The Bird That Woke Robin Hood

                                                                                                                                                                                                        

'Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne' from Percy's 'Reliques' 

Since moving to the beautiful county of Gloucester I have been astonished by the amount of birds that regularly visit our garden.  My fiancee and her mother are attempting to teach me the various species and their calls. So with my interest in the Robin Hood legend, I decided to ask them if they knew of a bird called a Woodweete. I was greeted by puzzled looks. So I explained to them that it was this bird that woke Robin Hood from a dream in the ballad Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne. They had never heard of such a bird, so I decided to spend some time investigating this mysterious creature.

First some information about the ancient ballad. It was Thomas Percy, Bishop of Dromore in Ulster, (1729-1811) who ensured the survival of the original manuscript of Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne and it was published for the first time in his Reliques of Ancient English Poetry (1765). Percy's collection (including eight Robin Hood ballads) later became known as the Percy Folio.

David Fowler in his Literary History of the Popular Ballad (1968) described the Percy Folio as:

      the most important single document relative to the history of balladry  

Percy explained how, when visiting the home of Humphrey Pitt in 1753, he saw the collection of manuscripts 'unbound and torn, lying on a dirty floor' being used by parlour maids to light the fire! He was already interested in old poetry and rescued the remains of the folio. On closer inspection he discovered that it contained ballads, historical songs, metrical romances and sonnets dating from between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries. 

It had not been treated well, probably because the owners would have found the Middle English and Border dialect used in the manuscript incomprehensible. Many of the pages, Percy explains, were badly 'mutilated and imperfect.'

 Percy's 'Reliques of Ancient English Poetry'

The publication of Percy's Reliques of Ancient English Poetry not only revived scholarly interest in ballad poetry but inspired people like Robert Burns, William Wordsworth, William Blake, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the brothers Grimm and the whole 'Romantic Movement'. Sir Walter Scott recalled that at the age of thirteen he forgot his dinner because he was so enthralled by his first perusal of the Reliques.

The ballad Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne, saved by Percy, only survives in this portfolio. It is written continuously in an early seventeenth-century hand (with possible omissions) but Percy discovered that 'it was a ballad of Robin Hood which had never before been printed and carried marks of much greater antiquity than any of the common popular songs on this subject.' 

Thomas Percy (1729-1811)

Even more damage was done to the manuscripts when Percy had the collection bound together. The bookbinder trimmed off the edges of the pages, losing some of the first and last lines. Not only this, but being compliant with the age he deemed it important to 'correct' and edit the ballads he published, sometimes even re-writing, conflating and softening the text for his eighteenth century readers. This is something he would later be criticized for by scholars. One of the alterations he made was the name of the bird that awoke Robin Hood from his dream in the forest. The original seventeenth century manuscript has:

The woodweele sang and wold not cease

Percy does not hesitate in altering woodweele to woodweete (as seen in the image at the top of this post) and describes the bird as:

a Golden Ouzle, a kind of Thrush.

But when John Hales and Frederick Furnivall edited the Reliques in 1868 they suggested Percy's 'woodweete' as :

a Witwall, the Great Spotted Woodpecker

Later, the great American ballad collector Francis J Child in his English and Scottish Ballads (5 vols. 1882-98) printed the ballad with woodweele but in his glossary has woodweete.

Confused? It doesn't get any easier! The Romaunt of the Rose, a French allegory partially translated by Chaucer, seems to refer to the same mysterious bird :

Can we assume that this poem in Middle English is referring to the same bird? If we do than what do the Chaucerian experts think the bird was?

John Urry in The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer (1721) explains in his glossary that wodwale is 'witwall' known as the golden ousel a bird of the thrush-kind.

Fifty four years later Thomas Tyrwhitt's glossary to The Canterbury Tales (page 645) has:

WODEWALE: n. of a bird. Widewael. BELG.Oriolus. Killian . According to Ray, our Witwall is a sort of Wood-pecker.

The famous English philologist Walter William Skeat (1835-1912) admitted the great confusion in these names:

North of the border, John Jamieson in his Etmological Dictionary Of The Scottish Language (1818) has:

Arthur Quiller-Couch (1863-1944) in his Oxford Book of Ballads (1927) describes the 'woodweele' in the ballad of Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne as:

                       woodweele]woodlark, thrush?

