Robin Hood;being a Complete History of All the Notable and Merry Exploits Performed by Him and His Men on Many Occasions

This 1866 Victorian collection assembles the oldest surviving ballads and tales of England's most enduring outlaw, preserving the legends exactly as they had been passed down through generations of singers and storytellers. Here Robin Hood is not the noble crusader of later adaptations but a yeoman of the people, quick with a bow and quicker with a jest, who gathers a band of outlaws in Sherwood Forest to mock the pompous, relieve the poor, and frustrate the Sheriff of Nottingham at every turn. The narrative traces his journey from dispossessed gentleman to folk hero, through archery contests won by trickery, daring rescues, and clever deceptions that expose the corruption of churchmen and nobles alike. Packed with ballad stanzas, broad humor, and the rhythms of oral tradition, this edition captures Robin Hood at his most vital and irrevent, before Hollywood tamed him into respectability. The book matters because it represents the moment when Victorian editors first collected these scattered tales into a single volume, cementing the legend that would spawn countless adaptations. For readers who want the real thing: rough, funny, politically charged, and steeped in the voice of medieval England.