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Robin Hood
The beginning and end of this story are set in the present time. A twelve-year-old boy lives in a cottage on the edge of Sherwood Forest with his grandmother. One night there is a dreadful storm and in the morning they see that many trees have been blown down. The boy insists in going to see if his particular tree - a great oak - is all right. He finds it has been blown down and in the crater he finds a skull, a metal arrowhead, a horn and a curved stick. Then he faints. We are then transported back to the 12th century where a young Robin is having a dream. He wakes up but cannot remember it.
He goes hunting with his father and they kill a deer, but are
then surprised by the Sheriff's men. Robin's father is captured
but Robin manages to escape. The Outlaws of the Forest find him.
They accept him as one of themselves and look after him. These
outlaws are the rejects of society who have been driven into the
Forest. They are albinos, hunchbacks, dwarfs, cripples, even some
lepers.
Robin stays with them and becomes their
leader. They are joined by others. Much the Miller's son teaches
them how to wrestle and in Little John they have a much needed
blacksmith. Soon they are welded into an effective fighting force
and we hear once again the story of Robin Hood.
But the reader can forget about the "Merry Men." This
is a much grimmer account showing the harsh reality of the oppression
of the peasants at the time.
After the death of Robin we are returned to the present day. The
boy buries the skull but takes home the arrowhead, the horn and
the curved stick. Then he keeps on having nightmares. He knows
what he must do. Return his treasures to the grave which he has
defiled. He does so and then he remembers his dream, every bit
of it.
There is also a hint that this boy is a direct descendant of Robin
Hood.
An original interpretation and retelling of the Robin Hood story.
12+
This book was first published in 1993.
Fifteen year old Mary's uncle and guardian is about to marry her
off to an elderly widower who has rotten black stumps of teeth
and who smells of sour ale and saddle grease. Instead of resigning
herself to her fate Mary runs away. Her old nurse Agnes follows
her and takes her to a place of safety - to the Forestwife who
lives in a clearing deep in the wilderness of Barnsdale Forest
which is beyond the reaches of the law. When they arrive they
find that the Forest wife has died. Agnes takes her woven girdle
and fastens it round her own waist and becomes the new Forest
wife. The Forestwife is universally believed to be a witch and
she is greatly feared but when people are ill or in trouble or
desperate for help then they force themselves to come to her.
Agnes dyes Mary's cloak green and gives her a new name for a new life. She is now Marian the green lady of the woods. Marian learns how to help Agnes - how to look after the hens and goats and how to gather the herbs and plants Agnes needs for her potions. Some of those who come for help stay with them in the clearing and form a small community. From time to time there are some special visitors - an outlaw Robert and some of his friends. Marian eventually finds out that Robert is Agnes' son. (Robert, of course, is better known as Robin Hood). In due course Marian becomes Forestwife in her turn. The Forestwife can never marry but each May Day she can dance with the Green Man.
At first sight The Forestwife might seem like a light hearted
retelling of the Robin Hood legends from a feminine viewpoint.
But there is much more to the book than this.
The position of women in history is a
very difficult topic to research for the very simple reason that
until recently history has been written almost exclusively from
the male point of view. We know the strict letter of the law which
gave women hardly any rights at all. But we still do not know
the whole story. In The Forestwife Theresa Tomlinson tries to
shed some light on the position of women at the time of Robin
Hood. True, their lot was hard, but they did not, as is often
supposed, meekly accept their situation. Many had their own way
of struggling against it.
In The Forestwife we hear of the terrors of the ducking stool,
and of the cruel, iron scold's bridle which could so damage a
woman's tongue that she might never speak clearly again; of a
girl made pregnant because a baillif said he would double her
father's rent if she would not lie with him; an old woman turned
out of her cottage because her son has died of a fever; and Phillipa
who was rescued prior to being branded and outlawed for daring
to protest to the lord of the manor.
Theresa Tomlinson writes with a light touch but this fact should
not disguise the fact that The Forestwife is original, well researched
and has a serious message for all of us - especially to-day when
there are many parts of the world in which women do not enjoy
the freedoms we do.
9+
This is a sequel to The Forestwife. Magdalen the motherless daughter of John (the Little John of the Robin Hood stories) is brought up by the Forestwife in the clearing in the forest. The story proper starts when Magdalen - or Magda - is fifteen.She is big and strong and she does all the heavy work around the clearing. She craves for excitement and for experience of the outside world. She is to get both.
Madga's father and Robert and his men are going to disguise themselves
and sneak into the stronghold of Nottingham Castle to try to help
the Lady Matilda and her daughter. Magda pleads and is allowed
to go with them. Robert is disguised as a potter and Magda is
his apprentice lad.
This is only the beginning. There are further adventures ahead
for Magda. In a thrilling climax she takes part in an attempt
to rescue the Lady Matilda and her daughter when they are being
held prisoner by the Sherrif's mercenaries. But by the end of
the book she accepts that her place is with Marian and that one
day she herself will wear the woven girdle of the Forestwife.
