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Jul. 7th, 2006 12:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rinueMost memorable Robin Hood characters have a niche. Little John: burly second in command. Friar Tuck: holy man. Alan a Dale: minstrel.
Will Scarlet: guy who wears red.
Unsuprisingly, most modern authors don't know what to do with poor old Will. But the thing is, "scarlet" tells you a lot in Merry Old England. Scarlet "almost always referred to high-quality woolens made with certain insect-based red dyestuffs. Sometimes these woolens were dyed with other colors as well to produce mulberrys, grays, blacks, and even greens - and in some places, these too were known in the trade as scarlets." (p.24, A Perfect Red, by Amy Butler Greenfield.)
Will Scarlet was wearing some of the most expensive, desirable cloth that existed; sumptuary laws of the time forbade commoners from wearing it, even if by some miracle they could afford it. Moreover, the best scarlet dyes of the time were controlled by the Catholic church, giving the color an aura of holiness and martyrdom, and the most brilliant scarlet cloth was brought back from the Crusades.
Far from being a throwaway character, Will Scarlett, Robin Hood's cousin, is a reminder that the Merry Men are not simply ruffians; they are led by proper nobles who have sacrificed for what is right and godly. And maybe beneath that, there's a subtler message - that in a country where color is forbidden, there will always be outlaws.
Will Scarlet: guy who wears red.
Unsuprisingly, most modern authors don't know what to do with poor old Will. But the thing is, "scarlet" tells you a lot in Merry Old England. Scarlet "almost always referred to high-quality woolens made with certain insect-based red dyestuffs. Sometimes these woolens were dyed with other colors as well to produce mulberrys, grays, blacks, and even greens - and in some places, these too were known in the trade as scarlets." (p.24, A Perfect Red, by Amy Butler Greenfield.)
Will Scarlet was wearing some of the most expensive, desirable cloth that existed; sumptuary laws of the time forbade commoners from wearing it, even if by some miracle they could afford it. Moreover, the best scarlet dyes of the time were controlled by the Catholic church, giving the color an aura of holiness and martyrdom, and the most brilliant scarlet cloth was brought back from the Crusades.
Far from being a throwaway character, Will Scarlett, Robin Hood's cousin, is a reminder that the Merry Men are not simply ruffians; they are led by proper nobles who have sacrificed for what is right and godly. And maybe beneath that, there's a subtler message - that in a country where color is forbidden, there will always be outlaws.
