Mark Goodman

In the following selection Mark Goodman, a frequent contributor to People magazine, discusses historic and contemporary popular culture portrayals of Robin Hood. Goodman notes that the legendary outlawhero's appeal has endured for centuries, and that scholars continue to look for evidence of his real life and the origins of the Robin Hood myth in the historical record.

THWAAANG! SWIFTER THAN A KING'S HAWK DOES the arrow fly, singing as it pierces a stout oak trunk. The noblemen's horses whinny in apprehension; the beauteous Maid Marian clasps her handmaiden's arm; and soldiers in chain mail look to their swords. "Welcome to Sherwood Forest!" the splendid figure in Lincoln green might have cried, perched high on a tree limb, laughing down at the royal entourage as he summoned his merry band from the glade. "Perhaps the weight of your purses has wearied...