The majority of the characters in the novel, however, would have been speaking a different language altogether: one we call вЂњAnglo-NormanвЂќ. It also came in a variety of dialects вЂ“ standard English was centuries away вЂ“ coloured by interaction with Norse speakers in the east and Celts in the west. While this forms the basis of our modern English and provides us with most of the words we use every day, nearly all of these would sound foreign to modern ears. Most of the population вЂ“ the ordinary people вЂ“ would have conversed in an early version of Middle English which was, as yet, not very far from the Anglo-Saxon (AKA OldВ English) spoken at the time of the Norman invasion. The fact is, nearly all the words I had used in the novel were not authentic to late 12th century England. They did not say that then вЂ“ at least, not in those words.

вЂњYesвЂ¦ talk of the townвЂ™вЂ¦ Did they even say that then?вЂќ When I admitted to the audience (five people and a cat) that a couple of moments had jarred, one of my listeners nodded slowly in recognition. Some rather unmusical combination of syllables here. WeвЂ™d be the talk of the town!вЂќДЄs always when reading new work aloud, a few parts had leapt out as being in need of a tweak (the key reason I continually harangue my students to do it). вЂњItвЂ™d be fun, wouldnвЂ™t it? You and me against this crazed killer. He holds out his shackled wrists and suggests Gisburne frees him so they can track the villain together. Hood gladly offers his help вЂ“ but in a rather more hands-on way than Gisburne has anticipated. The scene involved my protagonist, Guy of Gisburne, visiting his psychopathic nemesis Robin Hood in the Tower of London in the hope of extracting information about a new threat. Last September, at Fantasењњon in York, I gave a reading of a chapter of (the then unfinished) Hunter of Sherwood: The Red Hand. The final confrontation beginsвЂ¦Д«uy: Amazon| Barnes & Noble| Google| iBooks| Kobo| Rebellion Store The stage is set: Sherwood, long a home to both men. Guy must now recruit an army of his own, calling upon some familiar old friends вЂ“ and one all-too-familiar old enemyвЂ¦ Hood has gathered an army вЂ“ among them the insidious Took, the giant John Lyttel, the cutthroat Will the Scarlet, the brilliant but bitter Alan OвЂ™Doyle. Guy of Gisburne, knight and agent of Prince John, has had enough, and wishes to enjoy a little quiet on his own land.Д«ut Hood grows ever more troublesome, and if the barons of the North will not convince Guy to resume the hunt вЂ“ nor even the rightful King Richard, returned from long imprisonment вЂ“ then perhaps the simple plea of a missing daughterвЂ™s father, and a promise to restore a good manвЂ™s name, will. The vendetta with Robin Hood has cost too much: blood shed, lives lost, friendships severed.

Read on to find out more about Hood and this awesome seriesвЂ¦

The third and final instalment of the trilogy, Hood, is out today вЂ“ and it will knock your socks off. Toby Venables has explored the fullest extent of this idea in his Hunter of Sherwood series, in which Guy of Gisburne is the hero, hunting down the rogue insurrectionist that is Robin of the Hood.

Redhand fish excuse me rocks