An acorn takes root in Sherwood. The tree that grows will outlive ten centuries.
Wikipedia · Major OakSHERWOOD FOREST · NOTTINGHAMSHIRE
THE MAJOR OAK
c. 900 — 2026
For a thousand years, the safest place in England was inside a tree.
Eight hundred to twelve hundred years old. Twenty-three tons. A canopy of twenty-eight meters. Folklore says Robin Hood and his Merry Men slept inside its hollow trunk while the Sheriff hunted them. It stood through every king, every plague, every empire.
THE RINGS · one ring per age
The ballads spread: Robin "cloathed his men in Lincoln green" — dyed in Lincoln, hex #195905.
Wikipedia · Lincoln greenThe tree can no longer hold itself. The first support chains are fitted.
Wikipedia · Major OakScaffolding goes up around the branches. The machine that keeps it alive — and doesn't.
Wikipedia · Major OakThe UK hits 40°C for the first time in recorded history. Five droughted summers stress the old heart.
Geo · post-mortemRobinhood Chain's block 1 is quietly mined at 16:52:11 UTC — two months before anyone is told.
Blockscout · block 1The RSPB announces it: the Major Oak failed to leaf. After a millennium — dead.
CNN · Jun 17, 2026Robinhood Chain goes public. Fourteen days after the forest lost its hideout.
Robinhood newsroomACT II · THE PROPS
They built a machine to keep it alive.
Chains since 1908. Scaffolding since the 1970s. A century of engineering wrapped around one tree — and the post-mortem found the machine had been feeding the wrong thing.
“…counter-productive measures taken to preserve it… the scaffolding had artificially forced the tree to pump water towards its propped-up branches — at the expense of its trunk.”
Wikipedia · Major Oak — cause of death (RSPB, 2026)
The machine chose the branches over the heart.
READ THE POST-MORTEM AGAIN
The props killed
the tree.
ACT III · JUNE 17, 2026
CNN · SCIENCE · JUNE 17, 2026
“Major Oak: Ancient Sherwood Forest tree reputed to have sheltered Robin Hood has died”
read it yourself →It didn't fall. It just never woke up. No leaves came that spring — the RSPB called it after the canopy stayed bare.
“Heartbreaking for everyone.” — CBS News
JUNE 17 — THE OAK IS DECLARED DEAD · JULY 1 — ROBINHOOD CHAIN GOES LIVE
Fourteen days.
The forest lost its hideout. The legend needed a new home.
ACT IV · THE NEW BRANCHES
It was already growing in the dark.
The chain had been alive in secret since April 30 — block 1 mined at 16:52:11 UTC, two months before the announcement. While the forest was losing its hideout, a new one was quietly taking root.
The men wore Lincoln green — dyed in Lincoln since the 1200s. The chain wears Robinhood green. Nine centuries between two hex codes, same outlaw energy.
The Oak is dead.
The legend moved on‑chain.
THE GROVE · the canopy regrows one name at a time
Plant your leaf.
The tree kept everyone's name safe for a thousand years. Return the favor. Your leaf grows on the dead canopy and stays on this branch of the internet.
THE RECORD · every claim on this page, sourced — read them yourself
- 2026-06-17
“Major Oak: Ancient Sherwood Forest tree reputed to have sheltered Robin Hood has died”
CNN - 2026-06
“1,200-year-old Robin Hood oak tree in Sherwood Forest has died, group says: ‘Heartbreaking for everyone’”
CBS News - 2026-06
“Thousand-year-old ancient oak tree tied to ‘Robin Hood’ legend has died, wildlife charity says”
ABC News - 2026
The RSPB announced “the tree had died after failing to produce leaves that year” — causes include hot dry summers, soil compaction, mining-shifted water tables, and preservation scaffolding that forced water to the branches “at the expense of its trunk.”
Wikipedia · Major Oak - folklore
The Major Oak “was the shelter of Robin Hood and his Merry Men.”
Wikipedia · Major Oak - ballad
Robin “cloathed his men in Lincoln green” — the real dye of Lincoln, England. #195905 then; #00C805 now.
Wikipedia · Lincoln green - 2026-04-30
Robinhood Chain block 1 — timestamp 16:52:11 UTC, two months before the public launch.
Blockscout · block 1
THE TOKEN
$OAK · The Major Oak
On Robinhood Chain — where else. Contract address announced at launch, here and on X, at the same moment. Anything earlier is a fake. Verify before you touch.
Phase II — the Hollow: the Oak has a hollow, and hollows fill. A ritual, not a promise. Those who find the hideout learn first.