In modern times there has been a surge in research into the legend of Robin Hood. In 1976 R. B. Dobson and J. Taylor reproduced a collection of  thirteen ballads with accompanying notes known as the Rymes of Robyn Hood. In their glossary of the ballad Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne  (p.141) they explain that 'woodweete: woodwall, is usually identified with the golden oriole, noted for its singing voice.' 

Other current experts on the legend like Professors Stephen Knight and Thomas Ohlgren go with woodwall (golden oriole).

I decided to consult the RSPB site on the golden oriole and was frustrated to see that this beautiful singing bird only colonizes on the south or east coasts of England in the summer. Nowhere near Sherwood Forest or Yorkshire's Barnsdale, where the ballad is set. Whereas the green woodpecker, like the song thrush, is a resident across all of England's ancient woodland.

But what I did not take into consideration was the 'medieval warm period' or the Medieval Climatic Anomaly. This, I learned, ran from about 950 AD to 1250 and would have encouraged the golden oriole's breeding range in north west Europe. The bird is a great wanderer, especially the males in their first two years. So it is possible that during the 13th Century the golden oriole could have visited the forests of central and northern England.

Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne is (as Percy mentioned) of great antiquity and has many ancient motifs, notably Guy's horse-hide and head, which seem more like ritual costume. Was the 'woodweele' chosen for it's traditional mythical elements or as a metaphor? 

It seems - from all this - we have at least three possible candidates for the 'woodweele' in Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne. These are the song thrush, golden oriole and green woodpecker. Down the centuries, birds like these have established a substantial amount of folk-lore about them. 

Golden Oriole

The golden oriole is known in ancient lore as a 'transfigured magical image of the blackbird.' Like the blackbird, the oriole's flute-like calls make it a piper of the dawn and its cheerful notes have been described as 'merry as its clothing.'

This beautiful, but secretive bird, spends a lot of its time aloft in tree tops. It is known in legend for its healing virtues and when looked upon by a person with jaundice, it cures the sufferer-but sadly dies during the process.

Song Thrush

The song thrush, meanwhile, has been described as the 'very spirit of spring' and likes to nest in forests with good undergrowth. The male's distinctive song has musical phrases (sometimes over a hundred), which are repeated two or three times interspersed with grating noises and mimicry (including other birds and man-made objects). The song thrush has a unique voice box, known as a 'syrinx', which enables them to sing two notes at once and blend them beautifully. For its weight the song thrush also has one of the loudest bird calls.

Many famous poets have celebrated the song thrush in verse. Including Robert Browning in his Home Thoughts, from Abroad:

That's the wise thrush, he sings each song twice over

Lest you think he could never recapture

The first fine careless rapture. 

Green Woodpecker

The green woodpecker would also have had a song loud and persistent enough to awaken Robin Hood. The 16th Century antiquarian John Aubrey noted that this particular bird was used for divination. In Norse mythology, the green woodpecker was the bird of Thor, god of thunder and lightning and was able to cure illness and prolong life.

This haunter of forests was described as a 'living barometer' by our ancestors and can become very vociferous when a storm approaches. Did the poet include the woodpecker's 'ceaseless calling' as a warning to Robin of his imminent brutal confrontation with Guy of Gisborne?


Below are three clips of the birdsong of our possible candidates, the green woodpecker, song thrush and golden oriole.


Green Woodpecker




Song Thrush






Golden Oriole




After a great deal of consideration, I believe it was the green woodpecker (with its 'joyous laugh') that woke Robin Hood in the greenwood. 

What do you think? 

Sources:

The Golden Oriole by Paul Mason, Jake Allsop
Fraser's Magazine by Thomas Carlyle
Popular Music of the Olden Time... by William Chappell and George Alexander Macfarren
Chronicle of Scottish Poetry from the Thirteenth Century... by James Sibbald
British Birds in Their Haunts by Charles Alexander
An Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language by John Jamieson
Notes and Queries February 1855
Reliques of Ancient English Poetry by Thomas Percy
Bird Life and Bird Lore by Reginald Bosworth Smith
RSPB Handbook of British Birds by Tim Cleeves and Peter Holdern



      

Richard Todd and Joan Rice

Richard Todd and Joan Rice

Above is a publicity still for Walt Disney's live-action movie The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men which starred Richard Todd, Joan Rice and a whole host of celebrated British actors and actresses. It is one of my favourite images from the film and I think you will agree that their passionate clinch is unusual for a Disney production.

