The passing of time in RoS

Wolpertinger
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The passing of time in RoS Aug 9, 2020 14:26:42 GMT

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Post by Wolpertinger on Aug 9, 2020 14:26:42 GMT

I'm curious, what is the general opinion on how much time has passed for the characters in this span of seasons? Are the full years of 1195 - 1212 counted as 17 years having passed from start of Season 1 to KoTA?

Personally I like to think that (for a mystically magical reason) the main characters are detached from historical years, floating in their own time that can be superimposed over historical dates (similar to Andrew Orton's idea).

I count:

S1 = 1 year

S2 = 1 year

Hiatus = 1 year

S3 = 2 years

I think that also explains the more obvious continuity error of Lady Gisburne claiming her son was born while her husband was out with King Richard on the 3rd Crusade in the 1190s when the first season takes place in 1195. She claims her love David came to her in April and they were married, but her happiness was short as her husband returned. David married Matilda of Chester in August 1190, so Guy was probably born January-February 1191.

The real Robert of Huntingdon was born either in 1195 or 1196, which makes him either 4 or 5 years younger than Guy in this timeline (the actors were 3 years apart in age, so I'll pick 4).

Let's say Guy and Robin of Loxley are the same age (due to their actors being the same age) and born in 1175, which puts Robert born at 1179 in this timeline. For comparison, Marion going by her canon age of 17 in S1 was born 1178, Much in 1180. (This placement works well with the actor ages too: Judi is 2 months older than Jason, Peter 1 year younger.)

Behold my ugly sketch of what I mean. the yellowish 'paper' contains the historical years, the white 'stencil' contains the magical timeline the RoS characters are on:

Following this logic, Robert of Huntingdon is somewhere around 19 years old when we first meet him in season 3. That makes him young enough to be considered a "boy" by most of the characters that speak to him, while at the same time the main cast hasn't aged so much through the historical years that Marion would be in her mid-thirties by now. Instead, counting the seasons and hiatus as years, she is now 20.

Spicy detail: until 1198 David of Huntingdon was his brother's heir to the throne of Scotland, which would have put a lot of pressure on Lady Gisburne for bearing his first-born son, who at the time of conception was within wedlock (but a bastard by his time of birth).

Last Edit: Aug 9, 2020 14:33:09 GMT by Wolpertinger

Dennis of Ravenscar
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The passing of time in RoS Aug 9, 2020 15:45:28 GMT Wolpertinger likes this

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Post by Dennis of Ravenscar on Aug 9, 2020 15:45:28 GMT

It is a hard one isnt it..?

I think from Seasons 1-3 in total cannot be less than 5 years starting from Robin Hood and the Sorcerer. and could easily be 7-10 or more taking into account the fact that Hood was a legend up North (ref Adam Bell) and even was heard of abroad even in Normandy. (King's Fool)

The historical years quoted dont really fit with episodes but of course that doesn't mean we should completely discount them! We know time is an illusory concept, lunchtime doubly so

Things might fit better somewhat if perhaps Husband was out fighting with Richard elsewhere but not necessarily in the 3rd crusade. Maybe it was Crusade 2.5

Or maybe it was against the French to which some might argue that could be considered a Holy War/crusade.

I must confess I have never sat down and try to work it out and explain away the obvious non conformances. But hey this is what this board is for! There is lot to consider, discuss and stretch

Last Edit: Aug 9, 2020 16:26:59 GMT by Dennis of Ravenscar

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Wolpertinger
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Posts: 113

The passing of time in RoS Aug 9, 2020 16:13:10 GMT

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Post by Wolpertinger on Aug 9, 2020 16:13:10 GMT

Ooh, that brings up an interesting question of how long it took for stories, ballads, rumors etc to spread back in the day.

In regard to my theory this also depends on your view if the people who hear of Robin i' the Hood's legend are within the timeline of the main cast, or in the outside sphere, as time moves differently between the two. So 10 years can go by in the "real world" while for the Robin Hood characters it seems like only one summer has passed, because their "stencil" has been moved forward a decade. This is of course a rather fairy-tale Cromm Cruac-esque interpretation, but I like the idea that they live outside of our time and space.

This makes me want to be playful and extrapolate this idea further: One day the Sheriff of Nottingham might be taking orders from King Edward, as in A Gest of Robyn Hode, and we're in a new century but the characters don't really notice that such a large amount of time has passed. (This also opens up Robin of Loxley to move through time despite having 'died', although he will still die before Robert appears all the same.)

Coming back to your thoughts, I like the idea of Lady Gisburne having meant a different 'Crusade'. The longer years between also allow for the characters to mature, which is fun in itself and allows new kinds of stories. Anything that gives us space for many more adventures is good by me.