Outlaws were left to starve or go mad in the pit.Posted on 02/27/2009 10:49:38 AM PST by BGHater
A bottle-necked pit where hated outlaws including Robin Hood were imprisoned and starved or driven to insanity in the Middle Ages has been discovered by archaeologists in the underground caves of the Galleries of Justice Museum in Nottingham.
Known as an oubliette (“to forget” in French), the hole was used as a holding cell for dissenters against the Sheriff of Nottingham, and the city’s favourite wealth-regulating son is believed to have been cast into it after being arrested by the Sheriff and his men at the nearby St Mary’s Church.
“The opening was bricked over centuries ago, probably in the Georgian period,” explained the Museum’s Cathy Rowson, who managed to photograph the pit by standing in the structure and pointing the lens skywards.
“Currently access to the oubliette is by a side tunnel that was knocked through, probably during the original excavations in 1998.”
The team at the Museum are pursuing further funding for a full delve to the bottom of the opening, where they expect to find human remains, a fate Robin Hood was spared thanks to being rescued by his merry men.
Tim Desmond, Chief Executive of the Museum, said the news was “really exciting.” “Robin Hood is built on legend but we want to get to the history,” he confessed, arguing that the site was used by the Sheriff himself.
“The King’s Hall was used by the original Sheriffs of Nottingham,” added Desmond. “We can’t argue with the historical facts.”
Visitors are now being allowed to view the pit and access the caves as part of the museum tour.
Outlaws were left to starve or go mad in the pit.
ping. Maybe for inventory.
So...the “Pit of Despair” was real after all!
When you put “rob from the rich to give to the poor” into a modern political context, Robin sounds a lot like Obama doesn’t he? Who’s the modern counterpart of the Sheriff? Already, just a few weeks after the election, I feel like I’m in the Pit of Despair.
I have an oubliette, my facility manager refers to it as a cubicle.
A Nottinham hello to my relatives!...
I think the distinction is that, in the Robin Hood context, he was robbing from the Fuedal tight wads that truly did keep the villagers down.
Not the case in the U.S.
“Have you met the poor? Charming people.”
Great movie.
Since there were not citizens, only subjects subjected to unreasonable non-representative taxation.......
A modern analogy would be that of our founding fathers and the British Lords....
Robin Hood AKA Jon Amendall, was a guerrilla leader in an ethnic war. He supported the dispossessed Saxons against their new Norman overlords, who were basically pillaging the country while Richard the King was away in Jerusalem.
The Normans were stealing the Saxon’s money, and Hood was stealing it back.
Richard Lionheart finally brought the two sides, Saxon and Norman, together. Three generations after the battle of Senlac.(Hastings)
When he died and his creepy thief brother took over, both Norman and Saxon got together to force him to sign the Magna Carta, re-establishing the rights of (noble) Englishmen.
Hood was no commie, but a brave man standing up to usurpation of authority and trampling upon the rights of the citizens. A patriot.
hmm.. I thought that Robin Hood was not a real person.. my history knowledge stinks!
Robin Hood: Real or a myth?
http://www.answerbag.com/articles/Was-Robin-Hood-a-Real-Person/69dc8f7c-4360-8e2e-c659-7ff5b34de538
Actually, in the story, it was more like, “Take from the government and give to the taxpayer.” He stole from wealthy government princes and officials and corrupt church officials, and gave to working poor people.
“hmm.. I thought that Robin Hood was not a real person.. my history knowledge stinks!”
Don’t feel bad, I was thinkin the “wait a minute, I thought that was just a fictional story” myself.
LOL - yeah, but the real ones were lined with punji stakes.
That's OK - look at how many people will take a firm stance on Robin's existence and validity because of this, yet deny the existence of Jesus because the bible is "fiction".
Love your tag line - God Bless
Yeah, those are being added next week due to the bad economy. My boss says it might help productivity.
LOL!
Maybe I have it wrong in the actual historical context. But the phrase is used in the Marxist idiom today. I just Googled it and got 12,400,000 hits! The original history and meaning of the story have been lost. What is the favorite Democrat term of scorn and derision? “The rich.”
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