The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle
**The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle** is a classic retelling of the legendary tale of Robin Hood, an outlaw who champions the oppressed in a corrupt medieval society. The narrative begins with Robin Hood, at just eighteen, becoming an outlaw after defending himself against a king's forester. He quickly gathers a diverse band of followers, known as his "merry men," who include dispossessed tradesmen and farmers. Throughout their adventures, they confront the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham and the avaricious Bishop of Hereford, often using cunning and disguise to outwit their adversaries.
The story follows themes of justice and morality, as Robin and his followers operate outside the law to uphold a higher sense of right, embodying virtues like generosity and compassion. Pyle’s illustrations enhance the narrative, establishing a standard for children's literature and earning the book enduring popularity. The work has influenced various adaptations in film and television and remains a favored read for young audiences, praised for its engaging storytelling and moral depth. As Robin Hood's tale unfolds, it reflects on the complexities of justice and societal values, leaving a lasting impact on readers across generations.
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The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle
First published: 1883; illustrated by the author
Type of work: Adventure tale
Themes: Friendship, nature, politics and law, and poverty
Time of work: The thirteenth century
Recommended Ages: 10-13
Locale: Nottingham and Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire, England
Principal Characters:
Robin Hood , the best of the merry men, and their shrewd, generous, and just leaderLittle John , Robin’s second-in-command and constant companion; a large, strong man particularly skillful with the quarterstaff and cudgelFriar Tuck , a pleasure-loving priest, inordinately fond of good food, plentiful drink, and merry companionshipSheriff of Nottingham , Robin’s perennial foe, a corrupt official of sour disposition and cowardly attributes
The Story
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood begins with the eighteen-year-old Robin’s killing, in self-defense, of one of the king’s foresters, thereby becoming an outlaw. Robin soon gathers around him a band of merry men, numbering as many as 140 and consisting of tradesmen, farmers, hunters, and yeomen who have been unjustly dispossessed of their lands or otherwise prevented from earning a livelihood. The early episodes in the book recount Robin’s induction of various members of the band, the most famous involving Robin’s being knocked into the stream from a narrow log bridge after challenging John Little to a quarterstaff fight. On being admitted to the band, this giant is rechristened Little John as an ironic commentary on his size.
Once the band is gathered, Robin and his men must counter the attempts of the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham to capture them. They go in disguise to Nottingham to win the sheriff’s archery match. Later, Robin, again in disguise, entices the sheriff into Sherwood, where he is made to pay dearly for the feast laid before him. Robin and his men also aid victims of the greed and injustice of the sheriff and the avaricious and worldly Bishop of Hereford. Robin frustrates the plans of the bishop by interceding for the minstrel, Allan a Dale, whose true love Ellen is to be married against her wishes to a wealthy old knight. Robin also helps to free Sir Richard of the Lea from an unjust debt owed to the greedy Prior of Emmet, who seeks to gain Sir Richard’s lands.
The fame of Robin Hood and his merry men, for their extralegal altruism and for their skill at archery, reaches even good Queen Eleanor, who invites Robin to shoot at the king’s match in London under her protection. The king’s wrath at Robin’s triumph ends in Robin’s near capture. Robin’s vulnerability increases in direct proportion to the rise of his power and influence in Nottinghamshire. The sanctuary of Sherwood Forest is invaded for the first time by the man-beast, Guy of Gisbourne, hired by the sheriff to assassinate Robin. Though Robin slays Guy, his stronghold in Sherwood is no longer impregnable and is soon breached again, this time by no other than King Richard of the Lion’s Heart, who enters Robin’s domain disguised as a friar. When the king reveals himself, Robin is brought into the king’s lawful service as the Earl of Huntingdon and leaves Sherwood for many years to fight with the king in his crusades.
In a poignant last section, Robin eventually returns to Sherwood, after the death of King Richard, to reestablish the band. King John will not tolerate this resurgence and sends an expedition to quell it. In the ensuing battle, the sheriff and many good men on both sides are slain. Despondent over this bloodshed, Robin contracts a fever and seeks a cure from his cousin, the Prioress of Kirklees. Instead of healing him, she opens a vein to bleed him to death, so as to win favor with the king. Before Robin dies in the arms of Little John, he forgives those who injured him and shoots his last shaft into the west. Where the shaft comes to rest in the forest, Robin Hood is buried, mourned by his merry men, who go forth to live lives in emulation of their virtuous and upright leader.
Context
Howard Pyle’s The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood is the first and most complete of the many versions for young readers of the adventures of Sherwood Forest’s famous yeoman-thief. Critical consensus focuses on Pyle’s rendition as the quintessential Robin Hood story and the best book available for young readers interested in this enduring cultural legend. The complex and ornate illustrations for the volume helped to establish Pyle’s reputation as the “Father of American Illustration,” and the general quality of production and overall design for the volume set a new standard for U.S. book manufacture, leading the British poet-publisher William Morris to express incredulity that such a beautifully made book could have come from the United States’ commercial presses. Pyle’s The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood was a personal favorite of U.S. presidents Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy and served as the basis for several films and an early television series. Enduringly popular, the book continues to claim enthusiastic readers.
Arguably the best of Pyle’s illustrated works for young readers, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood deftly conveys a sense of moral earnestness throughout. Pyle transforms the bloodthirsty and morally questionable Robin Hood of the medieval source-ballads into a fit model for youthful emulation. In the corrupt and inverted moral order that darkens Robin Hood’s society, Robin and his men have no other moral choice but to remove themselves from that society. As outlaws and thieves, they ironically become more lawful than the avaricious sheriff, who perverts the law he is meant to enforce, and more charitable than the grasping and mean-spirited churchmen, who nominally profess a religion based on love. Though fugitives from justice, Robin and his merry men uphold the spirit of the law and exemplify those virtues of generosity and compassion that Pyle believed constituted moral maturity.
This moral earnestness of Pyle’s The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, however, never overwhelms the good-humored and fast-paced narrative central in the work. Contemporary young readers sophisticated enough to meet the work’s stylistic and visual demands continue to find Pyle’s The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood exciting, joyous, memorable, and ultimately very moving.