諾丁漢最著名的傳奇人物非  俠盜羅賓漢  莫屬了

1月底我們造訪了傳說中 羅大俠藏匿之處 Sherwood Forest

羅大俠是也!!

Who was Robin Hood?     

解開 羅賓漢 的神秘面紗

 
No-one knows for sure whether the legend of Robin Hood was based on a real historical character. It is a subject which is still hotly debated amongst scholars.

There have been several candidates. A certain Robert Hod, later called Hobbehod, was a tenant of the Archbishop of York in Henry III’s time. Legal records show him to be an outlaw. He was summoned to appear before York Assizes in 1225 and 1226 but fled, and is described in the records as an outlaw or fugitive.

In 1852, Victorian scholar Joseph Hunter claimed to have located the ‘real’ Robin Hood in the shape of one Robert Hood, recorded in the royal household records as a servant of King Edward II. Later, Hunter discovered the same name (but was he the same man?) in the court rolls for Wakefield, which included Barnsdale in South Yorkshire, one of the outlaw’s legendary homes.

The search is complicated by the fact that Hood, Hod and Hode were all common surnames in medieval England. Robert or Robin were equally popular Christian names. The phrase ‘Robinhood’ became a nickname used in court records for an outlaw, and there is evidence of at least eight people before 1300 who adopted it or were given it as a pseudonym. The word ‘hood’ still means a gangster or outlaw in America.

Probably, the real identity of Robin Hood will remain as elusive as the legendary outlaw. But one thing is sure: His popularity is as great now as it ever was, and forever linked in our imagination to ancient Sherwood Forest.

資料來源 http://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/home/leisure/countryparks/sherwoodforestcp/robinhood.htm 

由上述資料可知

雖然 羅賓漢 的故事已流傳 有七百年之久

但傳言的可靠性       仍是   謎 

據記載  亨利三世時期 (October 1207 – November 1272) 的確有名叫做 Robert Hod (後稱Robert Hod) 的罪犯

但由於年代久遠     查證工作不易

像上文所述   Hood, Hod, Hode 皆是中世紀英國的大姓   

而 Robert, Robin 又是菜市場名

所以即使法庭的犯罪紀錄上卻有該名 但難以證實 他 就是傳言中 劫富濟貧   

流竄於 Sherwood 森林 或 與貴族結婚的那個    羅賓漢    

很有意思的是  Robinhood  這個名字在中世紀的法庭上 為 壞蛋  的代名詞

至今 hood  這個字在 美語 的用法     仍與幫派或罪犯有關

phew!!!!    說明完畢 

接下來看照片囉

Sherwood Forest Visitor Centre  -  雪伍特森林 遊客中心入口

羅賓漢及雪伍特森林的 簡介

其實羅賓漢的正義形象  

除了較為人所知的部分    像 劫富濟貧 之外

也來自於他 反君主 的一些作為

當時許多森林 被君主納為  私人專用的狩獵區

平民百姓 當然無法進入    

少了狩獵     人民的三餐生計肯定受影響

而 Sherwood Forest 即為其一

羅大俠   於是率眾私闖禁地打獵  

成為當時統治者的眼中釘

所以從某些層面來說

這個人物的確是叛徒    反對政令  對抗政府

但以現在的角度來看

他 卻是具備民主意識的先驅

The Major Oak in Sherwood Forest 森林中的巨木   (樹的圓周約10公尺, 展延的樹枝圓長則為28公尺, 約重10公噸)

傳聞中羅大俠在逃亡期間   便是躲在這片森林之中

西元1200年左右 Sherwood Forest  約100,000 公畝  

範圍有現今諾丁漢郡  (Nottinghamshire) 的五分之一大

聽說他 (及其他逃亡之徒) 曾躲於此樹之中 

照片也許看不太出這棵樹的神奇

不過歷史傳言 穿鑿附會之下 

令人心生 景仰之情  

有 800 年歷史 的這棵樹

是英國人心中的神木 

2002年的民調顯示 它是英國人 最愛的一顆樹

有關羅賓漢的傳言不勝枚舉 

有興趣的朋友 也可以到下列的網站一探究竟

Useful links:

* Sherwood Forest National Nature Reserve

  http://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/home/leisure/countryparks/sherwoodforestcp.htm