Robin Hood in popular culture explained

The folkloric hero Robin Hood has appeared many times, in many different variations, in popular modern works.

Theatre

Robin Hood has appeared in a number of plays throughout the medieval, early modern and modern periods. The first record of a Robin Hood play being performed is in Exeter in 1426-27.[1] The earliest surviving text of a Robin Hood play is dated c.1475 and entitled Robyn Hod and the Shryff off Notyngham.[2] [3]

The plays which perhaps have been most influential upon the Robin Hood legend as a whole are Anthony Munday's The Downfall of Robert, Earle of Huntington and The Death of Robert, Earle of Huntingdon (1597–98). It is in these plays that Robin is first depicted as a nobleman. Further plays followed during the early modern period such as the anonymous Looke About You (1600) and Robin Hood and his Crew of Soldiers (1661).

Radio

On 18 April 1992, BBC Radio 4 first broadcast John Fletcher's 90-minute radio play entitled The Legend of Robin Hood, which was a full cast drama that drew closely on the original Robin Hood ballads.[4] It was directed by Nigel Bryant and featured music composed by Vic Gammon. As well as depicting some of Robin Hood's adventures in Sherwood Forest and Nottingham, it also covers a fruitless quest that Robin makes Little John to the Holy Land to help the crusaders.

On May 18, 2019, Augustine Institute released a full cast 12-part audio drama written and directed by Paul McCusker entitled The Legends of Robin Hood. Starring Gwilym Lee as Robin Hood (a.k.a. Robert of Locksley), Katie Foster-Barnes as Maid Marian (named Marian Fitzwalter in this version), with Robert Portal as Sir Guy of Gisbourne and Nicholas Boulton as Richard the Lionheart.

Books

The first published prose account of Robin Hood's life appears to be the anonymously authored The Noble Birth and Gallant Atchievements of that Remarkable Out-Law, Robin Hood (1678). Material from this work was often plagiarised by criminal biographers in works such as: The Whole Life and Merry Exploits of Bold Robin Hood (1712), Alexander Smith's A Complete History of the Lives and Robberies of the Most Notorious Highwaymen, Footpads, Shoplifts and Cheats (1719), Charles Johnson's Lives and Exploits of the Most Noted Highwaymen (1734).[5] In addition, there were numerous books printed throughout the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries that went by the name of Robin Hood's Garland. These were cheaply printed collections of later Robin Hood ballads.

The first Robin Hood novel written, although not published, is Robert Southey's 'Harold, or, The Castle of Morford' (1791).[6] [7] This exists in manuscript form in the Bodleian Library. The first published Robin Hood novel was the anonymous Robin Hood: A Tale of the Olden Time (1819), and a few months later Ivanhoe by Walter Scott, 1819. Ivanhoe was Scott's first novel where history and romance is combined. Robin Hood in this book is the saviour of the nation. The Upper classes need the working classes as much as the working classes rely on their 'betters'.[8] Scott's tale is significant because it is the first time that Robin is presented as an Anglo-Saxon freedom fighter, a theme which many later Victorian Robin Hood novels would utilise. The next novel following Scott was Thomas Love Peacock's novella Maid Marian. The novel was originally intended as a satire on continental conservatism and its enthusiasm for all things feudal and medieval, and in particular the unwarranted praise of aristocracy. Thus through his novella Peacock attempted to show how man’s feudal overlords have always been the same: greedy, violent, cynical, and self-interested.[9] Robin also appears as the principal protagonist of two tales printed in an early penny blood entitled Lives of the Highwaymen in 1836. This serialised tale, however, is little more than a reprint of the earlier biography of Robin Hood that appeared in Charles Johnson's work. In Thomas Miller's Royston Gower; or, The Days of King John (1838), Robin is not the principal protagonist but is an outlaw who comes to the aid of the title character after he defects from the Normans and decides to fight against King John for the establishment of a 'charter of rights'. G. P. R. James' Forest Days (1843), while not intended as a political or social commentary, is significant because it abandons the traditional dating of the Robin Hood story in the 1190s and instead places the Robin Hood legend during the Simon de Montfort rebellion (1264-67). By far the longest Robin Hood novel, standing at almost half-a-million words, is Pierce Egan the Younger's Robin Hood and Little John; or, The Merrie Men of Sherwood Forest (serialised 1838-1840). As in Ivanhoe, Robin is a Saxon, although he is not actually outlawed in the novel until nearly the end of the first book. The novel traces Robin's life from birth to death. Egan's text was translated into two French books, Le prince des voleurs (The Prince of Thieves), and Robin Hood le proscrit (Robin Hood the Outlaw), by Alexandre Dumas, between 1863–64. Dumas' works were then retranslated back into English by Alfred Allinson in 1904. A 'companion' novel to Egan's text was published by J. H. Stocqueler in 1849 entitled Maid Marian, the Forest Queen; Being a Companion to "Robin Hood". The first Robin Hood novel written specifically for children appears to be Stephen Percy's Tales of Robin Hood (1840). John B. Marsh's children's book Robin Hood appeared in 1865, as did a penny dreadful entitled Little John and Will Scarlet (1865). The next major novel written was entitled The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle in 1883.In T. H. White's novel The Sword in the Stone (1938, later incorporated into The Once and Future King), young Wart (Arthur) and Kay have an adventure with a man they initially call Robin Hood, but are told that his real name is Robin Wood. His merry men refer to him as "Robin 'ood," dropping Ws instead of Hs, in the Nottinghamshire accent of the time. White's theory is supported by the fact that the French call him Robin des Bois, or Robin of the Woods.

