Britain Unlimited covers 250 Great British people and what made them famous

Who was Robin Hood? Legendary Outlaw of Sherwood Forest. Date and Place of Birth: 1160, Lockesley in either Yorkshire or Nottinghamshire, England. Family Background: Unknown. Education: From family members. Chronology: The first reference to Robin Hood by name appears in "The Vision of Piers Plowman" written by William Langland in 1377. Here a drunken priest admonishes himself for knowing the famous medieval rhymes of Robin Hood better than his prayers. A Fifteenth Century manuscript held in Lincoln Cathedral "Lytell Geste of Robyn Hode" was the first ballad to tell the full Story of Robin and his merry men. A manuscript in the British Museum places his birth in the twelfth Century and he must have lived during the reigns of King Richard the Lionheart and his brother John. The costs of the Crusades in the Holy Land began to cripple the economy of the country at this time and brought about political chaos. It is likely that a figure such as Robin Hood could have taken advantage of such political upheaval. Marriage: To Maid Marion. Places of Interest: NOTTINGHAMSHIRE: Nottingham Castle. Tales of Robin Hood Visitor Centre . Date and Place of Death: Murdered or died from an exsanguinating haemorrhage. 24th December 1247. Age at Death: 87! Site of Grave: Kirklees Abbey, Mirfield, Yorkshire, England.