The Story of Robin Hood had its world premiere in London on March13th 1952. On the back of the picture is the date June 18th 1952.  This is possibly an indication that it was used as promotional material for the films release in New York.

By this time, Richard Todd (1919-2009) was already a popular actor. He had received an Oscar nomination for his role as 'Lachie' in The Hasty Heart (1949) and recently finished Hitchcock's Stage Fright (1950) and King Vidor's Lightning Strikes Twice (1951). 

But for Joan Rice, the former 'Nippy' from a Lyons tea house, this was her first big break. Joan had spent her childhood in a convent in Nottingham and had often played amongst the oaks of Sherwood Forest. So it must have been like a dream come to be personally selected by Walt himself to play the part of Maid Marian in his British production. 

To read more about the life of Joan Rice please click here.

Joan Rice in 'His Majesty O'Keefe'

I was thrilled to receive this exclusive copy of a photograph from Joan Rice's niece recently. It shows her aunt in Fiji during the filming of His Majesty O'Keefe in 1952.

Joan Rice in Fiji

Filming of His Majesty O'Keefe began in Fiji on June 21st 1952 (it was eventually finished six months later). Joan Rice (1930-1997) played the part of Dalabo aki Darbi alongside Burt Lancaster as O'Keefe. She had previously been personally chosen by Walt Disney for the role of Maid Marian in his second live-action movie The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men, so this former Lyons waitress was experiencing a huge amount of popularity. But this would sadly be the pinnacle of her brief film career. Below is some interesting information about the making of His Majesty O'Keefe:

"According to Lancaster biographer Ed Andreychuk, initially Fred Zinnemann was slated to direct the film adaptation of His Majesty O'Keefe, with Frank Nugent and Laurence Stallings assigned to the script. Byron Haskin, the film's eventual director, recalls that the production encountered troubles early on. Warner cancelled the project at the last minute, after the crew had already arrived at the Fiji Islands, but Hecht somehow managed to rescue the situation. 

In order to take advantage of frozen film funds in Britain, Hecht brought in some British crew and cast members. Warner Brothers built a virtually self-contained studio on the main island of Viti Levu, Fiji, complete with a soundstage, sound recording studio (postsynchronization was done onsite), administrative offices, and a Technicolor lab. Since there were limited accommodations on the island, Warner took over the entire Beachcomber Hotel at Deuba and constructed additional rooms to house the cast and crew. They also rented the entire village of Goloa and constructed new buildings, which they turned over to the villagers once shooting was finished. 

Shortly before shooting began, Hecht brought in Borden Chase and James Hill to rewrite it at the last minute. Chase - a talented screenwriter who had worked on the script for Hawks' Red River (1948) - expressed frustration at the lack of organization and constant distractions, including story conferences during which Lancaster would wildly act out the scenes. Eventually Hill and Chase separated themselves from the rest of the crew and sent the finished script pages each day by messenger, after which Hecht would rewrite them. Shooting was interrupted almost daily by rain showers, and the crew encountered all sorts of problems from finding their clothing covered in mildew to fending off dengue fever. According to biographer Kate Burton, Lancaster later remarked: "There were times when the only thing idyllic about it was the Nadi airport where fast and comfortable planes took off constantly in a northeasterly direction for Hollywood." 

Ultimately the film's production costs totaled $1.55 million, well over the $1.1 million per film stipulated by the contract with Warner Brothers. (Similarly, The Crimson Pirate [1952] had cost $1.85 million). As a result Warner offered to renew the contract only for lower budget films, so Hecht and Lancaster decided to sign up with United Artists instead. Still, according to director Haskin, His Majesty O'Keefe turned out to be one of the most profitable films of his career, thanks to TV sales. Hecht-Hill-Lancaster Productions even proposed at one point to spin it off into a television series, together with some of their other properties.

Joan Rice during a break in the filming of His Majesty O'Keefe

And below is Joan Rice's own truly revealing article in Picturegoer Magazine of September 13th 1952 (sent in by Neil). It details her experiences of home-sickness, stage nerves, height problems, swimming, engagement, plans for marriage and the preparations for film production of His Majesty O'Keefe:

Fiji-bound, Joan Rice stopped off at Hollywood..... and found time to write 'Picturegoer' a letter....

