The Tales of the Wise Men of Gotham

Bizarre, England, Folklore, General, Medieval

The legend surrounding the village of Gotham began in the early thirteenth century when villagers acted the fool to avoid a King. But soon tall tales of the foolish men of Gotham proliferated. Find our more about this quirky folklore tradition..

Miss_Jessel

March 22, 2024

15 minutes

English folklore, Fools, funny folklore, funny stories, Gotham, Jesters, King John, Medieval tales, Nottinghamshire, village idiot, Wise Men

Wise Men of Gotham 1 – Illustration by w:en:William Wallace Denslow via Wikimedia

There are many stories and parables of fools in folklore and history. The image of the fool or jester employed by a royal household to amuse and entertain the king and courtiers is one which has captured popular imagination. One of the most famous fools was William Sommers (Somers), fool to Henry VIII. Known for his rare discretion and integrity, he remained by the side of his increasingly erratic king throughout his reign. It was even said that Thomas Cromwell worked through Somers to bring to the King’s attention important and sensitive political, financial, and social matters[1].

There was also another set of fools. These fools are found within the oral history and folklore of England (as well as many other countries). Their role was not to educate or to teach a moral lesson but simply to entertain. The most famous collection of stories revolves around the village of Gotham in Nottinghamshire and the ridiculous antics of the seemingly daft people who lived there.

How to Outwit a King?

The legend surrounding the village of Gotham began in the early thirteenth century and involved a proposed visit by King John which horrified the villagers. The villagers were well aware that hosting the king would be very expensive indeed.

King John hunting (14th C), f.116 – BL Cotton MS Claudius D II]] via Wikimedia

There are a number of slight variations to the tale. One version recounts how servants were sent to the village to find out why the king’s messenger was being refused entry to the village. On arrival, the servants found the villagers engaged in dragging carts upon a large barn in order to shade the wood from the sun[2]. Another similar story relates how three farmers chained the wheels of a courtier’s chariot to a post, preventing him from journeying any further[3]. The most popular version and the one most often repeated is as follows.

The villagers on learning that the king was planning a visit (either to build a lodge or castle) decided that they had to somehow prevent him from coming and so avoid any expense. These expenses would more than likely have included the upkeep of the highway which would be created by his presence (it was well-known that any road the king travelled became a main route – the maintenance of which would come out of the pockets of the locals[4]). So, they came up with a cunning plan – feign stupidity and scare the king away. Obviously coming right out and saying that they did not want their king to come was not an option – especially if you were fond of your land, possessions, and neck!

When they heard that the royal messenger was arriving to tell them the ‘good’ news, the villagers went into action. Wherever the courtier went in the village, he found the villagers engaged in ridiculous acts[5]. In one area he found them trying to hedge a cuckoo in by standing around in a circle, with hands joined, to prevent it from flying away[6]. Elsewhere, he discovered some men trying to drown an eel. Bemused and astonished by the sheer foolishness he was witnessing, he left to relate to the king what he had seen. John decided that he had best steer clear of the village and the fools of Gotham, to avoid catching the lunacy which was evidently rife in the village (in medieval times, foolishness was believed to be contagious[7]). A decision that was met with relief and joy by the canny villagers. Their clever ploy that had so easily deceived the gullible courtier, led the villagers to remark wryly ‘We ween there are more fools pass through Gotham than remain in it.‘[8]

Does Gotham Actually Exist?

Alan Murray-Rust / Gotham village from Gotham Hill via Wikimedia (adjusted by Lenora)

The answer is emphatically yes! Gotham is a real village in Nottinghamshire. Some of the stories mention the market in Nottingham and that the Gothamites paid rent to the lordships of York, Leicester, and Chester[9]. There is another Gotham in England which some people have suggested as an alternative location. This Gotham was not a hamlet or village but a manor in the parish of Hailsham in Sussex. Since the stories are firm about Gotham being a village, the Gotham of Sussex can be easily ruled out[10].

On a side note, the name Gotham was taken by the authors of Batman and used to describe their city of insane criminals!

