RoS FAQ

                                  Robin of Sherwood FAQ

                                    by Tirza van Rijn



This version:  1.1
Last updated:  May 18, 2000


TABLE OF CONTENTS:

0.0)  INTRODUCTION
        0.1)  What is a FAQ?
        0.2)  Acknowledgments
        0.3)  Where the author can be reached
        0.4)  Where can I get a copy of this FAQ?
        0.5)  FAQ history

1.0) WHICH ROBIN HOOD SERIES ARE WE TALKING ABOUT HERE?
        1.1) Regular cast
        1.2) Special guests
	1.3) Film locations
	1.4) Why was Loxley killed?
	1.5) Why was there no fourth series? 

2.0) DOES A ROBIN OF SHERWOOD FANCLUB EXIST?
	2.1) Spirit of Sherwood
	2.2) RoS conventions
	2.3) The RoS mailing list

3.0) ARE THERE VIDEO TAPES OF THE SERIES AVAILABLE?
        3.1) Robin of Sherwood episodes
        3.2) Robin of Sherwood blooper tape

4.0) ARE THERE BOOKS ON ROBIN OF SHERWOOD?
        4.1) Robin of Sherwood novels
        4.2) Related books
        4.3) General books on Robin Hood
        4.4) Robin of Sherwood fanzines

5.0) WHERE CAN I FIND THE ROBIN OF SHERWOOD SOUNDTRACK?

6.0) IS THERE AN EPISODE GUIDE FOR ROBIN OF SHERWOOD?

7.0) WHERE CAN I FIND ROBIN OF SHERWOOD ON THE INTERNET?
        7.1) Robin of Sherwood on the WWW
        7.2) Robin of Sherwood chats
        7.3) The RoS mailing list

8.0) HERNE THE HUNTER
        8.1) The figure of Herne
        8.2) Herne and Windsor
        8.3) The Wild Hunt
        8.4) Places connected to Herne

9.0) WAYLAND
        9.1) The figure of Wayland
        9.2) The seven swords of Wayland

10.0) RUNES
	10.1) The runes on Albion
	10.2) Gulnar's magic spells

0.0)  INTRODUCTION

This is the tenth edition of a file that will be regularly posted
to answer some Frequently Asked Questions on the TV series Robin of
Sherwood. Permission is granted by the author to use portions of
this file in an UNMODIFIED form on other networks and BBS's, etc. for
information purposes only. Rights to modifications to this file are
reserved by the author.

  Note: This document may freely copied and distributed for personal
  use or for the sake of information purposes only. It may be
  distributed in its entirety, with all original author and copyright
  information intact. Any sales of this document or use of it in a for-
  profit project, or use in any other capacity save those already
  mentioned, is expressly forbidden without the specific consent of
  the author. Copyright, Tirza van Rijn, 1995, 1997.

DISCLAIMER: I will attempt to keep this FAQ as updated as possible. But
            an absence of any item from this list does not necessarily
            mean that the item doesn't exist. And I can't promise that I
            will be able to include everything in this FAQ. Further, certain
            items may contain typos, so be careful when entering items from
            this list. Any errors should be forwarded to the author.

0.1) What is a FAQ?

A FAQ (short for "Frequently Asked Questions") or a FAQL (short for
"Frequently Asked Questions List") is a document that serves to answer
commonly (or perhaps not so commonly) asked questions about a particular
subject. Such a document is usually posted to the Internet (or to an
online service) to the various groups or BBS's (bulletin boards) to which
it is relevant, in the hopes of answering these often asked questions. For
instance, a FAQ about a TV show will attempt to answer questions about
that TV show, and will be posted to some relevant usenet groups (and BBS's
on the on-line services) in hopes of answering the common questions asked
about Saved by the Bell. Hopefully, a FAQ (like this one) will mean that
people will not have to post a message to get the answer to their
question: they can just wait for the FAQ to be posted.

0.2)  Acknowledgments

Thanks to Christine Haire (ChrisRHood@aol.com), Georgia Fleming 
(Skate76@aol.com/Hyacinth@frost.snowhill.com), Michael Hobbs 
, Eunice , Lucy Collin
(lucydennis@cix.compulink.co.uk) and Gary Rhodes 
 for their contributions.

0.3)  Where the author can be reached

This is the tenth edition of this FAQ, and it is probably either incorrect in
parts or is missing useful information. If any person has any questions,
comments or suggestions about this FAQ, please contact the author, Tirza van
Rijn at:

               tirza@duteca.et.tudelft.nl

Any help on this project will be appreciated.

0.4)  Where can I get a copy of this FAQ?

Send a message to:
    Majordomo@einstein.et.tudelft.nl
with
    get ros Tirza_RoS.FAQ
in the message body (the Subject field is ignored), and the FAQ will be send 
to you by E-mail.
You can also contact the author for a copy.

0.5)  FAQ history

0.1 -> 0.2
Additions to the special guest list in 1.2. Corrections regarding Weekend in 
Sherwood in 2.0 and the video tapes in 3.1. Additions to the book info and 
the fanzins in 4.1, 4.2 and 4.4, to the soundtrack in 5.0. Correction of the
URL of the RoS home page in 7.0. Additions to the information on Herne and 
Wayland in 8.4 and 9.1 respectively. Corrected a few typos.

0.2 -> 0.3
Filled in sction 0.4. Added section 1.3 on film locations. Updates concerning
RoS fanclubs in 2.1, RoS cons in 2.2, added section 2.3 on the RoS mailing 
list. Updated info on the video tapes in 3.1. Updates on fanzines in 4.4. 
Additions to the Legend album codes in 5.0. Added info about the origin of 
names of the swords of Wayland in 9.2.

0.3 -> 0.4
Updates on the RoS cons in 2.2. Extensive additions on the filming locations 
in 1.3.

0.4 -> 0.5
Updates on the RoS cons in 2.2.

0.5 -> 0.6
Added Chapter 10.

0.6 -> 0.7
Added URL in Chapter 5. Minor additions to 2.1 and 2.2. Extensive additions to 
Chapter 7.

0.7 -> 0.8
Added info the the Guy Groupies chat to 7.2. Small additions to 1.3. Added
some possible selling points for the Video Gems videos to 3.1. Added part of
translation of the motto on Albion into runes to 10.1. Added URL for
Cindy's Robin Hood booklist to 4.3.

0.8 -> 0.9
Added more info on selling points for the RoS video tapes in 3.1. Added more
info on the filming locations in 1.3.

0.9 -> 1.0
Added more info on the names of the Seven Swords of Wayland in 9.2 and on
the runes on Albion in 10.1. Added the RoS Game Book and content descriptions
to 4.2. Updated the con info in 2.2. Complete rewrite of 6.0. Updated URLs
in 7.1.

1.0 -> 1.1
Updated the video info in 3.1. Updated the fanzine info in 4.4. Updated some 
E-mail and Web addresses. Added paragraph 1.4 and 1.5. Updated 5.0.

1.0) WHICH ROBIN HOOD SERIES ARE WE TALKING ABOUT HERE?

Robin of Sherwood was an HTV production in association with Goldcrest
Television Ltd. and first broadcasted on the ITV network. It was written by
Richard Carpenter, produced by Paul Knight and directed by Ian Sharp. It ran
for three seasons, from 1984 to 1986. The first season (5 episodes, including
one 2-hour/part) and second season (6 episodes, also including one 2-hour/part)
starred Michael Praed as Robin of Loxley, the third season (11 episodes,
including two 2-hour/part) featured Jason Connery as his successor, Robert of
Huntingdon.

