Thursday, July 4, 2013

Ten Things You Might Not Know About the Robin Hood Legend

Hello readers!

Are you excited about seeing the new Robin Hood movie this weekend? I know I am. In my The Youngest Templarnovels, the young Robin Hood is the sidekick of Tristan, the protagonist. Hode is based on a real person (sometimes called Robert or Robare Hode) who lived in the early 13^th century. One thing I’m already excited about is how closely the Robin Hood Movie poster ‘borrowed’ from the cover of The Youngest Templar.

In celebration of the movie, I’ll be running a new feature all summer long called “ROBIN HOOD WEDNESDAYS” and will explain some of the history and myth surrounding everyone’s favorite outlaw. If you’re a teacher or librarian, please note I’ll be offering links to many downloadable materials like word searches, crossword puzzles and word jumbles, all of them with a Robin Hood/Youngest Templar theme. These would be a great thing to use in your classroom or as a part of your Summer Reading programs.

Remember to check back every week for new facts! In the meantime, here are ten fun facts about the Robin Hood legend you can use to impress your friends this weekend! Enjoy the movie and then pick up a copy of The Youngest Templar: Keeper of the Grail for a fun reinvention of the Robin Hood legend!

Your authorness,

Michael P. Spradlin

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GOING TO SEE “ROBIN HOOD” THIS WEEKEND?

GRAB THE POPCORN BUT LEAVE THE GREEN TIGHTS AT HOME

Ten Things You Might Not Know About the Robin Hood Legend

Robin Hood is a modern day “mashup.” The contemporary legend of Robin Hood, as we know it today, is a derivative of dozens of different legends from Medieval England. There were several nobles who rose up against the Crown at various times. There are dozens of Robin Hood ballads and poems from the Middle-Ages and they were extremely popular with the peasantry. Through the oral tradition of storytelling many of the characteristics of several English Outlaws morphed into the adventures of a single man.
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Robin Hood didn’t wear green tights. Most men at the time wore simple garb, leggings made of wool and a plain unadorned tunic, or over shirt. Only the wealthiest foresters could afford Lincoln green leggings or shirts.
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Robin Hood was likely not “absurdly proficient” with a bow. He is said to have been a master of the bow and his exploits with the weapon have been glorified over time. In reality, the English longbow is an extremely difficult weapon to master and requires a great deal of strength to draw and aim. Splitting an arrow in half at fifty paces with another arrow would be highly unlikely. While Robin Hood may have been better than average archer, it’s unlikely he accomplished so many incredible shots.
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The term sheriff comes from ‘Shire Reeve,’ an official appointed by the crown to collect taxes. Obviously unpopular with the peasant classes, Shire Reeves used bailiffs (or deputies) to help them collect taxes.
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In Robin Hood’s Day Even the Priests Were Fighters. In the Middle-Ages it was very common for priests and other holy men to take up arms. In major battles they served a dual purpose of fighting and hearing the confession of the troops before battle. In the early 15^th century a Sussex priest name Robert Stafford led a band of outlaws using the name Friar Tuck, obviously plucked from the Robin Hood stories. A ‘Tuck’ is not a surname, but refers to the rope belt worn about the waist by Franciscan Monks. Since the Franciscan order didn’t form until the early 13^th century, is likely the character of Friar (Middle English for ‘father’) Tuck was added to the Robin Hood stories much later.
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There Was No Trial By Jury In The Middle-Ages. As an outlaw, Robin or any of the Merry Men could be executed immediately upon their capture. Hanging was the most common means of carrying out a sentence but men could also be dragged behind horses for miles, until they died, drawn and quartered, or beheaded. Whatever the punishment, those in charge made it as public and gruesome as possible to warn the illiterate peasant class that disobedience was not to be tolerated.
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The Merry Men Weren’t So Merry. The number and names of Robin Hood’s band of outlaws has almost as many variations as Robin Hood himself. Will Scarlet, Little John, Friar Tuck, Allan Aiadale, and Much the Miller’s son, are the most frequently named. And while, the peasant class may have delighted in them besting the Shire Reeve, time and time again, outlaws of the time were vicious, capable killers and none to be trifled with.
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What would you like with that Veggie Burger? Meat was difficult to come by in the English forest. The most common food was Rabbit, and many peasants used trained ferrets to hunt the Rabbits. Hunting of the King’s deer was often restricted and unless a peasant was wealthy enough to raise pigs, they often could not afford to buy meat. Whenever the king cracked down on hunting, people went hungry and poaching became prevalent leading to arrests and it became a vicious cycle.
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Richard the Lionheart: Robin’s Friend or Foe? It really depends on which story you read. In some, Robin is Richard’s loyal subject, out to protect the kingdom from those who would do it harm, while Richard is away in the Crusades. In others, Richard is a horrible despot whom Robin seeks to unseat. Regardless, Richard was unpopular with most of his subjects as he refused to speak English unless he was forced too (he was born in France and was the Prince of Normandy before he ascended to the throne), only spent about six months of his entire ten year reign in England, and drained the country dry financially in an effort to retake the Holy Land, which he was never able to do. However, his nickname The Lionheart is an apt description for he was a ferocious fighter and brilliant military tactician. So brave in fact that he was killed by a crossbow bolt, when he boastfully rode into enemy range while besieging the castle of Chalus in France.
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The DC Comics Super Hero Green Arrow Is A Modern Day Twist On The Robin Hood Legend! The Green Arrow, in the guise of his secret identity is a modern bowman who uses his uncanny archery skill to capture bad guys. In the origin story of Green Arrow, young Oliver Queen is obsessed with Robin Hood, and watches the Errol Flynn movie repeatedly. Later when he becomes Green Arrow, the mega-wealthy Queen renounces his riches and takes up his bow to defend the poor and the weak in Star City, following in the footsteps of Robin Hood as a protector of the down-trodden.

