Robin Hood- The Unknown Templar (John Paul Davis)

Everyone's familiar with the Robin Hood story.  But, who was Robin Hood really?  Did he exist, or was he fictional from the beginning?  Did Kevin Costner do him justice in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves?  Did Kevin Costner ever do any role justice?  The book attempts to answer the first two questions; regrettably, the latter two are left to the reader to decide.

In Robin Hood- The Unknown Templar, John Paul Davis lays out the case that Robin did exist, but that he differed markedly from our modern understanding of the story.  To make his point, Davis draws on material from the earliest Robin Hood ballads (like A Gest of Robyn Hode, written somewhere in the 1450-1520 range) and from figures in history whose lives featured some remarkable coincidences to the more modern Hood tales (like David, Earl of Huntington, or Fulk FitzWarin).  Davis claims that the historical figures may have inspired later alterations to the Robin Hood legend, but that the original ballads paint a very different picture.  Some points of difference between the original stories and current take on the tale:

- original ballads: Robin was a yeoman, and existed during the early 1300s (during Edward II) in Barnsdale, who may have helped the poor but didn't make it his calling
- more modern take: Robin was a noble, and existed in the 1190s (during Richard the Lionheart and the Third Crusade) in Sherwood, who made the poor his mission

One of Davis' main points is that, if the original tales accurately put Robin during the early 1300s, there was another notable event during that exact time- the violent, sudden break-up of the Knights Templar.  Drawing parallels between those in the Templar order and characteristics of Robin's band of merry men, Davis makes a case for the Hood and his band being, in fact, Templars forced to flee from the wrath of King and Church.  This would explain why Robin is viewed as pious, yet having little love for corrupt clergy who happened through the forest.  As a final Templar comment, note that even the later ballads, set over a century earlier, still feature the Crusades prominently, which may give credence to the Robin Hood-Templar connection.

While Davis' account is interesting, it's highly repetitive and remarkably unpersuasive- it brings up some good points, but doesn't back it up with evidence other than common traits shared between Templars and Robin Hood.  It compares the earliest Robin Hood works with those that came in the following centuries to show the evolution, which is okay, but it compares them over and over and over and over and over and over, albeit from slightly different angles.  I think the book could have been easily condensed into a several-page essay- it was definitely not worth 217 pages.  While I'm not a fan overall, there were a few redeeming elements worth mentioning- first, even mentioning the Templars and connecting them to Robin Hood is an interesting twist worth analyzing, even if there's little convincing evidence.  Second, the locations mentioned are all pretty close to where I live, which heightened my enjoyment.  Third, it is interesting to see how a legend evolves over time.  Those benefits aside, in the end, unless you're gung-ho into Robin Hood, avoid this one. 

Rating: D