More commonly known as Robin Hood today, he was a legendary outlaw whose mythos grew and changed with time, but whose existence is ultimately a matter for debate. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Hood "... it is possible that Robin Hood has always been a fictional character; the folklorist Francis James Child declared 'Robin Hood is absolutely a creation of the ballad-muse' and this view has been neither proven or disproven. Another view is that Robin Hood's origins must be sought in folklore or mythology; Despite the frequent Christian references in the early ballads, Robin Hood has been claimed for the pagan witch-cult supposed by Margaret Murray to have existed in medieval Europe. Early references "The oldest references to Robin Hood are not historical records, or even ballads recounting his exploits, but hints and allusions found in various works. From 1228 onward, the names 'Robinhood', 'Robehod' or 'Robbehod' occur in the rolls of several English Justices. The majority of these references date from the late 13th century. Between 1261 and 1300, there are at least eight references to 'Rabunhod' in various regions across England, from Berkshire in the south to York in the north." Of course, I bring this matter up because of the fundamental similarity to the situation with Jesus, a character who came up not in the annals of history, but in religious tales penned decades after the events they alleged happened, and which differ in numerous details. They also contain a lot of clearly religious claims that are very probably not true, but which happen to bear strong resemblances to other myths that had come before them in neighboring cultures. Tales of Robin Hood also changed in their details, e.g. changing him from a yeoman to a noble dispossessed of his property. Were there religious apologists concerned about such discrepancies and determined to argue that Robin Hood indeed did exist beyond any question, I'm sure such a discrepancy would be explained away though some inventive device.
