Robin Hood, a Witchy Wednesday article.

 Robin in the Hood part one. 

Robin Hood and guy of Gisborne wood print by Thomas Bewick 1832

The legend of Robin Hood has always interested me, as a small child I loved reading books about the adventures of Robin Hood, Little John, Will Scarlet and Friar Tuck! I loved the pantomime element of booing the evil Sheriff of Nottingham and laughing at the failures of Sir Guy of Gisbourne attempts at capturing Robin and his gang of merry men! My Nan particularly loved Errol Flynn so I would often spend school holidays as a child watching the swashbuckling version of the Robin Hood either when I visited my grandparents house or when they came to ours.

A little snippet on Errol Flynn's Robin Hood

The 1938 Warner Bros Hollywood blockbuster movie 'Adventures of Robin Hood' starred Errol as Robin Hood, British actor Sir Basil Rathbone played the part of Sir Guy of Gisbourne and Olivia De Havilland as Robin's romantic interest Maid Marion. 

It says on Wikipedia that at the 11th Academy Awards, it received four nominations, winning three—Best Art Direction (Carl Jules Weyl), Best Film Editing (Ralph Dawson) and Best Original Score (Erich Wolfgang Korngold). In 1995, The Adventures of Robin Hood was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation by the National Film Registry.

It was a huge hit and because of this became the format for many years with films and TV productions retelling the adventures of Robin and his merry men often showing them living cleanly, wearing colourful tights and slapping thighs like a British pantomime production. It wasn't until Sean Connery's 1976 movie 'Robin and Marion' that the tales of Robin and his men started to become more historically based, gritty and realistic. 

Image sourced from Wikipedia 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Robin_Hood#

As much as I love Errol Flynn's  glamorous protrayal of Robin Hood I much preferred more gritty versions such as Sean Connery in the 1976 film Robin and Marion which he plays a much older Robin. Marion is beautifully acted by Audrey Hepburn. 

Gorgeous movie posted by the late Drew Struzan

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drew_Struzan

But for me it was the TV series Robin of Sherwood that really was my 'Robin Hood'. This series was more atmospheric, other worldly, and was cleverly written to include elements of the Robin Hood story and British folklore characters such as Herne the Hunter. It also told the story of two types of Robin, Robin of Loxley played by Micheal Praed who played a working class character who is forced into becoming an outlaw and Robert of Huntingdon played by Sean Connery's son Jason Connery as a nobleman who chooses to become an outlaw to fight justice and adopts Robins name. 

Michael Praed as Robin Hood. 

Michael Praed as Robin Hood and Judi Trott as the Lady Marion. 

Jason Connery as Robert of Huntingdon. 

Found this great article on the series here on Robin of Sherwood website.
 https://www.robinofsherwood.org/about.html

Getting back to the basis of the Robin Hood folklore story. 

The legend of Robin Hood is about a heroic English outlaw, living in the deep Forest in Sherwood with his band of "Merry Men,". The tales of Robin revolve around stealing from the rich and give to the poor, fighting against the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham and the oppressive rule of Prince John during the time of King Richard the Lionheart. He's known for his exceptional archery skills, loyalty to his companions Little John, Friar Tuck, Will Scarlet and his romantic love interest the beautiful Maid Marion. He and his men defend the vulnerable against tyranny and embodies themes of justice, rebellion, and hope.

The beginnings of Robin Hood?

The tales of Robin Hood may have started in the late 14th century, with the first literary mention in William Langland's poem Piers Plowman around 1377, indicating he was already a known folk hero through popular ballads, though the earliest surviving ballads with the full legend appeared in the mid-15th century. These oral stories evolved from a rougher, outlaw figure into the heroic, green-clad archer known today, with later additions like Maid Marian and Friar Tuck coming much later in the Tudor period. 

Here is a really interesting Vlog by literature guide with a detailed description of the poem Piers Plowman. Please like the video to show them support if you enjoy it. 

Also you can visit the BBC website to listen to Melvyn Bragg and guest discussing Langland's exploration of what it means to live a good life, written when the Black Death had overturned many of the old certainties. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000nvsl

Thank you for visiting my blog, please visit again next Witchy Wednesday for further adventures of Robin Hood.

Kat 😊