He and his men resided in Sherwood Forest, which was reserved for only the king to hunt in (Hole 154). The forest is located north of Nottingham and west of Lincoln (154). Even though the king owned it, the outlaws were able to hide in its" depths and make it their home. .
During the 13th century, Sherwood Forest was one of the finest in England (Hole 154). It provided a safe haven for the outlaws as it was dense and covered many acres. If wealthy and unscrupulous men dared to enter, often Robin would take some of their riches and then give them to those less fortunate. While the King Richard was away in the Crusades, King John filled in and the Sheriff of Nottingham was given authority to enforce laws in the forest area. Robin became the sheriff's number one enemy because Robin hunted the deer in the forest to support himself and help feed the poor starving peasants (154).
Robin was particularly fond of the long bow made from the English "ewe" tree and was one of the best archers of all time (Holt 12). This became a great asset, for the life of an outlaw is very difficult. Usually outlaws constantly fight and struggle to stay alive, however I found that Robin and his men were very happy. They were polite and had so much courage that they appeared carefree. I cannot remember a time when everyone's .
necessities were not met. We all dreaded the day that Robin's life might come to an end and wondered how we could manage without his guidance.
Robin Hood would not have been able to go on all the adventures and stayed alive for as long as he had with out the help of his friends. This pack of outlaws went everywhere with Robin. I will refer to them as his merry men, because indeed they were merry. Robin's right hand man was known as Little John, which is ironic because this man was not little at all. When I first met him it was intimidating. He was 7 feet tall and looked mean (Turner 1).
