The Adventures of Robin Hood [Anglais] [Relié]

Who hasn't heard of Robin Hood and his merry band of outlaws in Sherwood Forest? In this book you meet them all - including the powerful Little John, courageous Will Scarlet, musical Allan a Dale, and sly Friar Tuck. Roger Lancelyn Green has researched the legends and ballads about Robin Hood, and this collection of Robin Hood tales rivals the authoritative collection by Howard Pyle which has been unequalled for more than 100 years. But Green corrects one notable omission in Pyle: the absence of Maid Marion. In addition to the ample adventures revolving around Maid Marion, all the old favorites are included - Little John and his quarter-staff toppling Robin into the water, Robin winning the golden arrow at Nottingham's archery contest, and the Sheriff being outsmarted in numerous attempts to capture Robin. But these are just the tip of the iceberg - this book is chock-full of entertaining merry adventures.

The medieval setting is portrayed beautifully, including the vast gulf between the upper and lower classes of society, the corruption and greed of the nobility, and the hypocrisy of the medieval Roman Catholic church where religion has degenerated to mere outward rituals. But the medieval setting is not presented without a social commentary - Green shows that the unbalanced social structure inevitably resulted in the oppression of the poor and weak. Robin Hood and his band are clearly Catholics, and they are motivated by a genuine love for God and for the King. It is left to Robin Hood and his men to take justice into their own hands, and fight nobly for the cause of the downtrodden. Such justice is accomplished in a questionable manner, because the notion of robbing the rich to help the poor implicitly endorses civil disobedience. But Green points out that Robin Hood is motivated by justice and not revenge, and acts only because the lawful authority of King Richard has been replaced by an unlawful usurper. The theme of seeking justice and maintaining truth and right is in itself a noble one. With Robin Hood, we find ourselves wanting justice, and being prepared to make unselfish sacrifices in order to achieve it. When justice is done, it is actually the greed and corruption of the nobility that has led to its own destruction and ruin.

But the real attractions of this gem are the enthralling exploits of Robin Hood and his band of merry men. Comparisons with the classic Howard Pyle collection are inevitable. Green's collection of tales is equally well researched and equally comprehensive. Although the absence of Pyle's antiquated language is an improvement, Green's collection is still in the end inferior to Pyle's. Pyle's Sherwood Forest is a rather glamorous utopian world where feasting and song abound, where it is never winter, and where the ale rarely runs dry. Robin Hood clearly represents a form of hedonism, and in his company there is never a lack of action, adventure, or for that matter - ale. Green's Sherwood Forest is ironically less "green" than Pyle's, and lacks the hedonistic feasting and song, and lacks the sense of atmosphere that Pyle so skilfully evoked. Green's action and atmosphere fails to match the excitement and merriment that Robin Hood deserves, and he seems to have taken the "merry" out of Robin Hood and his band of outlaws. In this case the grass really was "Greener" on the Pyle side of the fence.

But that is not to detract from Green's superb effort. If you can't get Howard Pyle's "The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood" or can't endure his antiquated language, then don't look further than this collection by Green. There is no end to the accomplishments of muscles and mind, as Robin and his merry band outwit all comers by sheer physical skill in archery, wrestling, swordmanship, and quarter-staff combat, or by outsmarting them with deceit and disguise. To our delight, Robin's brawn and brains always come out on top at the end. Along with the tales of King Arthur, the tales of Robin Hood are the most exciting tales that British history has produced. Green's collection of Robin Hood's merry adventures is still constantly entertaining and exciting - one that you'll want to own and read over and over!

Roger Lancelyn Green is nowhere near as famous as the likes of J.R.R. Tolkien or C.S. Lewis, but during his lifetime he was counted among them as part of the Inklings Club, a group of writers at Oxford University who read and critiqued each other's work. From this club came The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia, but also Green's own work: retellings of Norse, Egyptian and Green myths, the legends of King Arthur, and this: a collection of folktales surrounding the renowned figure of Robin Hood.

As with King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, Green's claim to fame is being the first writer to not only collect the disparate stories and ballads of Robin Hood and organize them in a singular narrative, but to write them in such a way that they are accessible to children. Beginning with the courtship of Robin's parents, and ending with his death at the hands of a treacherous prioress, the story covers almost every possible aspect of the Robin Hood mythos: the adventure, the romance, the tragedy and the character's enduring legacy. Every Robin Hood adaptation that followed, whether book or film, probably owes a little to Green's compilation.

