Inside the episode: Rolf the Preacher
Saturday, 4 November 1972 08:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
arthur_of_the_britonsPlot
Rolf the Penitent has arrived at Mark of Cornwall’s village, preaching love and peace. When Mark hits him, he persuades the villagers of his sincerity by offering his other cheek, and they throw down their weapons. Mark goes to Arthur for help.
Arthur doesn’t see why Mark’s problem is any of his concern, but when one of Arthur's lieutenants asks for permission for some of the men to go and hear Rolf preaching, he decides to come up with a plan.
Mark returns to his village, and pretends he has come round to Rolf’s way of thinking. But to Rolf’s chagrin, he takes the message of non-violence to its logical conclusion, and declares that no more animals shall be killed in Cornwall, and therefore no more meat can be eaten.
As Arthur and Kai ride toward Mark’s village, Kai checks that he’s heard right - he has Arthur’s permission to “be as free as he likes” with the girls of Mark’s village.
Meanwhile, Mark’s people are complaining bitterly about dining on herb stew. The women blame Rolf, but he assures the men that their wives and daughters will come round to their way of thinking.
Then Arthur and Kai ride into the village, bringing a dead boar; Arthur tells one of the women, Maeven, to cook it for them. Kai sends her friend Gladwen to help her.
When Mark shows Arthur the hut where Rolf has taken up residence, Arthur commandeers it, and Kai throws Rolf’s bedding out. Mark pretends he’s going to break their heads, but Rolf stops him.
Later, the men of the village sit gloomily eating herb stew, while their womenfolk sprawl around Arthur and Kai, noisily enjoying flirtation and roast boar. Arthur and Kai try to provoke the women’s husbands into picking a fight, but Rolf persuades the men to ignore them.
Rolf asks Arthur why he is trying to destroy his work. Arthur explains that if Rolf succeeds, their villages will fall to their enemies.
While Rolf sits apart, meditating, Mark, worried by news that a Saxon force is approaching his territory, surreptitiously starts a brawl between the men, in an attempt to get his men to take up arms again. He keeps it going, with a trip here, and a push there, until Rolf notices what’s going on, and wades in to put a stop to it.
Next morning, the men and women of the village are back together, still complaining about the herb stew. Arthur thinks they will soon give up their peaceful lifestyle, but then Rolf arrives, with supplies, including a dead boar.
The villagers happily start preparing the food. Mark and Arthur question Rolf’s sincerity, but he tells them that he got everything by non-violent means - the people in the neighbouring village recognised him, and fled, leaving the supplies behind, and the boar died when it fell into a ravine.
Arthur says they must wait until Rolf again runs out of meat, but Mark wants to kill him. When Arthur vetoes this plan, Mark produces Lendor, a villager from a nearby hamlet, who accuses Rolf of taking the boar by force. Feigning anger at Rolf’s hypocrisy, Mark demands that he defend himself, and raises his sword to strike at him.
Arthur intervenes, then he and Mark stage a convincing fight, with Arthur losing. Finally, Rolf comes to Arthur’s defence, eventually knocking Mark out cold.
Mark’s people, and Rolf himself, are shocked to see Mark lying unconscious, possibly dead. As Rolf cradles Mark’s head, Arthur tells the watching crowd that Rolf’s message of peace is essentially correct, but one can only give up violence when everyone else does the same.
Next morning, as Rolf leaves Mark’s village, Mark, evidently recovered, catches up with him, and asks Rolf who started the thing about turning the other cheek. Rolf is delighted to talk about Jesus.
Finally, after the expected skirmish between Mark’s men and the Saxon force, a lone Saxon survivor runs from cover. Mark catches him, but rather than killing him, just knocks him into the river, and warns him not to come back. Mark then chases after his astonished men, and administers a mighty kick in the breeches to each and every one of them.
Timeline
This episode includes two references to “The Penitent Invader”. Mark says, “He’s more dangerous now than when he was a bandit. It was Llud who made him turn to converted. Now he must put him back the way he was before”, and Rolf says his sword, “belonged to my brother. He was slain when I involved him in a battle with the Picts.”
In the UK, “Rolf the Preacher” was shown eighth, as part of Series 1, but on the German “Konig Arthur” DVDs, it is fifteenth, appearing after “Rowena”, “Some Saxon Women”, “The Prisoner” and “The Duel.”
Other considerations, including vegetation, and the obviously cooler mornings, suggest that this episode was filmed after all of those episodes, and also after "The Marriage Feast", "The Prize", and possibly, "Six Measures of Silver." One reason for showing it earlier might be the nature of the plot, which involves some of the protagonists provoking others, to get the result they want. "The Marriage Feast", and "The Games", also rely on this plot device, so it may have been thought best not to show all three too close together.
Also, HTV may have wanted the viewers to remember Rolf from his previous appearance, in "The Penitent Invader." If "Rolf the Preacher" had been shown a year later, as part of Series 2, that would have been less likely.
The fact that Llud does not appear in “Rolf the Preacher”, and that Arthur and Kai make only a token appearance in “Six Measures of Silver”, suggests that HTV may have been working on the two episodes concurrently. When Arthur and Kai do appear, they are wearing most of the same clothes as in “Rolf the Preacher”, so that scene, at least, was probably filmed at around the same time.
