Was there a real Robin Hood? Edale Lane

Today we welcome Melodie Romero (writing as Edale Lane) to the blog to talk about her historical lesbian romance, Heart of Sherwood! Welcome, Melodie!

Heart of Sherwood is a gender-bent action-adventure-romance novel that places the Robin Hood legend in alignment with historical facts. In preparing for writing the manuscript, I studied every Robin Hood story I could find, watched all the film versions, and carefully researched historical people and events that would have likely coincided with the hero had he (or she) truly lived. As a historian, I know well that most myths and legends are based on actual people and events that have since been exaggerated and romanticized, but whether male or female, was the enigmatic outlaw a real person?

The first literary reference to Robin Hood dates to 1377 and the various early tales place him in different centuries and hailing from varying locals. The British Museum preserves several antique manuscripts, each claiming to chronicle the famous outlaw’s life. Most versions agree that Sherwood Forest was his hang-out, and he robbed the rich to give to the poor. The latter made him a folk hero, whether or not he ever lived. But if there was a Robin Hood, would the character necessarily be a man? Some of the earliest Robin Hood stories describe him as a beardless youth, only 14 or 15 years of age. While he became older and more sophisticated with later accounts, historians often put more trust in the earliest manuscripts. In the Medieval Period being male was a prerequisite to becoming a knight or skilled fighter (a few exceptions such as Joan of Arc not withstanding); however, throughout the ages there have been times when women disguised themselves as men in order to engage in unconventional behavior, such as fighting in a war. There existing no concrete evidence of a benevolent outlaw known as Robin Hood, it is not inconceivable that the person upon whom the legend is based could have been a woman in disguise. Besides, in my retelling of the story, the circumstance of her femininity constitutes the very reason the name of Robin Hood was omitted from all official records.  

The Sloan Manuscript written towards the end the sixteenth century states that “Robin Hood was born in Locksley in Yorkshire or after other in Nottinghamshire, in ye days of Henry II about ye yeare 1160, but lived tyll ye latter end of Richard Ye Fyrst”. He is also referred to as “Robin of Locksley” by Sir Walter Scott in “Ivanhoe,” (1819), and has been known by that title ever since. Anthony Munday depicted the inscrutable outlaw as the Earl of Huntington in his 1589 plays, but I have chosen to stay true to the most familiar version of Hood as the Earl of Loxley (or in my case, the Earl’s daughter). 

The world of cinema in filled with Robin Hood movies from silent films to current day, and I drew from all of them, particularly the Errol Flynn 1938 version while not ignoring the Disney animated classic. Both retellings include Prince John and King Richard, while some other tales do not. Curiously, I discovered that none of the written stories or movies include a most notable character in Queen Eleanor (probably because they were all written by men). While Richard was being held for ransom and John was trying to cheat his way to the throne, she stood as regent, the de facto ruler of England. I included this most remarkable woman of her era as a major character in my novel. 

You can’t have a Robin Hood story without Maid Marian, and Heart of Sherwood is no exception, weaving a sweet FF romance into the action. Maid Marian was not in the earliest Robin Hood ballads, but first mentioned around 1500. There was a “Marian of the May Games” from French tradition who was a shepherdess with a lover called Robin, and it has been suggested that the two tales merged at some point. From the late 1500s both Robin and Marian began to be portrayed as nobles who had a relationship ranging from friendship to marriage. In an Elizabethan play, Anthony Munday identified Maid Marian with the historical Matilda, daughter of Robert FitzWalter, a real-life supporter of King Richard who was forced to flee England after a failed attempt to assassinate the then King John. This representation of Maid Marian has held for centuries of lore, so I kept it.

Perhaps we are nowhere nearer to answering the question of authenticity surrounding one of England’s greatest heroes, but historians continue to search for answers. Could it be that the real reason there is no official chronical of Robin Hood’s noble acts is the simple fact that “he” had been a “she”? Read Heart of Sherwood and decide for yourself! 

Heart of Sherwood was named finalist at Imaginarium 2019 and won the Rainbow Award for Best Historical Lesbian Romance of 2019.