Robin Hood’s first appearance in comics came from Britain

Comics

Robin Hood’s first appearance in comics came from Britain:

1920 Robin Hood appeared in a Dreamy Daniel comic strip (drawn by George Davey) in Lot-o’-Fun.

1922 to 1941 In the comic Bubbles in a 20 year run (drawn by Vincent Daniel).

1923 In The Chick’s Own.

1930 In Merry and Bright.

1937 In Sparkler.

The comics of the period still contained serialised fiction: Puck ran a Robin Hood serial in 1912, as did The Rainbow in 1920 and Sunbeam in 1931.

Robin Hood appeared in a number of American comics including DC comics. He first appeared in New Adventure Comics vol. 1 #23 (January 1938). He then shows up in Robin Hood Tales #1 (February 1956) published by Quality Comics; the series was later bought and published by National Comics starting withRobin Hood Tales #7 (Februry 1957). National Comics became a DC Comic. There are a number of comics that include Robin Hood (or a representation of him) which would evolve into or were part of the DC label. Here is a selection of some of them:

New Adventure Comics vol. 1 #23-30 (1938)

More Fun Comics #82 (August 1942). Green Arrow’s first appearance in # 73 in 1941, several versions followed.

Detective Comics vol. 1 #116 (October 1946)

World’s Finest Comics vol. 1 #40 (June 1949)

Captain Marvel Jr. #118 (April 1953)

Wonder Woman vol. 1 #82 (May 1956)

The Brave and the Bold vol. 1 #5-14 (1956)

Robin Hood and His Merry Men #30,32,34,35 (1957)

Wonder Woman vol. 1 #94 (November 1957)

Robin Hood Tales #1-14 (1956–1958)

Adventure Comics vol. 1 #264 (September 1959)

Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane vol. 1 #22 (January 1961)

Rip Hunter, Time Master #22 (September 1964)

Superman’s Girl Friend, Lois Lane vol. 1 #74 (May 1967)

The Brave and The Bold vol. 1 #87 (January 1969)

Justice League of America #101 (September 1972)

Green Arrow Annual vol. 2 #4 (1991)

Outlaws’ #1-8 (September 1991 to April 1992)

Fables #4 (October 2002)

Robin Hood is charactized in issues seven to nine of Green Hornet Comics published by Harvey in 1942.

The American ’Classic Comics’ featuring Robin Hood was published in 1942 (issue #1). Robin Hood was reprinted another five times in that year, but by issue #7 in 1946, the comic had the title Classics Illustrated. Robin Hood was reprinted another two times in 1946, once in 1955, nine times in 1964, and once in 1965, 1966, 1967 and 1969.

The little known Roger of Sherwood Forest in the Young Heroes anthology, issues thirty five to thirty seven, published by American Comics Group in the 1950s.