“It was 8 a.m. when the big B.O.A.C plane circled over Idlewild Airport. I was awake and well. I am usually very airsick, but I took plenty of ‘anti’ tablets.

It was my first sight of New York. I had no idea there was so much water round it. One doesn’t think of New York that way.

The Press photographer who came to meet the plane was a very tall man. In the corner of his mouth he had the longest cigar I had ever seen. He kept smoking it, even while taking pictures.

But he didn’t ask me to “hoist the hemline a few inches, kid.” As I am told they usually do. I don’t consider myself the pin-up type-even though I have to wear sarongs for my half-caste role with Burt Lancaster in ‘His Majesty O’Keefe,’ the film for which I am making this trip.

America amazes me. On the drive to Manhattan from the airport I was impressed by all the labour saving devices in this country-even to the machines that wash your car in sixty seconds. And the roads! The city is so well planned that I found my way around quite easily.

Armchair Travel

But I wouldn’t swap an English car for an American. The U.S. jobs are too big and over sprung. You have no sensation of travelling, and might as well stay in your armchair and have removal people move you.

I had nothing but £. s. d. In my bag, because this is a Fiji and Elstree film and I am being paid in pounds. But Warners gave me fifty pounds and I made straight for a drugstore. Haven’t you always wanted to go into a drugstore? They’re just as we see them in American films. 

I asked for a cup of white coffee. Without uttering a word the man gave me a cup of black coffee. I said: “No, I want white coffee.” He went away and put it in a waxed container so I could carry it away. I said : “No, white coffee. I want to drink it here.” He just looked at me. We just couldn’t seem to understand each other.

I said: “This is the first time I have done this. In England we ask for black or white.”

He put some cream in my coffee and when I paid, the man at the cash desk sold me nearly everything in the store. I bought colour films and a travelling iron and asked for a British brand of milk chocolate. But they had only American chocs., and I bought a pound; but they were not so good as ours. They just didn’t taste the same. At home I eat my month’s ration the first week, but here I had some of that pound left a week later.

I hadn’t anything to do that evening in New York, so I went to bed and watched television. The hotel people apologized for my room as “only temporary, Miss Rice,” But really it was palatial – lamps and television and everything. More like a big living – room.

There was wrestling on television and it kept me awake. Finally I had to turn off the set, or I’d never got off to sleep.

Landing at Los Angeles at eight o’clock the next night was unforgettable. There was still daylight, but the lights were coming on all over the city. With its coloured houses and the miles of neon lighting in such delicate shades, the town looked like a gleaming model.

There was some difficulty at the Roosevelt as they had no room ready for me; so the photographer who met the plane took me dancing in the hotel’s Hawaiian night club.

At first they wouldn’t let me in. They said I was under age. I’m only five feet four in my stockinged feet- I know because Carl Schafer, head of Warner’s international office in Hollywood, measured me against a studio door. I initialled the mark.

Next day I spent by the hotel swimming pool. I had only six days’ notice to leave London, but my bathing suit was one thing I wouldn’t forget!

I can’t swim, so I didn’t go in the water until the evening, when I could be alone. Then I dunked myself in the shallow end and tried floating. For a few seconds I actually stayed up.

I reported to the studio on Monday, and the week became a whirl, with fittings, hairdressing, still pictures, make-up, interviews and more fittings.

Model Of My Figure

Fabulous is the word for the way Hollywood production is organized. They had a model of my figure already made, and much of the clothes-making was already done. (Their sending to London for my measurements was the first tip I had that they might take me.)

‘His Majesty O’Keefe’ is a period picture, and as well as sarongs I am going to wear two lovely gowns. One is lavender lace and velvet wedding dress with a bustle.

I hadn’t seen the script then, but I knew there’s an amusing scene where I try on the dress and then refuse to wear it, because I have got it on the wrong way round and I don’t like that “hump” (that is the bustle) in front.

The studio hairdressing department is like a Bond Street salon. Even in the waiting rooms the appointments are magnificent. Hollywood really tries to make its stars feel good.

And the clips they used for waving hair are better than ours. They give a softer wave without risk of breaking or making a “line” in the hair.

