The Adventures of Robin Hood - Season 3

Lord Guthrie 'steals' his own salt supplies to push the prices up and Robin is blamed. Robin and Little John obtain salt from the coast and Friar Tuck distributes it freely, until Lord Guthrie's partner, the Sheriff, confiscates it. Another plan is required, needing Roger of Antioch, a "salt diviner".

Edgar, Friar Tuck's twin brother, has returned from the East with a lethal weapon, the 'Devil Crackers', and is prepared to sell it to Prince John. But Marian, Robin and Friar Tuck plan to stop him.

Princess Irene of Byzantium, who has been held hostage by Prince John, is being returned home to Byzantium via Sherwood with Byzantine Ambassador Androclyse. She has fallen in love with Prince John and escapes back to London, using pepper to evade Robin. Robin has to convince the Princess not to marry John.

Lord Grenwald, dying, passes the location of a charter that will limit Prince John's power if he becomes King, on to his manservant Hulme . Marian informs Robin who must infiltrate Grenwald's last party, with the Sheriff present, at the castle of the Lord's nephew, Sir Bascomb.

Friar Tuck, now living in Tintern Abbey, sends for Robin's help against Lord Humphrey of Chepstow, who is planning to expel the Celts, led by Brack, from the Forest of Dean, where they have lived for centuries. Using the tribes 'fever brew', a hallucinogen, Robin plans to change place with Sir Humphrey to cause a change of heart.

Brother Wootan, a great believer in education, has been banished many times for teaching the children of serfs to read. Robin allows him to start a school in the forest, and one of the unwilling pupils is Little John. When Brother Battle is arrested by the Sheriff, the outlaws have to rescue him.

Sir Loren is caught ill-treating a blacksmith, and is banished from his home by his father. Then Loren kills his young brother in the forest. Robin and Little John are the only witnesses, but knowing that they cannot risk giving evidence themselves, they seek a way to make Loren confess. They dress as mummers to perform the folk play for Lent (as Cain and Abel) in front of the Sheriff to draw out the murderous brother.

Mary Quartermaine, according to her father's will, has to marry the best bow-man in the land. Apple-grower Timothy Cox seeks to win the hand of Mary, against her Uncle's wishes, by beating Pierre of Bordeaux in an archery contest. Hopeless with the longbow, Robin lends a hand by teaching Timothy Cox to shoot an arrow well enough to win the lovely young woman as his bride.

During a drought, a group of villagers led by Jason are hiding grain in a cave; despite posting a lookout, soldiers from the castle appear without warning and confiscate it. Robin and Little John are hunting in the area, and as strangers, are blamed by the villagers. Jason seeks out Robin for help to find out how they were betrayed, before another innocent person is blamed by the villagers.

Barnaby Church is being rebuilt, creating much interest on Nottinghamshire. Walter, the master mason, is proud of his work, but Sir Blaise De Roche has plans to fortify the building, and holds Walter prisoner until he agrees to the modifications. The outlaws seek to rescue the mason to ensure the structure stays a holy one.

Brenda, a girl who has run away from her home to avoid a marriage to Walter Neville, proves herself a valiant archer in defence of Robin. After saving Robin from the Sheriff's men, she is voted a member of Robin's band. Brenda believes it her destiny to marry a hero Robin is railroaded into agreeing to marry her, after granting her a favour. Maid Marian is not amused, especially after being robbed by Brenda, and decides Robin must reunite Brenda with Walter, her betrothed.

Rolfe, to avoid his son Jack having to join Prince John's army, bribes Master Bement to make sure Friar Tuck's bright student Peter Larkin is taken instead. Robin ensures fair play.

Young Davey's goose, Matilda, nips a Lord's horse, causing him to be thrown. The Lord, Sir Leon, catches and puts the animal on trial, as he hopes to condemn the goose to death – for his Christmas dinner.

As a special treat on his 14th birthday, Will Dale, the son of Ned, a member of Robin's gang, meets Robin and goes hunting with Little John. A confrontation with the Black Knight, Sir Roger Fitzwilliam, leads to Will being kidnapped and Robin being challenged to a duel with the Knight.

