# finding an old Robin Hood book **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 3, 2009, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-an-old-robin-hood-book/498635 "2009-06-03T22:06:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-an-old-robin-hood-book/498635/1 "2009-06-03T22:06:29Z")
I was introduced to Robin Hood as a wee lad through a book, the origin of which I don’t remember. I think it was supposed to be a childrens book, but the language wasn’t “dumbed down” like so many are today. It had many Old English phrases and would usually put a definition or explanation in parenthesis. For instance one was “Marry come a wanion (may you be plagued)”. I remember that it had a bit on the Guy of Gisbourne, and his battle with Robin. GoG wore a bloody suit made of animal furs or something. It was pretty entertaining, and the original Old English phrases and descriptions of people being slain and their crowns cracked really gave me some insight into what the language was like back then. I remember someone being described as “as full of news as an egg is of meat”, and puzzled over this for a while since the person clearly WAS full of news, but eggs don’t have meat in them. Later I learned that back in the day they did refer to the inside of an egg (or a nut) as “meat”. So it was pretty educational as well as entertaining. Unfortunately, the exact name of the book, the author, etc, have been lost in the sands of time. So, does anyone know of this book (or a more “adult” version of Robin Hood), and where I could get it? ---
**Author:** ![ryobserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@ryobserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryobserver)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2009, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-an-old-robin-hood-book/498635/2 "2009-06-03T23:04:24Z")
“The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood” by Howard Pyle sounds like what you’re looking for. It’s available on The Gutenberg Project. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-an-old-robin-hood-book/498635/3 "2009-06-04T04:33:17Z")
Were people saying “wot?” every other sentence? If so, I probably read the same book. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2009, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/finding-an-old-robin-hood-book/498635/4 "2009-06-04T05:02:46Z")
_The Outlaws of Sherwood_ by Robin McKinley isn’t the book you’re looking for, but I recommend reading it anyway. For that matter, I’ve never read a book by Robin McKinley that I didn’t enjoy.