David of Doncaster

David of Doncaster is a member of Robin Hood's Merry Men in English folklore. Doncaster is a town near Barnsdale, where early ballads placed Robin Hood.

Ballads

He appears in one ballad in the Child collection, Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow. The sheriff is giving an archery contest, and David, "a brave young man," warns Robin against going, because it is a trap.

Later adaptations

He reappears in later adaptations, both books and movies. In Howard Pyle's The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, he appears as one of the youngest in the band, and a wrestler. In A Gest of Robyn Hode, Sir Richard at the Lee saves an anonymous yeoman wrestler, who had won in a bout but was nearly murdered because he was a stranger, and apologized for the delay, with Robin saying that helping any yeomen pleases him; in Pyle's account, the wrestler is David of Doncaster, and Robin is deeply grateful. He also appears in various other adventures as a minor character.

Daniel Peacock portrayed him in the 1991 film, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, though his character went by the nickname "Bull".

In Clayton Emery's Tales of Robin Hood, David is a dependable Merry Man who wears his dark hair long since Royal Foresters cut off his ears.