Gilbert Whitehand (also Gilbert with the White Hand) is in English folklore a less prominent member of Robin Hood’s Merry Men. He was present in “A Gest of Robyn Hode”, an early Robin Hood ballad from the late medieval period, although he has been widely forgotten by modern audiences. It is unknown why he was referred to as having “white hands”. It is thought that Gilbert Of The Whitehand developed from Gilbert Wythehonde, a second name found in the Wakefield Court Rolls. Some have suggested it was because he had a withered hand. This is speculation and it is not explained specifically why. Gilbert clearly had no physical hindrance — it is stated that he is Robin’s equal in archery, and together they were the best archers in all England. In the 1840 story by Pierce Egan the Younger (translated into French, divided into two parts and resumed by Alexandre Dumas, published posthumously in 1872), Gilbert and his wife, Margaret, are Robin’s foster parents (his real father according to the Egan/Dumas storyline was the Earl of Huntingdon), and Gilbert taught Robin how to use the bow and arrow.
Appearance List Ballads: A Gest of Robyn Hode, Robin Hood and the Monk, Robin Hood and the Curtal Friar, Robin Hood and Allin a Dalem, Robin Hood and Queen Catherin, Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow, Robin Hood and the Tanner of Blyth. Literature: The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle (1883, PG), Robin Hood by Paul Creswick (PG), Robin Hood by Anonymous (PG), Bold Robin Hood-And His Outlaw Band by Louis Rhead (1912, Internet Archive), Robin Hood and the Men of the Greenwood (1920) [Internet Archive], Robin Hood: His Deeds and Adventures as Recounted in the Old English Ballads (1923) [Internet Archive].
Sample Read The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood [PG]
Description Gilbert Whitehand (also Gilbert with the White Hand) is in English folklore a less prominent member of Robin Hood’s Merry Men. He was present in “A Gest of Robyn Hode”, an early Robin Hood ballad from the late medieval period, although he has been widely forgotten by modern audiences. It is unknown why he was referred to as having “white hands”. It is thought that Gilbert Of The Whitehand developed from Gilbert Wythehonde, a second name found in the Wakefield Court Rolls. Some have suggested it was because he had a withered hand. This is speculation and it is not explained specifically why. Gilbert clearly had no physical hindrance — it is stated that he is Robin’s equal in archery, and together they were the best archers in all England. In the 1840 story by Pierce Egan the Younger (translated into French, divided into two parts and resumed by Alexandre Dumas, published posthumously in 1872), Gilbert and his wife, Margaret, are Robin’s foster parents (his real father according to the Egan/Dumas storyline was the Earl of Huntingdon), and Gilbert taught Robin how to use the bow and arrow.
