E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Archers.
The best archers in British history and story are Robin Hood and his two comrades Little John and Will Scarlet.
1
The famous archers of Henry II. were Tepus his bowman of the Guards, Gilbert of the white hind, Hubert of Suffolk, and Clifton of Hampshire.
2
Nearly equal to these were Egbert of Kent and William of Southampton.
3
Domitian, the Roman emperor, we are told, could shoot four arrows between the spread fingers of a man’s hand.
Tell, who shot an apple set on the head of his son, is a replica of the Scandinavian tale of Egil, who, at the command of King Nidung, performed a precisely similar feat.
Robin Hood, we are told, could shoot an arrow a mile or more.
