Friar Tuck is one of the Merry Men, the band of heroic outlaws in the folklore of Robin Hood. Although a common character in the modern Robin Hood legend, Tuck does not appear in the earliest surviving Robin Hood ballads.

History The figure of the jovial friar was common in the May Games festivals of England and Scotland during the 15th to 17th centuries. Friar figures also appear in morris dances associated with May Day celebrations of the period. The original association of Friar Tuck with Robin Hood remains uncertain and may have emerged through morris tradition, dramatic performance, or both. He appears as a character in the play Robyn Hod and the Shryff off Notyngham (which has survived in a fragmentary manuscript dated to ), and also in a play for the May games published in 1560 which tells a story similar to "Robin Hood and the Curtal Friar" (the oldest surviving copy of this ballad is from the 17th century). The character likely entered the tradition through these folk plays, and he was often associated with Maid Marian, who was also a May Games character. By the mid 16th century May Games were becoming increasingly bawdy, and in one play Robin even gives Marian to Friar Tuck as a concubine: "She is a trul of trust, to serue a frier at his lust/a prycker a prauncer a terer of shetes/a wagger of ballockes when other men slepes." His appearance in Robyn Hod and the Shryff off Notyngham shows that he was already part of the legend around the time when the earliest surviving copies of the Robin Hood ballads were being made.

A friar with Robin's band in the historical period of Richard the Lion-Hearted would have been unlikely as the period predates formal mendicant orders in England. Nonetheless, hermits in England date as far back as Cuthbert in the late 7th century, and monasticism was present as early as the 5th century. In addition, multiple historical references to hermits unallied with formal orders have been noted, among them Eustace the Monk (a medieval outlaw) and Robert of Knaresborough who was a contemporary of Richard I. However, the association of Robin Hood with Richard I was not made until the 16th century; the early ballad "A Gest of Robin Hood" names his king as "Edward".

What follows is a story which includes different versions of the legend. He was a former monk of Fountains Abbey (or in some cases, St Mary's Abbey in York, which is also the scene of some other Robin Hood tales) who was expelled by his order because of his lack of respect for authority. Because of this, and in spite of his taste for good food and wine, he became the chaplain of Robin's band. In Howard Pyle's The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, he was specifically sought out as part of the tale of Alan-a-Dale: Robin has need of a priest who will marry Allan to his sweetheart in defiance of the Bishop of Hereford.Michael Patrick Hearn, "Afterword", Howard Pyle The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, p 384

In many tales, from Robin Hood and the Curtal Friar to The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, his first encounter with Robin results in a battle of wits in which first one and then the other gains the upper hand and forces the other to carry him across a river. This ends with the Friar tossing Robin into the river.

In some tales, he is depicted as a physically fit man and a skilled swordsman and archer with a hot-headed temper. However, most commonly, Tuck is depicted as a fat, balding monk with a good sense of humour and a great love of food and ale, often together. Sometimes, the latter depiction of Tuck is the comic relief of the tale.

Two royal writs in 1417 refer to Robert Stafford, a Sussex chaplain who had assumed the alias of Frere Tuk. This "Friar Tuck" was still at large in 1429. These are the earliest surviving references to a character by that name.

Portrayals in other media

Friar Tuck has been featured in numerous adaptations across stage, film, television, animation, video games, and literature. These portrayals have varied in characterization and style, but commonly emphasize his loyalty, humor, and defiance in the face of authority. Notably, there are numerous instances where Tuck is referenced not in relation to Robin Hood.

TitleYearPortrayed byMedia Type Ivanhoe 1891 Avon Saxon Romantic opera Douglas Fairbanks in Robin Hood 1922 Willard Louis Film The Adventures of Robin Hood 1938 Eugene Pallette Film The Bandit of Sherwood Forest 1946 Edgar Buchanan Film The Prince of Thieves 1948 Alan Mowbray Film Rogues of Sherwood Forest 1950 Billy House Film The Adventures of Robin Hood 1955–1959 Alexander Gauge TV series The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men 1952 James Hayter Film Robin Hood Daffy 1958 Porky Pig Animated short A Challenge for Robin Hood 1967 James Hayter Film Robin Hood 1973 Andy Devine Animated film When Things Were Rotten 1975 Dick Van Patten TV series Robin of Sherwood 1980s Phil Rose TV series Robin Hood no Daibōken 1990–1991 Kenichi Ogata Anime series Young Robin Hood 1991 Harry Standjofski Animated series Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves 1991 Mike McShane Film Robin Hood 1991 Jeff Nuttall Film Star Trek: TNG: "Qpid" 1991 Data TV series Robin Hood: Men in Tights 1993 Mel Brooks Film Robin Hood 2009 David Harewood TV series Robin Hood 2010 Mark Addy Film Once Upon a Time 2014–2016 Michael P. Northey TV series Doctor Who: "Robot of Sherwood" 2014 Trevor Cooper TV series Robin Hood 2018 Tim Minchin Film

Analysis Anne K. Kaler noted that a common misconception about Friar Tuck is that he was a Franciscan friar; she noted this is not plausible as he could belong to Benedictine, Augustinian or Carmelite orders instead, or perhaps be a renegade monk or a hermit. She notes that he fits into the Robin Hood story as one of the classic archetypes or stereotypes; here, of "a laudatory example of Christian clergyman", remembered for qualities such as "joy and good fellowship", a role for which he became immortalized in popular culture since. She compared him to characters such as Santa Claus, Falstaff or Winnie the Pooh, calling him "our 'belly cheer', our Lord of Misrule, our occasional defiance of authority, our spirit of seasonal joy".

Medical references A pattern in the dermatologic disease trichotillomania (compulsive pulling out of scalp hair) has been nicknamed the "Friar Tuck sign" because of its resemblance to Friar Tuck's familiar tonsured hair, which was common in many male religious orders in the mediaeval period.

References

External links

Robin Hood and the Curtal Friar, a 17th-century ballad with additional information Robin Hood Spotlight: Robin Hood and the Friar, a page on the 1560s play and modern productions of it