Little John

Little John was a fellow outlaw of Robin Hood, and was said to be Robin's chief lieutenant and second-in-command of the Merry Men.

"Robin Hood and Little John", Illustration by Louis Rhead to Bold Robin Hood and His Outlaw Band: Their Famous Exploits in Sherwood Forest

Folklore

He appears in the earliest recorded Robin Hood ballads and stories.^[1] He also appears in the earliest chronicle references to Robin Hood, by Andrew of Wyntoun in about 1420 and by Walter Bower in about 1440, neither of whom refers to any other of the Merry Men, suggesting that Little John was particularly associated with him.^{[citation needed]} In the early tales, Little John is shown to be intelligent and highly capable. In A Gest of Robyn Hode, he captures the sorrowful knight and, when Robin Hood decides to pay the knight's mortgage for him, accompanies him as a servant.^[2] In Robin Hood's Death, he is the only one of the Merry Men that Robin takes with him.^[3] 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 feet tall) 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 quarterstaves, 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 was not Little. This scene is almost always re-enacted in movie and television versions of the story. In some modern film versions, Little John loses the duel to Robin.

Little John's grave in St Michael's Church graveyard, Hathersage.

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. In other versions of the legends his name is given as John Little, enhancing the pun of his nickname.

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.

Alias Reynold Greenleaf

There is an episode in the Gest in which Little John enters the Sheriff's service as a ruse, calling himself "Reynold Greenleaf", which (it is implied) was his real name before he became "Little John". This story was used by Howard Pyle for his The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, and was taken up by other adapters of the Robin Hood legend. However, elsewhere in the Gest, Reynold is a separate character. It appears from this, and from external evidence (a late ballad telling how Reynold joined the Merry Men, and a couple of fifteenth century court references that make it clear his name was proverbial for an outlaw), that Reynold Greenleaf was originally a Merry Man in his own right, before the author of the Gest confused him with Little John.

Appearances in other media

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. 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.

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, Phil Harris as the voice of Little John the Bear in the 1973 Disney animated film Robin Hood and Nick Brimble in 1991's Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.

In the BBC's 2006 version of the tale, Robin Hood, Little John is played by Gordon Kennedy. John meets Robin when his band of outlaws tie up and steal from Robin's band. He dislikes Robin immediately, but soon accepts that Robin is trying to help the people of Nottingham and joins with him. John also has a wife called Alice and a son, both of whom believe he is dead until late in the first series. John is the oldest of the outlaws, and fights with a quarterstaff.

In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Qpid", Little John is portrayed by Commander William T. Riker, as part of Q's recreated fantasy of Robin Hood.

Name History

Little John comes from the old Belgium Franconian origin name Jenkin. The English translation is "Little John" or more literally "John the little."^[4]

Jen/Jean (pronounced "Jon") being a diminutive of Jehan/Jehannes* (John/Jonathan*) followed by kin/ken meaning little creating Jenkin or Jenken. *(Referred to as Johannes in the Latin and Germanic referring to the Bible name John.) ^[5] The name "Jenkin" or "Jenken" first use in England is seen as early as 1086 as a diminutive of the English form of John.^[6][7] It was often translated from the Dutch/French as "John the younger" or seen as "John Jenken." The non-diminutive Jehan/Jehannes (pronounced "Jo-han/Jon-athan") was also translated into English as John. When Jen/Jean is present, usually given to a younger child, Jehan/Jehannes is listed as "John the elder" but, never translated as "Big John."

A former monk named "Little John" appears in chapter VII of the Alexiad of Anna Comnena.

Other References

"Little John" used as term of endearment for person with qualities related to that of being "little". Definition is fluid, but assigning the title "little" typically relates to a person who expresses kindness, compassion, empathy, and a certain level of optimism and joy toward life and other people. It also functions as an ironic name in this case, due to John being physically enormous.

References

External links

• Robin Hood and Little John, a 17th-century ballad with additional information
• Robin Hood and the Monk: An Introduction, Information presented before a 15th century Robin Hood ballad that features Little John in a prominent role. Edited by Stephen Knight and Thomas H. Ohlgren

Disputed/alleged burial locations:

• Derbys, England
• Kirklees, England