How does socialism relate to the Robin Hood story?

Answer 1

The main tenant of Socialism is "fair and equitable distribution of wealth"; the idea that the amount of money a person earns should be directly connected to how much they contribute to the group, not their position within the group.

In the middle ages, the rich were rich by birth, and didn't have to work at all to maintain their wealth. The people who lived under their rule worked the land and paid taxes to the landowners. During the time of the Crusades (when the story of Robin Hood takes place) the taxes were high because they were raising armies and needed food, armor and weapons for the men. In the story of Robin Hood, though, Prince John kept the taxes inordinately high (the reason for which changes depending on the version of the story) while his brother, King Richard, was off fighting the Crusades. Robin Hood stole from the rich (i.e. Prince John) and gave that money back to the people who needed it (i.e. the peasants).

So Robin's idea of taking money away from the entitled rich and giving it to the poor as a means of creating a more equitable environment for the good of all falls directly in line with Socialist ideals.