Merry Men

The Lore

In the oldest ballads, Robin Hood gathered not an army but a band — outlaws, yeomen, and minstrels who refused to bow to tyrants. Little John, Will Scarlet, Friar Tuck, Allan-a-Dale: each joined by defeating Robin in a duel, each staying because the forest was freer than the king's road.

They called themselves the Merry Men. Not because life was easy, but because they chose each other over the lords who taxed the poor and fought wars in distant lands while Prince John bled England dry.

Rob from the rich. Give to the band.

Now the lords have built a new road — paved in ETH, hung with the banners of Wall Street, where every stock is tokenized and every gate has a toll. The Sheriff of Nottingham wears a suit now. Prince John trades from a penthouse.

But in Sherwood Forest, on Robinhood Chain, the band still gathers. Twenty became two hundred. Two hundred became seven score. The Merry Men were never an army — they were everyone the rich walked past without looking.

Each coin dropped in the cup is one more outlaw in the forest. Each holder is another Merry Man — not following a leader, but refusing to kneel.

The king will return from his crusades. The gates will swing open. And the road built for the rich will belong to whoever showed up, arrows drawn, ready to fight.