The History Channel's "History's Mysteries" examines the real story behind one of the most popular and enduring heroes of all time: Robin Hood. A trip through Sherwood Forest and interviews with scholars and the present-day sheriff of Nottingham uncover clues to the fact behind the fiction. How did these stories come to be? Was Robin Hood a real man? If so, was he a champion of the poor or just a greedy bandit? The answers may surprise you.

His story is one of the most familiar of all English folk tales - the leader of a band of merry renegades who corrected society's injustices by stealing from the rich to give to the poor. But is there any truth behind the tales of the famous Robin Hood?

History's Mysteries journeys from Sherwood Forest to the office of the real-life Sheriff of Nottingham in search of the answer to this question. During this journey, interviews with scholars relates the words of medieval ballads that tell of a reckless villain interested only in lining his own pockets - a far cry from the portrait of a celebrated philanthropist that has made its way into storybooks.

Interviews with experts including Richard Rutherford-Moore, author of The Legend of Robin Hood (1999), help separate fact from fiction in the story of a romantic hero whose exploits have enchanted us for centuries.