Suggested shooting order so far
Arthur is Dead
Daughter of the King
The Challenge
The Gift of Life
Enemies and Lovers
In Common Cause
The Penitent Invader
The Slaves
People of the Plough
Go Warily
The Prisoner
The Duel
Rowena
Some Saxon Women
The Marriage Feast
The Prize
Six Measures of Silver/Rolf the Preacher
Locations
As in "The Marriage Feast", most of the action takes place in Mark of Cornwall’s village, still set in the village at Woollard. The north side of the location, where much of the action is concentrated, is much more enclosed than it was earlier in the series. Below, you can see the two huts to the north east of the site, first filmed in "The Gift of Life." Back then, they were in the open; now they are within the palisade.
The circular shelter, which, a couple of weeks ago, served as Mark of Cornwall's marriage bower, has lost much of its former glory; perhaps Mark took out his rage upon it later!
Inside Information
Mark of Cornwall argues convincingly against eating meat. “Even the least of life’s creatures shall be safe … No more cattle shall be slain. The boar shall be safe from the spear … No more feasting on the fruits of violence! … No more meat shall be eaten. There shall be peace in life for all living things! … Is the bull strong? And does the bull kill to eat? Is the horse strong? It can carry a man for fifty leagues. And does the horse eat its fellow creatures?”
This was probably spoken from the heart; Brian Blessed, who is involved in animal rescue, is now reported to be a vegetarian, though he was seen eating meat earlier in this series.
In an interview, Brian remembered director Sid Hayers offering one of the extras fifty quid, to let Brian throw him in the river. The extra – a student – agreed. When Brian threw him in, his furs and sheepskins instantly became waterlogged, and he sunk like a stone, and had to be rescued! This incident probably occurred during the filming of the final scene in "Rolf the Preacher.
"
Cast notes
Patti Love, who gave an unrestrained performance as the rambunctious Gladwen, went on to show that building up your part isn’t necessarily a bad career move! In 1978 she played a leading role, as Boudicca’s daughter Tasca, in “Warrior Queen” – once again working with Michael Gothard, who played the Druid priest, Volthan. She appears to have had a long and successful career, as has Meg Davies, who played Maeven.
One of the last screen appearances by Robert Tayman (Maeven’s husband - in the brown checked tunic), was an un-credited role in “The Stud” – which starred Oliver Tobias. Mr Tayman now mainly works in theatre, and has given workshops on Shakespeare and Stanislavsky in the USA and Eastern Europe, under the name “Robert Taylor Tayman.”
This is the third episode from which Jack Watson’s character, Llud, is absent,1 perhaps working with another crew, and Gila von Weitershausen, on "Six Measures of Silver."
"By the Gods!"
This episode looks again at the question raised in “People of the Plough”; is it ever right to use violence?
In “People of the Plough”, it was just one man - Rulf, a Saxon - who refused to fight, even to defend himself, because in a rage, he had killed his brother. In “Rolf the Preacher”, all of Mark of Cornwall’s men lay down their arms, because Rolf has persuaded them to take the path of peace. It is up to Arthur and Mark to try to dissuade them from leaving their lands open to invasion.
Rolf argues that, “The Lord showed me that he who strikes his fellow man is no better than a ravening wolf.” In fact, his transformation from wolf to peacenik was brought about by Arthur. In “The Penitent Invader”, Arthur tricked Rolf into a battle with the Picts, in which Rolf lost his brother, and many of his friends.
Mark’s philosophy – if such it can be called – is that, “The world is a battlefield”, and “No man can return love for hate.” But when Rolf leads by example, turning the other cheek, even when Mark knocks him to the ground, Mark’s men choose Rolf’s way.
Whether Arthur considers himself a Christian is unclear, but he has a working knowledge of the Bible, misquoting Genesis 4.9 when he says of Rolf, “I’m not his keeper”, and telling Mark that, for his plan to work, “First, like John the Baptist, you must pave the way.” This does rather imply that Arthur thinks of himself as the Messiah!
Mark returns to his village, a picture of contrition, saying he has been “in the wilderness”, and Rolf accepts him into the fold, quoting Luke 15.7: “there’s more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents”. But he is less than happy when Mark interprets his message of peace as a call to end all violence, and embrace vegetarianism.
As so often, Rolf lets his earthly desires rule him. In an effort to deter Mark from this moral choice, he claims that “the holy word does say ‘moderation in all things’”. However, others attribute that particular sentiment to Aristotle, and according to one source, “there is no direct quotation matching the proverb”.
During Rolf’s final confrontation with Mark, he claims that, “If you want to learn about Christianity, you must try the other side too. Now I give, and you take.” This does not seem to appear anywhere in the Bible!
Still, the Christian message isn’t completely lost on Mark. As Rolf leaves, presumably to take his teachings elsewhere, he is surprised and pleased when Mark catches up with him, and asks about his beliefs. “That thing – about turning the other cheek – it takes a lot of iron. Who started it?”
And at the end of the episode, Mark, having killed all but one of the attacking Saxons, lets the last one go, with the message that, “next time, I won’t turn the other cheek!” This is an improvement on his behaviour in “The Prisoner”, when he wanted to have Roland stoned to death, but on this occasion, he hadn’t lost a single man in the battle, so perhaps that helps account for his charitable attitude.
Dark Age Men
“I just want to get it quite clear. For once I can be as free as I like with the girls of the village, and there’ll be no reproaches?”
“Not from me.”
Arthur and Kai ride into the village like outlaws in a western film, whooping and hollering, then try to use the women as leverage, to make their menfolk take up arms again.
