Robin Hood was a legendary English outlaw and folk-hero who appears in ballads from the thirteenth century. He lived through the reign of Henry II, Richard I and John. He feuded with the Sheriff of Nottingham and lived in Sherwood Forest with a band of followers, his 'Merry Men'. They robbed the rich to give to the poor. Among Robin's companions were Little John, Friar Tuck, Will Scarlett and Alan-A-Dale. It is said that Robin was born in about 1160 at Locksley, Nottinghamshire. Ancient ballads abound with anecdotes of his personal courage, skill in archery, generosity and great popularity. He protected women and children with knightly chivalry. The first literary mention of Robin Hood was in William Langland's celebrated poem Piers Plowman (c. 1377).
