Gisburn Village is situated in the Ribbie Valley borough, Lancashire, and was named in the Doomsday book 1066 as Ghiseburne. Originally governed by Yorkshire, the Gisburn Parish was transferred to Lancashire in 1974.
There is little of historic interest about the village. Its story includes the building of a manor house and monastery, much like many other villages across England. The hanging of Gisburn resident Jennet Preston I 1612, during the Lancashire witch trials, would be of interest to researchers. But it is no doubt the legend of Robin Hood which put Gisburn “on the map”.
Dressed from head to tail (literally) in horse hide, Guy of Gisborne was an assassin, no more no less, hired by the Sheriff of Nottingham to kill Robin Hood. In the grisly, violent Child ballad of 1650, “Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne”, he introduces himself as “Guy of good Gisborne”, but there is evidence the character was included in a much earlier play of 1475. That intrigues me. Why introduce a character from such a relatively small, almost unheard of village, unless it holds a grain of truth?
In the ballad, Guy manages to stab Robin, who is then saved by a prayer to the Virgin Mary, before killing Guy in return. Robin even manages to kill the Sheriff with an arrow through the heart, quite in keeping with the fact that “Sheriff” is a temporary position, and regularly replaced.
By 1912’s silent movie, “Robin Hood”, Guy’s character had become a much more deviant, cunning character. Now often described as a knight, ion love with Maid Marian, more evil than the Sheriff of Nottingham himself, and a devoted supporter of King John. As such, Guy frequently outshines the rest of the cast in many successful movies and TV series.
Top: "Robin Hood", 1922. Bottom: "Robin Hood" BBC, 2008.
Robin Hood, Robin Hood Nottingham, Sherwood Forest.
ReplyDelete