Sheriff of Nottingham

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The Sheriff of Nottingham is an important figure in the legend of Robin Hood, an antagonist against Robin and his Merry Men. The holder of the office of Nottingham's Sheriff, it is his task to capture outlaws such as Robin Hood, either to ensure the safety of trade routes through Sherwood Forest, or to keep them from poaching the King's deer. In some stories, the Sheriff of Nottingham is portrayed as having a lecherous desire for Robin Hood's lady, Maid Marian. He is widely considered to be the principal villain of the Robin Hood stories, appearing frequently, alongside such enemies of Robin Hood as Sir Guy of Gisbourne or Prince John (though rarely both).

The legends are generally set far from Nottingham, one explanation being that a short-staffed King of England placed the Sheriff of Nottingham in charge of law enforcement for much of northern England. This is the case in the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves in which the Sheriff's influence has grown so great he attempts to take control of the throne.

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

It has been suggested that the historical sheriff upon which the stories are based was William de Wendenal, Roger de Laci, or William Brewer.

The Sheriff of Nottingham in modern fiction

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• In Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, he is played by Alan Rickman as a dry cynical villain (with the first name of George) who takes people's livestock to try to meet his goals, after Robin Hood takes his horse.

• A similar characterisation to Rickman's was brought to television by Keith Allen in the BBC series Robin Hood, from 2006 who plays the Sheriff, named Vaisey, as a psychopath: amoral and brutal, self-absorbed, but with a flippant sense of humour about his misdeeds. Allen brings an amusing sarcasm to the part, with such key catch-phrases such as "la-di-dah" and "a clue: no". In fact in one episode, he has strung up a cage containing Robin Hood's stash, and says to the crowd: "If you should see our dear friend Robin Hood, and he says "Have you seen my money?", you can say "The answer my friend is blowing in the wind"": a blatant reference to a 20th century Bob Dylan song, that somehow manages to produce mirth amongst the crowd. He successfully manipulates the other chief villain, Guy of Gisburne, by appealing to Guy’s twisted form of knightly morality. Guy’s flawed moral code is a foil to Sherrif’s utter lack of scruples. He is apparently killed in "Do you Love me" by Sir Guy after Prince John sets them against each other; however his hand moves as his body is taken away, implying he may not be dead. In the next episode, "Too Hot to Handle", Guy is briefly made Sheriff, but after finding out that Robin Hood is still alive, Prince John outlaws him and appoints his sister, Lady Isabella Thornton as the new Sheriff of Nottingham in the next episode, who is possibly the first female Sheriff of Nottingham. However, Vaisey returns in episode 3.12 with an army, ready to storm the castle at whatever cost. He succeeds a little, in that he kills Sir Guy of Gisborne, and his sidekick Isabella brings down the mighty Robin Hood, who dies of a poisoned stab wound, however his victory is shortlived. On entering the castle, Robin Hood fires a burning arrow onto a barrel in the great hall. The Sheriff investigates, and finds barrels of Byzantine fire, concocted earlier by Tuck (David Harewood). He realises in a split second that he is doomed: "Byzantine fire..." and within an instant, he and Isabella are blown to bits.

• In the Disney version of Robin Hood, the Sheriff is a fat gray wolf with a thick Southern United States dialect, voiced by Alabama-born comedian Pat Buttram, best known for his role as Mr. Haney on Green Acres, and later Rob Paulsen. He was originally intended to be a stupid goat.

• The Richard Kluger novel The Sheriff of Nottingham gives a positive portrayal of the real-life 13th century sheriff Philip Mark as a good man doing a thankless task. (The same sheriff appeared as a ruthless but camp despot in an episode of the Robin of Sherwood TV series.)

• The usual Sheriff in Robin of Sherwood was a cynical opportunist given to violent outbursts, played by Nickolas Grace. His name, Robert de Rainault, comes from Evelyn Charles Vivian's retelling of the legend.

• The Sheriff of Nottingham is spoofed as Mervyn, "The Sheriff of Rottingham" (played by Roger Rees), in Mel Brooks' 1993 movie Robin Hood: Men in Tights.

• The Sheriff was parodied in the children's television series Maid Marian and her Merry Men as a foolish schemer played by Tony Robinson with a goatee.

• The Sheriff is more sympathetically portrayed than usual by the late Robert Shaw in the 1976 film Robin and Marian.

• The Sheriff of Nottingham is an AI character in the computer game Stronghold: Warchest who can be challenged in skirmish play.

• Barry Nottingham is a character in Bedtime Stories played by Richard Griffiths. His last name is a reference to the Sheriff of Nottingham, and in one of the stories told by Adam Sandler, the version of Barry calls Adam Sandler's character "the Sheriff of Nottinghamia".

External links

• Full listings of previous Sheriffs at this Robin Hood website http://www.robinhood.info/
• Sheriff of Nottingham at the Internet Movie Database
• Nottingham City Council page on the sheriff's office here
• A list of historical sheriffs can be seen on a Robin Hood research site here