Robin Hood's Grave
Encyclopedia
Robin Hood's Grave is a name given to a number of monuments in England
which allegedly mark the last resting place of the legendary outlaw Robin Hood
. Examples include:
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
which allegedly mark the last resting place of the legendary outlaw Robin Hood
Robin Hood
Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
. Examples include:
- CairnCairnCairn is a term used mainly in the English-speaking world for a man-made pile of stones. It comes from the or . Cairns are found all over the world in uplands, on moorland, on mountaintops, near waterways and on sea cliffs, and also in barren desert and tundra areas...
on Crosby RavensworthCrosby RavensworthCrosby Ravensworth is a village, civil parish and fell in the Eden District of Cumbria, England. The village is about east of the M6 motorway, and Shap.-Notable People:*John Langhorne, mathematical master at Giggleswick School...
Fell, 54.4893°N 2.5926°W - Monument in Kirklees Park EstateKirklees HallKirklees Hall is a 16th century Grade I listed Jacobean hall, close to the English village of Clifton in Calderdale, West Yorkshire. The first evidence of a hall constructed at Kirklees was that of Sir Thomas Gargrave, who conveyed the property to the Pilkington family. Lady Armytage, sold the...
, West YorkshireWest YorkshireWest Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, England, 53.6897°N 1.736°W. Robin Hood was traditionally supposed to have been bled to death by the prioress of Kirklees (or Kirkley or kirklea or kirkleys) Priory . The identity of the prioress is the subject of much debate as indeed is the date of Robin Hoods death. (The Prioresses of Kirklees are listed here http://robin-hoode.blogspot.com/2007/11/prioress-of-kirklees.html.) The earliest reference to the gravestone is in Philemon HollandPhilemon HollandPhilemon Holland was an English translator.His father, John Holland, was a clergyman who fled the Kingdom of England during the persecutions of Mary I of England...
's English translation of William CamdenWilliam CamdenWilliam Camden was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and officer of arms. He wrote the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and the first detailed historical account of the reign of Elizabeth I of England.- Early years :Camden was born in London...
's Britannia (1610). In the 18th century, Thomas Gale, DeanDean (religion)A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion and the Roman Catholic Church.-Anglican Communion:...
of YorkYorkYork is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, claimed to have found a poetic epitaph with the date of death given as 24 December 1247, although the language in which it is written is not the Middle EnglishMiddle EnglishMiddle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....
of the time, suggesting it is merely a forgery. The epitaph reads:
- Hear underneath dis laitl stean
Laz robert earl of Huntingtun
Ne’er arcir ver as hie sa geud
An pipl kauld im robin heud
Sick utlawz as he an iz men
Vil england nivr si agen
Obiit 24 kal: Dekembris, 1247.
Sources
- Jennifer Westwood and Jacqueline Simpson The Lore of the Land: A Guide to England's Legends (Penguin, 2005) p.830