Sir Guy of Gisbourne (also spelled Gisburne , Gisborne, Gysborne, or Gisborn) is a character from the Robin Hood legends of English folklore. He first appears in "Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne" (Child Ballad 118), [1] where he is an assassin who attempts to kill Robin Hood but is killed by him. In later depictions, he has become a romantic rival to Robin Hood for Maid Marian's love.
The Child ballad "Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne" dates from 1650 but its origins are much older than that, [2] judging from the similarities with the 1475 play, a fragment of which is preserved in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge. [3]
Robin Hood and Little John walk through the forest. Robin speaks of a bad dream he had, of two men attacking him. While talking, they spot a distant stranger leaning on a tree. Little John tells Robin to wait while he approaches the stranger, but Robin objects as if accused of cowardice, telling John he'd like to break his head. John marches off in a huff, and is promptly captured by the Sheriff of Nottingham and tied to a tree, to be hanged. Meanwhile, Robin goes up to the stranger, Guy of Gisborne, who is clad in a horsehide robe.
Guy's outfit is described thus:
Guy is a hired killer seeking Robin Hood. They have a shooting contest, and Robin wins with ease. Robin identifies himself (as "Robin Hood of Barnsdale", in South Yorkshire) to the suspicious Guy, and the two fight. When Robin trips, Guy stabs him, but (after a brief prayer to Mary) Robin kills him with his sword. He dons the distinctive horsehide, cuts off Guy's head, sticks it on the tip of his bow and slashes the face, rendering it unrecognisable. He then blows Guy's horn to signal victory to the Sheriff. Disguised as Guy, and carrying what he passes off as Robin Hood's head, Robin goes to rescue Little John. He convinces the sheriff to be allowed to kill Little John, but instead cuts him loose with an "Irish knife". [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] John then takes a bow and shoots the Sheriff through the heart. [10]
Although he has made many appearances in 19th- and 20th-century variants of the Robin Hood legends, Guy's only constant is villainy, but a frequently occurring theme is the "love triangle story" involving Robin, Marian, and Guy, a theme adopted from 19th-century theatrical adaptations. [11]
In Howard Pyle's influential novel The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood (published in 1883), he is shown as a crude, coarse outlaw, known for his cruelty and murderous habits. [11] The chapter closely follows the plot of the ballad.
In Simon Hawke's 1984 novel The Ivanhoe Gambit, Sir Guy is the Sheriff of Nottingham and married to Marian, who runs off to join the Merry Men after three failed attempts to murder him.
The 1956 novel The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green portrays Guy as the right-hand man of the Sheriff of Nottingham, and incorporates his desire to have Marian for himself. Robin Hood spares Guy's life several times, but eventually has enough and kills him, at which point he disguises himself in Guy's armor to free some of his captured men.
In Stephen R. Lawhead's 2006 novel Hood (King Raven Trilogy), Sir Guy, a knight-soldier, is the chief henchman of Abbott Hugo de Rainault.
The 2013 book Will in Scarlet by Matthew Cody portrays Sir Guy as a brutal, ambitious knight who helps Prince John solidify his power in exchange for being granted land and influence. He murders Will's uncle early in the novel, but eventually is disowned by both John and the Sheriff of Nottingham for ravaging the local peasantry in his hunt for the outlaws.
In J Tullos Hennig's 2014 "The Wode" series, Guy, born Gamelyn, was a childhood friend and eventual lover to Rob before becoming a Templar and returning as Guy de Gisbourne.
In the 1912 version of Robin Hood , he is determined to marry Marian and captures Robin Hood; he ties him to a tree, but by the end of the movie the roles are reversed. [11]
In the Douglas Fairbanks-dominated silent movie Robin Hood he is played by Paul Dickey and the 1938 Errol Flynn film The Adventures of Robin Hood by Basil Rathbone. In both versions, Guy is a nobleman and Prince John's chief supporter, and a far more prominent and dangerous man than the Sheriff of Nottingham. Prince John proposes Guy to Maid Marian as a prospective husband. Henceforth, Guy often appears as a bitter rival to Robin for Maid Marian's affections. [12] In the 1938 film, Robin engages Guy in a duel to the death, one of the most famous sword fights in cinema history, whilst in the 1922 film, Robin takes him on without a sword and kills him with his bare hands.
Guy is absent from the Disney animated film Robin Hood (1973). Instead he is replaced by Sir Hiss (voiced by Terry-Thomas).
The role of Guy of Gisbourne has also been interpreted on film by Tom Baker ( The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood , 1984), and Michael Wincott (in the movie Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves , 1991) where he is said to be the Sheriff's cousin. In the 1991 film, Guy is murdered by the Sheriff halfway through the movie after failing repeatedly to capture Robin.
In the 2010 movie Robin Hood directed by Ridley Scott, actor Mark Strong mentions in promotional interviews that his character, Sir Godfrey, is based upon Guy of Gisbourne. [13]
In the 2018 Robin Hood , Sir Gisborne (Paul Anderson) was Robin's commanding officer in the Crusades, but Robin turned against him when he saw Sir Gisborne kill a young man even as the boy's father pleaded for mercy. After Robin adopts his identity as 'the Hood', Gisborne is recalled to England by the Sheriff to hunt down the Hood, but despite the reputation of his men, they are no match for Robin's training.
Gisbourne (spelled "Gisburne") was portrayed by Robert Addie in the British television series Robin of Sherwood (1984-1986).
