Write your own The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood story

Robin Hood

A young yeoman from Locksley Town, renowned as the greatest archer in all England, who became an outlaw after killing a forester in self-defense and poaching the King's deer. He leads a band of merry outlaws in Sherwood Forest, robbing wealthy oppressors—barons, abbots, knights—and giving to the poor. Bold, quick-tempered but good-hearted, he is also a masterful trickster and cudgel player.

Little John

Originally called John Little, he is a giant of a man—seven feet tall and enormously broad—who first met Robin Hood in a famous quarterstaff duel on a narrow log bridge, besting the outlaw and knocking him into the stream. Robin recruited him on the spot, and Will Stutely christened him 'Little John' in jest. He serves as Robin's chief lieutenant and right-hand man, second in command of the Merry Men.

Will Stutely

One of Robin Hood's most trusted and senior companions in Sherwood Forest, Will Stutely is quick-witted and fond of jests. He leads the band when Robin is absent and is notable for devising the mock 'christening' ceremony that renamed John Little as Little John. He is among the first to rush to Robin's aid at the sound of the bugle horn.

The Sheriff of Nottingham

The chief antagonist, a sour-tempered and grim official sworn to capture Robin Hood both for the two-hundred-pound bounty and because Robin slew a forester who was the Sheriff's kinsman. He is proud, politically ambitious, and repeatedly outwitted by Robin, yet relentless in devising schemes—including a rigged archery contest—to trap the outlaw. He answers to King Henry II and fears the King's displeasure.

King Henry II

The reigning sovereign of England during the early part of Robin Hood's story, described as a stout and lusty fellow with a quick temper. He is aware of Robin Hood's exploits and privately amused by them, though he demands that his laws be enforced. He rebukes the Sheriff for failing to apprehend Robin despite commanding a large retinue.

Queen Eleanor

The fair and gentle queen consort of King Henry II, before whom all others bow with respect. She appears at the royal court in London and later plays a role in Robin's adventures when he shoots before her. She is depicted as a gracious and notable presence in the royal court.

Richard the Lion's Heart

A tall, merry, and proud Plantagenet prince and future king who eventually comes to Sherwood Forest in person. He is presented as one of the most significant royal figures in the legend, and his arrival in Sherwood marks a climactic moment in Robin Hood's story.

Maid Marian

Robin Hood's beloved, a young woman from Locksley Town whose bright eyes Robin thinks of fondly as he walks through Sherwood on the morning he first becomes an outlaw. She represents the innocent, pastoral life Robin loses when he is exiled to the greenwood.

Wat o' the Crabstaff (The Tinker)

A boisterous, self-confident tinker from Banbury Town who is hired by the Sheriff's messenger to serve a warrant on Robin Hood. He is a skilled ballad-singer and formidable cudgel fighter—enough to break Robin's staff—but is tricked into drunkenness at the Blue Boar Inn and has his warrant stolen. After a rematch in the forest, he is so impressed by Robin that he joins the Merry Men.

David of Doncaster

A young member of Robin Hood's band who serves as an informant and scout, gathering news from the Blue Boar Inn and nearby towns. He is the one who warns Robin about the Sheriff's shooting match at Nottingham and relays intelligence from the innkeeper Eadom.

The Bishop of Hereford

A fat, roguish clergyman dressed in rich clerical robes who appears among the notable figures of the story. He represents the corrupt and self-serving church establishment that Robin and his men target, alongside wealthy barons and abbots.

Sherwood Forest

The vast, ancient greenwood near Nottingham that serves as the home and refuge of Robin Hood and his Merry Men. It is depicted as an almost enchanted place of dappled light, sweet birdsong, cool brown brooks, and abundant deer. The band has built bark huts and rush couches within its depths, and a great oak with a mossy seat serves as Robin's throne for feasts and merrymaking.

Nottingham Town

The nearest major town to Sherwood Forest, seat of the Sheriff of Nottinghamshire and the center of royal law enforcement in the region. It is the site of archery matches, markets, fairs, and the Sheriff's castle with its forge fires. Robin frequently ventures into or near Nottingham in disguise for adventure and intelligence-gathering.

Locksley Town

The hometown of Robin Hood, a pleasant village whose lads, lasses, and everyday life Robin can never return to after being outlawed. It is associated with innocence, youth, and the life Robin sacrifices when he kills the forester and flees into Sherwood.

The Sign of the Blue Boar Inn

A beloved inn located roughly halfway between Nottingham and Lincoln Town, surrounded by cool oak trees and draped with clematis and woodbine. It serves excellent ale (notably the October brew of Withold of Tamworth) and is a known haunt of Robin Hood and his men. The innkeeper is a discreet ally who keeps Robin's identity secret and cooperates in schemes against would-be bounty hunters.

London Town

The seat of the royal court of King Henry II and Queen Eleanor, reached from Nottingham by traveling the Fosse Way and Watling Street. The Sheriff travels here to petition the King for help against Robin Hood and is sharply rebuked for his failure to maintain order in his own county.

