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A "rod" varied between 3 and 8 meters, and is currently defined as 5. So "threescore" (60) rods would be 180 to 480 meters. With "flight" arrows, lightweight ones used for target practice, this would be fairly impressive - Wikipedia puts 315 meters at the limit of what you'd find on a practice field. If he were using heavier combat arrows, anything beyond 220 would be an extremely impressive feat. So even in this first small story, we are shown Robin's legendary skill with a bow
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Jul 31, 2020 23:35
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| # ¿ May 9, 2024 19:36 |
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More to the point, context is fun.
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Aug 1, 2020 02:45
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Green clothes makes sense for forest people, but I've always found it amusing that Lincoln Green is so specifically called out. It doesn't appear to have been a particularly expensive or prestigious color, and some sources have Robin himself eschewing it for the more expensive Lincoln Scarlet.
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Aug 3, 2020 02:48
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Dyes and colors were a big thing in Ye Olden Times, because dying was expensive. I just find the focus on this one interesting because (as far as I can tell) it was one of the cheaper ones.
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Aug 3, 2020 03:18
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Would all the other archers of legend have been known in Pyle's day? Having Robin best them all is a lovely dramtic touch, but it would be lost on a modern audience.
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Aug 5, 2020 17:21
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:That's a question beyond my scholarship. Pyle's collecting stories from "Broadside" ballads, which were a relatively popular medium . . . 100 to 200 years before Pyle is doing his work. It almost is reminding me (on a smaller scale) of the role-call of the Achaean fleet in the Iliad, in that it is virtually meaningless to a modern, but somebody versed in the lore of the era (or who had a cultural connection to someone on the list, as the ancient Greeks were said to) they're quite important.
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Aug 6, 2020 05:08
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| # ¿ May 9, 2024 19:36 |
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The idea of "well, we promised to swordfight, but this is getting silly. Want a job?" is good fun. Pyle's moralizing is pretty evident here, with Robin declaring that the Sheriff had done nothing to deserve being robbed.
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Aug 12, 2020 01:17
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