Arthur speaks to Maeven as if she were his personal servant: “Hey, Woman! Get that over a fire. We’re hungry!” “Come on, Woman – don’t stand about”, and slaps her bottom with his sword. Kai treats Gladwen in much the same way. When their husbands object, Arthur and Kai threaten them, with sword and axe.
Maeven and Gladwen are quite happy to do the bidding of the newcomers, who seem like more fun than their husbands. Having lured all the women away, Arthur tries to provoke the men further, by telling Rolf, “you’re a magician – you can turn men into milkmaids!”
The best laid plans …
Arthur’s plan to taunt Mark’s men into violence fails dismally. Rolf manages to convince the men that Arthur and Kai’s interest in their wives is not serious, and after a day of mild debauchery, the women rejoin their husbands. When they are all heartily sick of the sight of herb stew, Rolf contrives to obtain meat without actually doing the killing himself.
In the end, just as Rolf’s apparent sincerity convinced them to throw down their swords, Mark’s exposure of Rolf’s inability to stick to his pledge of non-violence eventually makes them lose their faith, in time to defend themselves against the Saxons.
Arthur’s wisdom
As soon as Arthur hears his own men ask to hear Rolf preach, he see the threat. But he is torn. He would love to be able to live in peace. At the end of, “In Common Cause”, he offered Cerdig a truce, based on respect of a common border, though he had little hope that the Saxon leader would respect such an agreement. In “Some Saxon Women”, he managed to maintain his peace treaty with Yorath, though it was stretched almost to breaking point.
When Mark’s people abandon Rolf’s teachings, Arthur admits, “Rolf is right. Violence is evil. And if everyone thought like Rolf, the world would be a better place. But everyone doesn’t think like Rolf, and until they do, we must defend ourselves, and our kin, as Rolf defended me just now. If we do not, others will come and take our land. We will perish, and any good that we might bring into this world will perish with us.”
As the villagers are already convinced, there is no real need for him to make this concession, but it does two things: it makes him seem gracious in victory, and it avoids making an enemy of Rolf, who may have lost this round, but could still prove a dangerous enemy in future.
“Night-night, Kiddies!”
Yet again, we have an episode with quite an adult tone. Rolf admits, “I was a killer. I raped, and I plundered.” Younger viewers may have wondered what on earth Gladwen was up to!
When Kai tells Maeven “If your husband won’t look after you, someone else must!” he is clearly referring to more than just feeding her, as he grabs her and kisses her on the mouth. She then says, “My husband’s watching”: a line that could have come from a soft porn film.
Emerging from the giggling pile of admiring women, Arthur asks Gladwen whether she’s worried about her husband; she lewdly replies, “Well, he’s not going to be much good to me on herb soup!” and Arthur and Kai’s groupies tumble in an unruly heap.
Kai’s offer of “more meat, Ladies!” is the icing on the cake!
The hot-headed side-kick
Both Arthur and Kai spend much of the episode behaving badly, in a good cause, and seem to enjoy it. But Kai doesn’t forget that there is a serious purpose behind their shenanigans. The minute he sees Rolf with his hand on a sword, Kai begins to draw his own, ready to back Arthur up.
When Mark is kicking Arthur around, Rolf’s first thought is, “Where’s Kai?” Only when he hears that Kai is on sentry duty, does Rolf decide he will have to step in.
Great moments
When Rolf offers Mark his other cheek, Mark, looks as if he has just seen his granny enjoying congress with a goat.
Mark, immediately following up his declaration that “There shall be peace in life for all living things!” by kicking one of his men up the arse.
Arthur and Kai careering into town like bandits riding into Deadwood, Kai, throwing out Rolf’s bedding, and Mark, slyly starting a fight.
Arthur, seemingly starting to enjoy this battle of wits with Rolf.
Arthur, rather pretentiously saying Rolf will “be even stronger in death than in life”, and Mark’s more realistic “They’ll forget him before he’s cold!”
And the smile that lights up Rolf's face, when Mark asks to be told about Jesus!
Celts and Saxons
The Saxons are but an abstract threat for much of the episode, and when they do finally put in a sheepskin-clad appearance, Mark’s men easily defeat them.
Quote/unquote
Rolf: Believe me Friends, when hate is banished, life is sweet.
Rolf: Man is made strong by strong heart; not by the sword.
Mark: No man can return love for hate! The world is a battlefield.
Mark: He shall live from the things that the gods provide; the things that grow in the earth.
Mark: Even the least of life’s creatures shall be safe.
Mark: No more feasting on the fruits of violence!
Mark: No more meat shall be eaten. There shall be peace in life for all living things!
Mark: Is the bull strong? And does the bull kill to eat? Is the horse strong? It can carry a man for fifty leagues. And does the horse eat its fellow creatures?
Rolf: There can be no half-measures in the way of peace.
Rolf: No! What’s the comfort of a bed, compared to the great work?
Arthur: Holy men can sleep anywhere.
Rolf: Good cannot be defended by evil.
Rolf: Peace is not easy. It must be worked for.
Kai: Some more meat, Ladies!
Mark: No one makes a fool of Mark of Cornwall!
"That is bloody dangerous!"
There are a great many fights in this episode.
Mark hits Rolf.
Mark starts a general brawl.
Mark is about to hit Rolf again, but Arthur intervenes.
Oliver Tobias wore a lot of padding, so that Brian Blessed could give him a really good kicking!
Mark hits Rolf again.
Rolf retaliates; but where did he learn all the fancy martial arts moves?
