Matter of the Greenwood: Little John: Evolution
An examination of how the character of Robin Hood's devoted lieutenant has developed over the centuries. N.B. this post has been updated to take into account recent additions to the mythos. Content note: murder. The oldest surviving actual stories of Robin Hood, as opposed to fleeting mentions, are Robin Hood and the Monk and The Death of Robin Hood (both c. 1450). Little John is a major character in both: but he is characterised by an anger and violence shocking to modern se
Matter of the Greenwood: Little John: Origins
From the very beginnings of the legend, one name is more inseparable from Robin Hood's than any other: Little John. But was there a real person behind the name? Before even the Little Gest of Robin Hood, the Scottish historian Andrew Wyntoun wrote in his Original Chronicle of Scotland (c. 1420) that: “Little John and Robin Hood Woodmen were commended good: In Inglewood and Barnsdale They used all this time their travail.” (Inglewood, in Cumberland, is associated with the othe
