Since the 13th century the legend of Robin Hood has featured in folk songs, tavern stories, pageants, and royal festivals — even Henry VIII once dressed up as him. But what lies behind the legend? And what do our stories of robbing from the rich tell us about life in medieval England?

In this episode Chloe Lee speaks to Kathryn Maude, a medieval specialist, and Sean Cunningham, head of medieval records, both at The National Archives. Join them on a journey through a forest of medieval historical records, and perhaps even discover the 'real' Robin Hood.

For a transcript and information about the documents used in this episode visit our show notes: https://bit.ly/Robin1Hood

In this episode, we journey through a forest of historical records to discover the 'real' Robin Hood.

It's often impossible to find direct accounts of poor people in the historical record, especially the further back you look. But an extraordinary collection containing thousands of letters written by people in poverty between 1834 and 1900 provides an insight into their lives.

In this episode, Chloe Lee speaks to specialist Paul Carter about letters held by The National Archives which were addressed to the Poor Law Board, the British central poor law authority. Together they use these accounts to glimpse into the factories, the workhouses and slums in which so many vulnerable people lived out their lives.

For a transcript and information about the documents used in this episode visit our show notes: https://bit.ly/PVoices

This podcast is based on the research In Their Own Write, a major AHRC-funded project, running from 2018 to 2021, which uses letters from paupers and other poor people, and associated manuscript material such as petitions, sworn statements and advocate letters (those written on behalf of paupers) to investigate the lives of the poor between 1834 and 1900. The Project was led by Professor Steve King (Nottingham Trent University) and Dr Paul Carter, (The National Archives).