Finally, the extras bear the brunt of Mark's fury – one being thrown in the river, and probably receiving extra pay to compensate, while the others receive the caring treatment they’ve come to expect from Mark of Cornwall.
Dressed to kill?
Mark of Cornwall wears the tunic with studs all over it, seen previously in “The Prisoner.” Rolf is clad in his usual priestly garb, including purple leggings.
At the beginning of the episode, Arthur wears a cream cheesecloth shirt with an embroidered collar, and the very roughly made suede jacket, seen in “In Common Cause.” For his visit to Mark of Cornwall’s village, he adds the big fur robe from King Athel’s throne! He also wears a cowl.
Kai starts off wearing a brown woolly cardigan, with a Celtic design on the trimming. For the journey, he dons a new mustard coloured tunic, with huge furry sleeves, and his big fur-trimmed cloak. The sleeves look very similar to the ones this Saxon is wearing in “Rowena.” Perhaps Kai is wearing the whole jacket under the tunic.
“A man on a horse is worth ten on foot”
Once again, we see Kai emulate Arthur’s showy dismount – leg flung over the horse’s neck and a slide down. But Arthur dismounts on the horse's off-side, presumably because of the camera angles.
Mark of Cornwall rides Pinkie, Arthur rides Bernie, and Kai rides Merlin. When Rolf arrives with stolen booty, he is leading Outlander, but when he leaves Mark’s village, he is leading Flame.
On the table
During the scene when Mark returns to his village, the meat on the spit undergoes a couple of … ahem … incarnations ... Before he arrives, there is almost a whole pig roasting. By the time Mark comes to throw it in the fire, is seems to have turned into a chicken.
Perhaps it got damaged while filming a number of re-takes of the scene where Mark pitches the spit into the fire - or perhaps the cast just got hungry! Probably all that herb stew …
Kai is hungry too; he steals an apple from one of the villagers.
Honourable mention
Clive Revill and Brian Blessed, for their - as usual - splendidly OTT performances.
What’s going on here?
What is Rolf doing in Mark's village in the first place? Has he just turned up late, intending to officiate at Mark's wedding to Rowena?
And why doesn’t Mark just boot him out? Perhaps, having lost face last week by losing his bride and her lands, he is worried that his men will turn against him. But would they dare?
Mark mistakenly blames Llud for Rolf’s conversion to Christianity. “Now he must put him back the way he was before.” But Llud isn’t even a Christian. It was Arthur’s trick, which resulted in the death of Rolf's brother, that led Rolf to reject violence.
Rolf blames himself, saying his brother “was slain when I involved him in a battle with the Picts.” He seems to hold no grudge against Arthur for this; perhaps even now, Rolf doesn’t realise that Arthur engineered that particular battle.
Before they arrive at Mark's village, Kai's question: "For once I can be as free as I like with the girls of the village, and there’ll be no reproaches?" seems a bit odd. Kai doesn't usually wait for Arthur's permission to be free with the girls of any village! But perhaps Arthur decided to lay some ground rules, after the trouble they had with Goda.
Or perhaps he just thinks Kai has terrible taste! The first woman Kai decides to give a smacker on the mouth, and call "My Pretty" - a wench called Gladwen - appears to be the unofficial village idiot.
Rolf’s sword is pretty weak if Arthur can break it over his knee.
And would it be cynical to suggest that the rather threadbare boar Rolf brings in to satisfy his flock, is the same one Arthur brought in earlier?
Music
Some of the music tracks used in this episode were:
Track 15, At Dead of Night: Mark paves the way.
Track 20, The Fair Rowena: ladling herb stew.
Track 23, Arrival of Arthur: Arthur and Kai ride into town.
Track 32, Children’s Games: Kai meets Gladwen.
Track 22, Revelry: Arthur and Kai lure the women away.
Track 15, At Dead of Night: Rolf confronts Arthur.
Track 10, Battle on Horseback: Mark starts a fight.
Track 17, Pensive moment: peace is restored.
Track 15, At Dead of Night: Rolf and Arthur talk.
Track 16, Danger Mounts: Rolf attacks Mark.
Track 3, Celtic Horns/The Longships: Arthur speaks in Rolf’s defence.
Track 13, In All Weathers: Mark asks Rolf about his beliefs.
Track 16, Danger Mounts: after the Saxon attack.
The whole suite of music, beautifully written and orchestrated for the series by Paul Lewis, is now available on CD.
Cast
Arthur …………….... Oliver Tobias
Kai ……………….… Michael Gothard
Rolf ……………….... Clive Revill
Mark of Cornwall ….. Brian Blessed
Maeven …………….. Meg Davies
Gladwen ….…........... Patti Love
First man …………… Robert Tayman
Second man ……….... Keith Varnier
Lendor ……................ Hugh Smith-Marriot
Crew
Director ………….….. Sidney Hayers
Story ………………... Terence Feely
Executive Producer …. Patrick Dromgoole
Producer …………….. Peter Miller
Associate Producer …. John Peverall
Production Manager … Keith Evans
Post-production ……... Barry Peters
Fight Arranger ……… Peter Brayham
Cameraman …………. Bob Edwards
Camera Operator ……. Brian Morgan
Editor ……………….. Don Llewellyn
Sound recordist ……... Mike Davey
Dubbing mixer ……… John Cross
Art Director …………. Doug James
Assistant Director …… Keith Knott
Production Assistant … Maggie Hayes
Costume Design .……. Audrey MacLeod
Make-up …………….. Christine Penwarden
Incidental music …….. Paul Lewis
Theme music ………... Elmer Bernstein
Rolf the Penitent has arrived at Mark of Cornwall’s village, preaching love and peace. When Mark hits him, he persuades the villagers of his sincerity by offering his other cheek, and they throw down their weapons. Mark goes to Arthur for help.
