Celebrim, you made specific assertions about what I you think I think. That's extremely rude, so you can apologise for that for starters, if you want a detailed answer.
Oh brother. Now we are going to get all passive aggressive and argue that "No, I'm not being rude, you are."
Let's start back from the beginning so as to avoid arguing over what we are arguing about and cut to the chase. I asserted a matter of fact statement that Friar Tuck is known for fighting with a sword and in a steel cap.
You took umbrage and that and asked, "On what planet is that true?" and make the claim that what I state is "ridiculous". You vaguely assert that you have special authority on these matters on the basis of your vast experience, but you aren't actually willing to demonstrate that authority and now you again find excuse to be silent because I'm being extremely rude to you. It's all so vague and anecdotal, but definitive apparently. When I quote or cite probably the most famous and influential portrayals of Friar Tuck in all of literature, you dismiss them because you aren't familiar with them as if your lack of familiarity makes them inconsequential. Everyone no doubt feels the same way.
Ok, fine:
This is Friar Tuck in 'Robin Hood' 1922 wt. Douglas Fairbanks
Friar Tuck in 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' 1936 wt. Errol Flynn, widely regarded as the definitive Robin Hood movie. It's also the most faithful to the 19th century literature that sets the tropes for the modern story.
This is James Hayter in his iconic role as Friar Tuck from 'The Story of Robin Hood' 1952. Pretty much every portrayal of Tuck since then builds on this characterization or else exaggerates some aspect of it.
Ok, so maybe it is a generational thing?
This is Friar Tuck from BBC's 'Robin of Sherwood' 1984, widely regarded as the modern trope setter in the genera.
I could do others but I'm clearly wasting my time.
On what planet does Friar Tuck fight with a sword? Earth.
If you haven't seen Friar Tuck holding a sword or wearing a steel cap, that's not my fault. It just implies you don't know much about Friar Tuck and have relatively little exposure to Robin Hood (and probably almost nothing to the myth of Robin Hood or to any academic discussion of Robin Hood).
