Little John
Little John is a likely fictional character in the legend of Robin Hood . He is said to have occupied the second highest rank after Robin Hood himself in the gang.
Early notes in chronicles
Even in the earliest chronicles that mention Robin Hood, Little John appears as his companion - the only one of the gang members mentioned in later ballads . These earliest mentions can be found in the historical work dealing with Scotland by Andrew Wyntoun (written in 1420; entry on Robin Hood and Little John for the year 1283) and in the Scotichronicon by Walter Bower , written in the 1440s , who wrote the note on the outlaws as one of his extensions to the Chronica gentis Scotorum by John Fordun in 1266. Therefore, Little John is likely to have been associated with the Robin Hood legend from the start. John Major mentioned the two outlaws in his Historia majoris Britanniae , written in 1521, under the years 1193–1194, when the English King Richard the Lionheart was in German captivity (Trifels Fortress).
Legend
In the earliest ballads, Little John appears as a shrewd and independent man in a leading position in Robin's gang. How he joined Robin's Merry Men will not be detailed until later versions of the legend. According to a 17th century ballad, he is a huge man and his real name is believed to have been John Little. Robin Hood meets him for the first time when the giant tries to prevent him from crossing a small bridge. The two men fight with batons; Robin loses and falls into the river. Impressed by the giant's abilities, Robin offers him to join his gang and fight by his side. He agrees and is renamed Little John because he is so "small".
In the most famous ballad collection A Gest of Robyn Hode , Little John catches the troubled knight Richard of the Lee and leads him as a "guest" to Robin Hood. When it turns out that the knight has been innocently thrown into poverty by the corrupt sheriff and an abbot, Robin lends him the outstanding sum of money and gives him Little John as squire and protector.
In Robin Hood and the Monk (around 1450), one of the earliest ballads , the gang leader insults his friend Little John, who then leaves him. But when Robin Hood is insidiously taken into custody, Little John, together with the miller's son Much , kills the traitorous monk who is supposed to inform the king of Robin's capture. Then both pretend to be messengers, deceive the sheriff cunningly and can finally free Robin. Still, Little John refuses Robin's offer of thanks to become the gang leader himself.
Under the false name Reynold Greenleaf , Little John enters the service of the gang's greatest enemy, the Sheriff of Nottingham in one episode . But since this Reynold appears as an independent person in another part of the Gest and his name apparently generally referred to an outlaw according to court documents of the 15th century, he may originally have been another member of the gang and was only merged with Little John by the author of the Gest .
In the ballad Robin Hood's Death , Little John appears as the only gang member present at the impending death of Robin Hood. The dying hero forbids him to take revenge on his murderess, a prioress , because she is a woman.
Little John was also a figure in the Robin Hood Games held in Scotland from the 15th to the 17th centuries .
Alleged grave
Little John is said to be buried in the town of Hathersage near Sheffield . It is also claimed that he was born there too. A modern tombstone is said to indicate the place of his final resting place. This grave belongs to the Nailor (or Naylor) family, which is why their name is sometimes referred to as John's family name.
Film adaptations
The American actor Alan Hale embodied the figure of Little John three times in film adaptations: in 1922 he played this role alongside Douglas Fairbanks who played Robin Hood in Robin Hood , in 1938 in the film Robin Hood, King of the Vagabonds with Errol Flynn in the Leading role and finally in 1950 in the film Robin Hood's Retribution , in which John Derek played the gang leader.
Furthermore, the role of Little John u. a. Archie Duncan in a 1950s television series, Clive Mantle in an 1980s television series and Nick Brimble in the 1991 film Robin Hood with Kevin Costner as Robert of Locksley . Finally, in 2006 , Gordon Kennedy played the character of Little John in a version released by the BBC. He was portrayed by Kevin Durand in the 2010 film adaptation of Ridley Scott .
literature
- James Clarke Holt : Hood, Robin. In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 27. 2004, pp. 926-929.
swell
- ↑ Little John of Hathersage ( Memento of the original from December 9, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
