Owain Glyndwr, William Wallace, Robin Hood, fact or fiction?

Answer 1

Owain Glyndwr was real:

"(c1349-1416), a potent figurehead of Welsh nationalism ever since he rose up against the occupying English in the first few years of the fifteenth century. Little is known about the man described in Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part I as "not in the roll of common men."

"He faded from history... Many historians believe he returned to his hills to die."
http://www.owain-glyndwr-soc.org.uk/history.htm
http://www.castlewales.com/glyndwr.html

William Wallace was real:

"Wallace was the younger son of a Scottish knight and minor landowner. His name, Wallace or le Waleis, means the Welshman, and he was probably descended from Richard Wallace who had followed the Stewart family to Scotland in the 12th century.

Little is known of Wallace’s life before 1297.

Wallace was declared an outlaw, which meant his life was forfeit and that anyone could kill him without trial. He continued his resistance, but on August 3rd, 1305, he was captured at Robroyston, near Glasgow."

Read here for his story and agonizing death:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/scottishhistory/independence/features_independence_wallace.shtml

Robin Hood is a legend, and there are several contenders for his identity, ranging from the 12th century to the 14th:

":Whilst the Nottinghamshire legend was rooted in the 13th century, it is the 14th century that provides the setting for the Yorkshire legend."

There is a lot of information here:
http://www.robinhood.ltd.uk/robinhood/index.html

The stories which grew around the exploits of the two main contenders were eventually combined in the 15th century with the creation of the "Lytell Geste of Robyn Hode", thereby bringing together the Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire Robin Hoods.
http://www.robinhood.ltd.uk/robinhood/conclusions.html

Answer 2

Owain Glyndwr parliamentary building is still in the Welsh town of Machynlleth about 18 miles inland from Aberystwyth on the Welsh Coast. Interesting museum. Machynlleth has a local rail station, and so after an hour or two in the museum you can go and explore the seaside town of Aberystwyth. William Wallace true, but I know nothing about him. Robin Hood, there are stories about him some credible, but how much lore and how much fact is anyones guess.

Answer 3

Owain Glyndwr was a "freedom fighter" and is a symbol of Welsh nationalism. I think he was killed in the 1550s trying to preserve some kind of welsh independence against the English. He looked more like Mel Gibson than William Wallace who resembled the late Scottish politician Robin Cook.
recent evidence suggests that the legend of Robin Hood was built upon a character based in Yorkshire rather than Nottingham.

Answer 4

Wallace is about as factual as you can get. Robin Hood is mostly fiction but based on a real guy (or guys). I'm not sure about Owain Glyndwr, though. I need to read more on Welsh folklore/history.

Answer 5

I have actually never heard of Owain Glyndwr before but I will have to look him up. Previous replies have stated he existed and that he was Welsh. Being Celtic (Irish) myself Wallace has been one of my favorites. And yes Wallace did exist. As previous replies state yes hollywood did exaggerate the story. While no actual historical evidence exists to prove that a person named Robin Hood once existed the character may have been based on real events and maybe several people.

Answer 6

I don't know about Owain, but wallace and robin hood are both based off of real people. Wallace probably isn't close to braveheart though.

Answer 7

I am not sure about Robin hood but William Wallace is a true historical figure. Not exactly the way it was portrayed in Braveheart however.

Answer 8

The Welshman and the Scot are fact. Robin Hood is fiction though a similar character no doubt existed

Answer 9

I believe Robin Hood is believed to have been based on a real life bandit by the name of Robin Loxley. I think he was technically a duke of Huntington or some similar name. I don't have any exact dates but if you google...er yahoo the name, you can probably track some info down.

Answer 10

The first two are fact and robin hood is just fiction