The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood

Robin meets Little John by chance in the Prologue and gets into a fight with him, then befriends him. He becomes Robin’s right-hand man and best friend, participating in many of the adventures. He is the most prominent of the Merry Men and one of the most popular characters in the Robin Hood stories. Little John is seven feet tall—a head and a neck taller than Robin—stout and broad-shouldered, with “limbs as tough as the gnarled oak” (90). Like others of the Merry Men, he is a skilled cudgel fighter, swordsman and archer as well as a lively dancer; we see all of these skills in action when Little John goes to the Nottingham Fair in Part 2, Chapter 2.

Although a loyal friend to Robin, Little John tends to be lazy and avoids responsibility. Living with the Sheriff gives him a taste for the good life and adds pounds to his frame. When Robin sends him on an errand to get clothes from the tailor, he gets sidetracked at an inn. These qualities are presented as endearing foibles rather than serious faults. Little John is lovingly devoted to Robin Hood; after trying to rescue Robin from death in the Epilogue, he helps him shoot one last arrow and holds him in his arms as he dies. 

Although frequently mentioned, and one of the Merry Men most closely associated with Robin, Will Stutely lacks as strong a profile as some of the other characters. He is already part of the band when the main portion of the narrative begins. He describes himself as “sly Will Stutely” (44), and it is this quality that leads Robin to choose him to spy on the Sheriff’s men in Part 1, Chapter 3. The Merry Men then rescue Will from being hanged after his capture by the Sheriff, which testifies to their loyalty and appreciation of him. He is described as “comely” with a face “as brown as a berry from sun and wind” (90) and with a keen sense of hearing: “his ears were as sharp as those of a five-year-old fox” (130). It is he who, alone among his companions, hears the distant weeping of Allan a Dale just before they meet him and invite him to join the band. 

Will Scarlet also belongs the core group of Merry Men most closely associated with Robin Hood. His introduction in Part 3, Chapter 2 is one of the most humorous and ironic episodes of the book. Robin and his men see a dainty, fastidiously dressed young man (a “rose-leaf and whipped-cream gallant” (101)) walking along the road and target him for their tricks. The young man of effeminate appearance turns out to be stronger and tougher by far than Robin and soundly beats him in their fight. He is, moreover, on the run from the law for manslaughter. Robin realizes that the young man is his cousin, Will Gamwell, and as a fellow outlaw, he welcomes him into the band, renaming him Will Scarlet from the color of his costume. Will Scarlet’s importance to the band is shown by the fact that he accompanies Robin and Little John to visit the queen and participate in the royal tournament in Part 7, Chapter 1. Also on that journey is Allan a Dale. 

At first glance, Allan seems to share some traits with Will Scarlet. He is “young and boyish” (131) and of a sensitive, romantic, refined, and artistic nature. Significantly, it is Will Scarlet who steps forward and comforts the weeping and penniless Allan when the Merry Men first meet him. However, Allan’s sensitivity goes deeper than his looks. He becomes the Merry Men’s minstrel, singing songs to harp accompaniment that deeply touch his companions. He becomes—along with Little John, Will Scarlet, and Robin himself—a member of the quartet of Merry Men that work closely together in a number of adventures, including visiting the king and queen in Part 7. Allan is married to Ellen, whom he idolizes, and the adventures leading to their marriage form the plot of Part 4. The character of Allan adds the allure of music and poetry and of romantic love to the otherwise rough-and-tumble atmosphere the book. 

One of the most colorful and outsized characters in the book, Friar Tuck is introduced and plays a key role in the subplot about Allan a Dale’s marriage in Part 4. Pleased with his adventure, Tuck requests and is granted admittance as the Merry Men’s official “chaplain,” also providing plenty of comic scolding to his companions.

Tuck represents the importance of the church and clergy in Robin Hood’s society. Yet, he does not at all behave the way one expects a monk to behave; like the rest of the Merry Men, he is unconventional. Tuck is fat, jolly, outspoken, and without an obvious aura of piety. He eats and sings lustily, engages in horseplay, and keeps a pack of vicious dogs at the ready (155). He speaks up boldly to a higher clergyman, the Bishop of Hereford, calling him “thou fat man!” (181) and claiming that he “might have been a bishop mine own self, had I not been born under a hedge” (180). Friar Tuck is a character type that was satirized in the Middle Ages, the lusty and non-pious monk (such as the Friar in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales). His roguishness is lovable rather than reprehensible. Tuck fits right in with the Merry Men’s democratic, unpretentious spirit. 

The Sheriff of Nottingham is the main antagonist and the best-known character of the Robin Hood legends apart, from Robin himself. We first hear about the Sheriff in the Prologue, where he swears to bring Robin Hood to justice. Tellingly, he is ascribed two motives for this: because he wants the reward money, and because the forester Robin killed was a relative of his. Like many people of power in the book, the Sheriff is as much motivated by the desire for gain as by personal and human concerns.

The Sheriff is a bitter, humorless, resentful, and grudge-holding man. He is cruel and vindictive, as shown by his stated readiness to hang anyone who stands in his way (31). It is ironic that, although he oversees Nottingham, the town neighboring Sherwood Forest, the Sheriff is never able to capture Robin. The Sheriff has a special standing with the king, as shown by the fact that he sits next to him in banquets and parades and consults with him (302-303). The Sheriff’s high standing is wounded by his failure to take Robin. The public laugh and make a jest of his plots (31), and his repeated failure increases his embarrassment and frustration.

The Sheriff makes several attempts to capture Robin Hood: by sending a spy after him, by luring him to an archery contest, and finally, by sending the bloodthirsty and violent Guy of Gisbourne after him. All his attempts are unsuccessful, making the Sheriff something of a comic and ineffectual villain. Nevertheless, his machinations fuel much of the plot; we feel that he is often very close to his goal, but in the end, he proves no match for Robin’s wiles.

The Sheriff’s attitude toward Robin Hood is one of equal parts hatred and fear. We see this in Part 2 Chapter 1, when he follows Robin disguised as a butcher to Sherwood Forest. Although the Sheriff is feasted by the Merry Men, he is afraid that they will rob him afterward: “his heart sank within him” (64). In moments like these, Pyle gives shading and dimension to the Sheriff’s character.