by 
SuLily
ANSWERS: 3
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Two possible candidates: Robert Hood of Yorkshire, known in 1228 and 1230 as an outlaw and Robert Hood of Wakefield, also in Yorkshire of the 1300's. While both have histories speckled with coincidence, it seems to be just that. Most likely it is the idea of a man exaggerated to have very little semblance to the truth. For details go here: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_143.html
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Most of the story is myth. Maid Marian and most of the Merry Men were added along the way to romanticise the story, but there probably was an outlaw called Robin who started the myth. Actually Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire have a running debate about who 'owns' the myth of Robin Hood.
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Did Robin Hood exist? The answer is: not as a single person. He seems to be a composite of a number of people, some historical and some fanciful. There are a number of sites on the net which discuss him. His companions are also either composites (such as Maid Marion, who is based on people such as Matilda de Huntingdon) or later additions to make the stories more interesting. Certainly, if Robin had existed in the days of King Richard, he would not have been a Saxon against a Norman, as those distinctions had largely gone by that time, so, if someone did exist upon whom the legend was based, it had to be earlier. Certainly there was a Robert of Locksley, who went feral, but he was around during the reign of Henry 1, the third Norman king. Some of Robin's attributes could have even come from the Saxon hero Hereward the Wake, who held out against William the Conqueror for many years, using the fens in East England as a base.
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