual about Robin Hood or even proving there’s a fact to establish. ROBIN HOOD by JC Holt is a dry but good guide to how folklore and storytelling turned a possibly real yeoman outlaw from Barnstable in England into, variously, the nemesis of Nottingham (probably that it was a bigger town so it got more attention), lover of Maid Marian (something added late in the legend, after Robin was added to various May rituals), defender of Richard I, champion of Saxons against Norman oppression, renegade nobleman and of course, the man who robs the rich to give to the poor (while Robin is generous in his earlier stories, it’s not his primary trait).
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