Robin Goodfellow

In English 16th-c and 17th-c popular belief, a mischievous fairy who would do housework if duly rewarded. He was also called Puck or Hobgoblin. His characteristic activities are listed in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (2.i).

Robin Goodfellow in English folklore is a euphemistic personification of a half-tamed, troublesome fairy or hob-goblin, a prankster who is the domesticated aspect of Puck.

Shakespeare refers to him in A Midsummer Night's Dream, ii.

The children's theater play Robin Goodfellow by Aurand Harris is a retelling of A Midsummer Night's Dream from the point of view of Puck.

The earliest reference to 'Robin Goodfellow' cited by the Oxford English Dictionary is from 1531.

The name Robin is Middle English in origin, deriving from Old French Robin, the pet form for the name Robert.

The character originates in German folklore.