Will Stutely or Will Stutly is in English folklore a prominent member of Robin Hood’s Merry Men. He was present in two of the ballads in the Child collection, although not ones dating from the early medieval period. Sometimes Stutely is just another name for Will Scarlet, a character appearing in the early ballads under many last names. In Robin Hood Rescuing Will Stutly, Will was set to spy on the Sheriff of Nottingham and captured; the ballad recounts his rescue from the gallows. In the ballad Robin Hood and Little John, Stutely is one of the men summoned by Robin’s horn when Little John bests him, and when Robin takes him into the band, it is Stutely who questions Little John and gives him his outlaw name. Stutely appears in various Robin Hood children’s novels, such as Howard Pyle’s The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, which includes the tale of Will’s rescue and also mentions that he likes to play pranks, and the occasional film. In some versions, he was the most trusted of Robin Hood’s inner circle because he had been his father’s steward at Locksley castle (in the tales where Robin originally comes from an aristocratic family). It is said that Stutely was the eldest and wisest of the merry men, and that he was Robin Hood’s confidant and advisor in strategy.
Appearance List Ballads: A Gest of Robyn Hode, Robin Hood and the Monk, Robin Hood and the Curtal Friar, Robin Hood and Allin a Dalem, Robin Hood and Queen Catherin, Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow, Robin Hood and the Tanner of Blyth. Literature: The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle (1883, PG), Robin Hood by Paul Creswick (PG), Robin Hood by Anonymous (PG), Bold Robin Hood-And His Outlaw Band by Louis Rhead (1912, Internet Archive), Robin Hood and the Men of the Greenwood (1920) [Internet Archive], Robin Hood: His Deeds and Adventures as Recounted in the Old English Ballads (1923) [Internet Archive].
Sample Read The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood [PG]
Description Will Stutely or Will Stutly is in English folklore a prominent member of Robin Hood’s Merry Men. He was present in two of the ballads in the Child collection, although not ones dating from the early medieval period. Sometimes Stutely is just another name for Will Scarlet, a character appearing in the early ballads under many last names. In Robin Hood Rescuing Will Stutly, Will was set to spy on the Sheriff of Nottingham and captured; the ballad recounts his rescue from the gallows. In the ballad Robin Hood and Little John, Stutely is one of the men summoned by Robin’s horn when Little John bests him, and when Robin takes him into the band, it is Stutely who questions Little John and gives him his outlaw name. Stutely appears in various Robin Hood children’s novels, such as Howard Pyle’s The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, which includes the tale of Will’s rescue and also mentions that he likes to play pranks, and the occasional film. In some versions, he was the most trusted of Robin Hood’s inner circle because he had been his father’s steward at Locksley castle (in the tales where Robin originally comes from an aristocratic family). It is said that Stutely was the eldest and wisest of the merry men, and that he was Robin Hood’s confidant and advisor in strategy.
