Editing Robin Hood (section)

==Mythology==
There is at present little or no scholarly support for the view that tales of Robin Hood have stemmed from mythology or folklore, from fairies or other mythological origins, any such associations being regarded as later development.<ref>Holt, p. 55.</ref><ref>Dobson and Taylor (1997), p. 63.</ref> It was once a popular view, however.<ref name=LTK>A number of such theories are mentioned at {{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Robin Hood |volume=23|page=420–21}}.</ref> The "mythological theory" dates back at least to 1584, when [[Reginald Scot]] identified Robin Hood with the Germanic goblin "Hudgin" or [[Hodekin]] and associated him with [[Robin Goodfellow]].<ref>Reginald Scot "Discourse upon divels and spirits" Chapter 21, quoted in Charles P. G. Scott "The Devil and His Imps: An Etymological Investigation" p. 129 ''Transactions of the American Philological Association'' (1869–1896) Vol. 26, (1895), pp. 79–146 Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press {{JSTOR|2935696}} 2004, ''Imagining Robin Hood: The Late-Medieval Stories in Historical Context'', Routledge {{ISBN|0-415-22308-3}}.</ref> [[Maurice Keen]]<ref>The Outlaws of Medieval England Appendix 1, 1987, Routledge, {{ISBN|0-7102-1203-8}}.</ref> provides a brief summary and useful critique of the evidence for the view Robin Hood had mythological origins. While the outlaw often shows great skill in archery, swordplay and disguise, his feats are no more exaggerated than those of characters in other ballads, such as ''[[Kinmont Willie Armstrong|Kinmont Willie]]'', which were based on historical events.<ref>Holt, p. 57.</ref>

Robin Hood has also been claimed for the [[pagan]] [[witch-cult]] supposed by [[Margaret Murray]] to have existed in medieval Europe, and his anti-clericalism and [[Veneration of Mary in the Catholic Church|Marianism]] interpreted in this light.<ref>Robert Graves ''English and Scottish Ballads''. London: William Heinemann, 1957; New York: Macmillan, 1957. See, in particular, Graves' notes to his reconstruction of [[Robin Hood's Death]].</ref> The existence of the witch cult as proposed by Murray is now generally discredited.