By tradition, Robin Hood comes out of the forest in order to restore a more honest and "natural" way of life. Here are some historical topics that touch on the Robin Hood tradition:
Bringing the Forest to the City: "In order that the town in later years may have shade trees, it is hereby ordained that all property owners shall set out maple trees in the parking along their property. Such trees shall be set out not less than ten feet above the surface of the ground, and they shall have some kind of protection around them to keep the stock from breaking down." --Sherwood Town Ordinance #13 August 7, 1893The Charivari: "Charivari Party Visit Newlyweds-- Now, Ed [Rasmussen] is a modest, retiring young man and he was loath to accept the invitation, but when he was told what would be done to him unless he joined the musicians he decided to participate in the festival of noise. The band surrounded the domicile of the newly-weds and the festivities started." The couple was escorted to the soda fountain at Sherwood Pharmacy for ice cream and singing. --Sherwood Valley News, April 19, 1928
Days of "Misrule": "Wagons, buggies, shingles, lumber, telephone poles, sign boards and a great many other things were transferred last night. Also many out-buildings were overturned. At the train depot one truck was found lying on its side while another one went for a joy ride down the road." --Sherwood News-Sheet Nov. 1, 1911
10 comments:
It is that spirit of Robin Hood that is ingrained into our little town. It is part of that Progressive Spirit that says, "If I need it or want it, I'll get it or make it myself!" Being self sufficient and possibly sustainable is going to be the new
habit of many people as we go into this new age of our economic downturn.
Or "shivaree" as they said in the Old West! (Man am I using my dictionary today!!!)
Must be one of those French words we never know how to say right.
I read that story in the San Francisco reading room once.It was a jolly-good story!!
I can understand how angry Sherwood school kids were about the loss of Hallowe'en a few years ago. Hallowe'en is part of someone's religion and therefore should best not be practiced in a public school. The traditional "Ritual of Misrule" is something else. It has nothing to do with Satanism and everything to do with the American Revolution. (The Bosotn Tea Party was an act of misrule.) Bringing "The Ritual of Misrule" to Sherwood should be our next community service project. A lot of valuable lessons could be taught about the relationship between the rich and the poor, the powerful and the meek, etc. Actually, scratch that. We've already got the Sherwood Oregon Robin Hood Festival.
Trail Days, itself is a time of "misrule." I love it for that! You have people in the streets and sidewalks, holding up traffic and slowing down the work-a-day world. We a foreign enitiy wandering around and there are strange signs that are not allowed hanging around. Oh, by the way, if anyone sees my "Civic Revolt" sign, I'd like it back for next year.
Every time I see a Robin Hood skit, I learn something. I never noticed the importance of Robin Hood's musical ability until I saw some kids acting out one of the old ballads at our Society's History School.
Robin Hood's antics all along the Heritage Trail made me understand why scholars always associate Robin Hood with Pan, "the Greek god of shepherds and flocks, of mountain wilds, hunting and rustic music." (Wikipedia)
Why would this profound thought come to me? Because "Pan" is the source of the word "panic," and panic is what is controlling the Stock Market right now. Robin Hood loves a good panic. But a Robin Hood tale always ends well, with everything and everyone feeling young again and ready to begin anew.
Let's hope the current market panic ends the same way!
We've got that Mr. Adair over there at the bank don't we? He was a Federal Banking investigator who worked in the Citizen's Bank of Sherwood during the first Depression. He was there all the time overseeing the workings of the bank, holding the fort when Mr. and Mrs. Bowen had to go somewhere, and filing his reports. I think that is why there were no bank robberies during that time. But not too soon after he retired, that when we started our rash of bank robberies!
When was Robin Hood invented?
Oh what an interesting question. The answer is complicated, but just as interesting,
Robin Hood was invented when your European ancestors came to America and they saw the native American. Your European ancestors said to themselves: "Wow! Those Native Americans are exactly like Robin Hood! They have feathers in their hats. They have bows and arrows. They run with the deer in the forest. That's what we European-Americans used to be like. Where, oh where, did we go wrong!?"
In other words. To say it all over again. We do not know when Robin Hood was "invented." We only know that he did not truly matter to white people until we discovered the Red Man. That is when Robin Hood came to life.
I hope that answers your question. Please post another question if it does not.
Post a Comment