1.1) Regular cast

Robin of Loxley         - Michael Praed
Robert of Huntingdon    - Jason Connery
Lady Marion             - Judi Trott
Much                    - Peter LLewellyn William
Friar Tuck              - Phil Rose
Nasir                   - Mark Ryan
Will Scarlet            - Ray Winstone
Little John             - Clive Mantle
Sheriff of Nottingham   - Nickolas Grace
Guy of Gisburne         - Robert Addie
Abbot Hugo              - Philip Jackson
Herne the Hunter        - John Abineri
Edward of Wickham       - Jeremy Bulloch
Matthew                 - Robbie Bulloch
Meg                     - Claire Toeman
Sir Richard of Leaford  - George Baker
Earl of Huntingdon      - Michael Craig
Prince/King John        - Philip Davis

1.2) Special guests

Simon de Belleme        - Anthony Valentine (Robin Hood and the Sorceror,
                          The Enchantment)
Jennet                  - Angharad Rees (The Witch of Elsdon)
Reynald de Villaret     - Yves Beneyton (Seven Poor Knights from Acre)
Alan a Dale             - Peter Hutchinson (Alan a Dale)
Mildred de Bracy        - Stephanie Tague (Alan a Dale)
King Richard            - John Rhys Davies (The King's Fool)
Joshua de Talmont       - David de Keyser (The Children of Israel)
Sarah de Talmont        - Katherine Levy (The Children of Israel)
Esther de Talmont       - Amy Rosenthal (The Children of Israel)
Samuel de Talmont       - Adam Rosenthal (The Children of Israel)
Bertrand de Nivelles    - Oliver Tobias (Lord of the Trees)
Lilith                  - Gemma Craven (The Enchantment)
Ralph of Huntingdon     - Trevor Clarke (The Enchantment)
Morgwyn of Ravenscar    - Rula Lenska (The Swords of Wayland)
Lord Owen of Clun       - Oliver Cotton (Herne's Son)
Gulnar                  - Richard O'Brien (Herne's Son, Time of the Wolf)
Grendel                 - James Coombes (Herne's Son, Time of the Wolf)
Isadora                 - Cathryn Harrison (The Inheritance)
Lord Agrivaine          - Cyril Cusak (The Inheritance)
King Arthur (voice)     - Hywel Bennett (The Inheritance)
Margareth of Gisburne   - Dorothy Tutin (The Cross of St. Ciricus)
Philip Mark             - Lewis Collins (The Sheriff of Nottingham)
Sarak                   - Valentine Pelka (The Sheriff of Nottingham)
Roger de Carnac         - Matt Frewer (The Betrayal)
Hadwisa                 - Patricia Hodge (The Pretender)
Adam Bell               - Bryan Marshall (Adam Bell)
Edgar of Huntingdon     - Ian Ogilvy (Rutterkin)
Mad Mab                 - Annabelle Lee (Rutterkin)

1.3) Film locations

Alnwick Castle (Northumberland) - Nottingham Castle outside
Tithe Barn (Bradford-on-Avon) - Nottingham Castle great hall
Redcliffe Caves (Bristol) - the tunnel into Nottingham Castle
Farleigh Hungerford Castle (Bradford-On-Avon) - village of Notthingham
Nettleton Mill (Wilts, near Castle Combe) - Wickham etc
Brent Knoll - Rhiannon's Wheel, Robin's last stand, Ring of the Nine Maidens
Wookey Hole - Herne's cavern
Stoke Leigh Woods (Bristol) - Sherwood Forest
Abbotts Leigh Woods - Sherwood Forest
St Mary's Woods (Bristol) - Sherwood Forest
Highbury Hill Woods (between Temple Cloud & High Littleton) - Sherwood Forest
Blaise Castle Estate (Bristol area) - forests
Lacock Abbey - various abbeys, buildings etc
St Michael's Mount (Marazion) - Ravenscar
Wells Cathedral vault - Ravenscar crypt
Kidwelly Castle (Wales) - Clun Castle
Bamburg Castle (Northumberland) - Castle Belleme (Robin Hood & The Sorceror)
Chepstow Castle (Welsh Border) - Castle Belleme (The Enchantment), Cearleon
Caldicott Castle (Gwent) - various scenes
Hinton Priory (soutth of Bath) - Leaford Grange, priory (Cromm Cruac)
Milton Cutting (Wells) - the clifftop where Robin and Gisburne have their fight


Michael Hobbs  wrote:

"Chepstow Castle is a ruin and was used for some of The Enchantment (the
return of Baron De Belleme) and indeed for some of The Inheritance.  Caldicot
Castle is with a moat and was used more than once and I can find out exactly
which episodes....for some reason I think of Anthony Steel in Caldicot
Castle.  If I am not very much mistaken Farleigh Hungerford was used for
Series One - but I will also check whether or not it was used for The
Children of Israel.
Hinton Priory was used for building Lichfield for Herne's Son and then
turned round to another angle for The Sherrif of Nottingham."

Karon  wrote:

"Brent Knoll was also the site for Rhiannon's Wheel in RH & the Sorcerer and 
The King's Fool and for The ring of the 9 Maidens in The time of the Wolf.

Chepstow Castle (Welsh Border) - In The Enchantment a meadow from the grounds
was used & also the window where Ralph fell to his death is here.  Doorway & 
Battlements also used as Castle Belleme. Upper Bailey & Barbicon used in The 
Inheritence.

Hinton Priory (Sth of Bath) - Walled garden used in Seven Poors Knights from 
Acre as twilight shot of Leaford Grange and in Cromm Cruac as the Exterior of 
the Priory.

Highbury Hill Woods (between villages of Temple Cloud & High Littleton) -  used
as Sherwood Forest.

Blaise Castle Estate (Bristol area) - various forest scenes in RH & the 
Sorcerer/ Witch of Elsdon/Children of Israel/Swords of Wayland.

Farleigh Hungerford Castle (SW of Bradford-On-Avon)- Outside of priests house 
used in Seven Poors Knights from Acre/The King's Fool & Children of Israel as 
various streets in Notthingham. The Priest's House was used in Seven Poors 
Knights from Acre/The King's Fool/The Children of Israel/Lord of the Trees/Time
of the Wolf. Various other locations here were also used. I can get the details
if you want.

Caldicott Castle (Gwent) - various episodes (abbey in one episode). Entrance 
with drawbridge often used.

Milton Cutting (near Wells, Somerset)- the clifftop in Cross of St Ciricus 
where Robin and Gisburne have their fight.

Various other locations (unfortunately I don't know when these were used or 
what for):

Small's Quarry (flax Bourton near Bristol)
Warren farm (Charterhouse, Cheddar)
Stoke Leigh Woods (Bristol)
Mells Park Estate (Mells, near Frome)
Great Chalfield Manor (Wilts)
Nettleton Mill (Wilts)
Pro Cathedral  (Clifton, Bristol)
Azimghur Barracks (Colerne)
Berrow beach (Weston Super Mare)
Chew Valley Lake (Chew Magna)
Barton Hill Trading Estate (!) (Bristol)
Redcliffe Caves (Bristol)

Michael Hobbs  wrote:

"I can fill in some blanks for Karen - but I seem to be having a memory lapse
over the titles of the episodes.

Nettleton near Castle Combe is actually Nettleton Mill.  The village was
turned round several times to look different and it was shot from various
angles.  It was used as the village in the episode that Matt Frewer was the
guest in.  He played Roger De Carnac and was the rogue Robin Hood.  Was that
the episode when Robin and Marian escaped with a spectacular leap from a
castle into the hay wagon?  (Which of course was stunt man Graeme and a
stunt lady whose name I have forgotten). If so - that Castle was probably the
most famous ever used.  It was Berkeley Castle in Gloucester which is where
Richard 11 (or was it Edward 11?) was murdered.

Stoke Leigh Woods and Abbotts Leigh Woods were the main forests over the
three seasons!

The Pro Cathedral was a derelict cathedral in Bristol that they took a lease
on for a year and used for the third season.  The Tithe Barn wouldn't let
them back in again - so they had to rebuild it somewhere and so the
brilliant design team recreated it exactly.  It was also brilliant because
it enabled them to lift stone "polystyrene" walls up and about and change
them round so that they could look very different very quickly and it was
used for a load of interiors on the the third season.

The barracks at Colerne was an empty Airplan hangar where the design team
built that "gladiator ring" that the mad Welsh marcher Lords used in Herne's
Son.