Child of the May further explores the theme of The Forestwife - the position of women in medieval England and how they coped. But whereas The Forestwife deals mainly with the plight of peasant women Child of the May shows that wealthy and upper class women had their own problems - very different but just as harrowing. Basically, rich women were considered as chattels, not as people. Lady Matilda is told that she must marry her daughter to the man King John chooses or pay a fine which she cannot afford. Later, as punishment for their defiance, Lady Matilda and her daughter are imprisoned and would have been starved to death if it had not been for the intervention of the Forestwife and her friends.
Child of the May may be fiction but it is based on careful research
and there are historical precedents for the treatment of Matilda
and her daughter.
Like The Forestwife, Child of the May helps to throw light on
the position of women in history - a subject which is only now
beginning to be researched. That Child of the May is also an entertaining
and exciting story is something of a bonus.
9 +
This is the third and last book in the Forestwife trilogy. Like the two earlier books, The Forestwife and Child of the May, The Path of the She Wolf contains a mixture of ideas from the earliest Robin Hood stories, life at he time of King John, and Theresa Tomlinson's own interest in women's history.
It is four years after the end of the last book, Child of the
May. Marian, the wise woman or forestwife, is still in the secret
clearing in the forest tending the sick and feeding the poor and
giving them shelter. From time to time she is still visited by
Robert, the Hooded Man who is still striving for justice for the
peasants.
King John is now on the throne and even the other barons are getting
tired of all his new fines and taxes. Eventually they join against
him. Robin and his archers join the army against the King leaving
Marian who is full of misgivings.
Then there is the news that the King
is asking for peace and agreeing to meet the rebels at Runnymede,
promising to give them their charter. (The charter which was later
known as Magna Carta). The barons and bishops swear fealty to
King John again and the rebel army has a feast.
Disillusionment soon follows. King John revokes the Charter saying
that he was forced into agreeing to it. He then decides to punish
all the rebels who had risen against him. He sends his "wolfpacks"
to ravage the lands of all the rebel barons. But while doing this
they do not harm only the barons. They harm the peasantry even
more. The wolfpacks destroy and burn all the crops. They burn
the peasants' hovels and kill the occupants. For the peasants
it is either the quick death - from the sword - or the slow death
- from starvation.
Robin, Little John and the rest try to stand against the forces of King John but eventually Robin is mortally wounded. The account of his death differs from the traditional one and, in this case, Marian dies with him.
But the book still ends on a note of hope. Before she is buried
Marian's girdle is taken from her body. The girdle has been pierced
by arrows and it falls apart. That tells those who are left what
they must do. Now there is not one forestwife but three. The three
strands of the forestwife's girdle are given to Brigit, the quiet
girl who is skilled with herbs, to Gerta, the old one who is so
good at giving comfort, and to Magda, the strong one. Robin's
hood is given to Magda's young husband, Tom.
So the work of the Forestwife and the Hooded Man will continue.
The poor will still have a protector and they will still be able
to go to the clearing for healing, succour and shelter.
The Path of the She Wolf gives a vivid picture of England at the
time of King John. The reader is shown the true horror of the
forest laws. If a man could not pay the fine for poaching he could
have his fingers cut off or even be blinded in one eye. (A note
at the back says that this law was not revoked until 1225).
In this book, as throughout history, when the men are at war, the women who are left at home have to cope as best as they can. While Robin is with the rebel army in the south, three young boys are about to be hanged by the Sheriff of Nottingham. It falls to Marian, and the rest of the women to rescue them.
There is a useful historical note at the back.
The Path of the She Wolf is a tribute to the courage and resilience
of the weak and the poor of England in the face of the unmitigated
cruelty of the rich and powerful.
10+
This book was first published in 1965. It is not primarily about Robin Hood, but Robin has an important part to play so I have repeated it here as well as including it in the general Middle Ages section.
Benedict and Elvira are the children of a physician in Lymford,
near York. They live in a large, comfortable house in the Jewry
- as the Jewish section of the town is known. One June day they
are allowed to take a picnic and go and gather wild strawberries
in the woods outside the town. They come back to find the houses
of the Jewry on fire and the whole Jewish population of Lymford
collected together in the town square while a drunken, crazed
mob rushes forward with axes and clubs.
Benedict and Elvira escape the massacre. They find shelter for
the night in the cellar of one of the saner inhabitants of Lymford.
Next morning they set out to walk to Oxford - where they have
an aunt and uncle.
They have a long and dangerous journey ahead of them but they
find protection and help for a time with Robin Hood. It is while
they are with him in Sherwood Forest that they become involved
in something which is to affect deeply the history of England.
This book throws light on a subject over which English history prefers to cast a veil - the persecution of Jews throughout the centuries.
Nevertheless one main theme of the book is conciliation. All their
lives Benedict and Elvira will remember the cruel, frenzied faces
of the Lymford mob, but on their travels they also meet good,
kind Christians like Robin Hood, Friar Tuck and Sir Edward.
