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Another potential candidate to be the ‘real’ Robin Hood is Roger Godberd. He was from the Nottingham area and lived in the 13th century. He was initially a friend of the Sheriff of Nottingham, but the two fell out after a local power struggle. Godberd was prosecuted by the Sherriff and took to the forests, and lived a life outside of the law. After a series of adventures as a bandit and robber, he was eventually pardoned by the King and became a local landowner. However, while there are undoubtedly similarities between Godberd and Robin Hood's well-known adventures, but there is no evidence to suggest that he was ever known as Robin Hood.

Since the Tudor era, several scholars claimed that the legendary outlaw was, in reality, a spirit of the forest. This theory was based on his remarkable fortune and skill with the bow. Some have suggested that the story of Robin Hood, who was very much opposed to the established Church, was somehow related to a pagan cult, a relic of the old Celtic religion, that continued to flourish in the dense forests.