Religion: Catholic monk
Name: Friar Tuck
Other Names: Brother Tuck; Tuck; Father Tuck; Rabbi Tuckman; The Friar; Veli Tuck; Frere Tuk
Classification: supporting character clergy/religious leader
First Appearance: Robin Hood and the Knight (1475)
NOTE: This is our current best assessment of the first appearance of this character, but this has been flagged in our database as uncertain.
Creators: , M.E. Hannefy (actor)
Number of Appearances: 317
Comic Book Appearances: 56
TV, Film Appearances: 260
Video Game, Computer Game Appearances: 1
Ally: Robin Hood
Nation: England, United Kingdom
Race: white
Gender: male
The oldest known work of literature which includes Friar Tuck as a character is a fragment of a Robin Hood play from 1475. The play is sometimes identified as Robin Hood and the Knight or Robin Hood and the Sheriff. Friar Tuck, however, was part of the Robin Hood legend even before then.
Friar Tuck is a common character in modern Robin Hood stories, which depict him as a jovial friar and one of Robin's Merry Men. The figure of Tuck was common in the May Games festivals of England and Scotland during the 15th through 17th centuries. Two royal writs in 1417 refer to Robert Stafford, a Sussex chaplain who had assumed the alias of Frere Tuk. This "Friar Tuck" was still at large in 1429. These are the earliest surviving references to a character by that name.
Suggested links for further research about this character and the character's religious affiliation:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friar_Tuck
- http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0003916/
- http://www.comicvine.com/friar-tuck/4005-6079/