2026 Reflections
The other reviews I have of the Robin Hood conferences were written shortly after the events. But this time, I'm looking back nearly 25 years ago. And the events of that long ago are very murky now. Mostly little moments with my closest friends at the conference spring to mind -- a shared joke, a friendly greeting -- with only a few lines from the actual papers sticking in my mind.
I have a much better memory of the entertainment provided. I've written about the qualities of Bob Frank's version of the Gest. I remember Douglas Gray and Stephen Knight discussing how yes, this must be how the ballad was performed originally.
The production of Robin Hood and the Friar by PLS also looms large in my memories. I remember one textual addition to make up for the fact they didn't have enough players for both Robin's outlaws and the friar's gang. Some Merry Men switched sides, and a betrayed Robin cried "Why?" The Merry Man counted off on his fingers "Medical, dental, and ... we don't have to wear Kendal green!" Like Bob's Gest, it might not be the literal late medieval text, but moments like that brought the tale to life.
Of course, I remember my personal involvement with the conference. This was the only conference to be on my home turf, and so my contributions were more extensive than the other conferences I attended.
In addition to my paper on then-modern depictions of the Sheriff of Nottingham, I also hosted a workshop called Robin Hood in Canada to explore the Canadian depictions of the legend. During the session I discussed the oral ballad tradition from the maritime provinces, the Robin Hood Flour company (the corporate sponsors for the conference), Ted McCall's 1930s comic strip and later 1940s comic book Robin Hood and Company, the 1960s cartoon Rocket Robin Hood (featuring Robin's direct descendant in the 30th century), the 1990s cartoon Young Robin Hood, and the 1998 live-action family show Back to Sherwood (featuring Robin's 20th century descendant time-travelling back to help the children of the Merry Men). I once remarked that it was so typically Canadian that only four people attended. If you want to see something similar, I recorded a YouTube video on a similar theme in 2020. I'd like to think that the lost to the ages conference version was much better, but I'm probably fooling myself.
I also contributed several items to the library display at the D.B. Weldon Library, and was interviewed about the conference for both the National Post newspaper and Breakfast Television.
Maybe I'll remember more details for a future update of this page.
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