ROBIN HOOD
FOLK HERO We’ve been telling his story for centuries, but who was the real outlaw who dared defy King John?
COLLABORATION JS/ARCANGEL IMAGES X1, STEPHEN MULCAHEY/ARCANGEL IMAGES X1, ALAMY X3
Daring escapes, diabolical villains, valiant freedom fighters, love across a class divide – the Robin Hood story has got the lot. But the question that’s been puzzling historians for centuries is – are these escapades the product of a medieval fiction-writer’s fertile imagination, or could they in some way be grounded in historical reality? In other words, did a real-life Robin Hood ever exist?