Roger Godberd

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Roger Godberd († around 1276) was a leader of a band of outlaws living in England in the 13th century , who is considered a possible historical role model for Robin Hood and the legend developed around it.

Life

Roger Godberd was a tenant of William de Ferrers, Earl of Derby, in Swannington , Leicestershire . In 1264 he belonged to the garrison of Nottingham Castle and was initially friends with Reginald de Gray , who later became the sheriff of Nottinghamshire . He took part under Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester in the Second War of the Barons (1264-1267) against King Henry III. and was ostracized after the Battle of Evesham (August 4, 1265), which ended in a decisive victory for the royals. But he was able to escape and in 1267 came to Sherwood Forest .

For several years Godberd terrorized the counties of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire as the leader of a band of outlaws that are said to have included up to 100 men . Among other things, he robbed monasteries. His gang mischief reached such proportions that even the king expressed concern in a letter addressed to residents of Nottingham . Finally, Sheriff Reginald de Gray succeeded in capturing Godberd in 1272 on the grounds of Rufford Abbey , for which he received 100 marks from the king as a reward. Recent crimes against Godberd included the robbery of Stanley Abbey in Wiltshire and the killing of a monk.

Godberd was interned at Nottingham Castle, but managed to escape. Apparently he was assisted in this by a local knight, Richard Foliot , who owned estates on the eastern edge of Sherwood Forest and was later accused of having sheltered Godberd and his companions for a time in Fenwick Castle, about 6 miles from Barnsdale . When the sheriff set out to attack the castle, Godberd and his gang members escaped in time, but Foliot had to surrender his castle. Foliot could have been the historical model for the figure of the knight Richard of the Lee, the Gest of Robin Hood , who, according to the plot of this medieval ballad, also protects the leader of the outlaws, Robin Hood, but defends his castle against the sheriff.

Gang leader Godberd was eventually caught and detained in three different prisons; he was tried in the Tower of London . According to Brian Benison, who wrote the book Robin Hood: The Real Story , Godberd is said to have been pardoned by the new King Edward I after his return from the Ninth Crusade (1274), after which he spent his later years on his farm until his death . The leading Robin Hood expert James Clarke Holt , however, assumes that Godberd died in Newgate Prison in 1276.

literature

Remarks

  1. ↑ a b Roger Godberd , on robinhoodlegend.com
  2. ^ A b John Matthews: Robin Hood , 2016 ( online on Google Books).
  3. ↑ a b c d James Clarke Holt: Hood, Robin , in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (ODNB), Vol. 27, p. 928.
  4. ↑ a b Brian Benison: Nottinghamshire Legends: Robin Hood .
personal data
SURNAME Godberd, Roger
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English gang leader of outlaws
DATE OF BIRTH 13th Century
DATE OF DEATH around 1276