Did Robin Hood Really Exist?

Did he really exist?
It is difficult to answer whether or not Robin Hood really existed as over time the story of Robin Hood has been changed, but most sources say that he did exist around the time of King Richard the Lionheart.

The story of Robin Hood is more of an invented character than a real person. Robin Hood probably was not even his real name as criminals and thieves were sometimes called something along the lines of Robin Hood as a nickname.

Who was he or who was he supposed to have been?
Robin Hood was a supposed philanthropist who gave money or support to the poor and less fortunate and stole from the wealthy. Most interpretations of Robin Hood claim he lived around the same time as King Richard the Lionheart. It is said that

Why did such an individual ‘arise’ at this time? OR

Why was there a need for such a hero at this point in time?
When Robin Hood is first mentioned in history it is around the time of Richard the Lionheart who, instead of being king, was off fighting the crusades and left Prince John to rule.

Prince John and the Sheriff of Nottingham (a supposedly distant relative) are told to have taxed the poor until they had nothing left.

The most common story of Robin Hood tells that he appeared at this time and stole from the wealthy to give to the poor. It would seem more appropriate to assume he stole from the government and gave to the taxpayers.

This is probably why the story of Robin Hood is suggested to have happened at this time, but other research and findings state that Robin hood and his merry men were a type of loan shark who loaned money to those in need to then have it repaid with interest. If this theory were true it would mean Robin Hood and his gang arose at this time because they saw an opportunity to take advantage of the poor and also steal from the

It seems more probable that Robin Hood and his gang loaned money to people to then receive interest and make a profit.

Was he really the folk hero that we are led to believe or not?
The movie ‘Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves’ is a representation of Robin Hood that goes by the popular belief that he stole from the rich to give to the poor. This does contradict the previous discussion. Although there is no strong evidence supporting the idea Robin Hood was not as great as we are lead to believe or that he helped the poor, it seems more logical to believe that the outlaw did not help the poor for his own benefit.

In the film Robin meets John Little and his group of outlaws and eventually leads them to rebel against the Sheriff of Nottingham and also helps them build a community in the forest. This idea makes him seem like a hero because if he was not he possibly would not have done this. Filmmakers do make changes to stories to make them into good movies, but it would have been to much of a drastic change if the story of Robin Hood was not as heroic as it