Friar Tuck royal writs in 1417 refer to Robert Stafford, a Sussex chaplain who had assumed the alias of Frere Tuk. This "Friar Tuck" was still at large in 1429. These are the earliest surviving references to a character by that name. In the 1891 romantic opera "Ivanhoe" by Sir Arthur Sullivan and Julian Sturgis, Friar Tuck was played by Avon Saxon. In the film "Robin Hood" (1922) he was portrayed by Willard Louis. In the film, "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938) the character Friar Tuck was played by actor Eugene Pallette as a fat individual fond of food but also
Robin Hood in popular culture Allinson in 1904. A 'companion' novel to Egan's text was published by J. H. Stocqueler in 1849 entitled "Maid Marian, the Forest Queen; Being a Companion to "Robin Hood"". The first Robin Hood novel written specifically for children appears to be Stephen Percy's "Tales of Robin Hood" (1840). John B. Marsh's children's book "Robin Hood" appeared in 1865, as did a penny dreadful entitled "Little John and Will Scarlet" (1865). The next major novel written was entitled "The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood" by Howard Pyle in 1883. In T.H. White's novel "The Sword in the Stone" (1938, later incorporated