Barton Hill was used on the second series when the people at the Tithe Barn
started to get a bit difficult.  It is an ordinary modern trading estate.
Lilith's tent was there - so too was the Sherrif's bedchamber and one or two
of Prince John's chambers. However, it was not soundproofed and it got
difficult as so many trucks and lorries delivered things to other
warehouses. There is a moment on one of the funny reels where Nickolas Grace
does some dialogue and then you can hear the sound of a motor bike and says
something like "and thank you for bringing your Vespa" and collapses into
giggles.  Well, that was at Barton Hill."

Michael Hobbs  wrote:

"In a message dated 97-07-01 09:56:46 EDT, Hedgebeast@aol.com write:

> I could be wrong about this -- and someone will correct me if I am -- but I
> think Rhiannon's Wheel was manufactured for the series.  I know the ruins in
> "Adam Bell" were -- a friend of mine showed me a photo he had taken at the
> site by the plaster "stones."

Yes, they were good old theatrical polystyrene."


Lucy Collin (lucydennis@cix.compulink.co.uk) wrote:

To whoever it was that asked about castles used in RoS, here's a list of 
castles, other buildings & land that it's possible to visit, and what they 
were used for:

West Country (most of the locations were in this area because HTV is based 
in Bristol):
Wells Cathedral - Wide steps going past Marion's room in Nottingham 
castle, steps & large room in Ravenscar Abbey, cloisters at Kirklees 
Abbey.
Wookey Hole caves - Herne's cave.
Black Rock, Cheddar Gorge - Uffcombe village.
Chew Valley Lake - site of Nasir & Sarak's duel, also flaming arrow 
ceremonies.
Brent Knoll - Time of the Wolf (Ring of the nine Maidens). possibly also 
the location for Rhiannon's Wheel.
Berrow Beach - Flashback of Nasir injuring Sarak, the boat at the end of 
The Prophecy probably filmed around that area.
Blaise Castle Estate, Bristol - various forest scenes, recognisable in RH 
& the Sorcerer, Witch of Elsdon, Children of Israel & Swords of Wayland.
Farleigh Hungerford Castle - Nottingham in various episodes, Halstead 
Priory, gate to Nottingham Castle.
Tithe Barn, Bradford on Avon - Great Hall of Nottingham Castle.
Great Chalfield Manor - Leaford Grange in Power of Albion.
Lacock Abbey - Cloisters & library in Abbey in Cromm Cruac, room where 
Queen Isobel is nearly killed.

Wales:
Chepstow Castle - Belleme's castle in The Enchantment, parts of Carleon 
Castle.
Caldicot Castle - Grimstone Abbey, part of Carleon Castle.
Kidwelly Castle - Clun Castle.

Cornwall:
St Michael's Mount - Ravenscar Abbey

Sussex:
Bodiam Castle - Huntingdon Castle.

Northumbria:
Bamburgh Castle - Belleme's Castle in first episode.
Alnwick Castle - Nottingham Castle (establishing shot)
Brinkburn Priory - Kirklees.

Myself & my husband are working our way round as many of them as possible. 
We're off to Cornwall next weekend, & Wales this summer, so after that 
we'll only have the ones up in Northumbria to do. Most of the locations 
are quite respectable to visit, so you don't look too sad when you tell 
people where you went on holiday!

1.4) Why was Loxley killed?

Michael Praed was offered a leading role in a Broadway production of "The 
Three Musketeers" as D'Artagnan. He felt this was his big break in America and
he had to take it. This left the Robin of Sherwood producers in a quandary. 
Rather than recast the role of Loxley, they opted to give him a grand exit and
explore the other legend of Robin as a nobleman's son. 

1.5) Why was there no fourth series? 

The short version: Goldcrest went broke! They made some very bad films which 
lost money. The long version about the collapse of Goldcrest: read _My 
Indecision is Final_ by Jake Eberts and Terry Ilott (out of print?). Showtime 
(the U.S. outlet) didn't want to pay additional money and HTV just couldn't 
cover the financing on its own.

RoS creator Richard Carpenter and many of the actors have said many times over 
the years that they were planning on doing a fourth series. The plan originally
was to marry Robert and Marian at the end of the third series. But then Judi 
Trott said she didn't want to do the whole fourth season. So Marion was written
into a convent to explain her absence from the band. She was supposed to 
guest-star in the first and middle stories of the fourth season, and then 
return and marry Robert in what would have been the series' final episode.

Since then, Richard Carpenter has speculated a lot of different ways the
fourth season could have gone, including killing all the outlaws, e.g.
Robert and Marion marry, or Guy kills Marion and then Robert kills Guy, or 
everybody gets killed, or everybody gets killed except John and Much.
From Starlog #151, Feb. 1990:
   Plans for the fourth series included Guy finding out his true heritage, a
   return of the demonic Baron de Belleme (another unresolved plot strand) and 
   Robin and Marion's wedding, but Carpenter isn't too sure anymore about that 
   last one. "One's initial feeling is, 'Yeah, marry them off and make them 
   rich and famous', but I think on due reflection, what should happen is that 
   Guy of Gisburne should kill Marion, and Robin should kill Guy, and then you 
   either leave it like that, with them still being hunted, or they are 
   actually cornered in an ambush and all of them die. It's very easy for 
   Marion to put on a wedding dress and marry Robin who becomes the Earl of 
   Huntingdon and lives in a castle and all the merries are pardoned and become
   wardens of Sherwood Forest. That's all very comfortable and lovely, but it 
   isn't life. Life isn't like that."


2.0) DOES A ROBIN OF SHERWOOD FANCLUB EXIST?

2.1) RoS fan clubs

Spirit of Sherwood
------------------
The official international Robin of Sherwood fanclub is:

Spirit of Sherwood
c/o Christine Haire
5574 NW Deerfield Way
Portland, Oregon 97229
USA
E-mail: ChrisRHood@aol.com

Membership dues are: USA $15, Canada $20, overseas $25.

They publish a great newsletter/zine ("On Target") four times a year that
features articles, artwork and poetry, interviews and news, as well as zine
listings, movie and play reviews, etc. They have an extensive RoS video and
photo archive.

Nothing's Forgotten
-------------------
The UK Robin of Sherwood fan club is:

Nothing's Forgotten
c/o Lucy and Dennis Collin
8 Highlands Road, 
Horsham, West Sussex, RH13 5LJ
UK
E-mail: lucydennis@cix.compulink.co.uk

Membership is £9.50 in the UK, £11.50 in Europe, £12.80 in the USA/Canada 
(Zone 1) and £13.40 in Australia and Asia (Zone 2).

Membership entitles you to regular magazines (4 newsletters per year) which 
cover the series in detail, with in-depth episode guides & character profiles, 
plus information on the actors and RoS events, articles about the historical 
and magical aspects of the series, and about other versions of the Robin Hood 
legend. T-shirts and other merchandise are available. 

MPNN
----
Michael Praed Network Newsletter is the name of Michael Praed's officially 
sanctioned fan club:

Michael Praed Network Newsletter
c/o Kate Raymond 
P.O. Box 516
Midlothian, Illinois 60445
USA
E-mail: KateMorn13@aol.com

2.2) RoS conventions

Weekend in Sherwood (USA)
-------------------------
Spirit of Sherwood organises an annual RoS con called 'Weekend in Sherwood'.
The next one, Weekend in Sherwood VIII, will be held August 11-13, 2000 at the 
Hilton Novi Hotel in Novi, Michigan.

This year's guests are (all appearances subject to professional commitments):
Mark Ryan (Nasir), Jeremy Bulloch (Edward of Wickham) and Richard Carpenter
(Series Creator).

Attending membership is $75 ($70 before July 2000), supporting membership is 
$15.

For information, write to Spirit of Sherwood (see above).
E-mail: ChrisRHood@aol.com
URL: http://members.aol.com/ChrisRHood/WEEKEN_1.HTM

Silver Arrow (UK)
-----------------
The Silver Arrow 2000 con will be held May 27-28, 2000 at the Bristol Jarvis 
Hotel (formerly the Hilton National Hotel) in Bristol, England.

