Robin Hood

Robin Hood is a heroic outlaw in English folklore who, according to legend, was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. Traditionally depicted as being dressed in Lincoln green, he is often portrayed as "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor" alongside his band of Merry Men. Robin Hood became a popular folk figure in the late-medieval period, and continues to be widely represented in literature, films and television.

Ballads and tales

The first clear reference to "rhymes of Robin Hood" is from c1377, the late-14th-century poem Piers Plowman, but the earliest surviving copies of the narrative ballads that tell his story date to the second half of 15th century (i.e. the 1400s), or the first decade of the 16th century (1500s). In these early accounts, Robin Hood's partisanship of the lower classes, his Marianism and associated special regard for women, his outstanding skill as an archer, his anti-clericalism, and his particular animosity towards the Sheriff of Nottingham are already clear.Little John, Much the Miller's Son and Will Scarlet (as Will "Scarlok" or "Scathelocke") all appear, although not yet Maid Marian or Friar Tuck. It is not certain what should be made of these latter two absences as it is known that Friar Tuck, for one, has been part of the legend since at least the later 15th century where he is mentioned in a Robin Hood play script.

List of films and television series featuring Robin Hood

The following are some of the notable adaptations of the Robin Hood story in film and television.

Robin Hood-themed films and TV series

1900s–1940s

1950s

Robin of Sherwood

Robin of Sherwood (retitled Robin Hood in the United States) is a British television series, based on the legend of Robin Hood. Created by Richard Carpenter, it was produced by HTV in association with Goldcrest, and ran from 1984 to 1986 on the ITV network. In America it was retitled Robin Hood and shown on the premium cable TV channel Showtime and, later, on PBS. The show starred Michael Praed and Jason Connery as two different incarnations of the title character. Unlike previous adaptations of the Robin Hood legend, Robin of Sherwood combined a gritty, authentic production design with elements of real-life history, 20th century fiction, and pagan myth. The series is also notable for its musical score by Clannad, which won a BAFTA award.

Overview

There were three seasons, composed of a two-hour opening episode and 24 one-hour long episodes, although the pilot is sometimes screened as two one-hour episodes. The episodes comprising "The Swords of Wayland" were transmitted as one episode in the UK on their original screening, on a bank holiday weekend in 1985. The show was shot on film and almost entirely on location, mostly in the northeast and southwest of England; HTV West in Bristol was the base of operations, and most of the filming was done in and around Bristol and its surrounding counties. Primary locations were the Blaise Castle Estate in North Bristol and Vassals Park to the south.

Robin Hood (disambiguation)

Robin Hood is a famous English folk hero and legendary outlaw.

Rood may also refer to:

Places

People

Art, entertainment, and media

Ballet and opera

Robin Hood (clipper)

Robin Hood was a tea clipper built by Alexander Hall and Sons, in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1856. The ship’s best known commander was Capt. Cobb. The ship is remembered for a 107-day passage to San Francisco.

References

Robin Hood (1991 film)

Robin Hood is a 1991 British adventure film directed by John Irvin, executive produced by John McTiernan and starring Patrick Bergin, Uma Thurman, Jürgen Prochnow, Jeroen Krabbé and Edward Fox. Although originally intended for a theatrical release in the United States and South America, the film was premiered on the Fox network in those territories a month before the release of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. It was released in cinemas in several countries in Europe and elsewhere, including Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

Plot synopsis

The film begins when a miller, who is poaching deer on lands belonging to the King of England, is detected by a hunting party led by the cruel Norman knight Sir Miles Folcanet (Jürgen Prochnow). The miller flees the hunting party until he runs into a Saxon earl, Robert Hode (Patrick Bergin), and his friend, Will. The miller pleads for help as the Normans arrive and threaten to poke the miller's eyes out. Before they can carry out the punishment, Hode (urged by Will) stops them. Folcanet is enraged and demands that Hode be punished by the local Sheriff (shire-reeve), Roger Daguerre (Jeroen Krabbé).

List of Robin Hood (2006 TV series) characters

Robin Hood is a British television drama series, produced by Tiger Aspect Productions for BBC One, which debuted in October 2006. The programme uses the majority of the familiar characters from the traditional Robin Hood legends, notably featuring no appearances by Friar Tuck and Prince John in the first 2 series (although the latter was frequently mentioned as an off-screen character), though introducing them in the third series, portrayed by David Harewood and Toby Stephens respectively. Some have been given new back-stories or characteristics not evident in previous versions of the legend. A peculiar innovation of this version of Robin Hood is its anachronistic distortion of the ethnic make-up of 12th century England. It adds several characters of African and Asian origin, fully integrated into English society. While most of these characters are minor, two are members of the Merry Men.

Main characters

Robin Hood

Sir Robin of Locksley, alias Robin Hood after outlawed, is the titular main protagonist of the 2006 TV series. He is portrayed by Jonas Armstrong, who is much younger than many of the previous actors to have played the character. Armstrong described his portrayal of Robin Hood as "A believable superhero... Like all leaders, he's an egoist and he's often quite arrogant. He's not an out-and-out hero...He has an undercurrent of darkness."