I Sat On Stars

They had to build me up on the chair because I am rather short in the body. I didn’t quite reach the dryer. They piled cinema magazines under me, so I really sat on the stars. I noticed the picture on top was of Ava Gardner.

Some of the Warners stars very kindly came to say “hallo” to me as I spent those long hours in the make-up and hairdressing chairs. I couldn’t talk to them (ever tried to talk with your head in a dryer, or while a man’s painting your lips?), but it was all very friendly. Steve Cochran was particularly charming.

Kathryn Grayson and Joan Rice in Hollywood in 1952

Friendliness is one of the things about Hollywood. Leroy Prinz, the director, said I was to come back to Hollywood and he’d put me in musicals. I don’t know about that. I only know I’m booked for four months on this film, in Fijii with Burt Lancaster, whom I’ve met only once – at a Royal Film Performance. (I was very nervous-it was my first stage appearance. Afterwards he grinned and said: “Well, it wasn’t so bad, was it?”) I think the really surprising thing about Hollywood is that it’s just what you would expect. If you’ve seen it in the pictures-you’ve seen it. People do just the same things, in the same way, as on the screen. Of course, the sunshine is indescribable-there just aren’t the words. It’s sun, sun, sun. You almost expect it to blaze all night.

And remember I was there for only eight crowded, busy days. I went to a few night clubs-they’re rather like ours, but with more stars about. I tried Mexican food, made especially not-to-hot for me. Those beans of theirs-grand! Little brown beans in brown gravy. I couldn’t eat enough of them.

I tried driving a left-hand drive car- an English model, I’m glad to report!-and nearly rammed a big American thing on a turn. But in a couple of hours I got used to it, even on their eight-lane speed- highways.

I think it takes time to understand Hollywood. I want to go back-even though one can be hopelessly homesick there.

I was like that one evening that first week. It was so bad I just had to talk to somebody at home. I phoned Joan Rees, my friend and first agent who got me into films. It took until 3 am. to get through. The transatlantic circuits were always “out” or something. I told the hotel operator it didn’t matter how late it was, she was to connect me.

Just talking to somebody in England was a relief. I asked about my cat (A tabby) and things like that.

When I hung up, the operator rang back. She said: “Are you feeling better now, dear?” I know how it feels. I came out alone twenty-three years ago, I’m from Guildford.”

She sent me up a pot of tea. The waiter wouldn’t take my money. He said: “It’s on the house.”

Yes, I’d like to see Hollywood again-maybe on my honeymoon. Martin Boyce-he proposed to me over the phone just before I left Britain-and I plan to marry as soon as I get back, perhaps in the little old church at Denham.”

Joan Rice as Dalabo aki Dali in His Majesty O'Keefe

Joan Rice sadly passed away on January 1st 1997. This blog is dedicated to her memory. To read more about her life, please click here.

The image of Joan Rice at the top of the page is private property. 

Disney's Robin Hood Comic Strip. 8

Here is the eighth instalment of the comic strip version of Walt Disney's Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men (1952).

This was the first Walt Disney live-action movie to be adapted to a comic strip. It was also another way in which Disney was able to advertise his new releases and keep the film fresh in the audiences mind. The strip version of Robin Hood originally ran for twenty five weeks, from 13th July till 28th December 1952 and was illustrated by Jessie Mace Marsh (1907-1966).

Down the years I have posted about Marsh and we have seen a few versions of his Robin Hood drawings in various stages of production. Unfortunately those examples were all I could find, until I was contacted by Matt Crandall. Matt runs the excellent Disney's Alice in Wonderland blog and has very kindly sent me images of the Robin Hood strips that re-appeared in the Belgian Mickey Magazine in 1953. 

To read more about the life of the artist that drew this strip, please click here Jessie Marsh.

To see previous pages, please click here.

The Adventures of Robin Hood's Chair

A scene from The Black Knight (1954) showing the chair

I doubt if many film props have had their life chronicled so fully. But since I first noticed a chair designed for Disney's Story of Robin Hood (1952) being used in TV's Adventures of Robin Hood (1955-58) and Robin of Sherwood (1984-86) my eagle eyed readers have continued to spot it in many other later productions. 

Just recently, Laurence has sent me yet another instance of what we call Robin Hood's Chair being used. His still (above) shows the chair in The Black Knight (1954), which starred Alan Ladd, Peter Cushing and Patrick Troughton.