The Sheriff wants to charge a protection tax from travellers through Sherwood forest. Knowing this will be unpopular, he comes up with a rival outlaw gang, to rob and attack travellers, made up of prisoners. His Seneschal suggests the prisoners are led by Dick Banks. When Friar Tuck is robbed by a prisoner he knows, Robin has Tuck join the Nottingham traders guild to discover the Sheriff's plans that include betraying the robbers.

Andrew, a serf, arrives in Nottingham to obtain grain to feed the villagers of Lothan, as their crops have failed. The Lord of the Manor refuses to help, but Robin gives Andrew the money to buy the grain. Andrew impresses a grain farmer, Hodges, who is looking for a good man to marry his daughter, Margaret, thinking Andrew a 'freeman'. To buy his freedom, Andrew is tempted to sell the grain at a vast profit until Robin helps put things on the right path.

Marian wants to speak to Robin urgently. She tries to tell him that Sir Jack of Southwark has her father's permission to marry her. But Robin is so engrossed in his archery practice that that he will not take any notice. When Sir Jack arrives, Robin finds out the hard way.

Oswald of the Healing Hand, a quack pedlar of phoney medicine, deceives Little John, when he suffers from indigestion. But the outlaw comes to grief when he defends the quack against Baron Barclay's tax collectors at Bingham fair and is imprisoned. Oswald and Robin plan to rescue Little John from his cell.

Sir Edmund Woodstock demonstrates his 'Ambrosia Nova' (the Food of the Gods), which he thinks will replace all other food, to Thadeus Goldfinch, Robin and Friar Tuck. Goldfinch is unimpressed with it as human food, and his serfs on the same diet are weakening. Robin and Friar Tuck with the help of a donkey and Goldfinch's pigs find a more receptive audience for the foodstuff.

Alma of the Golden Hind Inn is star struck for Robin Hood, so Tom the Thatcher tries to impress her by pretending to be her hero. The Sheriff's lieutenant is also interested in the girl. Robin and the band show Alma the 'reality' of everyday life in the outlaw camp.

Sir Alan Beaumont, a Crusader friend of Robin's, returns home just in time for a planned reunion with three other knights, with whom he and Robin fought with. But treachery awaits Robin in the castle of his old friend who has done a deal with the Sheriff to reclaim his castle forfeited while on the Crusades.

The impoverished knight and friend of the outlaws, Sir Richard of the Lea, and his wife Lady Leonia, invite Robin and Marian to their 25th wedding anniversary. Sir Richard falls for a rigged game of dice, in which he loses the deeds to his castle to Sir Adrian. Robin tries to get the Sheriff to restore the status quo, but not before the Sheriff attempts to take the deeds.

Prince John has ordered the Sheriff to kill Prince Arthur. Bolbec has found an exact double, Luke Tanner, for Robin Hood. The Sheriff hatches a plan for the double to kill the Prince. Lady Constance, Prince Arthur and their emissary arrive in Sherwood and meet Robin Hood, who knows of the plans from Friar Tuck and has to save the Prince.

Dr. Quince, an antiquarian friend of Robin's, is excavating the site of an old Roman villa. Robin and his men agree to lend a hand, in the hope of finding Roman gold. He is very successful until the news reaches the Sheriff, who wants the gold for himself. Derwent stumbles into a vault and discovers the treasure is more important than gold: Saint Paul's 1st letter to the Romans.

Farmers led by Ralph are frightened off from digging storm ditches on Simon Dexter's land by ghosts. Robin sends Friar Tuck and Little John to exorcise the ghosts. Little John is shot with a crossbow, so Robin takes advantage to send the ghost of Little John to haunt Dexter.

When a Tailor, Master William Blount covets the ownership of the Blue Boar Inn, the Sheriff places a 'head tax' on the owner Ulrich, forcing him to sell the Inn to Blount. In exchange, the Sheriff wants the Tailor to become an informer on Robin's outlaw gang. Robin, disguised as Sir Guy, puts matters straight.

The Sheriff issues a notice of a reward of 750 crowns for the capture of Robin Hood alive. Three bored knights: Sir John, Sir Ralph and Sir Lawrence take up the offer and end up in Sherwood Forest disguised as magicians to perform a vanishing act: the capture of Robin Hood.

