Исследовательская работа Робин Гуд
творческая работа учащихся по английскому языку (5 класс) на тему

Муниципальное общеобразовательное учреждение

«Средняя общеобразовательная школа №10»

Исследовательская работа

по английскому языку на тему:

«Робин Гуд: миф или реальность?»

Работу выполнила: ученица 5 «Б» класса

Саманова Анастасия

Научный руководитель: учитель английского языка

Цыцаркина Наталья Сергеевна

г. Печора

2017 год

Contents

                    Introduction

1. Who is Robin Hood?

• Etymology of a word
• Robin Hood’s friends
• The end of his life

2. Prototypes of  the hero

• Count Hattington
• Hereward
• Fulk Fitsvarin

3. Robin Hood in the modern world
4. Robin Hood: To be or not to be?

                 Conclusion

Introduction

Every country has its national hero. The one, that is admired by the whole state. When I started to study English, I wondered who he was, if he was a real character or an imaginary one. At one of the English lessons we were told about Robin Hood. I studied loads of information, read all known ballads of Robin Hood and an idea came to my mind to make a research and find out whether he existed or not. I conducted a pole among my classmates to find out what they know about this character. According to the survey 11 people out of 24 interviewed, tend to think that Robin Hood was an imaginary character, the other 13 are of the opposite opinion. 9 people, answering the question: «What was Robin Hood? Was he a legendary hero or a sly thief?» said he was a  robber and a thief, but the rest 15 didn’t agreed with their opponents and believed him to be a noble man. 6 thought him to live in the village, but 18 people considered him to live in the wood. When the respondents were asked to describe Robin Hood in one word, they said he was clever, strong, brave. 10 people didn’t want Robin Hood to live and act in modern society, while 14 wanted him to be part of the modern world. So I’ve realized that the given subject is rather controversial. Almost everyone have heard about Robin Hood, but they aren’t sure who he was. It has become very relevant for me.

Hypothesis: Robin Hood was a real man.

Aim: to find a prototype of Robin Hood.

Tasks: -    to study the corresponding data;

• To make a list of literature;
• To make and fill a comparison table
• To analyze the information.

Methods:   - comparison

• Analyses

Object: Robin Hood’s prototypes

Subject: the national hero of England

1. Who is Robin Hood? 

Robin Hood (English Robin Hood.) - A popular character of medieval English folk ballads, the noble leader of  forest robbers. According to a  legend, he acted with his gang in Sherwood Forest not far from Nottingham. Usually he is depicted wearing a green dress. This is a person engaged in robbery, along with his assistants. They robbed the rich and gave money to the poor . Robin Hood became a popular hero of medieval folklore, and continues to be popular in modern literature and cinema.

1. Etymology of a word.

The word "капюшон" in English means "hood" and points to the item of clothing of Robin Hood, but with incorrect Russian etymology of English. «Good» - «хороший» are connected  only because of  similar sound. Generally the word «hood» - is not just a hood or any other similar headwear - a cap, a helmet (the main thing that protects the entire head). Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne, his opponent, wear hats, which are called by the same word - hood and knight's helmet. But the word "hood» has a figurative sense - "to hide (close the hood)."

The word "robin" is translated as "малиновка", but it is possible that the name of the hero is the result of rethinking of the expression «Rob in hood» - «Rob (Robert) (" rob "," robber "also means" robber ") in the hood.

Other well- known names, associated with Robin Hood are Robin a good fellow, Puck - the spirit of the forest in the folklore of the Frisians, Saxons and Scandinavians.

 1.2 Robin Hoods friends

Brother Tuck was an accomplice Robin Hood. This monk is considered to be one of the heroes of Sherwood Forest. Written evidence suggests that Friar Tuck was a real robber. He only acted in 200 miles from Sherwood Forest, and 100 years after the supposed lifetime of Robin Hood. And this priest was not a harmless and funny man - he plundered and empted the pockets of their enemies mercilessly.