Films and television series

See main article: List of films and television series featuring Robin Hood.

Music

Video games

The character of Robin Hood appears, either as a playable character or as a major supporting character, in the following games:

Strategy games

Comic books

Other

References

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Stephen Knight & Thomas Ohlgren, 'Robyn Hod and the Shryff off Notyngham: Introduction' Robin Hood Project http://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams/text/robyn-hod-and-the-shryff-off-notyngham-introduction
  2. Cambridge, Trinity College MS R.2.64 (fragment), c. 1475
  3. 'Robyn Hod and the Shryff Notyngham' in Robin Hood Project http://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams/text/robyn-hod-and-the-shryff-off-notyngham
  4. News: The Legend of Robin Hood . 4 September 2021 . BBC Programmes . BBC . 4 September 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210904073400/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007jxgp . live .
  5. Basdeo. Stephen. 2016. 'Robin Hood the Brute: Representations of the Outlaw in Eighteenth Century Criminal Biography'. Law, Crime and History. 6: 2. 54–70.
  6. Bodleian MS. Eng. Misc. e. 114
  7. Web site: The First Robin Hood Novel: Robert Southey's "Harold; or, The Castle of Morford" (1791). Basdeo. Stephen. 18 November 2016. Here Begynneth a Lytell Geste of Robin Hood. 6 December 2016. 23 December 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161223215855/https://gesteofrobinhood.com/2016/11/18/the-first-robin-hood-novel-robert-southeys-harold-or-the-castle-of-morford-1791/. live.
  8. Web site: Walter Scott's "Ivanhoe" (1819). Basdeo. Stephen. 2016-02-27. Here Begynneth A Lytell Geste of Robin Hood.... 2016-08-03. 2016-08-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20160816093542/https://gesteofrobinhood.com/2016/02/27/walter-scotts-ivanhoe-1819/. live.
  9. Web site: Thomas Love Peacock's "Maid Marian" (1822). Basdeo. Stephen. 8 March 2016. Here Begynneth a Lytell Geste of Robin Hood. 6 January 2017. 3 December 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161203063142/https://gesteofrobinhood.com/2016/03/08/thomas-love-peacocks-maid-marian-1822/. live.
  10. Norman, Diana (25 November 1976). "Guardian Women: the Young Edwardians". The Guardian. p. 11
  11. Harrison, John. "Copse and Robbers." The Guardian 2009-06-20 https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/jun/20/hodd-adam-thorpe-review retrieved 2010-02-10
  12. Book: Ashton, Gail. Medieval Afterlives in Contemporary Culture. 2015-03-12. Bloomsbury Publishing. 978-1-4411-0282-9. 253–254. en.
  13. Book: Coote. Lesley. Robin Hood in Outlaw/ed Spaces: Media, Performance, and Other New Directions. Johnson. Valerie B.. 2016-11-10. Taylor & Francis. 978-1-317-06205-9. 187. en.
  14. Web site: Medievalists.net . 2015-09-14 . Book Review: Rise of the Wolf, by Steven A. McKay . 2022-06-02 . Medievalists.net . en-US.
  15. http://www.parlorsongs.com/issues/2002-1/thismonth/featurea.php Enduring American Song Hits, Part 1, page 1
  16. "Electric Light Orchestra - Telephone Line (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 27 February 2013
