Charles I to Prince Rupert's fiancee, Jennifer Alayne:
"'My lady, if thou hast no near male kin, may I bestow thee on thy wedding day?' (She burned in bewilderment and glory.)" (p. 212)
This reminds us (editorially speaking) of the end of Kevin Costner's Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves. The forest wedding of Robin and Marion is interrupted by soldiers. A familiar voice forbids the ceremony to continue - unless he can give away the bride. Sean Connery (uncredited) plays Richard the Lion Heart returned from the Crusade. When I saw it, there was a silence of recognition in the cinema: Connery is a celebrity to us as Coeur de Lion was to his contemporaries.
Connery's Robin And Marion is IMO the best cinematic treatment of the theme of a man and his legend.
6 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Strictly speaking, Jennifer Alayne did have two close male kinsmen, her two brothers. But they were both younger than her, so it might not have been thought quite right for the elder of the two to do that bestowing.
Ad astra! Sean
It's vastly superior to the Costner abomination, IMHO.
Kaor, Mr. Stirling!
Alas, I've never seen either of these two movies. So I can't really comment on them.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
See ROBIN AND MARION. Another bonus is that Friar Tuck is played by Ronnie Barker, a prominent British comedian.
Another guy used to walk around Nottingham dressed as Friar Tuck. When I commended ROBIN AND MARIAN to him, he replied, "The only thing about that: the suit of armor worn by Sir Guy of Gisborne is from the 14th century."
There is still a Sheriff of Nottingham.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Sometimes when I'm feeling CONTRARIAN, I declare Robin Hood was no hero or philanthropist. Rather, he was a bandit preying on law abiding people. AND, it made no sense to think a bandit would attack the PROFESSIONAL military of circa AD 1190, highly trained knights and men at arms. Rather, the "real" Robin Hood (better called "Robbing Hoodlum") would attack lightly armed civilians.
Then I would end by saying the Sheriff of Nottingham was simply trying to do his job, keep the King's peace and protect the law abiding!
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
It surprised me in childhood when I was first taught "Thou shalt not steal," then told that Robin Hood was right to steal from the rich to give to the poor but this contradiction must represent a massive conflict in society between rich nobles and impoverished peasants.
Paul.
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