Silver Arrow

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As a bit of a buff on Robin Hood, and specifically anything to do with the HTV series, ROBIN OF SHERWOOD, I became fascinated with the story of Robin Hood and the silver arrow tradition. In earlier ballads, it was sometimes a gold arrow. I just always wondered where that came from and what symbology it might have represented, so I wanted to put in out into the ether and see if anything more comes of it.
I mean, Robin Hood could rob from the rich so why risk his life to enter a competition to win an arrow when he could rob rich travellers of sacks of gold?
Maybe I am taking Richard Carpenter’s mythology too far I don’t know. I just think he provided us with an intriguing enigma. In the series, he ascribed meaning to the arrow. The silver arrow was a symbol of pre-christian England, a totem, a thing – like a sceptre or a cross. It was magic, inscribed with runes and was primarily for ‘protection.’
(even though in the show it looked unfortunately like an early medieval dildo!)

Silver is the colour of the moon of course. The goddess.

Traditions of silver arrows also can be traced in Europe. A silver arrow was meant to be the only thing able to kill a witch in one Irish legend, and then there’s the similiar idea of a silver bullet being the only thing that could kill a werewolf.

Early this year there was an interesting article in the paper about a curious dispute in Scotland amongst locals of a village who had possession of a strange silver arrow which had been beqeathed to them. Dating back 400 year old at least, and not the original, it was considered to be quite important.

There seems to be a tradition of silver arrows being given in archery tournaments even to this day, especially in celtic regions of Britain.
Sometimes the arrow would be covered with medals, and other times instead of an arrow, silver drinking horns and balls were given away.
I wonder if this is an old custom that perhaps influenced the RH ballads?

Any immediate thoughts?

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