  17. Web site: Robin Hood . Serenbe Playhouse . 2017-06-02 . 2017-06-20 . 2017-06-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170625153035/http://www.serenbeplayhouse.com/shows-events/current-season/robin-hood . live .
  18. Web site: Serenbe's ROBIN HOOD to Feature Immersive Sherwood Forest, Zip Line . Broadway World Atlanta . 2017-06-16 . 2017-06-20 . 2018-07-31 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180731153809/https://www.broadwayworld.com/atlanta/article/Serenbes-ROBIN-HOOD-to-Feature-Immersive-Sherwood-Forest-Zip-Line-20170516 . live .
  19. Web site: Robin Hood . Serenbe Playhouse . 2017-02-06 . 2017-06-20 . 2017-06-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170625153035/http://www.serenbeplayhouse.com/shows-events/current-season/robin-hood . live .
  20. Web site: Robin to the Rescue for Commodore 64 - GameFAQs. gamefaqs.gamespot.com. 2018-10-17. 2018-10-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20181018003106/https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/c64/583959-robin-to-the-rescue. live.
  21. Web site: Pokémon Sun and Moon's newest Pokémon are one-of-a-kind. Allegra Frank. . Polygon. 27 October 2016. 2 December 2016. 3 December 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161203123726/http://www.polygon.com/2016/10/27/13435352/pokemon-sun-and-moon-final-starter-evolution-legendaries-cosmog. live.
  22. Web site: Check Out Final Forms of Sun and Moon's Starters (plus more Pokemon news). Daniel Starkey. Geek.com. 28 October 2016. 2 December 2016. 3 December 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161203125806/http://www.geek.com/games/check-out-final-forms-of-sun-and-moons-starters-plus-more-pokemon-news-1677114/. dead.
  23. Web site: CHANGES TO THE LEGEND: Comic Books and Copycats, Robin Hood -- Wolfshead Through the Ages. www.boldoutlaw.com. 2015-10-12. 2015-09-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20150912034742/http://www.boldoutlaw.com/robages/robages10.html. live.
  24. "Robin Hood: The Role Playing Campaign by Iron Crown Enterprises. (Advertisement)". Dragon Magazine,Issue #120,April 1987. TSR Limited, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. (p.2)
  25. https://www.boardgamegeek.com/rpgitem/51179/gurps-robin-hood GURPS Robin Hood
  26. "Robin Hood is scholarly subject ". BBC. 10 October 2006.
  27. "Sherwood Signs Off ". Nottingham Forest 30 July 2007.
  28. Web site: 2015 Mini Manifesto by Green Party of England and Wales . 2021-10-28 . 2015-12-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151218181732/http://issuu.com/thegreenparty/docs/minimanifesto2015_pages_?e=16672391%2F12248659 . live .
  29. News: General election 2017: 'Robin Hood tax' on City pledged by Labour. BBC News . May 14, 2017. October 28, 2021. October 3, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211003134254/https://www.bbc.com/news/election-2017-39910293. live.
  30. Arthur Asa Berger, The Comic-Stripped American: What Dick Tracy, Blondie, Daddy Warbucks, and Charlies Brown Tell Us about Ourselves. Penguin Books, 1974 (p. 142).
  31. http://www.theworldlink.com/sports/outdoors/article_9bfa0bb3-e882-5359-88d7-d19a42c310ac.html "A modern-day Robin Hood
  32. Web site: n.a. . A Visit to the Sherwood Forest Faire . Do512 Family . 24 February 2016 . 18 March 2024.