Folk heroes don't need to conform to actual dates, or at least so I think. Robin Hood, the similar tales told about Sam Bass, Jesse James, Pretty Boy Floyd, John Dillinger and others, all reflect more upon the deprived and powerless of the society than upon any actual historical figure.

It seems that in times when people feel powerless they will create a folk hero. When railroads in the US controlled -- literally -- the life or death of a town; when banks could control whether or not your ranch or farm would survive, those who "stood up" to these institutions became heroes in the eyes of their contemporaries.