Friar Tuck prototype bookend produced by Royal Doulton of Burslem, England, circa 1997. Friar Tuck is a priest from old English folklore. He was "a man of girth and mirth who liked his venison pasties washed down with a soup of pilfered sack". Armed with a sword, bow, and merry temperament, Friar Tuck was one of Robin Hood's best-known men, the outlaw's genial chaplain, and father confessor. When Robin first came across Tuck, he didn't know the identity of the fat friar. Friar Tuck was introduced when May Day festivities, folk plays and Morris dances became a feature of the traditional Robin Hood games. He also figures in Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe where his is described as "a huge, beetle-browed, broad-shouldered brother of the grey frock and cowl, who looked much more like a thief than a clergyman."
Maker:
Royal Doulton
England
circa 1997
Model #:
Prototype
bookend
Size:
large
Height:
7"