What I’m Reading – Robin Hood

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood of Great Renown in Nottinghamshire by Howard Pyle (1883)  A collation of the various stories and ballads of the legendary outlaw, altered to bring some storytelling cohesion to them all and adapted for children.

Pyle was a successful illustrator and children’s author of the day.  Most of the images of the outlaw who robs the rich and gives to the poor comes from this version of the stories.  The character in the original ballads, some of which date back to the 1400s, sometimes have a different view.  In those stories, Robin in a crook and murderer many times over.  This book solidified the growing trend to make him more heroic.  Elsewhere he is either noble born, or a yeoman, and his reasons for retreating to Sherwood Forest vary as well.

All the familiar characters are here, Robin, Little John, Friar Tuck, Will Scarlet, Alan-a-Dale, Maid Marian, the Sheriff of Nottingham and more.  The stories move right along and there are plenty of adventures.  Most of which are not part of the common canon that most of us came to know growing up.  Pyle created his own version of “old English” speaking which got in the way for men periodically.  Beyond that, the stories are just a joy.  Robin Hood remains a perfect childhood hero.  He and his friends run off into the woods to lead a “merry” life, without a care or responsibility.  In fact, when Little John has a chore to do for the band, he gets distracted by the idea of having some fun.  All of the characters are filled with an unending confidence in their ability to do all things and defeat all comers.  That they often end up on their backsides is part of the fun.

This was Howard Pyle’s first novel and it was a success from the beginning.  Pyle is an interesting guy who is largely forgotten today.  He was a popular teacher with students  like N.C. Wyeth.  He wrote several other books, including a four volume telling of the King Arthur tales.  It was also his work that set our modern idea of how pirates dress.  Most of what we see in characters like Captain Jack Sparrow would be unwieldy and absurd on a sailing ship.  It was Pyle who created the image and it has stuck over the years.

You will find many different versions available from hardcover collector editions to simple e-book versions.