Robin married Marian. Marian has become an important part of the legend of Robin Hood. However, few people know that, initially, she was the heroine of a separate series of ballads. Robin and the other robbers of the early legends had no wives or families. Lady Marian was of noble blood. Some historians are inclined to think that she was a beautiful girl patronized by Prince John. And she met robin Hood when she fell in his ambush in the forest. However, there is another view. Some scientists believe that the first name Marian appeared even in the French epic. She was a girlfriend of a shepherd, called Robin

Sir Guy of Gisborne was a real noble character and an enemy of Robin Hood. The behavior of Sir Guy of Gisborne is quite different than that of the sheriff’s. The knight appears in the legends as brave and courageous warrior, a good command of the sword and bow. One legend tells how

 Guy Gisborne desired to get rid of Robin Hood for award, but in the end he fell at the hands of the noble robber. In some stories he is called a cruel bloodthirsty killer, it is easy to step over the law in order to achieve their goals. The appearance of the hero was unusual - he wore a horse skin. But he didn’t exist as a historical character.

Sheriff of Nottingham was a notorious villain. From tales, novels and films  it is well known that the main enemy of Robin Hood is the Sheriff of Nottingham. This servant of the law was a friend of the church and the nobility. In medieval England there was a sheriff officer, who fought with the criminals. This post first appeared in X-XI centuries. In the Tales of Robin Hood, his main enemy - the sheriff, is never called by name. Sheriff of Nottingham existed, but it is not clear who he was in the years of the Robin Hood. In the legends he is a villain. He oppresses the poor, takes other people's land, introduces new taxes and generally abuses his position. In some stories, the sheriff with the help of intrigue tries to become king.

 1.3 The end of his life.

Robin Hood was buried in Yorkshire, in the monastery of Kirklees. His grave has been there ever since. According to a legend, Robin Hood went to the monastery for treatment. The hero realized that his hand weakened. The nuns were famous for their ability of bloodletting. In those days it was considered to be the best cure. But the prioress released too much blood. Dying, he shot his last arrow and willed to bury himself in the place where it fell.

But the writer Tudor Richard Grafton had a different version. He believed that the prioress buried Robin Hood on the roadside. The book states that a hero lies where he robbed passers-by. A large stone was placed on his tomb.

2. Prototypes of the hero.

 Robin Hood might live in the early 14th century, during the reign of King Edward II, or even later: in one of the ballads Queen Catherine, which is sometimes known as Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536) rules the country. However, at present, the most popular version is that of Walter Scott, according to which Robin lived in the second half of the 12th century. Although a number of historical detail contradict the second version for example, competitions in archery were not  held in England until the 13th century.

In one of the most comprehensive collections of English ballads published by Francis Childe in the XIX century, there are 40 works about Robin Hood.

1.1 There are several versions  who the real Robin Hood was. One writer claimed that Robin Hood - a count  Hattingdon, who was buried in a monastery in western Yorkshire. In favor of this version says the tomb with the inscription, which may indicate that a real Robin Hood was buried there.

1.2 The second  prototype of Robin Hood was Hereward (Wake, that Russian can be translated as "будитель"). In the XI century. he led the fight against the British with William the Conqueror  took control of the island or in the swampy wetlands of southern Lincoln County and resisted the coming of the Normans. Hereward became a folk hero: brave exploits were celebrated in songs, which for 100 years after his death, were sung in the taverns of England, and when the book appeared Geoffrey Gaymar "Istria Angles" (about 1140), and were written by "Acts of Hereward the Saxon," he It has already become a legend. Many of the facts that would later become associated with the hero-criminal Robin Hood can be found in the stories of Hereward. He was brave, courteous, resourceful, cleverly hiding and was always on the alert than justified his nickname Wake, which means "alert".