In the 1991 TV movie Robin Hood, Jürgen Prochnow plays "Sir Miles Folcanet", a character with much in common with modern versions of Guy.[ citation needed ]
He was portrayed by Clive Revill in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode Qpid in its fourth season. Q sends the crew of the USS Enterprise to a Robin Hood scenario of his creation where they must save the life of Captain Picard's occasional paramour, Vash, who must either marry Sir Guy or be executed.[ citation needed ]
In the 1990s CBBC comedy show Maid Marian and her Merry Men , Guy—played by Ramsay Gilderdale—is the nephew of King John.
In the BBC's 2006 Robin Hood, Guy of Gisborne is portrayed much more seriously by Richard Armitage, and is the Sheriff of Nottingham's second-in-command. He is originally depicted as a dark character, and is shown as an active enforcer of the Sheriff's cruelty, but at the same time, he is in love with Marian, showing conflicted attempts to redeem himself in her eyes.[ citation needed ]
Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depicted as being of noble birth, and in modern retellings he is sometimes depicted as having fought in the Crusades before returning to England to find his lands taken by the Sheriff. In the oldest known versions, he is instead a member of the yeoman class. Traditionally depicted dressed in Lincoln green, he is said to have stolen from the rich to give to the poor.
The Adventures of Robin Hood is a 1938 American Technicolor epic swashbuckler film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz, and stars Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains, Patric Knowles, Eugene Pallette, and Alan Hale. The film is particularly noted for its Academy Award-winning score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold.
Maid Marian and her Merry Men is a British children's television series created and written by Tony Robinson and directed by David Bell. It began in 1989 on BBC1 and ran for four series, with the last episode shown in 1994. The show was a partially musical comedy retelling of the legend of Robin Hood, placing Maid Marian in the role of leader of the Merry Men, and reducing Robin to an incompetent ex-tailor.
Maid Marian is the heroine of the Robin Hood legend in English folklore, often taken to be his lover. She is not mentioned in the early, medieval versions of the legend, but was the subject of at least two plays by 1600. Her history and circumstances are obscure, but she commanded high respect in Robin’s circle for her courage and independence as well as her beauty and loyalty. For this reason, she is celebrated by feminist commentators as one of the early strong female characters in English literature.
Alan-a-Dale is a figure in the Robin Hood legend. According to the stories, he was a wandering minstrel who became a member of Robin's band of outlaws, the "Merry Men".
Will Scarlet is a prominent member of Robin Hood's Merry Men. He is present in the earliest ballads along with Little John and Much the Miller's Son.
Richard at the Lee is a major character in the early medieval ballads of Robin Hood, especially the lengthy ballad A Gest of Robyn Hode, and has reappeared in Robin Hood tales throughout the centuries.
Robin Hood and the Potter is a 15th century ballad of Robin Hood. While usually classed with other Robin Hood ballads, it does not appear to have originally been intended to be sung, but rather recited by a minstrel, and thus is closer to a poem. It is one of the very oldest pieces of the surviving Robin Hood legend, with perhaps only Robin Hood and the Monk older than it. It inspired a short play intended for use in May Day games, attested to around 1560. It was later published by Francis James Child as Child ballad #121 in his influential collection of popular ballads in the 1880s.
"Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow" is Child ballad 152. It features an archery competition for a golden arrow that has long appeared in Robin Hood tales, but it is the oldest recorded one where Robin's disguise prevents his detection.
Robin Hood is a 1991 British adventure film directed by John Irvin, executive produced by John McTiernan, and starring Patrick Bergin, Uma Thurman, Jürgen Prochnow, Jeroen Krabbé, and Edward Fox. Although originally intended for a theatrical release in the United States and South America, the film instead premiered on television, on the Fox network in those territories a month before the release of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. It was released in cinemas in several countries in Europe and elsewhere, including Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
The folkloric hero Robin Hood has appeared many times, in many different variations, in popular modern works.
The Merry Men are the group of outlaws who follow Robin Hood in English literature and folklore. The group appears in the earliest ballads about Robin Hood and remains popular in modern adaptations.
The Zany Adventures of Robin Hood is a 1984 American made-for-television comedy film directed by Ray Austin and starring George Segal, Morgan Fairchild, Roddy McDowall, Janet Suzman and Tom Baker. It is a parody of the Robin Hood story.
The Outlaws of Sherwood is a retelling of the legend of Robin Hood by Robin McKinley. In McKinley's afterword, she says, "The retellings through the centuries have echoed concurrent preoccupations." The story includes both the traditional Robin Hood characters — Little John, Much, Friar Tuck, Marian and Alan-a-dale — and characters of McKinley's own invention. Notably, three of the most important characters are women, all of whom escape marriage to prospective spouses chosen by their fathers.
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.
Friar Tuck is one of the Merry Men, the band of heroic outlaws in the folklore of Robin Hood.
Robin Hood is a comic opera by Reginald De Koven (music), Harry B. Smith (lyrics) and Clement Scott. The story is based on the Robin Hood legend, during the reign of King Richard I. The opera was composed in Chicago, Illinois during the winter of 1888-1889.
The Sheriff of Nottingham is the main antagonist of the 2006 BBC television series, Robin Hood. Keith Allen's portrayal was described by The Hollywood Reporter as "very camp in the Alan Rickman tradition of sardonic villains," referring to Rickman's role as the Sheriff in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Sarcastic and with a dark sense of humour, he has many catch phrases, including "La di da di da!" and "A clue: no". He also has an explosive temper, usually triggered by Robin's interference or the repeated failures of Guy of Gisbourne and other minions. He has many insults for his servants when they fail him, including "blithering oafs", "incompetent fools" and "idiotic buffoons".
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