The Element Encyclopedia of Witchcraft: The Complete A-Z for the Entire Magical World - Judika Illes 2005

Robin Goodfellow
The Horned One and The Devil

This huge hairy goat-man, horned and hoofed holding a besom broom, was the star of the 1628 bestseller The Mad Pranks and Merry Jests of Robin Goodfellow. A medieval woodcut depicts a huge Robin presiding over a circle dance. He has donkey’s ears and bull’s horns and carries a broom in one hand, a lit candle in the other. Another horn is slung over his shoulder.

Robin is the son of a mortal woman and Oberon, the Fairy King, notorious wild man and shape-shifter. Robin is a trickster spirit. Together with Oberon and other spirits, he is responsible for human fertility and the maintenance of Earth’s seasonal rhythms.

See FAIRIES.