But this being the eighties, and including his own ideals, he wanted to bring more realism to the character as well as delve into the hitherto unexplored aspect of mystery and magic, no doubt inspired by the pagan festivities and his own innate knowledge.
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Carpenter’s treatment drew, not surprisingly, upon the legends of old, having grown up with the stories, he also took it upon himself to read through all the original writings and, of course, was already a huge fan of the 50’s TV show and subsequent filmic adaptations. During the early eighties the time seemed right for a further exploration of Robin’s adventures. Richard Carpenter was an extremely clever writer, able to skilfully blend mysticism and realism, be child friendly, but aimed at adults, his shows have always been seen as extraordinary, and, in the light of the producers, money makers. That is, of course, until Richard Carpenter got his hands on it. (I bet you know the theme song too, even though you may not have seen the show - go on, try not thinking about it!) Moving forward again and the immergence of television the legend was ripe for another spin, this time repackaged in a formulaic story that had global appeal it proved to be universally accepted and Richard Green’s Robin saw one hundred and fifty episodes and sealed the lid on anything new for some thirty years, as many felt that it was unable to top such an approach. With the advent of film it was inevitable that the legend of Robin would grace the screen, and whilst his first few appearances are nothing to write home about, arguably the most influential characterisation was the Errol Flynn’s 1938 vehicle The Adventures of Robin Hood which highlighted a swashbuckling side and coloured the legend for years to come. As reading and writing began to be more accessible and print was becoming available, Robin’s adventures began to form more of a structure within the written word – Shakespeare himself would even make reference to him in a number of his plays! As time progressed the Victorian word police (you know, those people that deemed which words became swearing) effectively neutered Robin’s adventures, he became a Saxon leader from Locksley leading the rebellion against the Norman oppressors and later writings wrote out much of the folklore that had hitherto sustained him, yet even this could not diminish his appeal, such was the allure of a rebel and his men against the state, fighting for the people. It is during such productions that it is thought the characters of Lady Marion and Friar Tuck made their first appearance and thus became integral parts of the story. His adventures continued to grow unabated during this time as plays and pageants developed in and around the pagan festivals. This is, perhaps, the most enduring of the stories behind his genesis. Things were to change in the latter half of the sixteenth century, however, when Robin was given an altogether more regal slant and he became the disinherited nobleman Robert Fitzooth, Earl of Huntington.
One thing remains true, though Robin was a man of the people, one of the masses, for them and with them – someone that they could aspire to, if only they had the courage. Bards, poets and singers spread the fables of Robin and his ‘Merry men’ throughout the country, popularising the “robbing the rich, to give to the poor” mythos that found such favour in the drinking houses of the poor, downtrodden serfs during the turmoil of the Crusades and Reformation, and perhaps inevitably the stories became ever more embellished to encompass the changes occurring to the country. Undoubtedly the story of Robin and his band of outlaws existed before the 1300’s, although it was only around this time that the first recorded references started to appear, however, it was to be a hundred years later when the rhyme Robyn Hode in Scherewode Stod (Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest) established his roots in Nottingham that the myth truly took hold.
To discover why, we must look back at how the legend developed and has been interpreted through time. Thus begins Clannad’s haunting score for what many people regard as the definitive version of an English legend that has existed for over seven hundred years.
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