Talk:Much the Miller's Son

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In the article it says first that he joined the outlaws after he killed a deer, and then later on that it was this action that made them outlaws. Seems somewhat contradictory, but what is correct? Bjelleklang - talk 16:26, 1 June 2006 (UTC)

The trouble with mythic characters is there isn't usually a "correct" account, but lots of partially or entirely contradictory ones. To the best of my knowledge, though, the second version is unique to the TV series Robin of Sherwood. Daibhid C 22:19, 7 July 2006 (UTC)

In the movie Adventures of Robin Hood, Robin intervened when Much had been caught after shooting a deer, which is when the action really started. Goldfritha 22:21, 9 July 2006 (UTC)

This beginning is also used in the 1991 TV Movie, which makes at least three modern versions of Robin Hood where Much is to blame for Robin being outlawed. It's possible they are all copying the Errol Flynn version, but it seems a pretty standard part of the tale these days. Lordjim13 13:55, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

It's also in the 1955 The Adventures of Robin Hood, at least one book from around then (the name of which eludes me) and I think also The Legend of Robin Hood. It quite possibly predates the 1938 movie and is rooted in earlier literary retellings of the story. However it's also worth noting that it doesn't appear in every screen version, including the Disney cartoon film (where Robin is already an outlaw), Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (where instead it's Robin protecting Little John's son who is being pursued by soldiers that sees Robin first rebel) and the current BBC series (which has mixed up and/or ignored quite a number of traditions). Timrollpickering (talk) 02:11, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

It first seems to crop up -- with Will, not Much -- in Leigh Hunt's 1820 account. I'm sure there are a few pre-1938 instances of Much being in that story, but I'd suspect it was the Flynn film that popularized it.--Puckrobin (talk) 19:29, 27 March 2008 (UTC)