The chair in Disney's Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men (1952)

The ornate chair was originally designed by the talented Carman Dillon and her art department for Walt Disney's Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men in 1951. This film was the last major production made at Denham Studios and this huge complex later merged with the Rank Organisation's Pinewood Studios. Laurence points out that The Black Knight was made at Pinewood, which probably explains the availability of the chair as a prop. 

Because of our discoveries, I have compiled a list of the film and television productions that have used Robin Hood's Chair (and other props from the Disney film) over the past sixty four years...

• The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men (Film:1952)
• The Men of Sherwood Forest (Film:1954)

Men of Sherwood Forest (1954)

Three chairs used from 'The Story of Robin Hood' in 'Men of Sherwood (1954)

• The Black Knight (Film:1954)
• The Dark Avenger (Film:1955)

The chair used in The Dark Avenger (1955)

• The Adventures of Robin Hood (TV:1955-58)

That chair in the Adventures of Robin Hood (1955-1960)

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955-58)

• Sword of Sherwood Forest (Film:1960)

Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960)

Sword of Sherwood Forest also used costumes from The Story of Robin Hood

• Robin of Sherwood (TV: 1984-86)

The chair in Robin of Sherwood (1984-86)

Robin of Sherwood (1984-86)

• Horrible Histories (TV: 2013-15)

The chair in a scene from the Horrible Histories episode on Richard I

A big thank you to all my readers who have sent in these examples. If you know where this chair is or have seen Robin Hood's Chair in any other productions please get in touch!

Denham Studios or Burnham Beeches ?

Joan Rice (Maid Marian) and Richard Todd (Robin Hood)

These rare stills, taken from Walt Disney's live action movie The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men (1952) raise a number of interesting questions. Was this scene filmed on one of the huge sound stages at Denham Studios? On location at Burnham Beeches? Or both?

Joan Rice and Richard Todd

I originally believed that the scene in which Robin chases Marian through the woodland was filmed at Denham.  But now I am not so sure. The sets were so realistic it is hard to tell. What do you think?

King John's Bones

King John's effigy

"First then, I desire that my body be buried in the church

of the Blessed Virgin and St. Wulfstan

Worcester."

We all know the story. Good King Richard is away on Crusade and his evil brother John tries to usurp the throne. From Elizabethan times onwards King John has been cast as the villain in countless theatrical productions and films about Robin Hood. My regular readers will know that seeing those movies and television shows left a lasting impression on me and I have spent many years researching the lives of those two feuding Plantagenet brothers. Unfortunately John does not appear in any of the surviving early medieval ballads about the outlaw, but his treacherous reputation eventually introduced him into the legend.

One recent book I would highly recommend is King John by Marc Morris (2015). Not only did I find it informative and well-written, but I was intrigued to read Morris's account about the discovery of King John's remains in Worcester Cathedral. In fact they were discovered twice. Recently I visited Worcester and had the opportinity to gaze upon the tomb of King John. I had to find out more.

King John (1166-1216) was a frequent visitor to Worcester. Nearby were his two favourite hunting grounds, the Royal Forests of Kinver and Feckingham. He also seems to have had a special affection for Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester (1062-1095), who was canonized during his reign.  

In October 1216, John contracted dysentery at King's Lynn during his campaign to recover East Anglia from the barons.  He gradually became weaker and to make matters worse, he misjudged the tide when crossing the Wash in Lincolnshire and lost a significant part of his baggage train in the marsh.

By the middle of the month he became so ill, he had to be carried on a litter to Newark. When his party reached the castle, he was attended by Thomas de Wodestoke, abbot of Croxton, who was said to have been a skilful physician. But John knew he was dying and dictated a very brief will. Probably an indication of how weak he now was. In the last paragraph he expressed his desire to be buried at Worcester. Wodestocke then heard John's confession and performed the last rites.

Newark Castle

King John died at Newark Castle in the early hours of 19th October 1216. A strong gale howled outside. The abbot of Croxton took away the kings heart and intestines and had the body hastily embalmed. A monk named John of Savigny, who came to Newark at daybreak to mount vigil over the body and say Mass for the king's soul, encountered members of John's household scurrying out of the castle with as much loot as they could, before some official arrived to seal the royal chambers. John's corpse was then draped with rich cloth and a company of mercenaries in full armour solemnly escorted it on the long journey from Newark to Worcester.