This year's guests are (all appearances subject to professional commitments):
John Abineri, Robert Addie, Jeremy Bulloch, Robbie Bulloch, Richard Carpenter,
Esta Charkham, Nickolas Grace, Philip Jackson, Annabelle Lee, Stuart Linden
Clive Mantle, Cory Pulman, Oliver Tobias, and Terry Walsh.

Ticket prices are £47 until 31st August 1999, £50 from 1st September until 
31st January 2000, and £52 thereafter. Supporting membership is £7.00. (All 
in English pounds.)

For further details and booking forms, write to (include SAE or IRC):
Silver Arrow Convention
4 Stitchman House, 
Byfield Road, St James,
Northampton, NN5 5GH, 
United Kingdom
E-mail: Solas@wayland.swinternet.co.uk
URL: http://www.wayland.swinternet.co.uk/

2.3) RoS mailing lists

The RoS mailing list was originally run manually by Christine Haire, who
also founded the Spirit of Sherwood fanclub, and became an automated mailing
list in November 1995. The list has about 250 members from all over the
world, and is available in *regular* (members receive each post
individually as it is distributed to the list) and *digest* (members
receive so-called "digest" messages containing a series of complete postings
from the regular list embedded within it) form. Although primarily a RoS
discussion list, fan fic and role playing (in limited amounts) are endorsed.
The list has an extensive archive, containing all the postings since the
beginning, a wealth of RoS fan fic and other useful info on RoS.
To subscribe yourself to the RoS mailing list, send a message to:
    Majordomo@einstein.et.tudelft.nl
with
    subscribe ros
(if you want to subscribe to the regular list), or
    subscribe ros-digest
(if you want to subscribe to the digest list) in the message body (the Subject
field is ignored).

There are four RoS mailing lists on eGroups:
1. RobinOfSherwood (URL: http://www.egroups.com/group/RobinOfSherwood)
   Founded July 24, 1999. This list is dedicated to fans of the 1980's British 
   TV show Robin Of Sherwood. It is a friendly list and all aspects of RoS can 
   be discussed here. Please no fan-fiction on the list - if you have written 
   some that you would like to share please post to the shared files and then 
   mail us to let us know!
2. RobinOfSherwoodFic (URL: http://www.egroups.com/group/RobinOfSherwoodFic)
   Founded August 31, 1999. Robin Of Sherwood has been a rather obscure fandom 
   so I thought I would shine a light on it....anything, discussion and fiction
   is welcome. We're and ADULT LIST, so adult het/slash is welcome. The stories
   posted to this list will be posted on WWOMB unless you make a 'DO NOT POST'
   notation. Stories posted should use the templete found in the submissions 
   page on the archive. Memebers of this list are asked to post one story a 
   month, or if you are a reader (Or just can't do the one story a month thing)
   active participation in discussions and feedback on the posted stories will 
   meet the PARTICIPATION DRIVEN mandate. This is not prerequist to being on 
   this list, but your cooperation will make the list what it was meant to be.
3. RobinOfTheHood (http://www.egroups.com/group/RobinOfTheHood)
   Founded July 31, 1999. This list is loosely (very loosely) based on the Robin
   of Sherwood tv series..If you havent seen it then imagine Robin Hood battling
   sorcerers and all sorts of nasty fantasy creatures.based in Sherwood forest,
   you can be any main character or make up your own..Be an outlaw..a
   sorcerer...even a dragon..
4. RoSDungeon (http://www.egroups.com/group/RoSDungeon)
   Founded November 14, 1998. An adult role playing and fan-fic list set in the
   Robin of Sherwood universe.


3.0) ARE THERE VIDEO TAPES OF THE SERIES AVAILABLE?

3.1) Robin of Sherwood episodes

In September 1999 Network Video (http://www.networkvideos.co.uk) released the 
entire RoS series on new PAL videos (most of Europe and Autralasia), with new 
covers, some minor reworking of the episodes and with 3 postcards per box. 
The whole series comes on 8 tapes, with 3 episodes per tape. The tapes cost 
£12.99 each.
Since March 2000 they also deliver the tapes in NTSC (USA, Canada, and Japan)
format.
As from 13 March 2000, the complete series is also available in two limited
boxed sets, "THE MICHAEL PRAED COLLECTION" and "THE JASON CONNERY COLLECTION",
each set with 5 tapes featuring 13 episodes and 16 postcards. The boxes cost
£49.99 each and are available in both PAL and NTSC formats.
The PAL tapes are available in the UK from the video stores, the NTSC tapes
will be only be available via their mail order department. Their address is:
     Sound and Media LTD
     Gatton Park Business Centre
     New Battlebridge Lane
     Redhill
     Surrey
     England
You can also order on their Website.

A long time ago there were 4 tapes of RoS released in the USA NTSC format
(the 4 two-hour episodes):
Robin Hood and The Sorcerer,
Robin Hood and The Swords of Wayland,
Robin Hood: Herne's Son,
Robin Hood: Time of the Wolf.
These are long since on moratorium by CBS/FOX but you have come across them
at Internet auctions like eBay. You might try http://www.videoserve.com (they 
sell both new tapes and used copies and ship internationally).

In the UK, the entire series was released on PAL tape by Video Gems, but are
now out of print. They were released in boxes containing two tapes, each with 
2 or 3 episodes:
Robin of Sherwood series 1 The Entire First Series    (R 1424) approx £ 20,
Robin of Sherwood series 2 The Entire Second Series   (R 1425) approx £ 20,
Robin of Sherwood series 3 4 complete episodes 1 -  4 (R 1430) approx £ 13,
Robin of Sherwood series 3 4 complete episodes 5 -  8 (R 1431) approx £ 13,
Robin of Sherwood series 3 4 complete episodes 9 - 13 (R 1432) approx £ 13,
but the episodes are also available separately.
You can try to order them from:
Virgin Megastore (mail order with Visa)
               14-16 Oxford St                  527/531 Oxford St
               London W1N 9FL                   London W1R 1DD
               Tel: +44 (0)171 631 1234         Tel: +44 (0)171 491 8582
or
HMV (Mail Order phone number +44 (0)171 637 1167)
  Trocadero Coventry St      150 Oxford St             363 Oxford St
  London W1V 7FE             London W1N 0DJ             London W1R 2BJ
  Tel: +44 (0)171 439 0447   Tel: +44 (0)171 631 3423   Tel: +44 (0)171 629 1240
or
The Tales of Robin Hood
Maid Marian Way
Nottingham
England
phone +44 115 948 3284
fax   +44 115 950 1536
or
http://www.videozone.co.uk

As a non-profit service the Spirit of Sherwood video library (run by a club 
member of a volunteer basis) copies the episodes for RoS fans in various 
formats at cost of blank tapes and postage. Send SASE or IRC to Spirit of 
Sherwood (see above). WARNING: they are very backlogged on tape orders, so 
delivery may take a while (months)!

3.2) Robin of Sherwood blooper tape

Yes, there is a RoS blooper tape, but it is not for sale anywhere. You can 
watch it at the Weekend in Sherwood cons (see above).


4.0) ARE THERE BOOKS ON ROBIN OF SHERWOOD?

4.1) Robin of Sherwood novels

Richard Carpenter
ROBIN OF SHERWOOD
Puffin Books, 1984
ISBN 0-14-031690-6
Novelization of the episodes "Robin Hood & the Sorcerer", "The Witch of
Elsdon", "Seven Poors Knights from Acre", "Alan-A-Dale" and "The King's Fool"
[i.e. the entire first season].

Richard Carpenter and Robin May
ROBIN OF SHERWOOD AND THE HOUNDS OF LUCIFER
Puffin Books, 1985
ISBN 0-14-031869-0
Novelization of the episodes "The Swords of Wayland", "Lord of the Trees",
"The Children of Israel", "The Prophesy", "The Enchantment" and "The Greatest
Enemy" [i.e. the entire second season].

Richard Carpenter and Anthony Horowitz
ROBIN OF SHERWOOD: THE HOODED MAN
Puffin Books, 1986
ISBN 0-14-032058-X
Novelization of the episodes "Herne's Son", "The Power of Albion" and "The
Cross of St.Ciricus" [three episodes of the third season, including the first
two].

