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Alan-a-Dale (first recorded as Allen a Dale; variously spelled ''Allen-a-Dale'', ''Allan-a-Dale'', ''Allin-a-Dale'', ''Allan A'Dayle'' etc.) is a figure in the Robin Hood legend. According to the stories, he was a wandering minstrel who became a member of Robin's band of
outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them ...
s, the " Merry Men". He is a relatively late addition to the legend; he first appeared in a 17th-century broadside ballad,
Child Ballad The Child Ballads are 305 traditional ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, anthologized by Francis James Child during the second half of the 19th century. Their lyrics and Child's studies of them were published as '' ...
138, "
Robin Hood and Allan-a-Dale Robin Hood and Allan Dale is a traditional English ballad, catalogued as Child Ballad No. 138 and as Roud Folk Song Index No. 3298. Structure The ballad uses the kinds of rhyme, rhythm and metre commonly found in English ballads of the 13th ...
", and, unlike many of the characters thus associated, managed to adhere to the legend. In this tale, Robin rescues Alan's sweetheart from an unwanted marriage to an old knight. They stop the bishop from proceeding with the ceremony, and Robin Hood, dressed in the bishop's robes, marries Alan to his bride. In other versions it is Little John or Friar Tuck who performs the ceremony.Holt, J. C. ''Robin Hood'' p 165 (1982) Thames & Hudson. Another variant appears in which the hero is not Alan but Will Scarlet, but Alan has taken over the role completely. Howard Pyle uses this tale in his book ''
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood ''The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood of Great Renown in Nottinghamshire'' is an 1883 novel by the American illustrator and writer Howard Pyle. Pyle compiled the traditional Robin Hood ballads as a series of episodes of a coherent narrative. For ...
'', but changes several details. He gives Alan's sweetheart the name Ellen, and introduces Friar Tuck into the story; Tuck is sought out specifically as the only priest who will perform the wedding in defiance of the bishop, and therefore, this tale is combined with that of '' Robin Hood and the Curtal Friar''. In
Pierce Egan the Younger Pierce Egan the Younger (1814 – 6 July 1880) was an English journalist and novelist. The son of Pierce Egan, the author of '' Life in London'', he associated with his father in several of his works. Early life He was born in London, and his mo ...
's story ''Robin Hood and Little John'', Alan is given the name Sir Allan Clare; he is an armed knight, not a minstrel, and he is the brother of the Maid Marian. His sweetheart is Lady Christabel, the daughter of the Sheriff of Nottingham, who wants to give her to an old knight friend of his. The "Allan-a-Dale" name is given to his estates in Sherwood Forest; he is not given a major role after he and Christabel are married by Little John (who takes the place of the
Bishop of Hereford The Bishop of Hereford is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury. The episcopal see is centred in the Hereford, City of Hereford where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is in the Hereford Cathedr ...
), though he helps the Merry Men from time to time.Pierce Egan the Younger "Robin Hood and Little John of the Merry Men of Sherwood Forest", Alan plays a prominent role in some later plays, children's novels, films, and television shows.


