the yeoman sympathized with every beating which Robin Hood received,
and with every beating which he gave. In Robin's enmity to the clergy,
in his injunction to his followers,

"Thyse byshopppes and thyse archebyshoppes,
Ye shall them bete and bynde,"

the people applauded resistance to the extortion of the church. In
Robin's defiance of the law and its officers, they applauded resistance
to the tyranny of the higher classes. Waylaying sheriffs and priests,
or shooting the king's deer in Sherwood Forest, the famous outlaw and
his merry men, clad all in green, were the popular heroes. On Robin
Hood's day the whole population turned gaily out to celebrate his
festival, never weary of singing or hearing the ballads which
commemorated his exploits. Robin was a robber, but in times of disorder
highway robbery has always been an honorable occupation, and the
outlaws of Sherwood Forest were reputed to give to the poor what they
took from the rich. Diligent enquiries have been made to ascertain
whether the personage known as Robin Hood had a real existence, but
without positive results. The story of his life is purely legendary,
and the theories in regard to him have never advanced beyond
hypothesis. It is exceedingly probable that such a man lived in the
twelfth or thirteenth century, and that the exploits of other less
prominent popular heroes were connected with his name and absorbed in
his reputation. The noble descent which has often been ascribed to him
is in all likelihood the result of the mediæval idea, that the great
virtues existed only in persons of gentle birth. This very prevalent
opinion is often apparent in the romances of chivalry, where knights of
exceptional valor, who had supposed themselves to be basely descended,
almost invariably turn out to be the long-lost offspring of a famous