Richard Carpenter
ROBIN OF SHERWOOD: THE TIME OF THE WOLF
Puffin Books, 1986
ISBN 0-14-032660-X
Novelization of the episodes "Rutterkin" and "The Time of the Wolf" [three more
third season episodes, including the finale].

These books are unfortunately sold out, but they have been collected in one
volume, the omnibus:

Richard Carpenter with Robin May and Anthony Horowitz
THE COMPLETE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN OF SHERWOOD
Puffin Books, 1990
ISBN 0-14-034450-0

A number of episodes from the third season have not been novelized, being
"The Inheritance", "The Sheriff of Nottingham", "Cromm Cruac", "The Betrayal",
"Adam Bell" and "The Pretender".


4.2) Related books

?
ROBIN OF SHERWOOD ANNUAL
World International Publishing, 1986
ISBN 0-7235-6758-1
A book on RoS for children. Out of print.

There are three RoS gamebooks (out of print too):

Graham Staplehurst
THE KING'S DEMON
Puffin Books, 1987
ISBN 0-14-032294-9
RoS role playing adventure. A French nobleman and sorceror, Sir Jean de
Melusine, tries to summon the evil Black Ram of Poitou during the Ram Day in
the village of Haxhey and Robin must try to stop him.

Paul Mason
THE SWORD OF THE TEMPLAR
Puffin Books, 1987
ISBN 0-14-032295-7
RoS role playing adventure. A Knight Templar who has the black Elidor, Sir
Roger of Ledbury, seeks to distroy Herne and Robin must try to stop him.

?
ROBIN OF SHERWOOD GAMEBOOK
Multiple Sound Distributors LTD, ?
ISBN 1-85255-002-3
Board games with illustrations of the RoS characters.

4.3) General books on Robin Hood

Cindy Tittle Moore has compiled an excellent booklist involving the Robin Hood
legend that she posts regularly to rec.arts.books. You can find this Robin
Hood booklist on WWW: http://www.io.com/~tittle/books/robin-hood.html. Copies 
of it may be obtained by anonymous ftp to rtfm.mit.edu under
/pub/usenet/news.answers/books/robin-hood. Or by sending email to
mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with "send usenet/news.answers/books/robin-hood" in
the body of the message, leaving the subject line empty.

See also Linda Furey's (LAFurey@aol.com) extensive Robin Hood bibliography and
discography on WWW: http://www.interport.net/~logomanc/rosbiblio.html.

4.4) Robin of Sherwood fanzines

Some of the many RoS fanzines are:

ALBION (fanzine)
BRIGHT FOREST (filktape)
Laura C. Blunk
1128 Pennfield Road
Cleveland Heights, OH 44121
USA
Email: Laura.Blunk@tri-c.cc.oh.us

LADY WOLFSHEAD
Mick Spencer
117 Kim Acres Drive
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
USA

OUTLAW TALES
Cindy Barwin & Kitty Gamarra
8500 Ashton Avenue
Inver Grove Heights, MN 55075
USA
E-mail: CJBarwin@aol.com

OAKEN HEART
P.L. Heyes
928 W. Thomas Street
Rome, NY 13440
USA

LOXLEY
Kate Raymond
P.O. Box 516
Midlothian, Il 60445
USA
E-mail: KateMorn13@aol.com

TURN OF THE WHEEL
MaryAnn McKinnon
P.O. 216 Blunk Avenue
Plymouth, MI 48170
E-mail: MaryAnnMc@aol.com

CELTIC OAK
Lisa Morrissey
3503 4th Street 
Des Moines, IA 50313
USA
E-mail: LisaRosa@aol.com

LEGEND, SAXON CHRONICLES 1, LEGENDS OF THE GREENWOOD, TREE OF LIFE, SHERWOOD
LEGACY, FORBIDDEN FOREST, SILVER ARROW, IN THE SHADOW OF THE WHEEL, ROBIN OF
LOXLEY: THE MISSING YEARS, ROBIN OF SHERWOOD: THE EARLY YEARS, etc. 
New Leaf Productions
Peg Kennedy & Linda Knights
413B 19th Street
Suite 121
Lynden, WA 98264 
USA

WILDWOOD
Rache
1245 N. Kings Rd.
#7, W. Hollywood, CA 90069
USA
E-mail: Hedgebeast@aol.com

SAXON CHRONICLES
Georgia Fleming           or   Louise Bath
PO Box 310951                  19 Hilston Avenue
Enterprise, AL 36331-0951      Hales Owen, West Midlands, B63 4BT 
USA                            England
E-mail: Hyacinth@snowhill.com
WWW: http://www.flemingmultimedia.com/Saxon/saxon2.html

THE MYSTIC FOREST
The Mystic Forest
P.0. Box 94009
Toronto, Ontario
M4N 2L0
Canada
E-mail: edvall@pgr.auracom.com  or  aislinn@pandorasbooks.co
WWW: http://www.pandorasbooks.com/zine.html

For more information see http://www.interport.net/~logomanc/roszines.html.


5.0) WHERE CAN I FIND THE ROBIN OF SHERWOOD SOUNDTRACK?

The soundtrack for Robin of Sherwood was done by Clannad and can be found on
their album "Legend" (RCA records, 1984). It contains the following tracks:
 1. Robin (The Hooded Man) (2:48)
 2. Now is here (3:32)
 3. Herne (5:08)
 4. Together we (3:28)
 5. Darkmere (1:59)
 6. Strange land (3:10)
 7. Scarlet inside (5:08)
 8. Lady Marian (3:20)
 9. Battles (1:01)
10. Ancient Forest (2:59)
See alse http://www.empire.net/~whatmoug/legend.htm.

Legend Album Codes:
CD RCA PD70188 (UK)
CD RCA ND-71703 (UK)
CD RCA ND-71703 (Germany)
LP RCA AFL1-5084 (USA) 
LP RCA PL70188 (UK)
tape Tara 3012

"Legend" only contains the music from the first two seasons (so with Michael
Pread as Robin of Loxley) but not from the third season (so with Jason Connery
as Robert of Huntingdon). Most notably the music from the dance scene in
"Herne's Son" is missing. The only piece of third-season RoS music released so 
far is the song Caislean Oir on their album "Macalla". 

Several RoS tracks also appear on other Clannad albums (e.g. PastPresent).

There is a book with sheet music from "PastPresent", which contains the score 
of two RoS tracks: "Lady Marion" and "Robin (The Hooded Man)". 
Clannad pastpresent
Wise Publications, UK, 1989
ISBN 0.7119.1919.4


6.0) IS THERE AN EPISODE GUIDE FOR ROBIN OF SHERWOOD?

The original transmission sequence on the ITV channel - London Weekend 
Television region (other regions may vary) was:

SERIES ONE:
Sat 28 April 1984 at 6pm - RH and the Sorcerer
Sat 5 May 1984 at 6.30pm - The Witch of Elsdon
Sat 12 May 1984 at 6.30pm - Seven Poor Knights From Acre
Sat 19 May 1984 at 6.30pm - Alan A' Dale
Sat 26 May 1984 at 6.30pm - The King's Fool

SERIES TWO:
Sat 9 March 1985 at 5.35pm - The Prophecy
Sat 16 March 1985 at 5.35pm - The Children of Israel
Sat 23 March 1985 at 5.35pm - Lord of the Trees
Sat 30 March 1985 at 5.35pm - The Enchantment
Sat 6 April 1985 at 7.30pm - The Swords of Wayland
Sat 13 April 1985 at 5.35pm - The Greatest Enemy

