William and John: Part 6) Outlaws and Villains

We return to the story of Sir William Neville and his partner Sir John Clanvowe. Last time we concentrated on Sir John’s writings, specifically my theory that he wrote the original version of the Robin Hood ballad later printed as “The Geste of Robyn Hode”, the basis of every film and television version that are familiar today.

Today we look at characters in “The Geste” and discover how some of them can be connected to Sir John and Sir William.

First of all, forget about the characters who don’t appear in “The Geste” – Prince John, King Richard, Maid Marian, and Friar Tuck. They were added to the legends later. So, which of the remaining characters are connected to Sir John and Sir William? Below is a family tree to help explain those connections.

THE HIGH SHERIFF OF NOTTINGHAMSHIRE

The man who appears in "The Geste" is the High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, not the Sheriff of Nottingham. (See here for my own connection to the real Sheriff of Nottingham.) He is never mentioned by name, though historians suggest he may have been modelled on Sir Henry Fauconberg. When King Edward II visited Nottingham in 1324 to pardon outlaws, an event which features in “The Geste”, Sir Henry Fauconberg was the High Sheriff.

The Fauconberg family were related to the Nevilles. Sir William Neville’s aunt was married to Sir Walter Fauconberg, whose father leased a manor in Holderness, East Yorkshire, to his second-cousin (i.e. they shared one set of great-grandparents), who the father of High Sheriff Sir Henry Fauconberg.

As a supporter of King Edward in a rebellion of 1322 Sir Henry was rewarded by being appointed Commissioner of Array for Yorkshire, responsible for raising troops for battle. However, he got this appointment at the expense of his predecessor, Lord Waleys, the grandfather of Sir William Neville’s wife, Elizabeth. Lord Waleys’ manors were seized by the Crown and he had to pay a large fine. Even though he was pardoned by King Edward at Nottingham (as Robin Hood was in “The Geste”) in 1324 and had his manors returned, his appointments weren’t and he would have had no good feelings towards Sir Henry Fauconberg.

Other High Sheriffs have also been suggested as the model for Robin Hood’s archenemy.

LITTLE JOHN

In "The Geste" Little John says he is the disinherited heir of a manor in Holderness. Sir Henry Fauconberg had an older brother called Sir John who, for reasons that are not clear, was deprived of manors in both Holderness and Sherwood. However, there is an absence of any recognition between Little John and the High Sheriff when they meet in “The Geste”, though Little John was in disguise at the time and probably didn’t want to be recognised.

GUY OF GISBORNE

This character who doesn’t appear in “The Geste” yet is now an integral part of the legend and can be linked to the Fauconbergs. He first appears in a separate manuscript ballad dated to around 1475.

Historians suggest that Gisborne refers to a town in Lancashire just over the Yorkshire border. However, others have pointed out that in Sir John Clanvowe’s lifetime, Gisborne was also a name applied to the town of Guisborough in Northumberland. Guisborough was a familiar to Sir John Clanvowe and the Neville family as they would have passed through it on their way to the Neville estates in the north, and the lords of Guisborough at the time were the Fauconbergs. So, I believe Guy of Gisborne should today be called Guy of Guisborough.

Bearing in mind that Guy of Gisborne was a bounty hunter it would be the High Sheriff to whom he would have handed Robin Hood. With his Fauconberg connection Guy would be another suitably villainous addition to the ballads. Which makes me wonder, is the earliest surviving manuscript of “Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne” copied from one that Sir John Clanvowe wrote a century earlier?

SIR ROGER OF DONCASTER AND THE PRIORESS OF KIRKLEES

Sir Roger of Doncaster and his mistress the Prioress of Kirklees murder Robin Hood in “The Geste”.

Doncaster is a Yorkshire town (and my birthplace) between Barnsdale and Sherwood. A family called de Doncastre lived in the area during the 1300s and some of them held judicial and manorial offices. For instance, Sir John de Doncastre was steward to the Abbot of St. Mary’s in York, an abbott from whom Robin Hood stole in “The Geste”.  Being in the abbot’s service, this would place Sir John, named as Sir Roger of Doncaster in “The Geste”, on the villains list. Sir John was also Steward of Wakefield in 1324, where manorial rolls include the name of a Robert Hode (Robert and Robin were interchangeable names).

Moving on to the Prioress of Kirklees, a noted historian called Joseph Hunter (1783-1861) formulated a theory about her in the 1830s. He said that Robin Hood was based on Robert Hode of Wakefield. "The Geste" says that the Prioress was “nye was of his kin", i.e. near kin to Robert Hode. Hunter suggested that the Prioress of Kirklees was called Elizabeth de Stainton, and that she was step-sister to Robert Hode's wife, Matilda.

The Staintons were landowners in Tickhill, a town 7 miles from Doncaster. It is interesting to note that one Sir John de Doncastre was Constable of Tickhill Castle from 1304, very likely the same man who was Steward of Wakefield, so he would have known the Staintons as well as Robert Hode of Wakefield.

There’s no contemporary record naming Elizabeth de Stainton as a Prioress of Kirklees. It has been assumed that she was appointed during a gap in the records between 1328 and 1350. But there’s a problem. The only records which mention an Elizabeth de Stainton say she was under 12 years old in 1347, making it impossible for her to be the Prioress of Kirklees between the above dates. Perhaps Joseph Hunter was wrong, or that the prioress is a general composite character.