He was interred four days later between the shrines of St. Oswald and St.Wulfstan at Worcester abbey church by Bishop Sylvester. But unlike his brother and earlier kings, John was not buried wearing his crown. This was probably due to many of the royal treasures previously being lost in the Wash. Instead, John's head was covered in the linen coif that was used to hold in place the Holy Oil used to anoint him.

John's memory would be kept fresh at Worcester by the observance of an annual fast and John's heart and intestines were preserved at Croxton Abbey in Stafford - a macabre reward to the abbot for his services.

Ten days after John's death, his eldest son Henry III (1207-1272) was crowned at Gloucester Cathedral. King Henry later helped raise the funds for his father's effigy and tomb and the considerable rebuilding of the east end of Worcester cathedral which had been badly damaged during the great fire of 1202. The church was reconstructed and the location of John's tomb would become the Lady Chapel.

How King John's original tomb might have looked

His tomb at this time, appears to have been a stone coffin 'of a dark colour with his figure upon it, raised a little above the surface of the earth', beneath the Great East Window. William Stukeley described King John's tomb in 1776 originally being :

Before the altar of the eastern most wall of the church, on each side of him, upon the ground are the effigies of the two Holy bishops, and his chief saints, Wulfstan and Oswald, from whose vicinity he hoped to be safe from harm.

This is the oldest royal effigy in England, dated from between 1228  to 1232, and made from Purbeck Marble, brought in from Dorset. It shows John in the prime of his life (thought to be a likeness) and was originally painted in bright colours and encrusted with precious jewels from Germany, Africa and eastern Europe. The pitted holes in his crown, sleeves and the collar of his gown are where the jewels would have been embedded. His head lies upon a pillow supported by the small figures of the Bishops' Oswald and Wulfstan, and his feet rest upon a lion.

A reconstruction of King John's coloured tomb

The king's right hand is holding a vial that might have contained a bone or relic of his favourite saint. His left hand grips the hilt of his unsheathed sword, which is unusual considering the convention of the time forbidding anyone to be battle ready in God's house.

1529

After the death of his eldest son, Arthur Prince of Wales, in 1502, Henry VII had an elaborate tomb and chantry dedicated to him to the right of the altar at Worcester Cathedral. During this period of renovation and reconstruction a decision was made to remove King John's marble effigy from its small base in the Lady Chapel eastward onto a raised tomb chest in the centre of the choir.

The raised tomb

While this reconstruction was taking place, the workman 'discovered' the monarch's skeletal remains - including his head covered by what they described as a monk's cowl. So, under the auspices of the sacrist, Robert Alchurch, the bones were carefully put inside the new sarcophagus and the original 13th century stone effigy was lowered in place.

1797

There seems to have been some confusion over exactly where King John's remains were lying during this period (The dean apparently had no knowledge of the Tudor discoveries). So when restoration work was planned in this year it was decided to 'satisfy every doubt' and open the tomb by the altar steps.

King John's tomb by the altar steps

Fortunately we have several detailed accounts. This appears in An Historical on the Magna Charta by Richard Thompson (1829) :

...on Monday 17th July 1797 the tomb was opened, and a stone coffin was found within containing a skeleton, whose scull was detached and lying in a different position to the body. Some of the teeth and anatomical details were in good preservation, but, notwithstanding the remains had been embalmed by Thomas de Wodestock, Abbot of Croxton, there were evident marks of putrefaction.

The dress discovered upon his body, was similar to that upon the effigy on the exterior, except that there were no gloves upon the hands and that instead of a crown, a monks cowl, used by the king's desire as a preservative against evil spirits, was found upon his head. This fitted very exactly, but the buckles or clasps of the straps were gone, having probably been of some precious metals, and were most likely removed during the Civil Wars.

The body was clothed in a long robe, which seemed to be a crimson damask of a peculiarly strong texture, and some of its embroidery remained near to the right knee; the whole object was then however a dusky brown. The legs were covered with an ornamental close dress tied at the ankles, whilst the bones of the feet were visible through the decayed parts of the drapery, of whom no account could state the material with certainty. The left hand, as in the stone effigy once held a sword, but it was then greatly mutilated and scattered down the same side of the body. The whole length of these remains measured five feet six and a half inches.

