Robin Hood (spelled Robyn Hode in older sources) is a heroic outlaw in English folklore, and, according to legend, was also a highly skilled archer and swordsman. Although such behaviour was not part of his original character, since the beginning of the 19th century he has become known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes. According to some accounts, the legend has its roots in the activities of actual medieval outlaws, or the ballads or tales that circulated about them. Robin Hood became a popular folk figure in the medieval period, and continues to be widely represented in modern literature, films and television. In the earliest sources Robin Hood is a yeoman, but later portrayals raise him to the level of an aristocrat wrongfully dispossessed of his lands and made into an outlaw by an unscrupulous sheriff.