SERIES THREE:
Sat 5 April 1986 at 5.35pm - Herne's Son Part I
Sat 12 April 1986 at 5.35pm - Herne's Son Part II
Sat 19 April 1986 at 5.35pm - The Power of Albion
Sat 26 April 1986 at 5.35pm - The Inheritance
Sat 3 May 1986 at 5.35pm - The Sheriff of Nottingham
Sat 10 May 1986 at 5.35pm - The Cross of St Ciricus
Sat 17 May 1986 at 5.35pm - Cromm Cruac
Sat 24 May 1986 at 5.35pm - The Betrayal
Sat 31 May 1986 at 5.35pm - Adam Bell
Sat 7 June 1986 at 4.55pm - The Pretender
Sat 14 June 1986 at 5.35pm - Rutterkin
Sat 21 June 1986 at 4.55pm - Time of The Wolf Part I
Sat 28 June 1986 at 5.35pm - Time of The Wolf Part II

There are several RoS episode guides available on the Web:
* The RoS home page (see next section) has an elaborate episode guide, 
  complete with a synopsis of each episode.
* Gary Rhodes has created a wonderful episode guide:
     http://www.wayland.swinternet.co.uk/episode.htm
* Another (uncomplete) episode guide with lots of picture can be found at:
     http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Stargate/6736/epschr.html
* Heart of the Slayer also has a brief episode guide:
     http://hotslayer.com/cop3.html


7.0 WHERE CAN I FIND ROBIN OF SHERWOOD ON THE INTERNET?

7.1) Robin of Sherwood on the WWW

The Robin of Sherwood home page
-------------------------------

The extensive RoS home page's URL is http://www.RobinOfSherwood.org/

Other WWW pages of interest
---------------------------

Robin of Sherwood:
http://www.webring.org/cgi-bin/webring?ring=wolfshead&id=002&list - The RoS
Web Ring
http://hotslayer.com/cop3.html - Heart of the Slayer RoS page
http://members.tripod.co.uk/jdvaldez/index.html - Robin of Sherwood tour guide
http://members.aol.com/Praed/locksley.html - Locksley Enterprises (RoS
figurines)
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/7643/ - Maid Marion's Lair
http://members.dencity.com/sirguy/ - Gisburne's NASTY Knight Page
http://www.primenet.com/~albion/albion2.html - Albion's Michael Praed Page
http://www.jtwinc.com/clannad/legend.htm - Clannad's Legend album
http://rosfic.tripod.com/ - The Robin of Sherwood Fanfic Archive
http://www.flemingmultimedia.com/Saxon/saxon2.html - Saxon Chronicles 
(RoS fanzine)
http://members.aol.com/AngTemp/Archive-main.htm - The RoS mailing list
Dungeon Adventure archive
http://www.flemingmultimedia.com/Saxon/ros.html - RoS Drabble

Robin Hood in general:
http://www.cs.ruu.nl/wais/html/na-dir/books/robin-hood.html - Cindy's Robin 
Hood Booklist
http://www.sla.purdue.edu/medieval-studies/RobinHood - The Robin Hood Text 
Archive
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/4198/rhood.html - Robin Hood -- 
Bold Outlaw of Barnsdale and Sherwood
http://www.dls.net/~jac/rhood.html - Jim's Robin Hood Page
http://www.benturner.com/robinhood/ - Ben Turner's Robin Hood page
http://www.sherwoodinitiative.co.uk/ - Sherwood Initiative

7.2) Robin of Sherwood chats

Spiritweb chats
---------------

There are three types of regular chats hosted by Kirsty Robertson
 on Spiritweb:

1. Robin of Sherwood chat on SATURDAYS from 10PM GMT (5PM EST, 2PM PST)
   onwards if Europe is on wintertime, if Europe is on daylight saving time 
   the chats will start at 9PM GMT (10 PM BST, 4PM EST, 1PM PST). 
   http://www.spiritweb.org/Spirit/chat.html#private
   Private room called: wolfshead (note: all lower case).

2. The Guy Groupies chat on FRIDAYS at 10pm BST (9pm GMT), 4pm EST, 1pm PST 
   (till whenever).
   http://www.spiritweb.org/Spirit/chat.html#private
   Private room called: Gisburne (note: capital G)
   (Wolfsheads are also welcome, though be warned the main topic of
   conversation will be our favourite misunderstood villain.)

3. Robert of Huntingdon chat on SATURDAYS at 6PM GMT (1PM EST, 10AM PST)
   (till whenever).
   http://www.spiritweb.org/Spirit/chat.html#private
   Private room called: wolfshead (note: all lowercase) 

Detailed instructions:

  Go to http://www.spiritweb.org/Spirit/chat.html#private

  You'll see a box there to type the name of a private room. The room's
name is wolfshead (that's all in lowercase) or Gisburne (that's with capital
G). The rooms are case sensitive.

  Then you'll be asked to type your desired alias, your password if
you've registered your alias (if you haven't registered just leave it
blank -- if you have registered, you won't need instructions anyway),
and your URL (you can leave this blank too).

  Then you'll enter the room. You type your comments in the dialogue box
at the bottom of the screen and hit "Refresh/Post" (just above the box)
to post them. You also must hit that Refresh/Post comments anytime you
want to see comments from others.

   There are no programs to download, it works with AOL (several people
I know on Spiritweb are AOLers and Maira showed up last night). It's not
overly technical.

  Spiritweb has some mirror sites to visit if you are having problems
with that one. (This information is only neccessary if you have a
problem visiting the link above.)

  They are:
http://www.spiritweb.org/
http://www.eu.spiritweb.org/
http://www.au.spiritweb.org/
http://www.za.spiritweb.org/

*Important* These links will take you to the main Spiritweb page. You
must then scroll down the screen to find the link marked SpiritualWeb
Chat (it's in the middle of the page, under Communication features).
Once in the WebChat area, find the private room section (there's a link
to it near the top or you can just scroll down looking for it). In the
section with the title Private Places, you will find a little dialogue
box with a button marked Create/Enter Place. In the box, you type
wolfshead (in lowercase), hit the button next to it, and then follow the
instructions as above.

AOL chats
---------

AOL members have their own chats (unfortunately not accessible for those 
not on AOL) at irregular intervals. They are hosted by Chris Haire
. Sometimes even members from the RoS cast have 
participated in these chats!

Instructions:
Go up to the people chatting icon on your top toolbar and click, then click 
on Go Chat!, Private Chat, type in Sherwood and go.  Or click on this 
link, which should work...  Sherwood

7.3) The RoS mailing list

See paragraph 2.3.


8.0) HERNE THE HUNTER

8.1) The figure of Herne

Herne the Hunter was apparently a later version of an older archetype known
as Cernunnos, a minor god worshipped by the Celts of Britian. He is the Horned
God, the Lord of the Animals, the Master of the Wild Hunt, the wild huntsman of
the woods.

That we have the name Cernunnos at all is due its surviving on one sole
inscription from the Roman era on a very beat-up altar of Gaulish make,
currently preserved in the Musee de Cluny. Cernunnos is a Greek name, whatever
his original Celtic name might have been has been lost in history. However,
the figure appears on many ancient Celtic artworks and artifacts, most notably
on the famous Gundestrup Caldron. A plaque from the Gundestrup Caldron bears
the image of the stag-horned god seated in a buddha-like posture, holding a
torque in one hand and a serpent in the other, and surrounded by animals that
include a stag. This image suggests that Cernunnos is the Gaulish Jupiter in
the latter's aspect as lord of animals. All the images are horned, with the
antlers of a stag or horns of a ram, shown frequently torqued, nearly always
with beasts and greenery, sometimes seated cross-legged.

Cernunnos in turn leads to a very primal archetype identified now only as
'The Green Man'. Some traditions refer to him as the consort of the Earth
Goddess (Mother Nature, the Triple Goddess, the Lady, etc.), and indeed they
appear to represent the male and female aspects of Nature. He was the primal
fertility God, but he is also honored as a death deity as the hunt is sometimes
viewed as metaphor for rounding up the souls of the living to take to the
Otherworld, as God of the woodlands, animals, revelry, and male fertility. His
image is dim in prehistory. Artistic depictions of the archetypal Green Man
show him as a type of wood-spirit with leaves and branches growing out of his
mouth and head. The Christian faith cast him into the role of Satan and there
are thousands of sculptures of him (head only, in fine Celtic tradition!)
adorning medieval churches.