Arthur doesn’t see why Mark’s problem is any of his concern, but when one of Arthur's lieutenants asks for permission for some of the men to go and hear Rolf preaching, he decides to come up with a plan.
Mark returns to his village, and pretends he has come round to Rolf’s way of thinking. But to Rolf’s chagrin, he takes the message of non-violence to its logical conclusion, and declares that no more animals shall be killed in Cornwall, and therefore no more meat can be eaten.
As Arthur and Kai ride toward Mark’s village, Kai checks that he’s heard right - he has Arthur’s permission to “be as free as he likes” with the girls of Mark’s village.
Meanwhile, Mark’s people are complaining bitterly about dining on herb stew. The women blame Rolf, but he assures the men that their wives and daughters will come round to their way of thinking.
Then Arthur and Kai ride into the village, bringing a dead boar; Arthur tells one of the women, Maeven, to cook it for them. Kai sends her friend Gladwen to help her.
When Mark shows Arthur the hut where Rolf has taken up residence, Arthur commandeers it, and Kai throws Rolf’s bedding out. Mark pretends he’s going to break their heads, but Rolf stops him.
Later, the men of the village sit gloomily eating herb stew, while their womenfolk sprawl around Arthur and Kai, noisily enjoying flirtation and roast boar. Arthur and Kai try to provoke the women’s husbands into picking a fight, but Rolf persuades the men to ignore them.
Rolf asks Arthur why he is trying to destroy his work. Arthur explains that if Rolf succeeds, their villages will fall to their enemies.
While Rolf sits apart, meditating, Mark, worried by news that a Saxon force is approaching his territory, surreptitiously starts a brawl between the men, in an attempt to get his men to take up arms again. He keeps it going, with a trip here, and a push there, until Rolf notices what’s going on, and wades in to put a stop to it.
Next morning, the men and women of the village are back together, still complaining about the herb stew. Arthur thinks they will soon give up their peaceful lifestyle, but then Rolf arrives, with supplies, including a dead boar.
The villagers happily start preparing the food. Mark and Arthur question Rolf’s sincerity, but he tells them that he got everything by non-violent means - the people in the neighbouring village recognised him, and fled, leaving the supplies behind, and the boar died when it fell into a ravine.
Arthur says they must wait until Rolf again runs out of meat, but Mark wants to kill him. When Arthur vetoes this plan, Mark produces Lendor, a villager from a nearby hamlet, who accuses Rolf of taking the boar by force. Feigning anger at Rolf’s hypocrisy, Mark demands that he defend himself, and raises his sword to strike at him.
Arthur intervenes, then he and Mark stage a convincing fight, with Arthur losing. Finally, Rolf comes to Arthur’s defence, eventually knocking Mark out cold.
Mark’s people, and Rolf himself, are shocked to see Mark lying unconscious, possibly dead. As Rolf cradles Mark’s head, Arthur tells the watching crowd that Rolf’s message of peace is essentially correct, but one can only give up violence when everyone else does the same.
Next morning, as Rolf leaves Mark’s village, Mark, evidently recovered, catches up with him, and asks Rolf who started the thing about turning the other cheek. Rolf is delighted to talk about Jesus.
Finally, after the expected skirmish between Mark’s men and the Saxon force, a lone Saxon survivor runs from cover. Mark catches him, but rather than killing him, just knocks him into the river, and warns him not to come back. Mark then chases after his astonished men, and administers a mighty kick in the breeches to each and every one of them.
Timeline
This episode includes two references to “The Penitent Invader”. Mark says, “He’s more dangerous now than when he was a bandit. It was Llud who made him turn to converted. Now he must put him back the way he was before”, and Rolf says his sword, “belonged to my brother. He was slain when I involved him in a battle with the Picts.”
In the UK, “Rolf the Preacher” was shown eighth, as part of Series 1, but on the German “Konig Arthur” DVDs, it is fifteenth, appearing after “Rowena”, “Some Saxon Women”, “The Prisoner” and “The Duel.”
Other considerations, including vegetation, and the obviously cooler mornings, suggest that this episode was filmed after all of those episodes, and also after "The Marriage Feast", "The Prize", and possibly, "Six Measures of Silver." One reason for showing it earlier might be the nature of the plot, which involves some of the protagonists provoking others, to get the result they want. "The Marriage Feast", and "The Games", also rely on this plot device, so it may have been thought best not to show all three too close together.
Also, HTV may have wanted the viewers to remember Rolf from his previous appearance, in "The Penitent Invader." If "Rolf the Preacher" had been shown a year later, as part of Series 2, that would have been less likely.
The fact that Llud does not appear in “Rolf the Preacher”, and that Arthur and Kai make only a token appearance in “Six Measures of Silver”, suggests that HTV may have been working on the two episodes concurrently. When Arthur and Kai do appear, they are wearing most of the same clothes as in “Rolf the Preacher”, so that scene, at least, was probably filmed at around the same time.
