The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood new direction that influenced later writers, artists, and filmmakers through the next century. The plot follows Robin Hood as he becomes an outlaw after a conflict with foresters and through his many adventures and runs with the law. Each chapter tells a different tale of Robin as he recruits Merry Men, resists the authorities, and aids his fellow man. The popular stories of Little John defeating Robin in a fight with staffs, of Robin's besting at the hands of Friar Tuck, and of his collusion with Allan-a-Dale all appear. In the end, Robin and his men are pardoned by King
Robin Hood interpreted in this light. The existence of the witch cult as proposed by Murray is now generally discredited. The early ballads link Robin Hood to identifiable real places. In popular culture, Robin Hood and his band of "merry men" are portrayed as living in Sherwood Forest, in Nottinghamshire. Notably, the "Lincoln Cathedral Manuscript", which is the first officially recorded Robin Hood song (dating from approximately 1420), makes an explicit reference to the outlaw that states that "Robyn hode in scherewode stod." In a similar fashion, a monk of Witham Priory (1460) suggested that the archer had 'infested shirwode'. His chronicle