Thriller Comics was a British comic that first appeared in 1951 coming out twice a month until going to weekly in 1955. The editor was Leonard Matthews, an editor of Amalgamated Press and Knockout comic, which formed the basis on which this comic book series evolved. At first called Thriller Comics, but by the end of it’s run it had been renamed Thriller Picture Library. Starting at 64 pages an issue, it’s interior art, like most comics from that era printed outside the United States, was black & white. At first doing mainly illustrated versions of classic stories such as the Man in the Iron Mask, and Rob Roy, they soon started to feature new original stories based on the 3 Musketeers, Rob Roy, Dick Turpin, Robin Hood and others. During it’s run it also published mysteries, westerns, war stories and tales of the Royal Canadian Mounties. By the time it stopped publication in 1963 at issue 450 it was rotating between a list of modern action heroes, spies and pilots.

Dell Comics was the publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was considered the most successful American company in the medium. In 1953 Dell claimed to be the world’s largest comics publisher, selling 26 million copies each month.

Magazine Enterprises was an American comic book company lasting from 1943 to 1958, which published primarily Western, humor, crime, adventure, and children’s comics. There were eight issues of Robin Hood, three featuring Richard Green from the television series The Adventures of Robin Hood.

Charlton Comics, was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1946 to 1985. It began with the name T.W.O. Charles Company in 1944. The comic book line was a division of Charlton Publications. Robin Hood and His Merry Men began with issue #28 in 1956. There were a further ten issues up to 1958.

The British company Adprint published The Adventures of Robin Hood (as a result of the TV series) apparently in five annuals, beginning with No. 1 in 1956. Number 1 and 2 include photographs from the series, whilst the remaining books have only comic strip style illustrations.

The British company Amalgamated Press, which earlier had published Robin Hood boys weeklies, also published Robin Hood annuals from 1957 to 1960. These contained colour and black and white comic adventures. The 1959 annual has a story that was inspired by the Robin Hood movie starring Errol Flynn. His image seems to appear on the cover of the annuals, and the other actors in the movie are illustrated in the 1959 annual as well. Amalgamated Press changed to Fleetway Publications in 1959.

I.W. Publications was an American company that started publishing in 1958, and stopped in 1963/64. The company was part of I.W. Enterprises, and named for the company’s owner, Israel Waldman. It was notable for publishing unauthorized reprints of other company’s properties, especially Quality Comics. The company later published comics under the ‘Super Comics’ name. There were five issues of Robin Hood all apparently published in 1958.

Walt Disney Productions ‘The Adventures of Robin Hood’ is a Gold Key Comic series, a seven issue tie-in with the Disney animated movie of 1973, which has animals as the characters.

Issue# 1, March, 1974, The Mystery of Sherwood Forest

Issue# 2, May, 1974, In King Richard’s Service

Issue# 3, July, 1974, The Wizard’s Ring

Issue# 4, August, 1974, The Lucky Hat

Issue# 5, September 1974, The Golden Arrow

Issue# 6, November, 1974, The King’s Ransom

Issue# 7, January 1975, The Bad Baron of Bottomly

Caliber Comics or Caliber Press was an American comic book publisher founded in 1989 by Gary Reed. Caliber published over 1300 comics and ranked as one of the America’s leading independent publishers. The company ceased publishing in 2000. Their were four issues of Robyn of Sherwood, beginning in 1998. The Robyn in this case is the daughter of Robin Hood and Maid Marian.

Issue one of BBC magazines Robin Hood Adventures (2007), based on the TV series starring Jonas Armstrong, sold in plastic wrapping with free gifts.

In 2007, award winning Canadian cartoonist Steve LeCouilliard began a comedy web-comic called ‘Much the Miller’s Son’ telling the story of Robin Hood from the point of view of one of the Merry Men. It has since been collected in two volumes with a third projected for summer 2011.

There were four issues of Muppet Robin Hood published by Boom! Studios in 2009. The Muppets tell the Robin Hood legend for laughs, and it’s the reader who will be merry! Robin Hood (Kermit the Frog) steals from the rich and gives to the poor. In issue four the imprisoned Robin awaits the gallows. Can the Merry Men spring Robin free and defeat Prince John? If only they could find the ‘narrator’ and discover how the story is supposed to end!