Suggested shooting order so far
Arthur is Dead
Daughter of the King
The Challenge
The Gift of Life
Enemies and Lovers
In Common Cause
The Penitent Invader
The Slaves
People of the Plough
Go Warily
The Prisoner
The Duel
Rowena
Some Saxon Women
The Marriage Feast
The Prize
Six Measures of Silver/Rolf the Preacher
Locations
As in "The Marriage Feast", most of the action takes place in Mark of Cornwall’s village, still set in the village at Woollard. The north side of the location, where much of the action is concentrated, is much more enclosed than it was earlier in the series. Below, you can see the two huts to the north east of the site, first filmed in "The Gift of Life." Back then, they were in the open; now they are within the palisade.
The circular shelter, which, a couple of weeks ago, served as Mark of Cornwall's marriage bower, has lost much of its former glory; perhaps Mark took out his rage upon it later!
Inside Information
Mark of Cornwall argues convincingly against eating meat. “Even the least of life’s creatures shall be safe … No more cattle shall be slain. The boar shall be safe from the spear … No more feasting on the fruits of violence! … No more meat shall be eaten. There shall be peace in life for all living things! … Is the bull strong? And does the bull kill to eat? Is the horse strong? It can carry a man for fifty leagues. And does the horse eat its fellow creatures?”
This was probably spoken from the heart; Brian Blessed, who is involved in animal rescue, is now reported to be a vegetarian, though he was seen eating meat earlier in this series.
In an interview, Brian remembered director Sid Hayers offering one of the extras fifty quid, to let Brian throw him in the river. The extra – a student – agreed. When Brian threw him in, his furs and sheepskins instantly became waterlogged, and he sunk like a stone, and had to be rescued! This incident probably occurred during the filming of the final scene in "Rolf the Preacher.
"Cast notes
Patti Love, who gave an unrestrained performance as the rambunctious Gladwen, went on to show that building up your part isn’t necessarily a bad career move! In 1978 she played a leading role, as Boudicca’s daughter Tasca, in “Warrior Queen” – once again working with Michael Gothard, who played the Druid priest, Volthan. She appears to have had a long and successful career, as has Meg Davies, who played Maeven.
One of the last screen appearances by Robert Tayman (Maeven’s husband - in the brown checked tunic), was an un-credited role in “The Stud” – which starred Oliver Tobias. Mr Tayman now mainly works in theatre, and has given workshops on Shakespeare and Stanislavsky in the USA and Eastern Europe, under the name “Robert Taylor Tayman.”
This is the third episode from which Jack Watson’s character, Llud, is absent,1 perhaps working with another crew, and Gila von Weitershausen, on "Six Measures of Silver."
"By the Gods!"
This episode looks again at the question raised in “People of the Plough”; is it ever right to use violence?
In “People of the Plough”, it was just one man - Rulf, a Saxon - who refused to fight, even to defend himself, because in a rage, he had killed his brother. In “Rolf the Preacher”, all of Mark of Cornwall’s men lay down their arms, because Rolf has persuaded them to take the path of peace. It is up to Arthur and Mark to try to dissuade them from leaving their lands open to invasion.
Rolf argues that, “The Lord showed me that he who strikes his fellow man is no better than a ravening wolf.” In fact, his transformation from wolf to peacenik was brought about by Arthur. In “The Penitent Invader”, Arthur tricked Rolf into a battle with the Picts, in which Rolf lost his brother, and many of his friends.
Mark’s philosophy – if such it can be called – is that, “The world is a battlefield”, and “No man can return love for hate.” But when Rolf leads by example, turning the other cheek, even when Mark knocks him to the ground, Mark’s men choose Rolf’s way.
Whether Arthur considers himself a Christian is unclear, but he has a working knowledge of the Bible, misquoting Genesis 4.9 when he says of Rolf, “I’m not his keeper”, and telling Mark that, for his plan to work, “First, like John the Baptist, you must pave the way.” This does rather imply that Arthur thinks of himself as the Messiah!
Mark returns to his village, a picture of contrition, saying he has been “in the wilderness”, and Rolf accepts him into the fold, quoting Luke 15.7: “there’s more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents”. But he is less than happy when Mark interprets his message of peace as a call to end all violence, and embrace vegetarianism.
As so often, Rolf lets his earthly desires rule him. In an effort to deter Mark from this moral choice, he claims that “the holy word does say ‘moderation in all things’”. However, others attribute that particular sentiment to Aristotle, and according to one source, “there is no direct quotation matching the proverb”.
During Rolf’s final confrontation with Mark, he claims that, “If you want to learn about Christianity, you must try the other side too. Now I give, and you take.” This does not seem to appear anywhere in the Bible!
Still, the Christian message isn’t completely lost on Mark. As Rolf leaves, presumably to take his teachings elsewhere, he is surprised and pleased when Mark catches up with him, and asks about his beliefs. “That thing – about turning the other cheek – it takes a lot of iron. Who started it?”
And at the end of the episode, Mark, having killed all but one of the attacking Saxons, lets the last one go, with the message that, “next time, I won’t turn the other cheek!” This is an improvement on his behaviour in “The Prisoner”, when he wanted to have Roland stoned to death, but on this occasion, he hadn’t lost a single man in the battle, so perhaps that helps account for his charitable attitude.
Dark Age Men
“I just want to get it quite clear. For once I can be as free as I like with the girls of the village, and there’ll be no reproaches?”
“Not from me.”
Arthur and Kai ride into the village like outlaws in a western film, whooping and hollering, then try to use the women as leverage, to make their menfolk take up arms again.