The coffin found within the tomb was of the plain white Higley stone of Worcestershire, and was broken by a considerable fracture which appeared to cross it obliquely.

The tomb remained open but a very short period, for so great was the impatience of the multitude to view its contents that it was thought prudent to close them up on the following day.  

The open tomb

Unfortunately it seems that closing the tomb (after two days) in 1797 did not prevent some of John's remains being removed. After 160 years, King John's reputed thumb bone was finally returned to the cathedral: And stored in Worcester Cathedral Art Gallery and Museum are two molars boxed together with a handwritten note stating: 'These are two teeth taken from the head of King John by William Wood, a stationers apprentice, in 1797'.

King John's two molars and thumb bone

A remnant of King John's shroud showing a heraldic beast

The teeth and thumb bone together with pieces of textile and a portion of his leather shoe (all allegedly removed from King John's tomb) are now currently on display at the British Library's Magna Carta: Law, Liberty, Legacy exhibition. My pictures of King John's reconstructed effigy are taken from the fascinating display at Worcester Cathedral.

Sources: Marc Morris, King John (2015)
               W.L. Warenne, King John (1961)
               Richard Thompson, An Historical on the Magna Charta (1829)
               Maurice Ashley, King John (1972)
         

Disney's Robin Hood Comic Strip. 7

Here at last, is the seventh instalment of The Story of Robin Hood  comic strip. Due to computer problems recently, I have been unable to upload the images, but hopefully the glitch is now cured.

This was the first Walt Disney live-action movie to be adapted to a comic strip. It was also another way in which Disney was able to advertise his new releases and keep the film fresh in the audiences mind. The strip version of Robin Hood originally ran for twenty five weeks, from 13th July till 28th December 1952 and was illustrated by Jessie Mace Marsh (1907-1966).

Down the years I have posted about Marsh and we have seen a few versions of his Robin Hood drawings in various stages of production. Unfortunately those examples were all I could find, until I was contacted by Matt Crandall. Matt runs the excellent Disney's Alice in Wonderland blog and has very kindly sent me images of the Robin Hood strips that re-appeared in the Belgian Mickey Magazine in 1953. 

Please click on the images to enlarge them. To see previous pages of the comic strip please click here.

The Manchester Provincial Premiere

Elton Hayes and Joan Rice at the Odeon Theatre Manchester

Down the years we have discovered a lot of information about the film premiere of The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men. This Disney live-action motion picture was first shown in front of a star-studded audience on the 13th March 1952 at the Leicester Square Theatre in London. There are now over ten pages of press cuttings and images of that glamorous event on this web site. But I was stunned to receive this message from Geoff Waite recently...

"Were you aware that the provincial premiere of Disney’s ‘The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men’ was at the Odeon Theatre, Manchester? 

I am attaching a photo of Joan Rice with Elton Hayes at the Manchester premiere. On the back of the original photo it says ‘Provincial Premiere of Walt Disney’s Robin Hood at the Odeon Theatre Manchester. In aid of the National Advertising Benevolent Society. Left to right, Elton Hayes, Joan Rice, Lord Derby, Veronica Hurst, Mr Carpenter (Gen manager Odeon Theatre).

Unfortunately no date is given for the Manchester Premiere but presumably it was shortly after the Leicester Square Premiere on 13 March 1952. I wonder if any of the other members of the ‘Robin Hood’ cast attended? Veronica Hurst who is seen with Joan Rice and Elton Hayes was an English actress. I believe she is still around. 

Before Elton sailed for America on 8 May 1952 to promote the film for Disney there was a publicity tour of the U.K where he made several personal appearances at other film theatres, including the Cardiff Empire,  and the Gaumont Theatres in Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool."

This now raises the question, how many other towns and cities had provincial premiers of 'The Story of Robin Hood'?

Since receiving Geoff's email I have discovered that the Provincial Premiere of 'Robin Hood' in Manchester was during the midnight matinee on April 24th 1952 at the Odeon Theatre. If you have any more information about those Provincial Premieres, please get in touch.

This is a very exciting discovery and I would like to thank Geoff for sharing his photograph with us. The image is Geoff's property, so kindly do not use it without his permission.