Robert FitzOdo de Loxley

ROBERT FITZODO DE LOXLEY, THE ORIGINAL PROTOTYPE OF "ROBIN HOOD"

By scholarly consensus, the original literary allusion to 'Robin Hood' is found in "Piers Plowman", written in the 1370's, allegedly by one 'William Langland'. In the text, 'Piers' relates -- "I do not know my paternoster perfectly as the priest sings it, but I know rhymes of Robin Hood and Randolf Earl of Chester".

The close association between 'Robert of Loxley' and "Robin Hood" and the literary convention of dating the narratives during the reigns of Richard the Lionhearted and his (evil) younger brother John Lackland in 19th and 20th century literature and film is largely derivative of Sir Walter Scott's 1820 novel "Ivanhoe" --

"The modern conception of Robin Hood as a cheerful, decent, and patriotic rebel owes much to 'Ivanhoe'.......'Lockesley' becomes Robin Hood's title in the Scott novel, and it has been used ever since to refer to the legendary outlaw. Scott appears to have taken the name from an anonymous manuscript, written in 1600, that employs 'Locksley' as an epithet for Robin Hood. Owing to Scott's decision to make use of the manuscript, Robin Hood from Locksley has been transformed for all time into ' Robin of Locksley', alias Robin Hood. There is, incidentally, a village called Loxley in Yorkshire.......Scott makes the 12th century's Saxon - Norman conflict a major theme in his novel. Recent retellings of the story retain his emphasis. Scott also shunned the late 16th century depiction of Robin as a dispossessed nobleman (the earl of Huntingdon). This, however, has not prevented Scott from making an important contribution to the noble hero strand of the legend, too, because some subsequent motion picture treatments of Robin Hood's adventures give Robin traits that are characteristic of Ivanhoe as well...They have quarrelled with their respective fathers, they are proud to be Saxons, they display a highly evolved sense of justice, they support the rightful king even though he is of Norman - French ancestry, they are adept with weapons, and they each fall in love with a 'fair maid'.......This particular timeframe was popularised by Scott. He borrowed it from the writings of the 16th century chronicler John Mair or a 17th century ballad, presumably to make the plot of the novel more gripping. Medieval balladeers had generally placed Robin about two centuries later in the reigns of Edward I, II, or III.......Robin's familiar feat of splitting his competitor's arrow in an archery contest appears for the first time in 'Ivanhoe'."

Source -- "Ivanhoe -- Lasting Influence on the Robin Hood Legend" / https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivanhoe

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J.R. Planche published his paper, "A Ramble with Robin Hood", in 1864. Planche believed that Stukely had confused the name 'FitzOoth' with 'FitzOdo', a family which appears in Dugdale's "Baronage". This family apparently became lords of Loxley, a village in Warwickshire. Planche believes that Robert FitzOdo, lord of Loxley Manor from the reign of Henry II until 1196, was the original Robin Hood. The name is not only recorded in Dugdale's "Baronetage" of 1675, but also appears in the "Book of Fees" and the deeds from the priory in nearby Kenilworth. In the contemporary "Book of Fees" Robert FitzOdo, knight of Loxley Manor, is recorded as selling 120 acres of his land to the canons of Kenilworth in the late 12th century. The word 'Fitz' means 'illegitimate son of' and, in the early Norman period, many nobles continued to incorporate the affix to show their descent from some famous or landed figure. The FitzOdos, seem to have been descended from Bishop Odo, William the Conqueror's half brother, who died in 1097. Using the name 'Fitz' was not considered belittling, but an indication that the claimant had noble blood. Sometimes an individual might drop the 'Fitz' part of the name, as it could draw attention to the fact that his line of descent was not legitimate, and he might therefore have no legal claim to his title or estates. Robert could therefore have been known simply as 'Robert Odo', or 'Robert Ode' during his lifetime, and he was living in Loxley.

According to the contemporary "Curia Register" (Register of Arms) he was no longer a knight in 1196. Although this may indicate his death, Planche discovered evidence that Robert FitzOdo was alive in 1203, as Dugdale records a Robert FitzOdo in nearby Harbury in that year. This 'Robert of Harbury' is also mentioned in the 'Feet of Fines'. If these Roberts are the same person then, in 1196, he was stripped of his knighthood. Moreover, he appears to have been disinherited. According to Dugdale, Robert's son in law, Peter de Mora, inherited most of the estate in that year. (This is known from a reference in the 'Feet of Fines' in which Peter's grandson bequeathed Loxley Manor to Kenilworth Priory in 1253.) It appears then that Robert FitzOdo was disinherited during the reign of Richard I, although it is impossible to say if he is the Robin Hood referred to by John Major in the early sixteenth century. With all his research, Planche failed to prove that Robert FitzOdo was ever an outlaw, or in any way associated with the Robin Hood of legend.

(This section on Robert FitzOdo contains information found in "Robin Hood, the Man Behind the Myth" / Phillips & Keatman, 1995, pp. 135 - 137)

Robert Lynley has suggested that Robert FitzOdo of Locksley may have lost his lands as a result of a connection to William Peverell (Sheriff of Nottingham) and Ranulf, Earl of Chester. When Duke Henry of Anjou landed in England in 1153 he granted Ranulf II, Earl of Chester, the lands of William Peverell "unless in my court he is able to clear himself of charges of wickedness and treason". The reference is to the charge that Peverell had earlier attempted to poison Ranulf of Chester while a guest in his house. Ranulf did die later in the year. Peverell's lands were forfeited in February 1155 when Henry, by now king, marched against him. Peverell, who had earlier taken the cowl in one of his religious houses, probably Lenton Priory, fled the area and was not heard of again. Robert FitzOdo or similar appears in the following records:

1.) Ranulf, Earl of Chester was given the whole fee of Robert FitzOdo and the whole fee of William Peverell (Sheriff of Nottingham) by Henry, Duke of Normans, afterwards King Henry II. (Per 1797 "History of Nottinghamshire" by Robert Thornton)

2.) Robert FitzOdo of Lochesley witnessed a deed for Nicholas de Stafford (deceased circa 1081) and his son Robert de Stafford (circa 1107 - circa 1185) in 1130. Robert Stafford is named as having his lands taken by Ranulf, Earl of Chester along with those of William Peverell and Robert FitzOdo. (Per 1797 "History of Nottinghamshire" by Robert Thornton)

3.) Robert of Loxley is described as a "plunderer" who made reparations in the form of "movable property". (Per "King Stephen's Reign, 1135 - 1154" by Paul Dalton & Graeme J. White.)

Robert had long been under anathema, nor did he have enough to provide satisfaction so that he could earn absolution. The Canons of Stone (Priory of Stone, Staffordshire), at the intercession of their prior Ralph, brother of Robert, handed over 340 sheep and 3 horses to restore the damages for which he was excommunicated and Robert, by way of recompense, grants the rest of the land of his desmesne of Loxley, whatever he could not cultivate with his plows"

Source -- www.robinhoodlegend.com/the-many-robin-hoods-6 / Additional data available -- Sherwood Forest Archaeology Project (www.sherwoodforesthistory3.blogspot.com)

Famed Robert de Hode or Robin Hood