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Originally Posted by Saurreg
Robin Hood was an English product, but was it really distinctive enough in nature to be considered an England only myth? If we were to substitute Robin with say an Otto, Philippe or Leon, skill with the bow to unparalled swordsmanship and a corrupted king and his sheriff into emperor and his senechal, the tale of Robin Hood would fit well into any other parts of Europe and indeed the rest of the world.
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If we strip the flesh off any human being we would find the same skeletal structure. Archetypes in themselves are uninteresting. Stories are unteresting. And stories are set in a certain time & certain place, because they come from the minds & hearts of certain people. If you replace Robin with Otto, or William Tell, you've got a different story.
A point I was making to someone yesterday is that while Robin probably did provide inspiration for some aspects of Faramir (& Tom), Odin for Gandalf, & Mount Sinai for the Meneltarma (though mountains & hills, real & artificial, were always seen as sacred places), once taken up into a secondary world they become wholly & simply themselves - if they are taken up successfully that is.