Sheriff of Nottingham

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the fictional character. For other uses, see Sheriff of Nottingham (disambiguation).

Illustration by Louis Rhead, 1912

The Sheriff of Nottingham is the main antagonist in the legend of Robin Hood. He is generally depicted as an unjust tyrant who mistreats the local people of Nottinghamshire, subjecting them to unaffordable taxes. Robin Hood fights against him, stealing from the rich, and the Sheriff, in order to give to the poor; it is this characteristic for which Robin Hood is best known. The Sheriff is considered the archenemy of Robin Hood, as he is the most recurring enemy of the well-known outlaw.

It is not known whom this character is based on. The legend of Robin Hood (which is at least as old as the 14th century), traditionally referred to the Sheriff of Nottingham only by his title. The post of

Royal Forests (which included Sherwood Forest
).

Character

It is the task of the holder of the office of

Guy of Gisborne or John, King of England
(though rarely both).

The legends are generally set far from Nottingham; this fits the historical position of

High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and the Royal Forests (from 1068 until 1568). In the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
, the Sheriff's influence outside the region of Nottingham has grown so great, he attempts to take control of the throne.

In some versions, the Sheriff is a cowardly schemer while his assistant, Sir Guy of Gisborne, is a more competent and determined physical threat to Robin. In other versions, the Sheriff answers to Prince John.

Possible historical basis

If one treats the legend as having had its origins in real events (despite the fact that the earliest known version of the legend appears 200 years later), the character could have been based upon one of (or a composite of multiple of) the real life people who occupied the post of High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and the Royal Forests at the relevant time. If, as in many versions of the Robin Hood legend, the action of the story is placed during the absence of King Richard I of England in 1190–1193 during the Third Crusade and his subsequent holding to ransom in Austria, the character could be identified with the little-known William de Wendenal, who was High Sheriff from 1191 to 1194. In some versions, the Sheriff is identified with Philip Marc, who held the office of High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and the Royal Forests from 1209 to 1221, during the later years of the reign of John, King of England (who ruled from 1199 to 1216).[1] However, the Sheriff usually remains either anonymous or pseudonymous, and the earliest version of the legend takes place during the time of "Edward our comely king".

Portrayals

On stage

  • He was portrayed on Broadway in 1891 in The Sheriff of Nottingham by H. C. Barnabee.[2]

In film and television

Alan Wheatley as the Sheriff of Nottingham in the 1950s television series, The Adventures of Robin Hood
  • In the 1938 film The Adventures of Robin Hood, starring Errol Flynn in the title role, the Sheriff is portrayed by Melville Cooper. He is nominally characterised as a coward and a secondary to Sir Guy of Gisbourne but is actually quite intelligent. For instance, he is the one who prudently advises Sir Guy to increase their caravan's security to ward off a possible ambush by Robin Hood, which Sir Guy disregards to his sorrow, and he is the mastermind of the archery tournament trap that captures Robin Hood. When King Richard reclaims the throne, the Sheriff of Nottingham is among the followers of Prince John that are exiled from England.
  • In the 1950s ITV series The Adventures of Robin Hood, he is portrayed by Alan Wheatley who portrays him as a competent and ruthless enemy who is not quite Robin's equal in combat. Wheatley was replaced late in the series with John Arnatt as the deputy Sheriff, a more treacherous, duplicitous villain who was more on par with Robin's fighting skills.
  • In The Goon Show episode Ye Bandit of Sherwood Forest first broadcast on 28 December 1954, the Sheriff of Nottingham is portrayed by Peter Sellers as Hercules Grytpype-Thynne. When the script was rewritten as Robin Hood and his Merry Men, recorded on 2 December 1956, the part was played by Valentine Dyall.
  • In the 1960s Canadian sci-fi series Rocket Robin Hood, set in the year 3000, the Sheriff of N.O.T.T. (the National Outer space Terrestrial Territories) is a secondary antagonist, serving Prince John and constantly outwitted by Rocket Robin Hood. In the episode "The Sad, Sad Sheriff of NOTT", Prince John orders the Sheriff's execution for his constant failure to capture Rocket Robin Hood. When Robin learns of this, weary of the idea of a new Sheriff, he and his men capture the Sheriff, as well as a cache of the Prince's jewels. They then allow the Sheriff to escape with the jewels, which redeems the Sheriff (who was unaware that Robin and his men let him escape) to the Prince. The Sheriff was voiced by Gillie Fenwick.
  • In the Disney version of Robin Hood, the Sheriff is a large anthropomorphic wolf voiced by Alabama-born comedian Pat Buttram. Although still playing a prominent role, he nevertheless is reduced to the film’s secondary antagonist and serves as chief enforcer to the primary antagonist Prince John, collecting unlimited taxes and hunting Robin Hood and Little John. This version is depicted as being far less smart than he realises, claiming he can see through Robin Hood's disguises when he fails to see through two of them. He briefly battles Robin inside Prince John's burning tower in the film's climax. Eventually King Richard sentences him to breaking rocks down in the Royal Rock Pile, along with Prince John and Sir Hiss. During story development, the animators considered experimenting with a different animal concept for the villain by making him a goat. However, they were over-ruled by the director who wanted to keep to traditional animal stereotypes and ordered the Sheriff be a wolf.[3]
The Sheriff of Nottingham (voiced by Pat Buttram) in the 1973 Disney animated film, Robin Hood

In literature

  • The Sheriff of Nottingham appears as an antagonist in a series of Young adult fantasy books The Sisters Grimm, where he is depicted as a law enforcer in Ferryport Landing, still harbouring a deep hatred for Robin Hood, his sworn enemy.

In other media

  • The Sheriff is portrayed as the main antagonist in the board game Sheriff of Nottingham by Arcane Wonders where players take turns in his role while the other players try to smuggle goods past his notice.

References

  1. ^ Search for a real Robin Hood, Boldoutlaw.com. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  2. ^ Pictorial History of the American Theatre:1860-1985 p.40 c.1985(this version updated to 1985) by Daniel Blum;Crown Publishers
  3. ^ Thomas, Frank, Johnston, Ollie (1986). The illusion of life: Disney animation. Disney Book Group. p. 344.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ "Robin and Marian" review by Roger Ebert Archived 24 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine Chicago Sun-Times 21 April 1976 Retrieved 19 March 2019
  5. ISBN 978-0-14-031690-2
    .
  6. ^ The Screening Room's Top 10 British Villains Archived 24 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine, CNN. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  7. ^ McFerran, Ann (9 August 1991). "Alan Rickman: Villain". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  8. The Los Angeles Times
    . Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  9. ^ "Ethan Reiff -- Interviews in Sherwood". boldoutlaw.com.
  10. ^ "BBC One - Doctor Who, Series 8, Robot of Sherwood - Robot of Sherwood: Fact File". BBC.
  11. ^ Kroll, Justin (13 December 2016). "'Rogue One's' Ben Mendelsohn to Play Sheriff of Nottingham in 'Robin Hood: Origins' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
  12. Peterborough Evening Telegraph
    , 26 March 2022, (p. 56)

External links

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