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in a pool of water; some were employed in dragging carts upon a large barn, to shade the wood from the sun; others were tumbling their cheeses down a hill, that they might find their way to
Nottingham for sale; and some were employed in hedging in a cuckoo which had perched upon an old bush which
89:
intended to travel through the neighbourhood. At that time in
England, any road the king travelled on had to be made a public highway, but the people of Gotham did not want a public highway through their village. The villagers feigned imbecility when the royal messengers arrived. Wherever the
102:
stood where the present one now stands; in short, they were all employed in some foolish way or other which convinced the king's servants that it was a village of fools, whence arose the old adage, "the wise men of Gotham" or "the fools of Gotham".
90:
messengers went, they saw the rustics engaged in some absurd task. Based on this report, John determined to have his hunting lodge elsewhere, and the wise men boasted, "We ween there are more fools pass through Gotham than remain in it."
424:
reads a journal that tells of how Gotham got its name: "I even have a name for it. We could call it 'Gotham' after a village in
England – where, according to common belief, all are bereft of their wits." In DC Comics'
571:
460:, former mayor of New York, wrote that it was "a pleasure to have this opportunity to acknowledge the cultural and historical link" between the two places.
77:
Cuckoo Bush Mound is the alleged site for the tale of the Wise Men of Gotham's attempt at fencing in the cuckoo. It is actually a 3,000-year-old
Neolithic
111:
mentioned the "foles of Gotham" as early as the fifteenth century, and a collection of their jests was published in the sixteenth century under the title
680:
Dictionary of Phrase and Fable: Giving the
Derivation, Source, Or Origin of Common Phrases, Allusions, and Words that Have a Tale to Tell
576:
792:
369:“puts the nation as fools on one side, and places his government of wisdom, all wise men of Gotham, on the other side.”
774:
Fifty
Familiar Proverbs and Folk Sayings with Annotations and Lists of Connected Forms, Found in All Parts of the World
435:
119:
or Boorde (1490?–1549), famous among other things for his wit, but he probably had nothing to do with the compilation.
429:(2000) the Joker recites the "Wise Men of Gotham" rhyme specifically. The existence of Gotham, Nottinghamshire in the
797:
710:
33:
24:
812:
420:#6 (1996) it is revealed that Gotham was initially built for the purpose of housing the criminally insane, and
637:
145:. There are many other reputed imbecile centres in Britain besides Gotham. Thus there are the people of
817:
807:
802:
738:
62:
42:
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272:
561:
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
97:, King John's messengers "found some of the inhabitants engaged in endeavouring to drown an
320:
65:, in allusion to an incident where they supposedly feigned idiocy to avoid a Royal visit.
8:
509:
770:
624:
Tenures of Land, by Thomas Blount and edited by W. Carew
Hazlitt, p. 133. London, 1874.
197:
625:
706:
648:
515:
416:
382:
373:
113:
Merrie Tales of the Mad Men of Gotham, gathered together by A.B. of
Phisicke Doctour
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457:
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Responding to the connection between Gotham, Nottinghamshire and the name
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221:
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165:; and for many centuries the charge of folly has been made against silly
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580:. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 271.
493:
240:
is known as the place where "the cart of fools tipped over". Among the
146:
503:
252:
205:
158:
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published around 1765, and from then appeared in many collections.
304:
reporting on unusual stories from
Florida, frequently formatted as
301:
264:
154:
212:
the people of Ĺ imperk. There are also the
Swedish Täljetokar from
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Noodles, Nitwits and Numbskulls by Kurt Werth, Dell Pub Co, 1979.
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276:
244:
233:
229:
217:
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201:
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615:(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), p. 193.
778:. G. P. Putnam's Sons. pp. 113–120; As Wise as a Man of Gotham.
483:
407:
150:
293:
260:
225:
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There is a passing reference to the wise men of Gotham in
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Reminded of the foolish ingenuity of Gotham's residents,
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The localizing of fools is common to most countries, and
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Gotham Legends wind vane erected in the centre of village
98:
739:"The real Gotham: The village behind the Batman stories"
61:
is the early name given to the people of the village of
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character, representing the supposed outlandishness of
768:
445:#27 (2007), although the connection between two names
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and its residents. Its name comes from news article
16:
Folklore about the people of Gotham, Nottinghamshire
315:The Wise Men of Gotham are recalled in a popular
784:
232:talk of the Hölmöläiset and the Bembölebor. In
722:The Rights of Man folio edition 2007 page 88.
654:(Princeton University Press, 2001), p. 103.
323:number of 19695, an adaptation of the tale
177:about twelfth century, printed in Wright's
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93:According to the 1874 edition of Blount's
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216:and Kälkborgare from Kälkestad, and the
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705:(Nottinghamshire County Council 1991),
638:Tenures of land & customs of manors
613:The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes
600:
584:
449:the DCU has not been fully explained.
