Robin Hood

[melodysparks]

As an indiginous resident of Nottingham it would seem remiss of me not to be a fan of our local legend the famous and infamous Robin Hood who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. Fighting against the Sheriff of Nottingham (The Sheriff is and has always been a real person. Historically the office responsible for enforcing law and order in Nottingham and bringing criminals to justice but today his/her role is a nominated council member is a ceremonial position with no real jurisdiction just that of a figurehead) and his henchman Guy of Gisbourne and the evil Prince John. Saving Nottingham and Sherwood for the return of his king from the crusades Richard Lionheart. With his merry men, WIll Scarlet, Friar Tuck, Little John, Much the Millers son, Alan a Dale and his sweetheart the lovely Lady Marian and running around in Lincoln Green clothes (Lincoln Green is actually a type of cloth not a colour).

What more can I say, our legend has been portrayed in many incantations in the media including a fox in the Disney animated version, the legendary actor Errol Flynn in all his swashbuckling glory, with an American accent portrayed by Kevin Costner in Prince of Thieves complete with baring his backside in a waterfall. (One has to wonder where the waterfall supposed to be). On TV with the gorgeous Michael Praed followed in the same role by Jason Connery in Robin of Sherwood, the delicious Robin Dunne in Beyond Sherwood Forest TV movie, and finally with the most recent being Russell Crowe and suggested to have come from Barnsdale and its woods in Yorkshire rather than Nottinghamshire although Sherwood Forest stretched up through Nottinghamshire and into South Yorkshire.

Regardless of the different adaptations he is a legend locally so surely somewhere there must be some fact to the story despite little evidence? But I digress. To me and to the city of Nottingham he is our icon our legend. We are Robin Hood. (You would probably get that reference if you had seen the BBC TV adaptation with Jonas Armstrong a few years ago.

Off on a tangent again, how come in every adaptation the production people never ever get Nottingham Castle right? Its sits on a 130 foot high sandstone bluff for goodness sake with high Norman walls in some spots as high as 30 metres so there is no way Robin could stand on the sholders of Little John and climb over the walls!! And a flat expanse of marsh and meadow land between it and the River Trent. Oh yes and the River Trent is about 100 metres wide at Nottingham not a stream or a trickle or around 10 metres wide. Come on people when you make the next Robin Hood adaptation please, please please get the geography and archetecture right?!!

Anyway, this post was about Robin Hood and as usual my photographs. So please sit back and enjoy my images of Nottingham's Robin Hood legend.

Bow & Arrow


Miniature Robin Hood Statue in Nottingham's Council House


Archer


Friar Tuck


Little John, Tuck and Much


Will Scarlet and Alan a Dale


Robin Hood Statue at Nottingham Castle


Tourist Attraction


Dalek Invasion of Nottingham (Sorry Robin but a bow and arrow wont stand up to these guys)




The bronze statue and those of his Merry Men, together with four bronze plaques depicting incidents in the life of Robin Hood, were given to the City by Nottingham businessman Philip Clay and unveiled on July 24, 1952 by the Duchess of Portland of Welbeck Abbey

Comments

Robin Hood

[tamnat.livejournal.com]

A land of heroic battles, of legends, a land of such nice people like you enchants me. Wonderful statues, greatly taken shots! Thank you.

Re: Robin Hood

[melodysparks.livejournal.com]

OH yes we are steeped with history. Just wait until I write up the one about Nottingham Castle that will be an epic beacuse of the amount of history involved including the start of a Civil War and a seige

Re: Robin Hood

[tamnat.livejournal.com]

Thank you. So much to look forward to! :)

Re: Robin Hood

[melodysparks.livejournal.com]

Youre welcome

[tarlanx]

I've never been to Nottingham. I shall have to put it on the list, especially the castle. I love castles! The only one in my area is little more than a pile of stones!

[melodysparks.livejournal.com]

I adore castles and history and l have been to a few the same with stately homes, halls, palaces and generally any historical building. The most ruinous castle lve been to it Tutbury and the most unusual is Oakham which is just the great hall filled with ceremonial horseshoes. I couldnt even find the one at Leicester but that is rumoured to be just an archway.

Nottingham Castle today is more a Georgian Palace than the old Norman castle it was but there are foundations still there under the green and in the sandstone bluff below are the cellars.

[tarlanx]

I've been to a number of castles in South/Mid Wales and the South West. That pile of stones near me is Hadleigh Castle...which will probably been seen during the Olympics as the 'mountain biking' is taking place there :)

http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/hadleigh-castle/

I've spent so many good times there... as child, then as an adult on picnics with my kids when they were pre-school :)

[melodysparks.livejournal.com]

Wow that still looks pretty amazing and I notice that it was a royal castle and had a significant connection with Edward III and King John just like Nottingham castle did and both were left to ruin. I would still love to wander around there.

Thank you for mentioning it.

I will be doing a future post about Nottingham Castle in depth although you can see a few pictues of the castle we have now here (http://melodysparks.livejournal.com/2120.html)

[aadarshinah.livejournal.com]

ah, IDK. If Robin's arrows in the last pic have explosives or something on the end, it *might* do something to the Daleks. Scratch the paint maybe. But still. *grin*

[melodysparks.livejournal.com]

I'm sure he would find a way to attle against them :-)