The Sheriff's Wife

Origin
The sheriff has a true occupation which existed at the time but he is never named in the surviving ballads and it is not known if he was based on a historical figure. His wife is never named in the surviving ballads and one of those which features her is fragmented and missing large sections. Any potential basis for her as an actual historical figure is just as conjectural and unknown as any such basis for her husband; his position existed and many of the men who held the position were married but none are known to be connected to the Robin Hood tales.

The Shooting Competition
The Sheriff organized a shooting competition to lure Robin from the forest, when Robin entered the contest in disguise he gifted the Sheriff's wife a ring before leading the Sheriff into an ambush. When her husband returns home after being outwitted and robbed of everything he had, including clothes, he tells her that the outlaw had him dead to rights and would have probably ended his life had Robin not known his adversary had such a good wife waiting for his return. She responds that she is had been praying for his return:

'That is very well done,' then says his wiffe,

'Itt is well done, I say;

You might haue tarryed att Nottingham,

Soe fayre as I did you pray.'

Ballads:

 * Robin Hood and the Potter
 * Robin Hood and the Butcher

Literature:

 * The Sheriff of Nottingham by Richard Kluger

Film:

 * The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
 * The Prince of Thieves (1948)

Television:

 * Robin Hood