Willikin of the Weald: Was He the Real Inspiration for Robin Hood?

In my previous historical post, I looked at William de Wenneval, the Sheriff of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire during the years when Richard the Lionheart was absent on crusade and then held captive in Germany.

Wenneval was one of the men who controlled Nottingham Castle while Prince John was plotting against his brother. That does not make him the Sheriff of Nottingham from the Robin Hood stories, but it places a real royal official in the right position, in the right place and at the right moment to have contributed something to the legend.

But what about Robin Hood himself?

There have been many attempts to identify a historical man behind the famous outlaw. One of the most intriguing candidates lived not in Sherwood Forest, but in the wooded country of Kent and Sussex. His name was William of Cassingham, although he became better known as Willikin of the Weald.

Unlike Robin Hood, Willikin was unquestionably real.

He was an archer and local fighting man who gathered a company in the forests, attacked occupying troops from ambush and became a hero to the communities around him. He fought during the reign of King John and was praised by medieval chroniclers for resisting England’s enemies when much of the south-east had submitted to them.

It sounds remarkably familiar.

So could Willikin of the Weald have helped inspire the legend of Robin Hood?