wake-robin, name for several plants, particularly trillium.

sea robin: see sculpin.

robin or robin redbreast, common name for a migratory bird of the family Turdidae (thrush family).

ragged robin: see pink.

Robin Hood, legendary hero of 12th-century England who robbed the rich to help the poor. Chivalrous, manly, fair, and always ready for a joke, Robin Hood reflected many of the ideals of the English yeoman. He lived in Sherwood Forest with Little John (his chief archer), Friar Tuck, Maid Marion (his beloved), and his band. Robin Hood was the hero of at least 30 Middle English ballads and of many later stories and plays. He is mentioned in such diverse works as Piers Plowman, Ivanhoe (1820) by Sir Walter Scott, and The Once and Future King (1958) by T. H. White.

Collingwood, Robin George, 1889-1943, English philosopher and historian. From 1908 he was associated with Oxford as student, fellow, lecturer in history, and professor of philosophy. Collingwood believed that philosophy should be rooted in history rather than in formal science, and he attempted to correlate creative endeavor with historical experience rather than to sensation. He was also significant as a historian. In Roman Britain (1936) and in some 150 monographs he brilliantly reconstructed that ancient era from his study of coins and inscriptions. For his philosophical thought, see Speculum Mentis (1924), An Essay on Philosophic Method (1933), Principles of Art (1938), and The Idea of History (1946).

Either of two thrush species (family Turdidae). The American robin (Turdus migratorius), 10 in. (25 cm) long, with gray-brown upper parts and a rusty breast, lives in deciduous forests and sometimes towns. It eats earthworms, insects, and berries. The European robin, or robin redbreast (Erithacus rubecula), breeds throughout Europe, western Asia, and part of North Africa. It is 5.5 in. (14 cm) long, with olive-brown upper parts, white belly, and rusty-orange face and breast.

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Legendary English outlaw. The hero of ballads dating from as early as the 14th century, Robin Hood was a rebel who robbed and killed landowners and government officials and gave his gains to the poor. He treated women and common people with courtesy, and he ignored the laws of the forest that restricted hunting rights. His greatest enemy was the sheriff of Nottingham. The ballads emerged during a time of agrarian unrest that culminated in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. There is no evidence of Robin Hood's historical existence, though later tradition places him in the reign of King John. In postmedieval ballads and stories he was a nobleman who took refuge in Sherwood Forest after losing his lands. His men included Little John and Friar Tuck; his beloved was Maid Marion.

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(born Feb. 22, 1889, Cartmel Fell, Lancashire, Eng.—died Jan. 9, 1943, Coniston, Lancashire) British historian and philosopher. A lecturer, and later professor, at the University of Oxford (1912–41), he was a leading authority on the archaeology and history of Roman Britain. He believed that “the chief business of 20th-century philosophy is to reckon with 20th-century history” and that philosophy and history are both a matter of discovering fundamental presuppositions. In his most influential work, The Idea of History (1946), he maintained that historical thinking requires explanation as part of any description and that it is the philosopher's task to articulate and justify historical methodology. He is viewed as a seminal thinker in the philosophy of history.

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(born Feb. 22, 1889, Cartmel Fell, Lancashire, Eng.—died Jan. 9, 1943, Coniston, Lancashire) British historian and philosopher. A lecturer, and later professor, at the University of Oxford (1912–41), he was a leading authority on the archaeology and history of Roman Britain. He believed that “the chief business of 20th-century philosophy is to reckon with 20th-century history” and that philosophy and history are both a matter of discovering fundamental presuppositions. In his most influential work, The Idea of History (1946), he maintained that historical thinking requires explanation as part of any description and that it is the philosopher's task to articulate and justify historical methodology. He is viewed as a seminal thinker in the philosophy of history.

Learn more about Collingwood, R(obin) G(eorge) with a free trial on Britannica.com.