Arthur speaks to Maeven as if she were his personal servant: “Hey, Woman! Get that over a fire. We’re hungry!” “Come on, Woman – don’t stand about”, and slaps her bottom with his sword. Kai treats Gladwen in much the same way. When their husbands object, Arthur and Kai threaten them, with sword and axe.
Maeven and Gladwen are quite happy to do the bidding of the newcomers, who seem like more fun than their husbands. Having lured all the women away, Arthur tries to provoke the men further, by telling Rolf, “you’re a magician – you can turn men into milkmaids!”
The best laid plans …
Arthur’s plan to taunt Mark’s men into violence fails dismally. Rolf manages to convince the men that Arthur and Kai’s interest in their wives is not serious, and after a day of mild debauchery, the women rejoin their husbands. When they are all heartily sick of the sight of herb stew, Rolf contrives to obtain meat without actually doing the killing himself.
In the end, just as Rolf’s apparent sincerity convinced them to throw down their swords, Mark’s exposure of Rolf’s inability to stick to his pledge of non-violence eventually makes them lose their faith, in time to defend themselves against the Saxons.
Arthur’s wisdom
As soon as Arthur hears his own men ask to hear Rolf preach, he see the threat. But he is torn. He would love to be able to live in peace. At the end of, “In Common Cause”, he offered Cerdig a truce, based on respect of a common border, though he had little hope that the Saxon leader would respect such an agreement. In “Some Saxon Women”, he managed to maintain his peace treaty with Yorath, though it was stretched almost to breaking point.
When Mark’s people abandon Rolf’s teachings, Arthur admits, “Rolf is right. Violence is evil. And if everyone thought like Rolf, the world would be a better place. But everyone doesn’t think like Rolf, and until they do, we must defend ourselves, and our kin, as Rolf defended me just now. If we do not, others will come and take our land. We will perish, and any good that we might bring into this world will perish with us.”
As the villagers are already convinced, there is no real need for him to make this concession, but it does two things: it makes him seem gracious in victory, and it avoids making an enemy of Rolf, who may have lost this round, but could still prove a dangerous enemy in future.
“Night-night, Kiddies!”
Yet again, we have an episode with quite an adult tone. Rolf admits, “I was a killer. I raped, and I plundered.” Younger viewers may have wondered what on earth Gladwen was up to!
When Kai tells Maeven “If your husband won’t look after you, someone else must!” he is clearly referring to more than just feeding her, as he grabs her and kisses her on the mouth. She then says, “My husband’s watching”: a line that could have come from a soft porn film.
Emerging from the giggling pile of admiring women, Arthur asks Gladwen whether she’s worried about her husband; she lewdly replies, “Well, he’s not going to be much good to me on herb soup!” and Arthur and Kai’s groupies tumble in an unruly heap.
Kai’s offer of “more meat, Ladies!” is the icing on the cake!
The hot-headed side-kick
Both Arthur and Kai spend much of the episode behaving badly, in a good cause, and seem to enjoy it. But Kai doesn’t forget that there is a serious purpose behind their shenanigans. The minute he sees Rolf with his hand on a sword, Kai begins to draw his own, ready to back Arthur up.
When Mark is kicking Arthur around, Rolf’s first thought is, “Where’s Kai?” Only when he hears that Kai is on sentry duty, does Rolf decide he will have to step in.
Great moments
When Rolf offers Mark his other cheek, Mark, looks as if he has just seen his granny enjoying congress with a goat.
Mark, immediately following up his declaration that “There shall be peace in life for all living things!” by kicking one of his men up the arse.
Arthur and Kai careering into town like bandits riding into Deadwood, Kai, throwing out Rolf’s bedding, and Mark, slyly starting a fight.
Arthur, seemingly starting to enjoy this battle of wits with Rolf.
Arthur, rather pretentiously saying Rolf will “be even stronger in death than in life”, and Mark’s more realistic “They’ll forget him before he’s cold!”
And the smile that lights up Rolf's face, when Mark asks to be told about Jesus!
Celts and Saxons
The Saxons are but an abstract threat for much of the episode, and when they do finally put in a sheepskin-clad appearance, Mark’s men easily defeat them.
Quote/unquote
Rolf: Believe me Friends, when hate is banished, life is sweet.
Rolf: Man is made strong by strong heart; not by the sword.
Mark: No man can return love for hate! The world is a battlefield.
Mark: He shall live from the things that the gods provide; the things that grow in the earth.
Mark: Even the least of life’s creatures shall be safe.
Mark: No more feasting on the fruits of violence!
Mark: No more meat shall be eaten. There shall be peace in life for all living things!
Mark: Is the bull strong? And does the bull kill to eat? Is the horse strong? It can carry a man for fifty leagues. And does the horse eat its fellow creatures?
Rolf: There can be no half-measures in the way of peace.
Rolf: No! What’s the comfort of a bed, compared to the great work?
Arthur: Holy men can sleep anywhere.
Rolf: Good cannot be defended by evil.
Rolf: Peace is not easy. It must be worked for.
Kai: Some more meat, Ladies!
Mark: No one makes a fool of Mark of Cornwall!
"That is bloody dangerous!"
There are a great many fights in this episode.
Mark hits Rolf.
Mark starts a general brawl.
Mark is about to hit Rolf again, but Arthur intervenes.
Oliver Tobias wore a lot of padding, so that Brian Blessed could give him a really good kicking!
Mark hits Rolf again.
Rolf retaliates; but where did he learn all the fancy martial arts moves?
Finally, the extras bear the brunt of Mark's fury – one being thrown in the river, and probably receiving extra pay to compensate, while the others receive the caring treatment they’ve come to expect from Mark of Cornwall.