The Green man, Cernunnos and Herne can be traced all the way up to their last
real incarnation - Robin Hood. The Green Man/Robin Hood is related to the May
Day festivals too and interestingly, the Goddess is embodied in various Morris
dances and folk traditions as Maid Marian. The pairing of Robin and Marian is
therefore very reminiscent of the Mother/Green Man couple, and given the vague
and apocryphal nature of Robin's roots he does indeed seem to be even a god-
form. So, in the Robin of Sherwood series you get the old and new Green Man.

John Matthews' 'Robin, Green Lord of the Forest' (Gothic Image Press,
Glastonbury 1993) does explore the Herne link with The Robin of Sherwood
series briefly and it has a foreword by Richard Carpenter.

8.2) Herne and Windsor

Herne is local to Windsor (Berkshire, England). The earliest known written
source on him is by Shakespeare at the tail end of 'The Merry Wives of
Windsor' (1623), where he's supposed to be the ghost of a hunter who haunts
the local forest:

  There is an old tale that Herne the hunter,
  Sometime a keeper here in Windsor Forest,
  Doth all the winter-time, at still midnight,
  Walk round about an oak, with great ragg'd horns,
  And there he blasts the tree, and takes the cattle,
  And make milch-kine yield blood, and shakes a chain
  In a most hideous and dreadful manner.

An early version of the play was performed at Windsor in 1597 and contains
many references to local people, places and things. It seems likely that Herne
was at that time a well-known local legend.

The next known source on Herne was written 200 years later
(in 1792) by Samuel Ireland:

  The story of Herne, who was keeper in the forest in the
  time of Elizabeth runs thus:-  That having committed some
  great offence, for which he feared to lose his situation [job]
  and fall into disgrace, he was induced to hang himself on this
  tree [Herne's Oak].  The credulity of the times easily worked
  on the minds of the ignorant to suppose that his ghost should
  haunt the spot.

Both sources seem to consider Herne to be a ghost.  It is possible that the
story is based on 'Rychard Horne, yeoman' who was hanged for poaching in the
royal forests in the time of Henry VII, or on a huntsman of Richard II who
hanged himself on an oak tree.

Herne's Oak was blown down 1863, it was thought to be 700 years old by then. It
was replaced with a young oak by Queen Victoria. Unfortunately, this it isn't
in the public part of the grounds.

Herne figures even today in British folklore, as his ghost is said to appear
at Windsor Park in times of national crisis: it was reported in 1931, before
the Depression, and again, before the Second World War. Herne's last appearance
was in 1962 when some youths found a horn and blew it in the forest: Herne
appeared, riding a black horse, followed by hounds.

8.3) The Wild Hunt

Herne is the leader of the "Wild Hunt". It appears in many places in legend in
the British Isles, with baying hounds and an antlered leader. Cernunnos is
certainly associated with that, but so is Herne, Arawn (and the Pwyll story in
the Mabinogion), Gwyn ap Nudd (the Welsh Leader of the Dead) and the Einherier
(Valhalla's dead lead by Odin).  When the Hunt is considered to be from the
Hollow Hills of Faerie it can be lead by the Sidhe, the People of the Mounds,
or the Tuatha du Danaans. However, it also appears in Germanic\Norse legend
(some Swedish king named King Valdemar, various Wild Huntsmen\women\Valkyries\
ghosts\witches in Germany).

The Wild Hunt is a very nasty group of spirit wolves and ghost who would ride
down and kill any thing out on certain nights (Samhain, All Hallows for
instance). The hunt only appears when there is something wrong with the
region, such as a lack of piety, an evil king or something from the
underworld. You have to lock away your animals when the Wild Hunt rides
(same as when the Sidhe go trooping along) or they'll be scared miles away,
and you can get stuck in the Wild Hunt if you do evil while alive, swear
stupid oaths to follow or watch the Hunt, or just end up in the wrong place at
the wrong time. The hounds are sometimes called the Gabriel Hounds or the
Ratchets, if they are grey with red ears they may be the hounds of Annwyn in
Wales.

According to legend the Wild Hunt rides in eternal pursuit of a white stag
which they never catch. Whenever someone sees a white stag, madness and death
are bound to follow. In some legends, any mortal who sees the white stag is
doomed to ride the Hunt forever.

8.4) Places connected to Herne

There are a number of places in Britain using the name: Herne Hill, Herne Bay,
Herne Common, etc., and also Cerne Abbas in Dorset, which is the site of the
famous Hillside Giant, a huge chalk figure carved in the hillside which is
thought to be around 1500 years old. Some say it is Cernunnos (Herne), others
say it is a variant of Hercules.

(-; And since the Wookey Hole Cave between Bath and Bristol was used to film
Herne's cave for RoS, that is connected to Herne too ;-).


9.0) WAYLAND

9.1) The figure of Wayland

Wayland, Weland, or Volund(r) is a figure from Germanic mythology, a master 
smith or even a smith-god, apparently the 'patron' of the smiths' "guild" among
the Germanic peoples. Smiths were regarded as magicians by the ancient peoples 
world round. They made things of metal out of stone and their secrets.

Waylands fame attracted the attention of King Nidud of Sweden, who liked his
work so much that he decided to prevent Wayland from making things for
anyone else so he kidnapped and imprisoned him by having him hamstrung and
manacled to his forge, where he was supposed to continue working for the king
indefinitely. Wayland managed to trick the king's sons, killing them and
making jewelry from their bodies. The king's daughter fell in love with
Wayland and helped him escape with a set of elegant metal wings he forged.  He
later had revenge on the king by killing him with the sword he had made.

There is a place called Wayland's Smithy on the Ridgeway near Berkshire, one 
of England's oldest roads. This is a megalithic burial mound and chamber where 
you can leave a horse and a piece of silver, and maybe Wayland will come along
and shoe it.

9.2) The seven swords of Wayland

The names of all seven swords of Wayland in RoS are:

 Elidor, Beleth, Flauros, Morax, Solas, Orias and Albion.

Legend attributes several famous swords to Wayland: Excalibur (for King
Arthur), Balmung (for Sigmund, later for Siegfried from the Nibelungen Saga),
Joyeuse (for Charlemagne) and Minning (for his son Heime), but no mention of
the swords from Robin of Sherwood.

Albion changed considerable between Season 1 (jeweled hilt, no name on the
blade) and 2 (plain hilt, "Albion" written on the blade), because:
a) The jeweled hilt was very bumpy and hurting the hands of Michael Praed and 
   any stunt doubles who had to use it.  
b) When they decided to do "The Swords of Wayland" and had to show seven 
   swords, it was decided that all the swords needed names on them.

As to the origin of the names of the RoS swords of Wayland, Jae Fleming 
(Georgia)  wrote:

"This afternoon, I was looking through Arthur Edward Waite's 'The Book of 
Ceremonial Magic: Including the Rites and Mysteries of Goetic Theurgy, 
Sorcery and Infernal Necromancy'.  (I don't practice the black arts, but 
I'm curious about everything.) 
 
And there they were.  The names of six of the '7 Swords of Wayland'.  The
names are taken from the Lesser Key of Solomon, in a section giving
instructions for the evocation of the 72 spirits whom the King of Israel shut
up in a brass vessel and threw into a lake.  It was found by the Babylonians,
who opened the vessel and released the demons.  
Among the demons listed are:

BELETH -  a terrible and mighty king, riding on a pale horse, preceded by
musicians.  He procures love between man and woman, and is of the Order of
the Powers.

MORAX - a great earl who appears like a bull with a human head, and gives
skill in astronomy and the liberal sciences.  Knows the virtues of all herbs
and precious stones.

SOLAS - a powerful prince, appears in the likeness of a raven and then as a
man.  Teaches the art of astronomy and the virtues of herbs and stones.

ORIAS - a great marquis, appears in the form of a lion bestriding a horse,
has a serpent's tail and holds two enormous hissing snakes.  Teaches 'the
virtues of the planets and the mansions thereof.'

