Historian suggests identity of ‘Robin Hood’

By MARTIN HALFPENNY
Published on 11/03/2013 00:37

ROBIN Hood did not rob from the rich to feed the poor in Sherwood Forest, he was an early 13th-­century freedom fighter attacking French invaders in Kent, a historian has claimed.

The legendary figure, reputed to have resided in the Nottingham area, could have been William of Kensham, who conducted a guerrilla war against the French forces of Prince Louis who invaded England in 1216.

Historian Sean McGlynn has suggested that William led a band of archers who attacked the French forces in the forests of the Kent Weald before the little-known 18-month occupation by the French of a large part of England was finally thwarted.

Writing in the magazine History Today, Mr McGlynn said: “It’s hard to find another contender for the Robin Hood story from this age or afterwards who is both a hero and an outlaw.”