Sir Boland, in desperate need of money, promises the hand of his niece and ward, Lady Melissa, to Sir Louis de Panay, an elderly Norman, in spite of her being in love with Sir Boland's squire, Alwyn. Maid Marian and Friar Tuck determine to stop him. From Tuck, Robin deduces that Sir Louis wants to regain his lost youth, and Robin conjures a phoney story and 'Elixir of Youth' to sell to him.

The Abbot calls on Friar Tuck to take Master Nicodemus, a fellow monk and master mathematician, to safety in Sherwood. Prince John has heard of his ideas on mathematics in warfare and wishes to take advantage of them. Count de Severne has been sent to capture Nicodemus and has taken his brother hostage. Robin puts the monk's intelligence to work on a mighty weapon that wins the day.

Marian's cousin, the disinherited 16-year-old Edwin, arrived in Nottingham from France, but she is disappointed that he is scornful of her claims about Robin Hood's allegiance to King Richard. Edwin follows Marian to Robin's camp, but his presence becomes a threat to Robin's freedom.

Marian brings Roland the Minstrel, exiled from London for derogatory songs about Prince John, to Sherwood. Prince John and the Ambassador of Aragon are to sign a treaty, so the Sheriff locks up all strangers including the minstrel in order to avert any show of disrespect for authority in the area. Robin decides to use Roland's song about the Sheriff to his advantage, and soon all Nottingham is singing it. Robin rescues Roland and Friar Tuck organises the children to sing for the Ambassador.

Little John breaks his leg escaping from the Sheriff's men. Robin and Friar Tuck carry him to the home of Sir George Woodley, who is being visited by an Italian doctor, Benvolio. Betrayed, the doctor and Little John are arrested. Robin and Tuck's rescue attempt succeeds in rescuing the doctor, but not Little John. The Sheriff is badly wounded by Robin Hood and a bargain is made by the doctor to save both Little John and the Sheriff.

Two rafflers, Will Sharpe and his accomplice Frisby arrive in Nottingham, with a fixed lottery game. The Sheriff takes over the game, finding it a neat and foolproof way of raising money for Prince John. Robin, Marian and Tuck devise a plan to declare the Sheriff's lottery null and void and return the money to the people.

During a heatwave, the Sheriff's men corner Derwent and Little John in a cave. The Lieutenant's (Paul Eddington) attempt to smoke them out leads to a forest fire, forcing Robin and the Sheriff to work together in a truce to save Sherwood and Nottingham but the Sheriff's word is tested when Robin is trapped under a fallen branch.

Simon Shanks, an ex-employee of Master Draper David, tries to sell inferior Lincoln green cloth to the outlaws, but his wares are rejected. In revenge, he reports their whereabouts to the Sheriff. Robin, Marian and Little John go to Lincoln, but Robin and Little John are captured by the Sheriff and imprisoned. Marian devises a plan to rescue them.

Noblewoman Anne De Brissac asks the outlaws to help her with a box full of gold she claims is intended for King Richard. But Marian informs Robin that the Lady is a spy for Prince John. Little John and Ned, who have gone to collect the gold, go missing. It is up to Marian to force the truth from Anne, before the Sheriff closes the trap.

A trap is laid by the Duke of Retford to catch Little John when he receives a message that his mother, a serf of the Duke of Retford, is very ill. Despite Friar Tuck and Maid Marian's warning Little John is captured, but the brawny outlaw brings the house down about the plotter's ears.

Marian enters an archery contest in place of Robin. Prince John, visiting Northeave village, ups the prize money to 20 crowns, hoping to draw in Robin Hood. Marian (disguised as "Martin") wins the contest, but Robin (disguised as "Hugh") is tempted and challenges Martin, not realising Prince John is waiting.

The Sheriff has long suspected that Friar Tuck is in league with Robin Hood, and seizes an opportunity to get rid of him. The Sheriff tries to convince the Archbishop (Carl Bernard) to move Friar Tuck to another parish, but he doesn't bargain for the Archbishop's knowledge of Robin Hood, or his faith in Friar Tuck.