Slight change of spelling on these two:

FLAUROS - a great duke, appears as a terrible leopard, but at the command of
the exorcist puts on the shape of a man.  Converses of divinity and the
creation of the world;  will destroy and burn the enemies of the operator.

ELIGOR - a great duke, appearing as a goodly knight carrying a lance, pennon
and sceptre.  Discovers hidden things, causes war, marshals armies, kindles
love and lust.

Obviously, ALBION is named for the ancient name of Britain (which the OED
says is a Celtic derivation) and not for a demon. (:"

In "Nothing's Forgotten" issue #10 page 12 it says:
"Among other magical item that he [Wayland - TvR] supposedly created, the
Lemegeton or Lesser Key of Solomon mentions the Seven Swords of Wayland,
each of which is imbued with one of the seven powers of light and darkness.
Each of these powers is in turn connected to a certain demon or entity.
These entities and their corresponding powers are:

Orias - Pauline Art (controlling of evil spirits)
Morax - Goetia (summoning of evil spirits)
Elidor or Eligor - Prophesy
Beleth - Beguilement (enchantment of individuals)
Flauros or Flowras - Hexing (cursing with illness)
Solas - Alchemy (creation of magical potions)

The seventh sword was not named, but unofficially has been called Abigor
(Albion in RoS) with the power of Scrying (divination). Abigor was conjured
for his power to foretell the future and to provide military aid and advice."

See also Jae's Webpage on the The Mystery of the Swords of Wayland 
(http://www.flemingmultimedia.com/Saxon/swords.html)


10.0) RUNES

10.1) The runes on Albion

Jae Fleming (Georgia)  wrote:

"The actual runes on the prop sword don't appear to spell anything, in
English or Norse.  But if you wanted to render the motto into runes, using
the Old English that would have been known to a Saxon sword-maker, it could
go like this:

Hernes sunu is min hlaford. Ne m=E6g ic hine ofslean.

I'll have to spell out the runes, using the Anglo-Frisian Futhark (which has
more signs than the 24-rune Elder Futhark)

Hernes
(haegl)(eh)(rad)(nyd)(eh)(sigel)
sunu=20
(sigel)(ur)(nyd)(ur)
is
(is)(sigel)
min
(monn)(is)(nyd)
hlaford
(haegl)(lagu)(ac)(feoh)(os)(rad)(d=E6g)
Ne
(nyd)(ethel)
m=E6g
(monn)(=E6sc)(ger)
hine
(haegl)(is)(nyd)(eh)
ofslean
(os)(feoh)(sigel)(lagu)(ear)(nyd)"

"OK, somebody with better eyes than mine feel free to correct this
transcription, but here's what it looks like to me:

(is) (kaun) (is) (gyfu) (beorc) (yr) (wynn) (monn?) (nyd) (is) (gyfu)
(thorn) (wynn) (tir) (nyd) (eh) (feoh)

I have a ? after (monn) because it doesn't really look like that rune, but
it's the closest match.

Taking the sound values, we have:
i-k (or g or ng) - i - g - b - r - w - m - n - i - g - th - w - t - n - e -f

According to the story, the inscription says 'Herne's Son is my master, I
cannot slay him.'  But nothing in the sound combinations above resembles
those words in Old Norse, OHG, or Anglo-Saxon.  By inserting a few more
vowels, I can make it read 'I increase the wheelbarrow, injuring the ninth
wet stepson'.  But that seems like a silly thing to inscribe on a sword. 

I think the logical conclusion is that either:
1.  Runes were picked randomly by the propmeister who made the sword, or
2.  It's intended to be a runestave, and the characters represent forces
    rather than sounds.  The inscription itself is a bind-rune, which prevents
    the sword from harming Herne's Son.  (So really, he doesn't 'read' it, he
    just comprehends its esoteric meaning)."

Gary Rhodes  wrote (Wed, 28 Jul 1999):

"The runes on the blades of the swords do have definate meanings.  They are
not just made up, and they are all different."

Jae Fleming (Georgia)  wrote (Wed, 28 Jul 1999):

"> The runes on the blades of the swords do have definate meanings.  They are
> not just made up, and they are all different.

Gary, if you have more info on this, I'd love to know. I tried transcribing
the runes from TV and even the ones that are clear don't seem to spell
anything, or to follow any esoteric pattern.

It appears to be something like this:

Is/(1)/Is/Gyfu/Beorc/Calc?/Wynn/(2)/Nyd/Is/Gyfu/Thorn/Wynn/Tir/Nyd/Monn/Feoh

(1) looks like the Anglo-Frisian Sigel
(2) looks like the modern letter N with a line through it, possibly a
variant of A-F Haegl?

Phonetically: Isijbkwhnijthwtnmf"

Gary Rhodes  wrote (Fri, 30 Jul 1999):

"Hi Georgia.  The runes on the swords are Saxon/Northern varients as opposed
to Viking runes.  They do not actually spell anything ( Possibly the first
Albion runes spelt something) but from series two the swords all have runic
talismans on the blades.  Orias has more leaning towards a female warrior
and Solas is a strong battle sword.  Of course this is a very, very basic
description.  I'm not sure about the others."


10.2) Gulnar's magic spells

Jae Fleming  wrote:

"The most famous Golem I know of was made by Marahal of Prague in the 16th
century.  What is put into the Golem's mouth to bring it to life is an
amulet bearing the ineffable name of God.

I'm not sure what to make of Gulnar's formula.  He writes the parchment in a
rune circle using:

beorc  (birth)
lagu (life energy)
ethel (self contained hereditary power)
kaun (internal fire, protection) -- I'm not sure about this one, that's what
it looks like

Most of the runes on the parchment are Germanic (either from the
Anglo-Frisian or Younger Futhorc).  However, there's one near the center
that looks like some sort of Ogham character.  It appears to be three
vertical lines with one horizontal line through the middle.
I can't see all the characters, but it begins with  and ends with
.

When Gulnar is seeing the future, he uses rune stones -- but he interprets
them in terms of the elements, which is not a Teutonic practice.  (He says
'Hagal in Air, Odal and Birca hidden in Fire', etc.)

Also, earlier in the series when Gulnar is about to give Marion his potion,
he says:
'Incada anag rham
Ridor erin bach.'
Anybody have a clue what that is?

In the novelization, Gulnar's followers are called his 'witches', and his
dagger is called his 'athame'.  In one place, they call on the 'Lords of
Darkness'.  His verbal spell during the parchment making says 'On the
eagle's beak, on the owl's talons, and on the turning wheel of time.'  I've
never heard any of these phrases in Teutonic ritual, and 'wheel of time' is
not really a Germanic concept.  The only type of ritual I know of which
involves creation of life results in a type of psychogone rather than a Golem.
Conclusion -- Gulnar is not a rune master, but is some sort of independent
practitioner of the left hand path who just happens to employ runes for some
of his workings.

And Eunice  wrote:

"As Gulnar is a Celt (presumeably) and that "bach" is a Welsh word, I
asumed that the words that Gular said to Marion are Welsh.  But as he
doesn't say them with a Welsh accent, I doubt that the words are as
you spelt them.  So my translation is a rough approximation.

Okay, roughly it sounds like "In battles obstacle fate ford pledge
little (or hook)".  Maybe, but in Welsh the verb usually goes at the
end of the sentence, so this is probably just gobbeldegook.
Possibly, he's telling Marion that one can cross obstacles in
conflict by promising little of oneself to the lord, or king.  Or
that giving her person to Lord Owen is a small price to pay to avoid
the fate she would suffer if she did not.  Does that make sense?  Or
that Gulnar is saying that making the potion is little enough he can
do for Owen to avoid the battle to come.  I don't know, it's
difficult since all I can say is Welsh is hello, good morning etc.  A
Welsh speaker might be able to do better."


 ______
   |_                Blessed be,
   |_)
   |v\                       Tirza

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Tirza van Rijn                       | e-mail: tirza@duteca.et.tudelft.nl
Department of Electrical Engineering |
Delft University of Technology       | Thou art beautiful, Oh my love, as Tirzah
Delft, The Netherlands               |                       Song of Salomon 6:4
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