Much
the Miller's Son was, in the tales of Robin Hood, one of his Merry
Men. He appears in some of the oldest ballads, A Gest of Robyn
Hode and Robin Hood and the Monk, as one of the company.
Generally he becomes an outlaw when he is caught poaching. This
leads to Robin Hood's outlawry in many modern adaptions.
In
A Gest of Robyn Hode, he helps capture Richard at the Lee
and when Robin lends that knight money to pay off his debts, he is
one of the Merry Men who insists on giving him a horse and clothing
appropriate to his station.
In
Robin Hood and the Monk, he is one of the rescuers of the
captive Robin; in this brutal ballad, he kills a page boy so that
the boy can not bear word that the outlaws killed the monk of the
title.
In
other tales, he was also known as "Midge the Miller's son". This is
the name used by Howard Pyle in his Merry Adventures of Robin
Hood.
In
other tales, he was a young boy who befriended the merry men. In
several later stories, the name Much is explained by his lacklustre
appearance and abilities: his parents continually referred to him
as "our son, though he's not much" which was eventually shortened
to "Much".
Often it is said he was forced to go into hiding with the outlaws
as he had been caught poaching deer on the sheriff's land, an
offence which would get the youth hanged. The outlaws rescued the
boy from the sheriff's men and later look after him in their
hideout in the forest (in the 1991 movie Robin Hood: Prince of
Thieves, a character resembling Much in many respects is the young
boy named Wulf; another character named "Much the Miller's Son"
does appear in the movie, but he has extremely little screen
time).
In
the earlier tales, however, Much is slightly older and takes a much
more physical role; indeed he is a formidable fighter. Much is
present from the very earliest Robin Hood ballads, in which he
often accompanies Little John on physical journeys and even gets
involved in brawls.
The
easiest route to the cache location begins at Warsop Windmill; I
don't know whether this was ever the site of Much's father's mill!
Park at the recommended spot and then follow the Thynghowe Trail to
the cache.
Points of interest along the way are marked with lettered posts.
Download the trail guide
leaflet before you set out.
If you continue after finding the cache you should get to Hanger
Hill (Thynghowe), and be able to find another Robin Hood cache.
Both
caches are to be found at the side of The Robin Hood Way; a 105-mile
walking trail from Nottingham Castle to Edwinstowe Church. You'll
not need to step off the trail for more than about ten paces, and I
designed this cache with a good walk in mind rather than a tricky
hide, so you should find it quite easily. It's an average size box
reinforced with tape, inside a camouflaged bag, and contents
include a number of swaps.
Take note of the letter written inside the lid of the
container!
Many thanks to the Forestry Commission for kindly granting
permission.
Notes from the Forestry Commission.
This is a working wood, and you may come across work sites, workers
and vehicles during your visit. Please avoid all working areas and
obey any safety signs and instructions. You must not enter any
areas where access has been restricted.
The wood and the roads and tracks are used for a lot of different
activities. You may meet other people during your visit - please be
on the look out for them, as they may be unaware that you are
there. Please also respect their rights to enjoy their
recreation.
Conditions can change very rapidly in forests and woodlands. Please
make sure that you are properly prepared for your visit and please
take care for your own safety.
In the interests of safety the Forestry Commission strongly
recommends that you carry a mobile phone and first aid kit and
leave details of the mobile number, route and expected return time
with a friend, relative or responsible person.