This book could be useful for the National Curriculum sections
on Prejudice and Other Cultures. It would also fit into a project
on Robin Hood.
A well told, exciting story which is also very thought provoking.
8 - 12
An introduction to this book explains that it is the lost diary of Leonard du Somoney, Robin Hood's financial adviser in Sherbrooke Forest (presumably his branch manager). I think the "branch manager" sets the tone for the whole book. It is a humorous account of the life of Robin Hood, interspersed with several deliberate anachronisms.
Not an approach which will appeal to traditionalists. Nevertheless
I feel that this particular book works very well. It is full of
the kind of jokes which children often love. It should catch their
interest and they should also learn a great deal from it - both
from the text and from the black and white cartoon style illustrations
on nearly every page.
Moreover, often something, which may appear at first sight to
be a joke, actually has substance behind it. For example, I checked
and looked up "Nottingham" in the "Bloomsbury Dictionary
of Place Names." It means "the homestead of Snot's people"
and in the Domesday Book it is written as "Snotingeham."
But the Normans later dropped the "s" at the front.
So the information on page 23 is fact and not a joke.
In a slightly less witty manner the following are carefully explained:- the feudal system, the Plantagenets, the meaning of outlawry, the royal forests and the severe punishments for poaching. In addition we are shown Robin and his Men making their arrows, taking part in the May Day celebrations, attending the York Mystery Plays and skating on bone skates in the winter. All the familiar characters are here - Will Scarlett, Little John, Friar Tuck and all the rest. And Alan A'Dale is kept busy recording all Robin's feats in verse.
There is much more. By a clever device the reader is also kept
informed about what is happening abroad. Robin's cousin Basil
Count de Money goes on Crusade with Richard and he sends Robin
frequent accounts by "Micro Hard Chain Mail Message."
These messages are sent to len.du somoney@sherwood.com" (Get
it? Lend us some money.)
We are told of Richard's marriage to Berengaria, Richard's quarrel
with Leopold, the siege of Acre and the following massacre, the
final truce, the journey home and the kidnapping of Richard. In
this way the Third Crusade is comprehensively covered.
The book continues to cover the deaths of both Richard and Robin.
If used carefully this book could well accompany a project on
the Middle Ages. Children will certainly enjoy it but to get the
best out of it they may need a teacher to explain the truth behind
the jokes so that they can tell fact from fiction, or the wood
from the trees. (Sorry, but I am afraid the style of "The
Lost Diaries" is getting to me).
There is a serious note at the end where the anachronisms are
exposed and the diary is denounced as a forgery. Questions are
posed as to whether Robin Hood really existed. The book ends on
a thoughtful note.
"All we can be sure of is that Robin Hood stands for freedom.Perhaps
that is the only existence he has ever had. Perhaps that is enough."
Humorous, entertaining, enjoyable and unusual but, at the same
time, informative and instructive. A good supplement to school
projects on the Robin Hood and the Middle Ages.
9+
This is the ninth in the series about the boys football team, the Tanfield Rangers, some of whom also travel back in time as well as playing football. This is really Worm's story. (Worm - short for Bookworm - is the nickname of Michael Winter the one team member who is more interested in history than in football).
The Rangers are on a half term tour. As well as playing football
they also go round the visitors' centre at Sherwood Forest. Jacko,
the team captain, says that this time there is no danger of them
meeting Robin Hood, because, of course, Robin never really existed.
Worm at once questions this statement.
After their match the Rangers eat the remains of their packed
lunches and then wander into the forest - and find themselves
back in the time of Robin Hood. This time the time gate is a hollow
tree. The Rangers teach Robin and his band how to play football
and then a messenger comes to tell Robin that Much the Miller's
Son has been captured by the Sheriff of Nottingham. At once football
is forgotten as Robin prepares to mount a rescue attempt - and
the Rangers go along too. They cross the Forest and sneak into
Nottingham by means of the underground tunnels. During the rescue
Worm saves Robin's life and once they are back in Robin's hideout
the minstrel Allan A'Dale makes up a song in Worm's honour. It
is called "Worm o' the Ball"
"So nearly did our Robin fall
Saved was he from a deadly sword by
The broken staff of Worm o' the Ball"
Safely back in their own time one of the team managers, Mr Stoppard,
passes Worm a leaflet which he had not been able to resist in
the Visitors Centre. The title is "The Ballad of Robin Hood
and Worm o' the Ball." Worm now has his own little niche
in history.
This little book also contains an incredible description of a
football match. I have absolutely no interest in football but
I found this particular match fascinating. The Rangers are playing
the Outlaws. When the Outlaws score a goal they have their own,
special victory ritual. They kneel down and pretend to shoot arrows
into the air. Later the Rangers goalkeeper, Dazza, becomes bored
and deserts his post and moves up to join the attack leaving Worm
the sole Rangers defender.
This is my own, personal favourite of the Time Rangers series
so far.
An easy read for the 9+ age range.
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