Guy of Gisborne

Unlike the sheriff and many other Robin Hood villains, we know this fellow's name. In the possibly early ballad, he is a yeoman although he is called Sir Guy. In a 1475 dramatic fragment, a similar role is played by a nameless knight. There's one 16th century reference to Guy of Gisborne that doesn't mention Robin Hood. It might mean that Guy was featured in his own ballads, or this was just a reference to the Robin Hood ballad by title.

Unfortunately, while it's very easy to find historical sheriffs (or even historical Robin Hoods, as that was not an uncommon name), I don't know of a historical Guy of Gisborne. It's possible his name was inspired by the historical, and often legendary, knight, Guy of Warwick. One later ballad says Robin Hood's mother was Guy of Warwick's niece. We might not know who Gisborne is, but we do know where Gisborne might have been.

There's a village called Gisburn in Lancashire, ten miles from one of the suggested homes of Richard of the Lee (another character from the Robin Hood legend, mentioned in the Merry Men section.) And in the middle ages, the town of Guisborough in the North Riding of Yorkshire would have been called Gisburne too. What's interesting about Guisborough is that it was home to the family of the Bruces, many named Robert Bruce (the family of the famous one). One of these Robert Bruces married the daughter of David, Earl of Huntingdon. In an Elizabethan play, Robin is called the Earl of Huntingdon. There's a slim chance that the playwright knew of this Gisburne connection when conceiving Robin's earldom. But it is unlikely.

The Merry Men

And where would Robin Hood be without his faithful band of outlaws? Historians who go looking for a real Robin Hood have also looked for historical Little Johns, Friar Tucks and others.

Little John is nearly as important as Robin Hood in the early tales. There are several historical candidates for Robin's chief lieutenant.

The best known comes from Hathersage in Derbyshire. Little John's supposed longbow was once on display there, and the outlaw has a grave in a Hathersage churchyard . In the grave was a bone which would belong to a very tall man. On the longbow is the name "Naylor", said to be Little John's last name, Holt thinks it may have been put there by Colonel Naylor in 1715. The association with Hathersage goes back to the 1600s. While certainly good for the tourist trade, there is no definite proof that the bow or grave belonged to a historical Little John.

The ballad "Robin Hood and Little John" says that the outlaw's true name is John Little. And John Bellamy in Robin Hood: A Historical Inquiry has found many candidates with this name.

They include John Litel, sheriff of London on and off between 1354-1367. Others were less law abiding. A criminal John le Litel was part of band of raiders who made off with 138 pounds in 1318. In June 1323, a Littel John was part of a group who made off with deer in Yorkshire.

Bellamy's prime candidate is actually named Little John, a sailor in command of a royal ship in the 1320's. This one lived at the same time as his main Robin Hood candidate, but there's no evidence that they knew each other or that this John was an outlaw.

John Matthews, on the other hand, seeks a mythological origin for Little John and the other Merry Men. He suggests that Little John may have been a forest spirit.