Character from the Robin Hood legend
Alan-a-Dale
(first recorded as
Allen a Dale
; variously spelled
Allen-a-Dale
,
Allan-a-Dale
,
Allin-a-Dale
,
Allan A'Dayle
etc.) 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
".
He is a relatively late addition to the legend; he first appeared in a 17th-century broadside ballad,
Child Ballad
138, "
Robin Hood and Allan-a-Dale
", and, unlike many of the characters thus associated, managed to adhere to the legend. In this tale, Robin rescues Alan's sweetheart from an unwanted marriage to an old knight. They stop the bishop from proceeding with the ceremony, and Robin Hood, dressed in the bishop's robes, marries Alan to his bride. In other versions it is
Little John
or
Friar Tuck
who performs the ceremony.
[1]
Another variant appears in which the hero is not Alan but
Will Scarlet
, but Alan has taken over the role completely.
[1]
Howard Pyle
uses this tale in his book
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
, but changes several details. He gives Alan's sweetheart the name Ellen, and introduces Friar Tuck into the story; Tuck is sought out specifically as the only priest who will perform the wedding in defiance of the bishop, and therefore, this tale is combined with that of
Robin Hood and the Curtal Friar
.
[2]
In
Pierce Egan the Younger
's story
Robin Hood and Little John
, Alan is given the name Sir Allan Clare; he is an armed knight, not a minstrel, and he is the brother of the
Maid Marian
. His sweetheart is Lady Christabel, the daughter of the
Sheriff of Nottingham
, who wants to give her to an old knight friend of his. The "Allan-a-Dale" name is given to his estates in
Sherwood Forest
; he is not given a major role after he and Christabel are married by Little John (who takes the place of the
Bishop of Hereford
), though he helps the Merry Men from time to time.
[3]
Alan plays a prominent role in some later plays, children's novels, films, and television shows.
Modern incarnations
[
edit
]
- Florence Wickham
and
Louise Le Baron
shared the role of Alan-a-Dale in the comic opera
Robin Hood
by Reginald De Koven and Harry B. Smith (1913).
- Alan-a-Dale was played by Lloyd Talman in
Robin Hood
(1922).
- Alan-a-Dale is absent from
The Adventures of Robin Hood
(1938) but is merged with the character
Will Scarlet
portrayed by
Patric Knowles
.
- Alan-a-Dale was played by Leslie Denison in
The Bandit of Sherwood Forest
(1946).
- Alan-a-Dale was played by
Lester Matthews
in
Rogues of Sherwood Forest
(1950).
- Alan-a-Dale is played by
Elton Hayes
in the 1952 film
The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men
.
- Alan-a-Dale was played by
John Schlesinger
in two episodes of
Robin Hood
(1956).
- Alan-a-Dale is the musical narrator of
Disney
's 1973
animated Robin Hood film
. He is depicted as a
lute
-playing
rooster
voiced by country singer
Roger Miller
and played the role of both narrator and minor ally to Robin Hood and Little John. The songs are "Whistle Stop", "
Oo-De-Lally
", and "
Not in Nottingham
".
- Alan Dale is the main character in
Angus Donald
's novels
Outlaw
,
Holy Warrior
and
King's Man
.
- Alan-a-Dale was played by
Elric Hooper
in
Lionel Bart
's ill-fated musical,
Twang!!
(1965). The show was revived in 2018 at the
Union Theatre, London
, with James Hudson in the role.
- Alan A 'Dale was the subject of a comic song performed on
Dudley Moore
and
Peter Cook
's show,
Not Only But Also
in 1965. The lyrics consisted of little more than a repetition of his name. Along with Cook and Moore, the performers were
Joe Melia
,
Bill Wallis
and
John Wells
.
- He was played by
Bing Crosby
in the rat pack film
Robin and the 7 Hoods
.
- Robert O. Cornthwaite
played Allan A. Dale, an accomplice to the supervillain The Archer, in season 2 of Batman (
Shoot a Crooked Arrow
and
Walk the Straight and Narrow
, 1966)
- He was played by
Bernie Kopell
in the 1975 US television series
When Things Were Rotten
- He was played by Peter Hutchinson in the 1984 British television series
Robin of Sherwood
, appearing in the fifth episode, entitled "
Alan A Dale
". In this version, Alan's sweetheart is named Mildred and is to be married to the
Sheriff of Nottingham
.
Friar Tuck
weds Alan and Mildred.
- In the animated series
Young Robin Hood
, Alan-a-Dale (Voiced by
Michael O'Reilly
) is a very young, romantic minstrel and good friend of Robin.
- In the 2002 video game
Robin Hood: The Legend of Sherwood
, Allan appears briefly to disguise himself as
Prince John
's man Guillame de Longchamps to deliver the ransom to save
King Richard
.
- LeVar Burton
's character
Geordi La Forge
was cast as Alan-a-Dale in a
Robin Hood fantasy
episode of
Star Trek: The Next Generation
.
- Allan A Dale
is played by
Joe Armstrong
in the 2006
BBC
production of
Robin Hood
. Here he is portrayed as an expert pickpocket and a compulsive liar with a sarcastic nature and no musical ability, but at the same time is a skilled swordsman and fighter. After being charged and sentenced to death for hunting a deer in the King's forest, Allan is one of four people rescued by Robin in his first demonstration of defiance against the Sheriff of Nottingham. Upon their escape, Allan joins Robin's band of outlaws and helps them aid the poor. After being captured by
Gisborne
he sells him information. When Robin finds out that he has turned traitor, Allan goes to work for Gisborne, but he later reconciles with Robin and returns to the band of outlaws and tries to help them defeat the Sheriff of Nottingham.
- Alan Doyle
of the band
Great Big Sea
is cast as Alan-a-Dale in the
Ridley Scott
production of
Robin Hood
starring
Russell Crowe
and
Cate Blanchett
, released in 2010. He is a war veteran who goes home with Robin Longstride and seems to have some musical talent.
- Alan O'Dell is the name of the character who takes on the identity of Rob Hood in "Robin Hood in the Wild West" and is played by the character of Bobby in Kander and Ebb's musical
Curtains
.
- Alan-a-Dale is played by
Ian Hallard
in the third episode of the
eighth series
of the hit
BBC1
series
Doctor Who
entitled
Robot of Sherwood
.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Holt, J. C.
Robin Hood
p 165 (1982) Thames & Hudson.
ISBN
0-500-27541-6
- ^
Michael Patrick Hearn, "Afterword", Howard Pyle
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
, p 384
ISBN
0-451-52007-6
- ^
Pierce Egan the Younger "Robin Hood and Little John of the Merry Men of Sherwood Forest",
ISBN
978-0415220057
External links
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