Woodcut illustration of Adam Bell, likely from the 19th century

Adam Bell was a legendary English outlaw. He and his companions William of Cloudsley and Clym of the Clough lived in Inglewood Forest near Carlisle and were figures similar to Robin Hood. Their story is told in Child Ballad 116 entitled Adam Bell, Clym of the Cloughe[1] and Wyllyam of Cloudeslee.[2] The basis of the tale has historical roots in the criminal activities of the Folville and Coterel gangs.[3] At one point William of Cloudsley, who is famed as an archer, shoots an arrow through an apple on his son's head at six score paces, a feat also ascribed to William Tell and other heroes. The oldest known copy of this ballad was printed by Wynkyn de Worde in 1505. There are notable parallels between this ballad and that of Robin Hood and the Monk, but whether either legend was the source for the other cannot be established.[4]

Surviving early copies

Name of publisher Date Lines included Location (if available)
Wynkyn de Worde C. 1510 221-446 Unknown
Unknown C. 1500-1530 53-111 In possession of J. Payne Collier
Iohan (John) Bydell 2 June 1536 452-506, 642-680 Cambridge University
William Copeland C. 1556 Complete Various universities

In popular culture

In the prologue to Howard Pyle's 1883 novel The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, Little John upon first meeting Robin favorably compared Robin's skill at archery to that of Adam Bell.[5]

Adam Bell is the chief protagonist of the penny dreadful novel by Pierce Egan the Younger entitled Adam Bell, or, The Archers of Englewood published in 1842.

G. Blakemore Evans[6] and John Upton[7] both argue that Adam Bell is the "Adam" mentioned by Shakespeare in Much Ado About Nothing, I, i, 257-9:

...hang me in a bottle like a cat, and shoot at me, and he that hits me, let him be clapp'd on
the shoulder, and call'd Adam.

Adam Bell was played by Bryan Marshall in the Robin of Sherwood episode Adam Bell. In this particular storyline, Bell sacrifices his life so that Robin can rescue the Sheriff of Nottingham's nephew Martin from his murderous uncle.[8]

References and footnotes

  1. ^ Pronounced "Cluff" and rhymed "An archer good ynough."
  2. ^ Evans, Zteve T (26 September 2019). "British Legends: The Outlaws of Inglewood and the Feminine Influence - #FolkloreThursday". folklorethursday.com. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  3. ^ A.J. Pollard (2 August 2004). Imagining Robin Hood: The Late Medieval Stories in Historical Context. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-59538-9.
  4. ^ Holt, J. C. (1982). Robin Hood. London: Thames & Hudson. p. 73. ISBN 0-500-27541-6.
  5. ^ Pyle, Howard (2006). The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood. Signet Classics. ISBN 978-0-451-53026-4.
  6. ^ Blakemore Evans, G; Levin, Harry; Barton, Anne; Baker, Herschel; Kermode, Frank; Smith, Hallett D.; Edel, Marie, eds. (1974). The Riverside Shakespeare. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. p. 335 n. 259. ISBN 978-0395044025.
  7. ^ Upton, John (2 February 2024). Critical Observations on Shakespeare. p. 243.
  8. ^ Paul Cornell, Martin Day and Keith Topping, The Guinness Book of Classic British TV. Enfield: Guinness Publishing, 1996. (pg. 352–4). ISBN 9780851126289

External links

Francis James Child
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