why did the prioress murder Robin Hood ?

I am endebted to Barbara Green & YRHS for providing much of the content on this site

The assumption that Matilda became Robin’s wife and Elizabeth’s sister in law, does not explain why Elizabeth went on to murder him in later years . If this hypotheses is correct,however,we might consider a lethal love triangle here , Robin falling in love with Matilda while Elizabeth was packed off to the nunnery suffering from a medieval "fatal attraction"--exacting her revenge for her thwarted passion , in later years! ("hell hath no fury......"). However, as we have seen, the dates do not fit -- this scenario is thirty years too early. Another mysterious clue lies in a document quoted by Wakefield historian J.W.Walker. This is also mentioned by Pobjoy,who reports a dispute over eighteen acres of land between " the Prioress of Kirklees and Esmon , son of the noble Richard of England and Earl of Kent in 1373." The Latin text reads: "1373, Orate pro Elizabetha de Staynton quondon prioressa Kirklees quo intempere illus du carta fust adquista" and translates: "Pray for Elizabeth de Staynton formerly prioress of Kirklees at which time the document was aquired. " This seems to suggest that Elizabeth was prioress prior to 1373, but it can be read either way . JW Walker also quotes another document which he states that the prioress of Kirklees(he infers Elizabeth) signed a legal document in 1348,but the British Library have been unable to verify the entry which was not under the reference quoted (Harleian 4360 Folio 517)so the riddle still remains. Finally, why did the prioress kill Robin ? Venesection,or "bleeding" was common medical practise in the Middle Ages. Many people must have died as a result, but it was an ignominous end for the swashbuscking Robin ,whether by accident or design. The ballads state that the prioress, and her lover "Red Roger of Doncaster" murdered Robin in revenge for his opposition to the corruption in the Church. If it was murder--for whatever reason-- it was a particularly treacherous and gruesome act,and it has even been suggested that there could be links with pagan sacrifice or vampirism ! There is a fascinating mystery here,still waiting to be solved, but until all the evidence is uncovered,this part of Robin’s legend will remain shrouded in darkness,Yorkshire’s buried treasure,or even Blair Witch 11 !

SHE LAID THE BLOOD IRONS ON ROBIN HOOD’S VAINE

ALACKE,THE MORE PITYE!

AND PERCT THE VAINE,AND LET OUT THE BLOODE,

THAT FULL RED WAS TO SEE.

AT FIRST IT BLED,THE THICKE,THICKE BLOODE,

AND AFTERWARDS THE THINNE,

AND WELL THEN WIST GOOD ROBIN HOODE,

TREASON THERE WAS WITHIN.

Death of Robin Hood v 16-17

BARBARA GREEN

2)RIDDLE OF THE PRIORESS

Have they,one wonders, solved the riddle of the prioress ? Have they been shown hitherto unseen documents , undiscovered by previous researchers ? The only prioress’s grave still in evidence at Kirklees is that of Elizabeth de Stainton (or Staynton) but there is no date on her tombstone. The Reverend Harold Pobjoy, the Hartshead vicar and historian who wrote A HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT PARISH OF HARTSHEAD CUM CLIFTON in the nineteen thirties,gives a list taken from Dugdale’s Monasticum. He also quotes from Hopkirk’s HUDDERSFIELD IT’S HISTORY AND NATURAL HISTORY 1846, which has a similar list, but unfortunately Hopkirk does not name his sources. The two lists can be slotted together without causing any discrepancy,although there are gaps. The problem of the prioress’s identity is further compounded by the fact that no one knows for certain the date of Robin’s death, but research suggests that it may have been 1347. The reasons for this are discussed in Barbara Green’s THE OUTLAW ROBIN HOOD HIS YORKSHIRE LEGEND. If the date of Robin’s death is 1347 then Dame Mary Startin was the prioress in office at the time, not Elizabeth de Stainton. According to Eileen Power in her book MEDIEVAL ENGLISH NUNNERIES (Cambridge University Press) Dame Mary died of the Black Death in 1350,although in some ballads the prioress is said to have committed suicide after murdering Robin).

Elizabeth de Stainton,on the other hand ,could not have been prioress in 1347.She was one of four daughters of John de Stainton of Woolley,near Wakefield. Following her father’s death, Elizabeth’s mother married Hugh de Toothill and Elizabeth and her sister were sent to be nuns at Kirklees for reasons of family economy. William de Notton,her uncle and their guardian,took provision to ensure than the girls had not been forced into the religious life, and a document was signed at Monk Bretton Priory in 1347 protecting the interests of Elizabeth and her sister (from a deed at Woolley Hall,in the possession of Lieut Commander Wentworth). Graham Collins and Martin Keatman in their book ROBIN HOOD THE MAN BEHIND THE MYTH (1995) have a theory about Elizabeth which connects her with Robert and Matilda Hood of Wakefield. They suggest that when Elizabeth’s mother married Hugh de Toothill, his daughter by his first wife, called Matilda,married Robin. There is mention of a woman called Matilda in the Wakefield Court Rolls of 1314,being arrested for stealing the lord’s firewood.

a Yorkshire Robin Hood ??

