Much, the Miller's Son is one of theMerry Men in the tales ofRobin Hood. He appears in some of the oldestballads,A Gest of Robyn Hode andRobin Hood and the Monk, as one of the company.[1]
InA Gest of Robyn Hode, he helps captureRichard at the Lee, and when Robin lends that knight money to pay off his debts, he is one of the Merry Men who insist on giving him a horse and clothing appropriate to his station.[2] InRobin Hood and the Monk, he is one of the rescuers of the captive Robin. In this brutal ballad, Moche kills apage boy so the boy cannot bear word that the outlaws killed the monk of the title. He then disguises himself as the page and Little John disguises himself as the monk. The implication that Much is of small stature is not made explicit.[3]
In other tales, he was known as Midge, the Miller's Son,[4] the name by which he is known inRobin Hood and the Curtal Friar[5] andRobin Hood and Queen Katherine (version 145B).[6] It is also the name used byHoward Pyle for the character in hisMerry Adventures of Robin Hood.[7] This is in further contrast to the balladRobin Hood and Allan-a-Dale where he is known as Nick, the Miller's Son.[8]
Much plays a notable role in the 1938 filmThe Adventures of Robin Hood, played byHerbert Mundin. After nearly being executed forpoaching, he is rescued by Robin Hood, and soon joins up with the Merry Men. Much helps to recruit men to join their band. Later using information relayed to him byLady Marian's nursemaid, Bess, he warns the Merry Men thatPrince John intends to locate and killKing Richard before the rest of England can learn of his return.
Much is the main character in aXeric award-winning webcomic,Much the Miller's Son[9] by Steve LeCouilliard. This comedy series loosely follows the legend of Robin Hood (drawing heavily from the Errol Flynn version) from the point of view of Much.
Much is also a major character in theBBC television seriesRobin Hood (2006–2009), but he is no longer a miller's son; in the second episode, he claims to have no family at all. Instead, he is Robin's former manservant, comrade-in-arms, and best friend from theThird Crusade, who has been given his freedom as a result of his services there, but finds himself outlawed with Robin upon their return home. In this version, he is the gang's cook and immensely loyal to Robin; he is often seen to be jealous of the attention Robin gives to others, especiallyMarian.In the series, Much was played bySam Troughton, grandson ofPatrick Troughton, the first actor to play Robin Hood on British television.
The role of Much as a cook has some literary precedent in J. Walker McSpadden'sStories of Robin Hood and His Merry Outlaws (1904). In this collection of Robin Hood tales, Much (who is still the son of a miller) is living in the household of theSheriff of Nottingham and serving as his cook until he meets Robin and Little John and joins the Merry Men. He is portrayed as a "stout man and bold" and a highly skilled swordsman.[10]