Wisdom into Foolishness

Whereas in the above account, the villagers were seen as ingenious, resourceful, and crafty, the stories that started to be associated with them played on their foolishness rather than their wisdom, as shown by this popular nursery rhyme,

‘Three wise men of Gotham,
Went to sea in a bowl
And if the bowl had been stronger
My song would have been longer.‘[11]

Wise Men of Gotham 1 – Illustration by w:en:William Wallace Denslow from the Project Gutenberg EBook of Denslow’s Mother Goose, by Anonymous Original copyright 1902 by William Wallace Denslow From: http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/18546 ==Used o via Wikimedia

These stories were eventually collected and published in a book entitled The Merry Tales of the Wise Men of Gotham in the sixteenth century. Although the book’s compiler has been the subject of controversy, most people attribute it to Andrew Boyde (or Borde)[12]. It is unlikely that Boyde also wrote the individual stories as the different styles of writing indicate that they were written by different people in different eras. Some of the stories were not included in the compilation but were instead passed down through oral storytelling. These include the story of a villager being out late at night trying to capture the moon from its reflection in a horse pond because he believed that it was made of green cheese or that the village only had one knife that they kept stuck in the trunk of a tree at the centre of the village, causing arguments when more than one villager wanted to use it[13]. However, nowadays, most of the tales can be found in print or online. Here is a selection of my favourite stories taken from The Merry Tales Or the Wise Men of Gotham[14].

The Hare and the Message

It was said that the villagers were lazy and unwilling to go to York to pay the rent due to their landlord. One of the men had caught a hare and being aware of how fleet of foot hares are, suggested that they should send the hare instead. Everyone agreed, thinking it the perfect solution to their problem. A pouch was placed around the hare’s neck containing a letter and the money. Detailed instructions were given to the hare on where it needed to go, along with advising it on arrival in York to ask people for the exact location of their landlord’s house. On being let go, instead of taking the York road, the hare sped across a field. The anxious villagers who were calling for it to return were reassured by one of their number who reasoned that the hare was wisely taking a shortcut in order to avoid any dogs enroute.

caroline legg, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

The Last to Speak

For no apparent reason, four men from Gotham decided to sit silently and gaze at a lit candle without speaking for a week or so. By nightfall on the first day, the candle went out.

The first man said, ‘Oh, no! The candle is out.‘
The second man said, ‘Aren’t we supposed not to talk?‘
The third man said, ‘Why must you two break the silence?‘
The fourth man laughed and said, ‘Ha! I’m the only one who didn’t speak.‘[15]

The Church Bell of Gotham

The villagers of Gotham became convinced that enemies would soon invade Nottinghamshire. Fearful of losing their most valued possession – the church bell, they were determined to hide it somewhere that it would never be found. They decided that the best place for it would be in the deepest part of their pond. Rowing it to the middle, they took the bell and dropped it over the side of the boat. They suddenly realised that they would not know where to look for it when the threat of attack was over. One of the Gotham men had a brilliant idea. He marked the boat at the point where the bell had been thrown over the side that way they would be sure to find the bell again.

The Little Horse and Its Kind Master

Riding his horse to market one day to sell his bushels of wheat, a Gotham villager became concerned that the load was too much for the animal. His worry was shared by one of his neighbours who commented on the overburdened animal. The villager’s solution to save the horse from carrying both him and his load was to put the bushels on his shoulders. When he arrived at the market, he noticed his horse was breathing heavily. The villager patted himself on the back, glad that due to his ingenuity, he had been able to save his beast from even more distress by sharing the burden.

The Salt Fish and the Eel

The villagers of Gotham were particularly partial to salt fish but as the fish was expensive, they looked for ways to save money. Gathering all the left-over salt fish in the village, they threw it into the pond. The idea was that by the following spring, the fish would have bred and there would be plenty of salt fish for everyone. When spring arrived, the villagers cast their nets into the pond but to their distress, there was no fish to be found. Suddenly someone spotted a fat eel and accused it of having eaten all the fish. Angrily some of the villagers demanded that the eel be killed then and there, but a few of the men had another idea. They would take the eel to a lake and drown it, the throes of agony as it died would be its just desserts. Carrying out their revenge, the villagers watched as the eel thrashed about at the bottom of the water, remarking with glee, ‘he shall have no help from us’[16], and with those damning final words they left the eel to its fate.