115:. The "A.B." was supposed to represent
785:
725:
676:
542:
179:Early Mysteries and other Latin Poems
683:. Henry Altemus Company. p. 541
667:(Kessinger Publishing, 2005), p. 10.
192:", from the town of Schilda; in the
139:have a special term for this genre:
703:The Tales Of THE WISE MEN Of GOTHAM
665:All about the Merry Tales of Gotham
414:. In a story titled "Cityscape" in
251:were the homes of fools; among the
13:
436:Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight
122:
14:
829:
398:The most notable use of the name
336:And if the bowl had been stronger
677:Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham (1898).
554:
343:The rhyme was first recorded in
338:My song would have been longer.
310:
275:; among the ancient Anatolians,
32:
23:
769:Marvin, Dwight Edwards (1922).
716:
695:
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642:
630:
618:
533:
224:of the foolish inhabitants of
1:
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81:, and was excavated in 1847.
7:
772:The Antiquity of Proverbs:
652:Water for Gotham: a History
597:(ABC-CLIO, 2001), pp. 272–3
595:Encyclopedia of folk heroes
463:
334:They went to sea in a bowl,
10:
834:
793:History of Nottinghamshire
439:#206 (2006), and again in
402:in popular culture was by
376:gave the name "Gotham" to
365:(1791) Paine asserts that
350:
332:Three wise men of Gotham,
175:Descriptio Norfolciensium
161:; the "gowks" of Gordon,
68:
49:, from a 1901 edition of
798:Nottinghamshire folklore
763:Amusing Prose Chap-books
626:The Wise Fools of Gotham
526:
47:Three Wise Men of Gotham
577:Encyclopædia Britannica
325:Three Sailors of Gotham
63:Gotham, Nottinghamshire
43:William Wallace Denslow
406:in naming the home of
341:
269:those in Europe anyway
132:
82:
813:John, King of England
611:I. Opie and P. Opie,
482:, comic book city of
345:Mother Goose's Melody
329:
267:; among modern Jews (
130:
76:
45:'s illustrations for
433:was acknowledged in
427:The Batman of Arkham
321:Roud Folk Song Index
259:; among the ancient
85:The story goes that
572:Gotham, Wise Men of
510:The Praise of Folly
456:for New York City,
663:Alfred Stapleton,
327:. The lyrics are:
306:Florida Man does .
153:; the "carles" of
133:
108:Towneley Mysteries
83:
59:Wise Men of Gotham
775:
649:Gerard T. Koeppel
516:Wise Men of Chelm
417:Batman Chronicles
383:Salmagundi Papers
374:Washington Irving
825:
818:Archetypal fools
808:Medieval legends
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470:English folklore
458:Rudolph Giuliani
204:, the people of
196:, the people of
142:blason populaire
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27:
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570:, ed. (1911). "
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521:Guru Paramartha
475:Feigned madness
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188:there are the "
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123:Similar stories
95:Tenures of Land
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758:(London, 1888)
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754:WA Clouston,
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711:0-900943-33-5
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499:Ship of fools
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362:Rights of Man
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317:nursery rhyme
311:Nursery rhyme
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685:. Retrieved
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367:Edmund Burke
360:
357:Thomas Paine
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305:
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281:
228:, while the
190:SchildbĂĽrger
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163:Berwickshire
140:
134:
117:Andrew Borde
112:
106:
104:
94:
92:
84:
79:burial mound
58:
57:
51:Mother Goose
46:
741:. BBC News.
687:December 8,
489:Molbo story
480:Gotham City
431:DC Universe
412:Gotham City
404:Bill Finger
392:Lorna Doone
289:Florida Man
194:Netherlands
137:folklorists
787:Categories
749:References
713:, p. 42, .
494:Moonrakers
214:Södertälje
147:Coggeshall
593:G. Seal,
504:Simpleton
302:headlines
253:Thracians
208:; and in
206:Kocourkov
159:Yorkshire
87:King John
464:See also
395:(1869).
386:(1807).
265:Nazareth
155:Austwick
765:(1889).
565::
380:in his
319:with a
298:Florida
294:memetic
282:In the
277:Phrygia
245:Boeotia
238:Caracal
234:Romania
230:Finnish
210:Moravia
202:Bohemia
186:Germany
171:Norfolk
167:Suffolk
709:
559:
484:Batman
454:Gotham
447:within
408:Batman
400:Gotham
351:Legacy
257:Abdera
218:Danish
198:Kampen
69:Legend
527:Notes
422:Robin
292:is a
273:Chełm
222:tales
220:tell
200:; in
151:Essex
707:ISBN
689:2014
261:Jews
249:Cyme
247:and
226:Mols
169:and
105:The
574:".
359:’s
355:In
279:.
271:),
184:In
181:).
99:eel
789::
727:^
602:^
586:^
544:^
442:52
410:,
286:,
263:,
255:,
236:,
157:,
149:,
691:.
173:(
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