The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood: Howard Pyle’s Classic Tales of Sherwood, the Sheriff and Queen Eleanor
One of England’s best-known outlaws lives with his band in Sherwood Forest. The Sheriff of Nottingham hunts them desperately, but Robin is very cunning: he disguises himself, passes himself off as other people and tricks the Sheriff not once, but three times.
Author: Howard Pyle (1853–1911), American writer and illustrator
Title: The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (1883)
Format: English paperback (Dover Children’s Classics), 320 pages, with the author’s illustrations
Scope: Retelling of the Robin Hood ballads
Amazon: www.amazon.es/dp/0486220435 (ASIN 0486220435)
The Greatest Archer
One of the finest archers of his day, Robin uses his skill to stand up to the rich and the wicked and to share their wealth among the poor and unfortunate. The ballads and tales of Robin Hood’s deeds are famous, and Pyle weaves them into a single, lively story.
New Adventures
His loyal companions make Robin feel safe in the forest, and so he lives for years, until one day, bored with routine, he decides to look for new adventures. He travels far, and the trouble and threats from those who hunt him begin again.
Queen Eleanor
He wins the favour of Queen Eleanor, who calms the anger of King Henry, obtains Robin’s freedom and sends him back to the greenwood. The luck this outlaw seems to enjoy is a reward for his goodwill and honesty; again and again he gets out of trouble and wins the trust of those around him.
Howard Pyle
Howard Pyle (1853–1911) was one of the most influential American illustrators of his time. Born in Wilmington, Delaware, he worked for magazines such as Harper’s and later became a celebrated teacher, training a generation of artists, including N. C. Wyeth and Jessie Willcox Smith, in what became known as the Brandywine School. The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, published in 1883, was his first major book, and he both wrote and illustrated it.
From Ballads to a Novel
The legend of Robin Hood survives mainly in medieval and early modern ballads, short, separate tales of fights, disguises and tricks. Pyle gathered many of them and wove them into a continuous story, giving each member of the band a memorable entrance: Little John meets Robin in a fight with quarterstaffs on a narrow bridge, Friar Tuck carries him across a river, and the minstrel Allan a Dale is helped to win his sweetheart. Much of what we now think of as the Robin Hood story comes from Pyle’s arrangement.
A Different King
Unlike many later versions, which set the story during the reign of Richard the Lionheart and his scheming brother John, Pyle places most of it under King Henry II and his queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, with Richard appearing only towards the end. The book also follows the old ballads to Robin’s death, an ending that many modern retellings leave out, and which gives the merry tales a moving conclusion.
More From Pyle
Readers who enjoy this book should look for his later retellings of the Arthurian legends, beginning with The Story of King Arthur and His Knights (1903), and his medieval adventure Men of Iron.
A Note on the Language
Pyle’s prose imitates old English, with words like "quoth", "thee" and "marry", which can slow modern young readers down at first. Most soon get used to it, and reading aloud helps a great deal: the rhythm of the sentences is part of the fun.
Pyle’s own pictures help too.
Why Read It
Pyle’s version, written in a playful mock-archaic English and illustrated by the author himself, is the classic telling of the legend for young readers, and the source of much of the Robin Hood we know today.
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