ROBERT OF LOXLEY, ROBERT FITZ ODO, ROBIN HOOD? A POEM...

Robert, Of Loxley…

Blighted by a rash

Of lichen and moss,

Stone struggled to bear witness

To a Knight’s sword, embossed

And the history buried so deep below…

Slighted by a name

Of noble illegitimacy,

Lay a Lord of the Manor,

A landowner of some delicacy:

The renowned Robert Fitz Odo.

Stripped of his status,

Robert may have died,

Or not…

Perhaps he became Robert of Harbury, 

In the dawning years of the thirteenth century?

Gripped by a square-peg

For an historical round hole:

A theory…

Any possible chance that Robert Odo could

Have influenced the creation of Robin Hood?

Equipped by certain cruel hearsay,

Robert may have become a villain, 

A thief:

Maybe beneath the moss and lichen, aggrieved,

Lie the remains of the character, legend has bequeathed…

Pete Ray

 Loxley Church & Robert Fitz Odo’s grave…

Loxley churchyard, Warwickshire. Robert Fitz Odo, descendant of William the Conqueror’s half-brother, Bishop Odo, lies in a sword-decorated grave. 

Thoughts have been that he lost his Knight’s status in 1196, may have died, or moved to Harbury, where a Robert Fitz Odo appeared in 1203. 

He may have been a robber, too, according to folklore, possibly in the Forest of Arden area. 

Robin of Loxley? 

Maybe Robin Hood was based on this character…