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 casting doubt on this Robyn Hood's supposed earlier career as outlaw and rebel. It has long been suggested, notably by John Maddicott, that "Robin Hood" was a stock alias used by thieves. What appears to be the first known example of "Robin Hood" as stock name for an outlaw dates to 1262 in Berkshire, where the surname "Robehod" was applied to a man apparently because he had been outlawed. This could suggest two main possibilities: either that an early form of the Robin Hood legend was already well established in the mid-13th century; or alternatively that the name "Robin Hood"