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Little John is a presumably fictional character in the legend of Robin Hood. Usually, John is depicted as Robin's chief lieutenant and second-in-command of the Merry Men. Robin Hood is the archetypal English folk hero, an outlaw who, in modern versions of the legend, stole from the rich to give to the poor. ...
He appears in the earliest recorded Robin Hood ballads and stories. In the early tales, Little John is shown to be intelligent and highly capable. He is also known to have disagreements with Robin Hood. In the 15th century ballad most commonly called "Robin Hood and the Monk", after being ill-treated by Robin, Little John leaves in anger. When Robin Hood is captured, it is Little John who plans his leader's rescue. In thanks, Robin offers Little John leadership of the band, but John refuses. Later depictions of Little John portray him as somewhat less cunning than his medieval incarnation.
The earliest ballads do not feature an origin story for this character, but one was soon to follow. According to a 17th century ballad, he was a giant of a man (at least seven foot) who was named John Little. Robin Hood first encountered him when he tried to prevent Robin from crossing a narrow bridge. The two men then fought with quarterstaffs, and Robin was knocked into the river. Despite having won the duel, John agreed to join his band and fight alongside him. He was baptised by the Merry Men and then called Little John, as he most certainly wasn't Little. In some modern film versions, Little John loses the duel to Robin. This scene is almost always re-enacted in movie and television versions of the story. Quarterstaffs in use, from Old English Sports, Pastimes and Customs, published 1891 A quarterstaff is a Medieval English variant of the staff weapon, consisting simply of a long shaft of hardwood, usually oak, hawthorn, hazel or ash. ...
Films are produced by recording actual people and objects with cameras, or by creating them using animation techniques and/or special effects. ...
Starting from the ballad tradition, Little John is commonly shown to be the only Merry Man present at Robin Hood's death.
Despite a lack of historical evidence for his existence, Little John is reputed to be buried in a churchyard in the village of Hathersage, Derbyshire. A modern tombstone marks the supposed location of his grave, which lies under an old yew tree. This grave was owned by the Nailor/Naylor family, and sometimes some variation of "Nailer" is given as being John's surname. Hathersage is a village in the Derbyshire Peak District, in England. ...
Little John was also a figure in the Robin Hood plays or games during the 15th to 17th centuries, particularly those held in Scotland.
There are many historical figures named Little John and John Little, but it is debatable which -- if any -- are the inspiration for the legendary character.
Alan Hale, Sr. played the role of Little John in three movies. He first played Little John as a young squire in 1922's Robin Hood starring Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. He reprised the role opposite Errol Flynn's Robin in 1938's The Adventures of Robin Hood. And finally, he played an older Little John opposite John Derek, as Robin's son, in "Rogues of Sherwood Forest" from 1951. Alan Hale Sr. ...
Robin Hood is a silent movie released in 1922 by United Artists starring Douglas Fairbanks. ...
Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. ...
Errol Flynn as Robin Hood. ...
Other notable film and TV Little Johns include Archie Duncan in the 1950s TV series, Nicol Williamson in "Robin and Marian", Clive Mantle in the 1980s TV series Robin of Sherwood and Nick Brimble in 1991's Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Hamilton, Scotland-born actor (on September 14, 1938), Nicol Williamson was described by British playwright John Osborne as the greatest actor since Marlon Brando. Nicol was born to a struggling working-class Scottish family, but managed to attend the Birmingham School of Speech & Drama. ...
Clive Mantle (born in Barnet, London) was a chorister in St. ...
Robin of Sherwood, retitled Robin Hood in the US, was an acclaimed 1980s British television series, based on the legend of Robin Hood. ...
Little John In Dublin? In the twelfth century, Little John made a brief appearance. It is widely known that he fired an arrow from a bridge on the River Liffey as far as Arbour Hill, a distance of 700 yards. However, his visit, unlike his famous shot, was rather short! He was to be hanged for robbery close to where his arrow had landed in Arbour Hill and many miles from the forest of Sherwood!
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