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| 'Blacke Dickon' stands in an upstairs room in the present-day Gatehouse of Kirklees Priory on the exact spot where traditionally Robin Hood lying on his death-bed shot the arrow to 'bury me where the arrow falls ...' |
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Foresters
were sometimes re-allocated to other areas or served as guides ; here
a forester practices in the early morning with a longbow at the castle
of Rockingham in the Royal Forest of Charnwood to the south before
returning north to Sherwood.
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Richard Rutherford-Moore, as Blacke Dickon, Forester of Royal Sherwood in the 12th Century, has appeared in more than 15 Robin Hood documentaries worldwide. The latest being based on his article "Bury Me Where the Arrow Falls", about the death of Robin Hood. That article was drawn from his third Robin Hood book, "Robin Hood - On the Outlaw Trail Again", which is available through Capall Bann Publishing or Amazon.com, along with his other books, "The Legend of Robin Hood" and "Robin Hood - On the Outlaw Trail".
Richard was born in England, near Loxley, and currently resides in Sherwood Forest (for real). As Blacke Dickon, he has served at Nottingham Castle, and all over the county, giving tours and presentations based on Robin Hood. He has also served for over 15 years as a Military and Technical Advisor / Armourer for the popular "Sharpe" historical drama series in the UK.
Richard originally created his Blacke Dickon outfit to go along with his Robin Hood books. Living in England, he had access to obscure reference materials, illustrated manuscripts, and even tomb effigies, which he relied on while creating his museum-quality forester kit. He used only materials available in the 12th Century, and then field tested them on a four night excursion in Sherwood Forest as Blacke Dickon. Some of what he learned during that trip is included his article "Don't They Know It's Christmas-Time?" (You can click on the links below to read that article as well as others Richard has been kind enough to share with us).
We are honored to have Richard Rutherford-Moore as a member of St. Hubert's Rangers, and we thank him for the articles and photos he has graciously provided for our website. Please click on a title below to read the article:
"Don't They Know It's Christmas-Time ?" A two-part introduction to seasonal survival in Medieval Sherwood Forest |
"Prevention is Better than the Cure !" The medieval 'deer-leaps' of Sherwood Forest |
"Recreating a Royal Hunt in Sherwood Forest" |
"The Anglo-Saxon Background to Pre-Norman 'Forest Law" |
"The Most Dangerous Game ..." Notes on the Interpretation and Application of 'Norman Forest Law’ within Sherwood Forest |
"The Most Dangerous Game (Part Two)" |
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“Bestwood Park - A Thousand Years of History” |
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"The Much-Maligned Crossbow" |
"The Medieval Way of ‘Making Fire" |
Richard recently completed filming for a DVD project at Nottingham Castle, and he gave a much appreciated 'wink' to St. Hubert's Rangers by incorporating our badge into his costume for the production.
The Ghost of Nottingham Castle only disclosed at first that he died ‘in unfortunate circumstances’ at Nottingham Castle - we have recently found out that Richard the Lionheart hanged him there in March 1194. He has since made several ‘manifestations’ at Nottingham Castle so will be instantly recognisable by regular visitors there. After being contacted by us at a recent séance, Dickon subsequently agreed to serve as Presenter on the DVD project but as the film crew later found out, Dickon is a little unpredictable - as viewers will see - through his habit of walking through walls ; he suddenly vanished into thin air at the end of our filming. He can be contacted through a medium via his agent, B L Zeebub.