Dressed to kill?
Mark of Cornwall wears the tunic with studs all over it, seen previously in “The Prisoner.” Rolf is clad in his usual priestly garb, including purple leggings.
At the beginning of the episode, Arthur wears a cream cheesecloth shirt with an embroidered collar, and the very roughly made suede jacket, seen in “In Common Cause.” For his visit to Mark of Cornwall’s village, he adds the big fur robe from King Athel’s throne! He also wears a cowl.
Kai starts off wearing a brown woolly cardigan, with a Celtic design on the trimming. For the journey, he dons a new mustard coloured tunic, with huge furry sleeves, and his big fur-trimmed cloak. The sleeves look very similar to the ones this Saxon is wearing in “Rowena.” Perhaps Kai is wearing the whole jacket under the tunic.
“A man on a horse is worth ten on foot”
Once again, we see Kai emulate Arthur’s showy dismount – leg flung over the horse’s neck and a slide down. But Arthur dismounts on the horse's off-side, presumably because of the camera angles.
Mark of Cornwall rides Pinkie, Arthur rides Bernie, and Kai rides Merlin. When Rolf arrives with stolen booty, he is leading Outlander, but when he leaves Mark’s village, he is leading Flame.
On the table
During the scene when Mark returns to his village, the meat on the spit undergoes a couple of … ahem … incarnations ... Before he arrives, there is almost a whole pig roasting. By the time Mark comes to throw it in the fire, is seems to have turned into a chicken.
Perhaps it got damaged while filming a number of re-takes of the scene where Mark pitches the spit into the fire - or perhaps the cast just got hungry! Probably all that herb stew …
Kai is hungry too; he steals an apple from one of the villagers.
Honourable mention
Clive Revill and Brian Blessed, for their - as usual - splendidly OTT performances.
What’s going on here?
What is Rolf doing in Mark's village in the first place? Has he just turned up late, intending to officiate at Mark's wedding to Rowena?
And why doesn’t Mark just boot him out? Perhaps, having lost face last week by losing his bride and her lands, he is worried that his men will turn against him. But would they dare?
Mark mistakenly blames Llud for Rolf’s conversion to Christianity. “Now he must put him back the way he was before.” But Llud isn’t even a Christian. It was Arthur’s trick, which resulted in the death of Rolf's brother, that led Rolf to reject violence.
Rolf blames himself, saying his brother “was slain when I involved him in a battle with the Picts.” He seems to hold no grudge against Arthur for this; perhaps even now, Rolf doesn’t realise that Arthur engineered that particular battle.
Before they arrive at Mark's village, Kai's question: "For once I can be as free as I like with the girls of the village, and there’ll be no reproaches?" seems a bit odd. Kai doesn't usually wait for Arthur's permission to be free with the girls of any village! But perhaps Arthur decided to lay some ground rules, after the trouble they had with Goda.
Or perhaps he just thinks Kai has terrible taste! The first woman Kai decides to give a smacker on the mouth, and call "My Pretty" - a wench called Gladwen - appears to be the unofficial village idiot.
Rolf’s sword is pretty weak if Arthur can break it over his knee.
And would it be cynical to suggest that the rather threadbare boar Rolf brings in to satisfy his flock, is the same one Arthur brought in earlier?
Music
Some of the music tracks used in this episode were:
Track 15, At Dead of Night: Mark paves the way.
Track 20, The Fair Rowena: ladling herb stew.
Track 23, Arrival of Arthur: Arthur and Kai ride into town.
Track 32, Children’s Games: Kai meets Gladwen.
Track 22, Revelry: Arthur and Kai lure the women away.
Track 15, At Dead of Night: Rolf confronts Arthur.
Track 10, Battle on Horseback: Mark starts a fight.
Track 17, Pensive moment: peace is restored.
Track 15, At Dead of Night: Rolf and Arthur talk.
Track 16, Danger Mounts: Rolf attacks Mark.
Track 3, Celtic Horns/The Longships: Arthur speaks in Rolf’s defence.
Track 13, In All Weathers: Mark asks Rolf about his beliefs.
Track 16, Danger Mounts: after the Saxon attack.
The whole suite of music, beautifully written and orchestrated for the series by Paul Lewis, is now available on CD.
Cast
Arthur …………….... Oliver Tobias
Kai ……………….… Michael Gothard
Rolf ……………….... Clive Revill
Mark of Cornwall ….. Brian Blessed
Maeven …………….. Meg Davies
Gladwen ….…........... Patti Love
First man …………… Robert Tayman
Second man ……….... Keith Varnier
Lendor ……................ Hugh Smith-Marriot
Crew
Director ………….….. Sidney Hayers
Story ………………... Terence Feely
Executive Producer …. Patrick Dromgoole
Producer …………….. Peter Miller
Associate Producer …. John Peverall
Production Manager … Keith Evans
Post-production ……... Barry Peters
Fight Arranger ……… Peter Brayham
Cameraman …………. Bob Edwards
Camera Operator ……. Brian Morgan
Editor ……………….. Don Llewellyn
Sound recordist ……... Mike Davey
Dubbing mixer ……… John Cross
Art Director …………. Doug James
Assistant Director …… Keith Knott
Production Assistant … Maggie Hayes
Costume Design .……. Audrey MacLeod
Make-up …………….. Christine Penwarden
Incidental music …….. Paul Lewis
Theme music ………... Elmer Bernstein