Centuries before the tales of Robin Hood, a courageous Saxon nobleman turned outlaw dared to defy the infamous William the Conqueror, fighting for a lost cause against the Norman conquest of England and the very tides of history. Hereward the Wake led a rebellion that championed the dispossessed Saxons against their Norman overlords, standing for the weak against the might of William the Conqueror. For years he held out in the English countryside, waging a successful campaign of guerilla warfare, one that perhaps provided inspiration for folktales of England’s most famous rebel and outlaw. Could Hereward the Wake be the real Robin Hood? medieval history / English history / British history / dark ages / Robin Hood / Hereward the Wake / ancient history / rebellions / insurrections / British legends