The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #129653   Message #2913953
Posted By: Nerd
25-May-10 - 11:04 AM
Thread Name: Robin Hood in the Crusades?
Subject: RE: Robin Hood in the Crusades?
Geoff, the ballads don't say "tights," of course, but they often refer to "hose." The closest garment we have today to early men's "hose" would be tights.

One early rhyme says he is "hooded and hatted and hosed and shod."

The other garments he often wears are a "robe" and a "mantle" of "grene."

Shimrod is correct...when we say "forest" we are using a more modern sense of the word. The ballads usually say "wood." However, in many of the ballads, they are clearly in a wood that is also a "forest," as the game is protected by forest law and the outlaws occasionally encounter foresters.