The Kettle That Wouldn’t Walk

One of the wives from Gotham instructed her husband to buy an iron kettle from the market. On his return, he found that the kettle was becoming increasingly heavy to carry. Sitting down to rest, he noticed that the kettle had three legs. Addressing the kettle directly, he told it that as it has three legs it should walk by itself. Leaving it where it was, he went home. When he arrived, his wife noticed that her husband did not have the kettle with him. Her husband reassured her that he had left it with specific instructions on how to get home. His wife not convinced by her husband’s assurances rushed out to bring it home.

A Missing Man Found

12 men from Gotham went fishing in the town pond. Wading into the water, they cast their lines. Eventually, they had had enough and decided to leave. One of the men wondered if they had lost anyone in the water and so decided to count. He counted everyone but forgot to count himself. Worried, he declared that there were only 11 of them. Another man tried but again forgot to count himself. While they were standing by the stream, a courtier from Nottingham rode past. Seeing the men with panicked looks on their faces, he stopped and asked them what was wrong. They told him that they had been 12 but one of them had been lost in the water. The courtier told the men to count again, and again, the man counting forgot to include himself. The courtier seeing an opportunity asked them what they would give him if he could find the twelfth man. The Gotham men answered that if he could find their missing friend, they would give him all the money they had on them and all the fish they had caught. The courtier told the men to pass one at a time in front of him, and as they did so, he cracked them on the shoulder with a whip. He of course counted 12. The men were so relieved that no one had drowned that they happily gave the courtier their money and their fish, and the courtier rode off.

Hubertl, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

The Cheeses that Ran Away

A Gotham man while walking to market carrying his wheels of cheese in a sack on his back, decided to sit down to rest on the last hill before Nottingham Bridge. Some of his cheese fell out and rolled away. Surprised he called after them, until he realised that they had taken matters into their own hand and had decided to go to the market themselves. Glad to be saved the trouble of carrying them, he rolled all his cheeses down the hill, not noticing that some of them had gotten stuck on some bushes. Hurrying to the market to catch up with his cheeses, he was distressed to find they were not there. He waited all day but the cheeses did not come. When asked by someone the reason for his sorrow, he answered that his cheeses had not made it to the market in time. Suddenly he had a thought, maybe his cheeses had gone all the way to York instead. Hiring a horse, he rode to York hoping to find his cheeses but alas, he never did.

The Lost Legs

A group of men from Gotham sat in a circle on the ground. When they decided to stand up, they found that their legs had all become entangled and that they could not work out which legs belonged to whom. They began to worry that they would never stand up again, so they just continued to sadly and quietly sit where they were. Eventually, a traveller passed by, and the men stopped him and asked him for help. The man took his cane and pointed out to each man their feet. This just confused them even more and they stayed where they were. The traveller tried again and this time he hit the legs of each man with his cane, causing the owner of the legs to disentangle himself and stand up. One man relieved thanked the traveller saying, ‘How remarkable…that with the rap of a stick we should discover our legs so quickly when with all our thinking we could not have determined which were which if we had been sitting there a hundred years.’[17]

Conclusion

Although Gotham was not the only place in England to have such tales told about them, it’s said that there were 45 other villages in England and one in Wales that claim a similar cycle of tales, for some reason the stories of Gotham were the only ones to be written down as a collection[18]. The stories are so silly that it is hard to believe that the Gotham villagers were ever really so daft. Whether or not people at any period of time believed that these stories were true is difficult to know but they definitely caught the public’s imagination, becoming the ‘urban myths of the day.’[19]Some of the tales may not seem funny to modern-day audiences but there are elements in many of them that are still appealing. In many ways, they are not so far removed from the jokes and skits that we enjoy today in films and comedy shows. Many people still love a fool, just think of Tommy Copper, Laurel and Hardy, and Trigger from Old Fools and Horses, whilst many others still enjoy playing the fool!