 1.3  Another hero of the time was Fulk Fitsvarin. The legend tells of a young nobleman Foulkes, who lived at the beginning of the XII century., Who went into the service of the English King John (John Lackland Plantagenet (1167-1216), chronicles the hero prototype of Shakespeare's "King John."), But soon rebelled against it. Because the King confiscated the estates of  Fulk’s family. The  nobleman went into the forest, preferring to lead a life of  a robber. Some details of the story repeats the episodes of the legend of Robin Hood. For example, Fulk had honesty affluent travelers cleverly lured King John into the woods, where he fell into the hands of a gang of thugs. However, the legend of Fulk Fitsvarine (like the rest of the early heroic epic FA) from the legend of Robin Hood distinguished by the presence of the mythical component (giants, dragons, epic tales).

Later it was offered completely different interpretation of the image of Robin Hood, which is based on its role in British folklore. Presumably, the creation of the legend of Robin Hood was influenced by pagan characters, such as the green man (or Robin Goodfellow) and wild forest man. The image of Robin and the story about him, of course, linked to "the May Games" - the arrival of spring holiday, which was celebrated before the XVI century. But it is unlikely legend originates from these festivities. After all, the legend was well known, and before it there were "May the game."

3. Robin Hood in the modern world

Time has passed but this name is still popular in the modern world. It has become nominal and you can come across the name in titles of magazines, restaurant or café signs. We’ve made a little research and found out in what spheres of life the name is used.

1. The Finnish network of stores Robinhood
2. brokerage program
3. organization for the protection of consumer rights
4. Robin Hood Doncaster Airport  
5. online gaming machine  
6. shooting club  
7. restaurant  etc.

4. Robin Hood: to be or not to be?

Robin Hood wore green clothing. Robbers in green robes were often mentioned in legends. One of the earliest legends tells how the king dressed his men in green color on purpose and ordered them to walk through Nottingham and impersonate forest brothers. However, citizens didn’t welcome the "robbers" and drove them away in anger. This, incidentally, speaks eloquently what people’s attitude to Robin Hood was. If he really fought for justice and was popular, why would they flee from the citizens in a hurry?

Analyzing the information presented in the comparison table, we can come to the conclusion that Robin might be the collective image of these warriors (Hereward and Fulk Fitsvarin). They were heroes who protected the territory of Great Britain in the 11-12 centuries. Unfortunately, none of them used a bow and arrows as a weapon. Robin Hood was a great archer. The ability to shoot well made Robin Hood prominent. In some theatrical plays he even won competitions, getting into the apple with his arrowhead. In fact, classic English long bows only began to appear at that time, they were very rare. Historical documents indicate that robbers  mastered this weapon only in the middle of the XIII century. At the same time they began to hold competitions. If some believe that Robin Hood lived at the end of the XII century, he couldn’t be an archer. As for Hereward and Fulk, they both used swards and spears to fight. Thanks to these warriors, the image of Robin Hood obtained such traits of character as brevity, courage, ability to be just, to lure and plunder the rich, to protect and to give money to the poor. One of the versions says that Robin was offended by the king who had confiscated the estate of his family while he was on service. This part of Robin’s biography reminds us of Fulk Fitsvarinand his falling apart with the royal court. It led both of them to the woods. Both Hereward and Robin Hood were known under their nicknames: Wake and Rob in hood.

Conclusion

Having analyzed all collected data about Robin Hood , I’ve realized that Robin Hood is likely to be a collective image. There are different theories about the origin of the hero, but no exact answer or historically proved information.   Even though there are some controversial facts, there were courageous people in different centuries that helped the English to go through some hard time. People praised their heroes in songs and ballads. The heroes such as Hereward and Fulk Filtswarine add much to the formation of the image of Robin Hood. Unfortunately my hypothesis wasn’t proved.

Comparison table:

List of literature

1. Википедия - https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Робин_Гуд
2. http://andergx.livejournal.com/362306.html
3. http://www.gremlinmage.ru/medieval/robin.php
4. http://s-marshak.ru/works/trans/trans010.htm
5. https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Смерть_Робин_Гуда
6. http://altritter.ru/articles/istorija/134.html