Modern incarnations

* Florence Wickham and Louise Le Baron shared the role of Alan-a-Dale in the comic opera ''Robin Hood'' by Reginald De Koven and Harry B. Smith (1913). *Alan-a-Dale was played by Lloyd Talman in '' Robin Hood'' (1922). *Alan-a-Dale is absent from '' The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938) but is merged with the character Will Scarlet portrayed by Patric Knowles. *Alan-a-Dale was played by Leslie Denison in '' The Bandit of Sherwood Forest'' (1946). *Alan-a-Dale was played by Lester Matthews in '' Rogues of Sherwood Forest'' (1950). *Alan-a-Dale is played by Elton Hayes in the 1952 film '' The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men''. *Alan-a-Dale was played by John Schlesinger in two episodes of '' Robin Hood'' (1956). *Alan-a-Dale is the musical narrator of Disney's 1973 animated Robin Hood film. He is depicted as a
lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can ref ...
-playing rooster voiced by country singer
Roger Miller Roger Dean Miller Sr. (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992) was an American singer-songwriter, widely known for his honky-tonk-influenced novelty songs and his chart-topping Country music, country and pop hits "King of the Road (song), Ki ...
and played the role of both narrator and minor ally to Robin Hood and Little John. The songs are "Whistle Stop", "
Oo-De-Lally ''Robin Hood'' is a 1973 American animated musical adventure comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution, based on the English folk tale of the same name with the characters reimagined as anthrop ...
", and "
Not in Nottingham "Not in Nottingham" is a song from Walt Disney's animated film ''Robin Hood'' written and performed by Roger Miller. The performance by Miller, with narration provided by the minstrel rooster Alan-a-Dale, takes place in the rain while the poor are ...
". *Alan Dale is the main character in Angus Donald's novels ''
Outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them ...
'', ''
Holy Warrior ''Holy Warrior'' is the second novel of the eight-part ''Outlaw Chronicles'' series by British people, British writer of historical fiction, Angus Donald, released on 22 July 2010 through Little, Brown and Company. The novel was well received. ...
'' and ''
King's Man ''King's Man'' is the third novel of the eight-part ''Outlaw Chronicles'' series by British writer of historical fiction Angus Donald, released on 21 July 2011 through Little, Brown and Company. Plot summary This novel continues the story of ...
''. *Alan-a-Dale was played by Elric Hooper in Lionel Bart's ill-fated musical, ''
Twang!! ''Twang!!'' is a musical with music and lyrics written by Lionel Bart and a book by Bart and Harvey Orkin, with assistance from Burt Shevelove. The piece, a spoof of the character and legend of Robin Hood, was a disastrous box-office failure an ...
'' (1965). The show was revived in 2018 at the Union Theatre, London, with James Hudson in the role. *Alan A 'Dale was the subject of a comic song performed on Dudley Moore and Peter Cook's show, ''
Not Only But Also ''Not Only... But Also'' is a BBC British sketch comedy show starring Peter Cook and Dudley Moore that aired in three series between 1964 and 1970. History The show was originally intended as a solo project for Moore, called ''Not Only Dudley ...
'' in 1965. The lyrics consisted of little more than a repetition of his name. Along with Cook and Moore, the performers were Joe Melia, Bill Wallis and John Wells. *He was played by
Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...
in the rat pack film ''
Robin and the 7 Hoods ''Robin and the 7 Hoods'' is a 1964 American musical film directed by Gordon Douglas and starring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Bing Crosby. The picture features Peter Falk, Barbara Rush, and an uncredited Edward G. Rob ...
''. *
Robert O. Cornthwaite Robert Rae Cornthwaite (April 28, 1917 – July 20, 2006) was an American film and television character actor. Biography Cornthwaite was born in Saint Helens, Oregon. He said that his interest in acting began in his early teens, when he was forc ...
played Allan A. Dale, an accomplice to the supervillain The Archer, in season 2 of Batman (
Shoot a Crooked Arrow "Shoot a Crooked Arrow" is the 35th episode of the ''Batman (TV series), Batman'' television series. It was the series' second season opener on American Broadcasting Company, ABC, originally airing on September 7, 1966 (with a repeat taking place ...
and
Walk the Straight and Narrow "Walk the Straight and Narrow" is the 36th episode in the ''Batman (TV series), Batman'' television series' second season, originally airing on American Broadcasting Company, ABC September 8, 1966 (the same evening which saw the debut of ''Star Tr ...
, 1966). *He was played by Peter Hutchinson in the 1984 British television series '' Robin of Sherwood'', appearing in the fifth episode, entitled " Alan A Dale". In this version, Alan's sweetheart is named Mildred and is to be married to the Sheriff of Nottingham. Friar Tuck weds Alan and Mildred. *In the animated series Young Robin Hood, Alan-a-Dale (Voiced by Michael O'Reilly) is a very young, romantic minstrel and good friend of Robin. *In the 2002 video game '' Robin Hood: The Legend of Sherwood'', Allan appears briefly to disguise himself as Prince John's man Guillame de Longchamps to deliver the ransom to save
King Richard King Richard normally refers to the three English monarchs. English monarchs *Richard I of England or Richard the Lionheart (1157–1199) *Richard II of England (1367–1400) *Richard III of England (1452–1485) Although no monarch has assumed th ...
. * LeVar Burton's character Geordi La Forge was cast as Alan-a-Dale in a Robin Hood fantasy episode of '' Star Trek: The Next Generation''. * Allan A Dale is played by Joe Armstrong in the 2006 BBC production of '' Robin Hood''. Here he is portrayed as an expert pickpocket and a compulsive liar with a sarcastic nature and no musical ability, but at the same time is a skilled swordsman and fighter. After being charged and sentenced to death for hunting a deer in the King's forest, Allan is one of four people rescued by Robin in his first demonstration of defiance against the Sheriff of Nottingham. Upon their escape, Allan joins Robin's band of outlaws and helps them aid the poor. After being captured by Gisborne he sells him information. When Robin finds out that he has turned traitor, Allan goes to work for Gisborne, but he later reconciles with Robin and returns to the band of outlaws and tries to help them defeat the Sheriff of Nottingham. * Alan Doyle of the band
Great Big Sea Great Big Sea was a Canadian folk rock band from Newfoundland and Labrador, best known for performing energetic rock interpretations of traditional Newfoundland folk songs including sea shanties, which draw from the island's 500-year Irish, Scot ...
is cast as Alan-a-Dale in the
Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades thr ...
production of '' Robin Hood'' starring
Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor. He was born in New Zealand, spent ten years of his childhood in Australia, and moved there permanently at age twenty one. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maxi ...
and
Cate Blanchett Catherine Elise Blanchett (; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor. Regarded as one of the finest performers of her generation, she is known for her versatile work across independent films, blockbusters, and the stage. She has received nu ...
, released in 2010. He is a war veteran who goes home with Robin Longstride and seems to have some musical talent. *Alan O'Dell is the name of the character who takes on the identity of Rob Hood in "Robin Hood in the Wild West" and is played by the character of Bobby in Kander and Ebb's musical '' Curtains''. *Alan-a-Dale is played by Ian Hallard in the third episode of the eighth series of the hit BBC1 series ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' entitled ''
Robot of Sherwood "Robot of Sherwood" is the third episode of the eighth series of the British science fiction television programme '' Doctor Who''. It was written by Mark Gatiss and directed by Paul Murphy, and was first broadcast on BBC One on 6 September 2014. ...
''.


References


External links


''Robin Hood and Allen a Dale''
* ttps://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/robinhood/characters/allan.shtml Allan A Dale character guide(on the official BBC site for the series), BBC Online, 2006
Guide to the 1984 Alan A Dale episode
Richard Carpenter {{Francis James Child Fictional characters introduced in the 17th century Child Ballads Fictional string musicians Merry Men