Unlike his quest to unite the King Arthur mythos into a structured novel (which was a near-impossible venture given the sheer amount of material), Green has an easier time in collecting sources for Robin Hood. The narrative is made up of stories derived from folk-plays, romances and poems (from ballads to doggerels) which were printed in their entirety at the end of the eighteenth century by Joseph Ritson, and later literary appearances from the likes of Alfred Tennyson, Walter Scott and Thomas Peacock. In his introduction Green explains how he pieced together characters, storylines and dialogue from these various sources into a coherent whole, giving the book the impression of a patchwork scarf that has been carefully stitched together.

For the most part, Green is successful in his endeavor. All of Robin's most famous adventures are here: the archery tournament, the bridge fight with Little John, the wedding of Allin-a-Dale, the dunking of Friar Tuck, and the last arrow, as well as more nebulous events, such as stealing from the rich to give to the poor, rescuing innocent people from hanging, the dangers of poaching, the existence of a traitor amongst the outlaws, and the return of King Richard in disguise. All of these adventures turn up in Robin Hood stories in one form or another, the only thing that changes are the details. And of course, ever present is Robin's immortal romance with Maid Marian, who in this retelling (first published in 1956) has more spunk, courage, and fighting prowess than oh-so-many of her later incarnations.

There are also a couple of tales that were completely unfamiliar to me, such as the Witch of Paplewick and the story of Robin's parents' courtship and his birth in Sherwood Forest. Other aspects of the legends are given a bit of a twist, such as Robert of Huntington taking the name "Robin Hood" as an alias long before he becomes an outlaw, Robin and Marian's (early) wedding being interrupted, and Will Scarlet being portrayed as significantly older as he usually is in later adaptations. On the negative end of the scale, Robin's adventures in Scarborough seem shoehorned in at the last moment, and Green's clumsy insertion of Walter Scott's Ivanhoe was probably a mistake (he's little more than a pointless, and thus confusing, cameo).

Though there is no real chronological order to these tales, instead making up a series of episodes in Robin's life, we also get some background development in the burgeoning romance between Robin and Marian, and in the court intrigue concerning King Richard's crusade and subsequent kidnapping in Austria.

Whereas Green's retelling of the King Arthur legends is structured around the theme of good versus evil, with plenty of Christian motifs and symbolism, the Robin Hood tales are more humanist in nature, in which evil is not some supernatural force, but corrupt governmental officials. Robin doesn't fight black magic or dragons, but the mundane evils of greed and injustice, and does so by putting his personal convictions above that which the law orders him to do. In hindsight, it does seem rather strange that Western culture has turned a thief into a hero, but for many young readers, Robin Hood is their first look into a world made up of shades of grey, in which a person's understanding of right and wrong can transcend the rules that govern society. Whether you enjoy Robin's anarchic spirit of "sticking it to the man," or find a deeper resonance in the way he defies the law in order to follow his own principles, there's a reason that he's lasted as long as he has as a folk-hero.

The latest Puffin publication is stuffed full of extras, including an introduction by John Boyne, a short biography on Roger Lancelyn Green, character profiles, suggestions on further activities, and a glossary on the medieval terminology used throughout the text. As a final touch, each chapter is fronted by a quote from one of Green's sources, which gives the book as a whole a richer tone. As anthologies of Robin Hood's adventures go, Green's is definitely one of the most definitive versions (if not *the* definitive version).

The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green is a brilliant retelling of the Robin Hood tales. All of the stories are here. Robin's fight with Little John is related, as is the archery contest, Robin's love affair with Marion, and the wedding of Allan-a-Dale. All of the characters like Friar Tuck, Will Scarlet, Little John, Maid Marion, and (guess what!) Robin Hood make their appearances. Overall, the tales are well told, and the book is very complete. My favorite portion of this edition is the prologue in which the author writes from where the stories are derived. There, I was turned to Thomas Love Peacock's brilliant, if forgotten, tales of Robin Hood entitled Maid Marian. This edition will help to keep the adventures of Robin Hood in the minds of children for another generation.