The above section on comics contains information found in comicvine.com; mycomicshop.com; bookpalace.com; comicartfans.com; robinhood-tv.co.uk; ask.com; comicsuk.co.uk; wikipedia.org; boldoutlaw.com; http://fbfiss.blogspot.com/

Interesting Facts about Robin Hood

BY INTERESTINGLITERATURE JANUARY 23, 2013

Robin Hood is first mentioned in print in the late fourteenth-century poem Piers Plowman, which is commonly attributed to William Langland, a contemporary of Geoffrey Chaucer. It was a timely moment for the outlaw to enter literature: English literature as we know it was starting to emerge, and the Peasants’ Revolt – one leader of which, the priest John Ball, even quoted from Langland’s poem – occurred in 1381, shortly after Robin Hood first appeared on the literary scene. It was a time when the social order of England was being challenged and feudalism was rapidly declining.

Why is Doncaster and Sheffield’s airport named after Robin Hood? There are several reasons. First, the earliest stories which mention Robin Hood are set in Yorkshire, not Nottinghamshire. Yes, Robin Hood’s original home was Barnsdale Forest, not Sherwood. What’s more, the majority of the remaining woodland of Sherwood Forest is actually in Yorkshire, not Nottinghamshire. The fifteenth-century ballad A Gest of Robyn Hode has Robin living in Barnsdale rather then Sherwood Forest. (An MP for Nottingham has recently championed an initiative to attract more tourism to the city by using the iconic Robin Hood to promote Nottingham Castle, but really, perhaps Barnsdale Forest should be using Robin to boost tourism!)

The Gest is our source of many of the familiar features of the Robin Hood story, and many of the characters – Little John, Will Scarlet, Much the Miller’s Son – first appeared in this anonymous poem. The BBC/Talkback television series QI has even revealed that Robin Hood’s cloak was scarlet in some of the Robin Hood tales: one nineteenth-century poem, for instance, has Robin in scarlet while his men don the famous Lincoln green.

Nottingham, while we’re at it, derives its name from Snotingaham, the original name for the Saxon settlement that stood on the site of the present city: Snot was the Saxon chieftain who settled there, and somewhere along the way the initial ‘S’ was dropped.

Friar Tuck, the famous man of the cloth among Robin’s merry men, was a real person in fifteenth-century England, whose original name was Robert Stafford. He was a Sussex chaplain who assumed the name ‘Frere Tuk’ around 1417, though whether in honour of the man from the Robin Hood tales we cannot be sure. One thing we can say of Friar Tuck in the Robin Hood stories, though, is that Tuck wasn’t his name: the ‘tuck’ was the belt which Franciscan monks wore round their robes. (This chimes with Robin, whose second name refers to his hood, and Will Scarlet, whose ‘surname’ seems to indicate the colour of the clothing he wore.)

Robin’s king wasn’t the absent crusading Richard the Lionheart (reigned 1189-99) in the original Geststory – the Gest of Robyn Hode refers to ‘King Edward’, not Richard or John, and this puts Robin Hood later in English history, some time after 1272 when Edward I ascended the throne.

The idea of Robin being an outlawed nobleman, Robin of Locksley, derives from Sir Walter Scott’s celebrated medieval romance, Ivanhoe (1820). This novel has also been credited with helping to popularise medieval history for a generation of later writers and artists, among them Tennyson and the Pre-Raphaelites. More recently, Scott’s novel provided the blockbuster 1991 movie starring Kevin Costner,Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, with its source-material for the character of Robin Hood (who is known throughout as ‘Robin of Locksley’; Locksley, by the way, provides us with another Yorkshire connection, since Loxley is the name of a village and suburb of the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire). Many people criticised Costner for playing Robin with an unashamedly American accent, but Alan Rickman himself appears to have remarked that the American accent was closer to twelfth-century Anglo-Saxon than modern British English (whether this is in fact true, we leave in the hands of the linguists to settle in the comments section below).

Ivanhoe - since we’re mentioning Scott’s novel – was a misspelling of Ivinghoe, a place in Buckinghamshire made famous in a traditional rhyme beginning ‘Tring, Wing and Ivinghoe’. The novel also gave us the name Cedric (Scott supposedly misread a genuine Anglo-Saxon name, Cerdic, and transposed the ‘r’ and ‘d’). Footballer Emile Heskey’s middle name is Ivanhoe – the novel is reputedly his dad’s favourite.

Robin Hood’s first appearance in comics came from Britain: