Will Scarlet

### Antagonists

Sheriff of Nottingham, Sir Guy of Gisbourne, Gamwell Earl of Maxfield, Steward of Maxfield

### Other Names and Epithets

Young Gamwell of Maxfield, Young Gamwell, William Gamewell, William Scarlett, Will Gamwell, Will o' Gamwell, William Scarlock, William Scadlock, William Scatheloke, Will, Gamble Gold, Gandeleyn

## Origin

Will Scarlet as "Young Gamewell" meets his uncle Robin Hood in the ballad *Robin Hood Newly Revived* which is a newer version of the older ballad *The Bold Pedlar and Robin Hood* where Robin meets a cousin of his who introduces himself as Gamble Gold. While the even earlier ballad *Robyn and Gandeleyn* is often not considered a Robin Hood story the Gandeleyn of that tale has been suggested to be an earlier appearance of Gamble Gold who in turn became Will in a later tale. One of the earliest surviving appearances of Will Scarlet is in an early copy of *Robin Hood's Death* where he beseeches Robin to take a bodyguard with him.

## Name

Will's surname was given variously as Gamwell, Gamewell, Scarlet, Scarlett, Scarlock, Scadlock and Scatheloke, though in some tales Will Scathelock is a separate character. He is sometimes conflated with Alan a Dale who also wore scarlet and was a fashion conscious member of Robin's band, a trait some later versions of Will adopts. Whether Will and Gamble are separate characters, in which case they are family, or one and the same is also subject to the whims of various authors.

## Meeting Robin

After he killed his father's steward Will Gamwell had been exiled and outlawed and his mother urged him to go to the Greenwood and seek out Robin. As he wanders through the forest he is approached by the rouge himself either due to his rich robes of scarlet silk or his killing of a deer though Robin does not identify himself or appear to recognize his kin, as Will is variously his nephew or cousin and in some more recent versions he's even Robin's half-brother. Will does not comply with the outlaw's demands and refuses to identify himself first leading to duel. He wins enough of Robin's respect through his talent with a broadsword for Robin to offer him a place in among the Merry Men, once again asking Will to identify himself.

When Will finally relents and tells Robin his name and reason for being in the greenwood Robin gleefully informs him that he is the very individual Will was seeking and tells Little John of their relation. The impetuous youth is then rechristened Will Scarlet as he joins the Merry Men.

In a very different meeting with Robin he is named as the bride's usually unnamed fiance in one copy of the bride's tale from before Alan a Dale's introduction into the stories.

## One of the Merry Men

As one of the Merry Men it was he who informed Robin of the Curtial Friar who Robin then sought out to invite into his band and who was later conflated with Friar Tuck who entered the Robin Hood canon at a later date. Will was accompanying Little John and Robin when the three were set upon by three foresters and had to outwit them in *Robin Hood's Delight*. He was also one of the Merry Men who insisted they make sure Richard at the Lee was properly outfitted as a noble when they sent him to repay his debt to the corrupt Abbot of St. Mary's in Gest.

## Captured

While Sir Guy of Grisbourne was in the Sheriff of Nottingham's employ to kill Robin Hood Will and found himself outnumbered and outmatched alongside two other Merry Men who are killed in a confrontation with the Sheriff's men and his life is only saved by the intervention of Little John who ends up captured.

## Later Life

Legend tells that Will may not have survived to see the rightful King returned to England and be granted a royal pardon, instead there are tales which state he was killed by the Sheriff's men or in the unusual Prince of Aragon ballad was pardoned almost immediately after joining for saving a princess whom he later married.

## Alterations in Modern Adaptations

In Pierce Egan the Younger's 1838 serials Will was given a love interest and eventual wife in the form of the bride's handmaiden Maude Lindsay. His family at Gamwell Hall was also expanded with the addition of the sisters Barbara Gamwell and Winifred Gamwell, the later of which became love interest to Little John. All the aforementioned women also appeared in Alexandre Dumas' two Robin Hood tomes published in 1873 and Maude appeared again in the 1948 film *Prince of Thieves*.

The 2012 book *Scarlet* by A.C. Gaughen turns the character into a cross dressing nobleman's daughter whose primary weapon is a throwing knife. The animated French children's show *Robin Hood: Mischief in Sherwood* from 2014 also turns Will into a girl who goes by Scarlett.

## Appearances in Media

#### **Ballads:**

* c. Robin Hood's Death
* c. Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne (story dates from at least 1450)
* c. 1500 A Gest of Robyn Hode - as "Willyam Scarlok"
* c. Robin Hood and the Newly Revived
* c. Robin Hood and the Bride
* c. Robin Hood's Delight
* c. Robin Hood and the Curtal Friar
* c. Robin Hood and the Prince of Aragon

#### **Plays:**

* 1598 *The Downfall of Robert, Earl of Huntington* by Anthony Munday

#### **Literature:**

* 1420s *Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland* by Andrew of Wyntoun
* 1883 *The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood* by Howard Pyle
* 2010 *The Time Hunters* by Carl Ashmore
* 2012 *Scarlet* by A.C. Gaughen

#### **Board Games:**

* 2016. Sheriff of Nottingham, Merry Men Expansion (Arcane Wonders)

#### **Comics:**

* 1948 Robin des Bois (Éditions Pierre Mouchot) #49
* 1952 Walt Disney's Robin Hood (W. G. Publications/Wogan Publications) #1
* 1975 DC Special (DC Comics) #24
* 1978 Marvel Classics Comics (Marvel) #34
* 2012-13 Grimm Fairy Tales presents Robyn Hood (Zenescope Entertainment) #3-5
* 2013 Grimm Fairy Tales presents Robyn Hood: Wanted (Zenescope Entertainment) #1-5
* 2014 Sherwood Texas/Boondock Saints Double Feature (12-Guage Comics) #1
* 2015-16 Merry Men (Oni Press) #3-4
* 2016 Robyn Hood 2016 Annual (Zenescope Entertainment) #1

### Character Filmography

##### Film:

* 1912 *Robin Hood* played by George Larkin
* 1912 *Robin Hood Outlawed* played by Edouard Durand
* 1913 *In the Days of Robin Hood* played by Cecil Dereham
* 1922 *Robin Hood* played by Bud Geary
* 1938 *The Adventures of Robin Hood* (as "Will o' Gamwell") played by Patric Knowles
* 1945 *The Bandit of Sherwood Forest* played by John Abbott
* 1948 *The Prince of Thieves* played by Syd Saylor (uncredited)
* 1950 *Rogues of Sherwood Forest* played by Billy Bevan
* 1951 *Tales of Robin Hood* played by Robert Bice
* 1954 *The Men of Sherwood Forest* played by John Van Eyssen
* 1958 *Son of Robin Hood* played by Jack Lambert
* 1964 *Robin and the 7 Hoods* (as "Will") played by Sammy Davis Jr.
* 1967 *A Challenge for Robin Hood* played by Douglas Mitchell
* 1969 *The Ribald Tales of Robin Hood* played by Paul Smith
* 1970 *Il magnifico Robin Hood* played by Luciano Conti
* 1971 *Long Live Robin Hood* played by Manuel Zarzo
* 1975 *Robin Hood Junior* played by Keith Jayne
* 1976 *Robin and Marian* played by Denholm Elliott
* 1991 *Robin Hood* played by Owen Teale
* 1991 *Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves* played by Christian Slater
* 1993 *Robin Hood: Men in Tights* (as "Will Scarlet O'Hara") played by Matthew Porretta
* 1994 *Robin Hood: Prince of Sherwood* (direct to video) played by Brad Letson
* 1996 *Robin of Locksley* played by Billy O'Sullivan
* 2001 *Princess of Thieves* played by Crispin Letts
* 2007 *Splitting the Arrow* played by Austin Tooley
* 2009 *Beyond Sherwood Forest* played by Richard de Klerk
* 2010 *Robin Hood* played by Scott Grimes
* 2012 *Robin Hood: Ghosts of Sherwood* played by Dennis Zachmann
* 2012 *VeggieTales: Robin Good and His Not So Merry Men* voiced by Phil Vischer
* 2018 *Robin Hood* played by Jamie Dornan

##### Television:

* 1955-1959 *The Adventures of Robin Hood* as "Will O'Winchester" played by Ronald Howard & Paul Eddington
* 1966-1969 *Rocket Robin Hood* voiced by Chris Wiggins
* 1968-1968 *The Legend of Robin Hood* played by Harvey Jason
* 1975-1975 *The Legend of Robin Hood* (mini-series) played by Miles Anderson
* 1984-1986 *Robin of Sherwood* played by Ray Winstone
* 1991-1992 *Young Robin Hood* voiced by Sonja Ball
* 2006-2009 *Robin Hood* played by Harry Lloyd
* 2014-2016 *Robin Hood: Mischief in Sherwood* voiced by Eileen Stevens

—Shows not centered on Robin Hood—

* *Star Trek: The Next Generation*
—1991 "Qpid" played by Michael Dorn
* *Once Upon a Time in Wonderland*
—2013 "Forget Me Not" played by Michael Socha
* *Once Upon a Time*
—2014 "Rocky Road" played by Michael Socha
* *Doctor Who*
—2014 "Robot of Sherwood" played by Joseph Kennedy (Episode on Tardis Wikia)

##### Video Games:

* 1987. Defender of the Crown
* 1991. Conquests of the Longbow: The Legend of Robin Hood
* 1991. The Adventures of Robin Hood
* 1991. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
* 2002. Robin Hood: The Legend of Sherwood
* 2003. Robin Hood: Defender of the Crown voiced by Adrian Neil

## Gallery

Master Will Scarlet by Louis RheadA Meeting of Maude and Will Scarlet. Illustration by W. H. Thwaites engraved by John Wall from *Robin Hood and Little John, Or, The Merry Men of Sherwood Forest*, (1850).Will Scarlet from the Typhoo Tea Paper Doll Card series of Robin Hood cutouts (1928).Patric Knowles as **Will Scarlet** in *The Adventures of Robin Hood* (1938)Clive Mantle, Michael Praed, Phil Rose, Mark Ryan, Judi Trott, Peter Llewellyn Williams, and Ray Winstone in Robin of Sherwood (1984)Christian Slater as Will Scarlet in *Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves* (1991)Christian Slater as **Will Scarlet** in *Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves* (1991)Will Scarlet from Zenescope's Robyn Hood ComicsWill Scarlet by Saeed Jalabi for the Sheriff of Nottingham board game Merry Men expansion pack (2016).Will Scarlet as seen in Robin Hood: The Legend of Sherwood video game (2002)
## External links

* Wikipedia
* ComicVine
* IMDB
* Robin Hood Wiki