The Log Bridge

A narrow bridge made from a single log of wood spanning a broad, pebbly forest stream near the edge of Sherwood. It is the site of the famous first meeting between Robin Hood and the man who would become Little John, where the two fought a lengthy quarterstaff duel until Robin was knocked into the water.

Robin Hood's Merry Men

A band of outlaws—eventually numbering over a hundred and forty (sevenscore) strong—who live in the depths of Sherwood Forest under Robin Hood's leadership. They are drawn from men wrongly dispossessed, escaped poachers, and victims of unjust lords, abbots, and barons. They vow to rob oppressors and give to the poor, never to harm a child or wrong a woman, and to answer Robin's bugle call in times of need. Members wear Lincoln green and receive forty marks a year plus three suits of clothing.

The Sheriff's Men and Foresters

The law-enforcement arm of the Sheriff of Nottingham, including royal foresters (clad in Lincoln green) who patrol Sherwood and enforce the King's forest laws, and the Sheriff's own retainers and men-at-arms. They are often portrayed as bullying, corrupt, and heavy drinkers. It was a group of the King's foresters who provoked Robin into his first killing and set him on the path to outlawry.

The Longbow and Clothyard Arrows

The primary weapon of Robin Hood and his Merry Men, typically made of good stout yew with gray goose-feather shafts. Robin's archery is depicted as supernaturally precise—he can split another archer's arrow at fourscore yards and pick off a hart at over threescore rods. Broad clothyard arrows are standard issue for the band, and skill with the bow is the defining mark of a true yeoman.

The Bugle Horn

A horn carried at Robin Hood's hip that serves as the Merry Men's tactical communication device. Three blasts signal that Robin is in dire need, and upon hearing them his men come running immediately from wherever they are in the forest. It is a symbol of Robin's authority and the band's loyalty.

The Quarterstaff

A heavy wooden staff, typically of oak or blackthorn, used extensively in the tale for single combat. Both Robin Hood and his recruits (Little John, the Tinker) are expert staff fighters. Cudgel bouts are the primary means by which Robin tests and recruits new members, and staff-play is treated as an honorable martial art equal to archery.

The Golden Arrow

A prize arrow of pure beaten gold, offered by the Sheriff of Nottingham as the prize for a grand public shooting match at Nottingham Town. The Sheriff's secret motive is to lure Robin Hood out of the forest and into a trap. The golden arrow becomes a symbol of both Robin's irresistible competitive spirit and the Sheriff's scheming.

Lincoln Green

The distinctive forest-green livery worn by Robin Hood and all his Merry Men, serving as both camouflage in the forest and a badge of brotherhood. Upon joining the band each new recruit is clothed 'from top to toe in Lincoln green' and given a stout bow. It is also notably the color worn by the King's foresters, creating an ironic visual parallel between outlaws and lawmen.

The Code of the Merry Men

Upon forming the band, Robin Hood and his companions swore a communal oath defining their conduct: to rob oppressors (barons, abbots, knights, and squires) who had wrongfully taxed or dispossessed the poor, and to return that wealth to those who had been harmed. They additionally vowed never to harm a child or wrong a woman in any station. These principles earned them the genuine love and protection of the common people of Nottinghamshire.

The King's Forest Laws

Under the reign of King Henry II, killing or poaching the King's deer in a royal forest like Sherwood is a serious crime punishable by mutilation (shaving of the ears) or worse. Ownership of the forest and its game is exclusively the Crown's, and royal foresters enforce these laws harshly. It is Robin's inadvertent killing of a King's deer—and then a forester—that triggers his outlawry.

The Bounty on Robin Hood

The Sheriff of Nottingham has placed a reward of two hundred pounds on Robin Hood's head for killing a royal forester and poaching the King's deer. Additionally, the Sheriff offered fourscore golden angels to anyone willing to serve the arrest warrant on Robin. These bounties attract tinkers, messengers, and would-be heroes from across Nottinghamshire and beyond, all of whom Robin outwits or recruits.

Recruitment into the Merry Men

New members of Robin Hood's band are typically recruited after Robin (or a senior member) has fought them to a standstill or been bested by them. Robin offers each recruit three suits of Lincoln green per year, forty marks in fee, a share of all plunder, a life free of care in the greenwood, and unlimited venison and ale. The mock 'christening' of Little John—drenching him with a pot of ale while a bald man plays priest—illustrates the band's irreverent, festive culture of initiation.

Robin Hood's Origins

At age eighteen, Robin Hood traveled from Locksley Town through Sherwood to compete in a shooting match at Nottingham. He was taunted by royal foresters, bet them twenty marks he could kill a hart at range, won the bet, and was then attacked by the losing forester; Robin killed his attacker in self-defense. Declared an outlaw with a £200 bounty, he fled into Sherwood, where over the following year more than a hundred dispossessed yeomen gathered around him, electing him their chief. His first great companion, Little John, joined the band shortly after its formation.