The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-04-11
FAMOUS ROBIN HOOD.
Lasting Fascination of the Outlaws
Notorious Achievements.
(London GIobe.)

According to one account il was on
Christmas eve. 1917, that the renowned
outlaw died, Of whom Wordsworth de
clared "a famous man was Robin Hood,
the English ballad singers joy" To a
great extent, despite the iconOclastiC
assaults OF destructive criticism, Robin
Hood is still a name to cOniure with,
quite apart from mis- perennial appear
ance in pantomime. just as Sidney
could never hear the old song of Per-
cy and Douglas without his heart be
ing moved more than with trumpet"
50 TO some the old story of Robin Hood
comes with the music and sweetness of
the fresh wind singing joyously among
English woods. the thrill and stir of
brave and kindly deeds and gallant
nights, Of loyal cOmTadeship and glad,
Tree lives glamOr of woodland and song
of bow. Like King Arthur. Robin
Hood Is national asset-and he is ike
the blameless king in this. too, that he
eludes all efforts to give historical
chapter and verse specifically authenti-
eating either his existence or achieve
ments. And because this so we are, of
course, told he is a myth: he is wooden.
he is sun god, he is another form of
Puck, he is woodland deity-and
goodness knows what besides Whether
able OF credible than to hold that there
was actually an outlaw of this name
who was sufficiently notorious and pop
ular 10 be looked upon as a hero may
De questioned The earliest ballads pre-
sent quite comprehensive and nom
mysterious Individual; there is no sug-
gestion Of the supernatural. Robin is
emphatically very human. and witha!
of a type admittedly historical in the
period in which he is placed
But leaving this question aside, and
taking Robin Hood simply as he is pre-
scented to Us i'm the old ballads. we
must admit that there is a lasting fas-
cination in the story, even allowing for
its extravagances and glaring fmproba.
bilities. Probably the conception that
most Of Us have about the romantic out
law is founded upon or materially col
ored by his pOTtraitUre in Scotts
Ivanhoe," which. By the way, is so far
In accord with the earliest traditions
that it makes no mention OF Maid
Marian" who undoubtedly seems an
accretion of later date. The uuasi-his-
torical account. to which il is not at all
necessary to subscribe de fide. is ac-
cordinS to Stukely. that Robin Hood
was the son Of William FitzOOth, Earl
of Kyme. i'm the twelfth century: that
v
he took to the life of an outlaw, and
with his merry men Elected the time
carelessly as they did in the golden
age that he was pious-after his own
fashion; lived a free and active life:
was much beloved by the common peo-
pie and others who were in distress:
was in and out of favor with the king.
but always the latter with sherfffs and
clerical dignitaries; and finally at a
good old age was treacherously put to
death. The antiquary Stowe says.
"A bout 1880 lived Robin Hood
he suffered no woman to be oppressed.
violated or otherwise molested: poor
mems goods he spared. abuudantly- re-
ieviug them with that which by theft
he got from abbeys and the houses Of
rich earles, but Of all thieves (the
historian af1irmetb him to be the
prince and the most gentle theef." Ba-
ker- writing I'm his Chronicles" report
ed that he was said to be Of gentle
blood
The earliest mention Of him i'm litera-
tuTe is by LanEls1d Tn the middle Of the
fourteenth century. rot hundred and
twenty years after the date given for
his death, and the manner Of the refer
enCe makes it plain that ballads con-
corning him were then familiar 10 all
One Of the characters in Piers Plough
man admits that he knows nothing of
the rudiments of religion, cannot per
fifty my PaternOster. as the priest it
singeth' (bUt knew ''rimes Of Roben-
hod.' The Earl OF Huntingdon" the
DRY Is supported by an alleged epitaph
over the outlaws grave at KirkIees
Yorkshire: Hear undernead dis laith
L