this is the "nuns grave" Elizabeth de Stantain is known to be buried here . (she is most often , though probably erroneously linked with the murder of Robin Hood)
The other occupant is unknown , although it is possibly the prioress Mary Stavin ,
research by Barbara Green seems to suggest much of the Robin Hood story is flawed &
that historical blunders abound .
To the fullest extent of my research I can neither confirm or deny the exact timeline .
Other pages on this site have plausible identities & court records dating to the 13th
century . However this could be wrong , an amount of work exists that Robin Hood was alive in the 14th century
Whether or not we shall ever know with certainty is the "great work" of this site
as I sift through archives & local records . One thing we are confident of is where
Robin Hood was from , he was a Yorkshire man . Despite the fancifull claims of Nottinghamshire , Robin was born , lived & died a Yorkshireman . Before the deforestation of englands woodland to build ships Sherwood Forest extended to the Peninnes & some say even as far North as Scotland . The fame of the encounters with
the Sherrif of Nottingham are out of all proportion with the life of Robin Hood , who
I suspect lived into his fifties . Work on this fascinating subject is ongoing ,
I can offer any students of Robin Hood a juicy titbit , Bottomley is the surname thought by many to be the surname of his living descendants .

The Death of Robin Hood

Deep in the heart of an ancient woodland in West Yorkshire, hidden beneath a formidable barrier of fierce thorns and dense undergrowth, there is a hidden grave. Here rest the mortal remains of Robin Hood, the Prince of Robbers. England's outlaw hero, bloodily slain by the prioress of Kirklees Nunnery 600 years ago, and cast into an unhallowed grave.

Today, Robin lies forgotten and unmourned in his lonely and desolate sepulchre for few people know of the grave's existence or its whereabouts...
Silhouette of Robin Hood statue
Robin Hood is more usually associated with Nottingham

The circumstances of Robin Hood's death are fairly well known. Realising he is dying, Robin decides to be bled by his kinswoman, the prioress of Kirklees, a woman "skilled in physic." Will Scarlet is against this, but Robin sets out on the journey accompanied by his faithful comrade in arms, Little John. On the way to the priory, they meet an old hag by a stream who curses Robin...

On arrival at the nunnery, the prioress takes Robin into the gatehouse and sends Little John away. She then proceeds to bleed Robin accompanied by her lover, the convent priest Red Roger of Doncaster.

When he realises that he is dying Robin summons Little John to his assistance by blowing three blasts on his hunting horn. When Little John arrives it is too late to save Robin, but he helps his beloved leader fire his last arrow from the gatehouse window, promising Robin that he will bury him where it falls. Little John vows to raze the nunnery to the ground and put all the nuns to the sword in revenge for the princess's vile deed, but Robin forbids him, reminding his distraught friend that it was their code never to hurt women.

Robin's grave, 600 yards from the (Kirklees) gatehouse - thought to be an improbable arrow shot for a dying man - is, today, neglected and overgrown and enclosed in rusted, twisted iron railings, erected in Victorian times. The inscription in pseudo-gothic reads:
Here underneath dis laitl stean
Laz Robert Earl of Huntingtun
Ne'er arcir ver as hie sa geud
An pipl kauld im Robin Heud
Sick utlawz as him as iz men
Vil England nivr si agen

Kirklees Priory

Kirklees Priory was founded in the 12th century by Reinor de Fleming, manor lord of Clifton, near Brighouse. The Rule was Cistercian and at first very strict but, as time passed, the White Ladies (so called because of their woollen habits) became less dedicated to the religious ideal. Many of them were the unwanted daughters of the gentry with no real vocation to the cloistered life. The sisters were often admonished by visiting bishops for indulging in worldly ways, keeping dogs..., going out dancing and for inviting men onto holy premises!

... In 1315 there were scandalous reports in circulation about the nuns of Kirklees. It was reported that one "Alice de Raggid, deceived by the allurements of frail fresh, in great levity of mind, hath gone forth from her house and had wandered, in great peril, having long ago put off her religious habit."

Later two more nuns, Elizabeth de Hopton and Joan de Heton, along with the rebellious Alice were accused of admitting both clergy and laymen to the "secret places of the monastery... from which there is suspicion of sin and great scandal arises." No wonder Robin came to a sticky end among such flighty creatures!

The nunnery was finally dissolved, along with other Yorkshire monasteries by Henry VIII in 1539, after which Kirklees Hall was built on the nearby hillside using the stones of the fallen priory. Only the gatehouse, where Robin died, was left standing. Today, like the grave, it is in danger of being lost to our heritage as it slowly crumbles away, unchecked and unhindered by any official attempts to prevent the deterioration.

The Riddle of the Prioress

Finally, why did the prioress kill Robin? Venesection, or "bleeding" was common medical practice in the Middle Ages. Many people must have died as a result, but it was an ignominous end for the swashbuckling Robin, whether by accident or design. The ballads state that the prioress and her lover, 'Red Roger of Doncaster,' murdered Robin in revenge for his opposition to the corruption in the Church.
robin Hood
Actor Patrick Troughton as Robin Hood in 1953

If it was murder, for whatever reason, it was a particular treacherous and gruesome act. It has even been suggested that, in the symbolic spilling of his blood, Robin's death could have been linked with pagan sacrifice, vampirism or Christ's death on the cross.


There is a fascinating mystery here, still waiting to be solved but until all the evidence is uncovered this part of Robin's legend will remain shrouded in darkness - Yorkshire's buried treasure in more ways than one.

You can find out more about Robin Hood and Kirklees Priory at Barbara's website