SIR RICHARD AT THE LEE

Sir Richard at the Lee is a major character in later parts of "The Geste". He gives refuge to Robin Hood and his Merry Men after a battle with the High Sheriff. From this point until the end of the ballad Sir Richard is a companion of Robin Hood. A similar scenario had already appeared in the poem "Fulk le Fitz Waryn" dating from 1260. As mentioned in Part 5, Sir John Clanvowe was familiar with the legend of Fulk le Fitz Waryn and clearly used it as the basis for the story of Sir Richard at the Lee.

GILBERT OF THE WHITE HANDS

This character only appears briefly twice in "The Geste" as one of the Merry Men taking part in two archery contests; the famous contest at Nottingham Castle and one later in the forest against the king. "The Geste" implies Gilbert is the second best marksman in England after Robin Hood. It is surprising, therefore, that Gilbert doesn’t appear have his own set of folk tales and ballads. So, who was he?

I think the answer lies in "the White Hands". Among the many different feudal services in England was the presentation of white leather gloves (white hands?) at the coronation of the monarch by the Furnival family as lords of Farnham Royal in Buckinghamshire. After 1379 this hereditary service was vested in Joan Furnival who married Sir Thomas Neville, Sir William's nephew. During the visits of King Richard II to Nottingham Castle during the 1380s, when Sir William was its Constable, the Furnivals would have been expected to be present, as they were also the lords of Worksop in north Nottinghamshire.

Alternatively, could "white hands" actually be "white hounds"? In the 14th century "hand" and "hound" were often spelt and pronounced the same. Could the first printers of "The Geste" (c.1492-1534) have misinterpreted the word from the original manuscript and the actual name should read “Gilbert of the White Hounds”? This also fits the Furnivals. They had to give two white hunting hounds to the king as part of their feudal service as lords of Worksop. What better time and place to present them than during a royal visit to Nottingham Castle. But the Furnivals don't provide us with a Gilbert. However...

A white hound was the livery badge of the Talbot family, and this type of hound became so associated with them that it was named after them – talbot. The word talbot is still used in heraldry for a hunting dog and still appears as the Talbot’s crest. The feudal presentation to the king of white hounds, and also that of white gloves, passed from Joan Neville to her son-in-law, Sir John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury (whose father was Sir John Clanvowe’s cousin). There were three Gilberts in the Talbot family tree - the 1st, 3rd and 5th Barons.

Perhaps one of these Gilberts, even both the 3rd Baron Talbot and the young, future 5th Baron, was present with their famous white hounds when Sir John Clanvowe, as I believe, presented his ballad for the first time in front of the king and court at Nottingham Castle in the mid 1380s.

Perhaps we’ll never know if my theory is correct, but there’s a lot of circumstantial evidence to suggest to me that I’m right.

That’s enough speculation. We return to established fact in the next and final part of the lives of Sir William Neville and Sir John Clanvowe, in which we encounter pirates of the Mediterranean.

William and John: Part 5) Robin Hood

 “Robin Hood and his Merry Men Entertaining Richard the Lionheart” by Daniel Maclise (1806-1870). This painting was always on display at Nottingham Castle in my time there.

When I worked at Nottingham Castle the last weekend in October was the annual Robin Hood Pageant. The grounds were filled with craftsmen, re-enactors and jousting contests. Sadly, the last pageant at the castle was in 2018. To remind me of those happy days I’ll continue telling the lives of Sir John Clanvowe and Sir William Neville. In the previous article Sir William had been appointed Constable of Nottingham Castle.

You can’t think about Nottingham Castle without thinking of Robin Hood. I believe Sir John Clanvowe wrote the ballad “The Geste of Robyn Hode”, printed posthumously between 1493 and 1534 (“geste” means “adventure”). It contains a remarkable amount of similarities to people, places and events in the lives of Sir John, Sir William, and William's wife Elizabeth le Waleys.

I wrote a small e-book called “Robin Hood – Out of the Greenwood: His Gay Origins Revealed” in which I go into much more detail about my theory. You can purchase it from Amazon here. There is only room for a very brief explanation of my theory on this blog.

The earliest reference to Robin Hood as a subject of ballads is in "Piers Plowman, a poem written around 1377. One line says: “But I know rhymes of Robin Hood and Randolf, Earl of Chester", indicating that “rhymes”, or ballads, about Robin Hood were well known. Unfortunately no-one wrote those ballads down, meaning everything we know about Robin Hood the outlaw hero was written after 1377. Before then, many legal documents record Robin’s as a common alias adopted by criminals. "Piers Plowman" is the first time Robin is associated to ballads.

The other man mentioned with Robin in "Piers Plowman" was a real person, Randolf de Blundeville, 6th Earl of Chester (b.1170). By 1216 Randolf was the greatest magnate in all England and virtual ruler of Cheshire. He also appears in another ballad, probably written in 1260, named after another folk hero, "Fulke le Fitz Waryn". Its plot bears more than a passing resemblance to "The Geste of Robyn Hode”. The synopsis of both are interchangeable and goes like this -

The outlaw hero has a right-hand man called John who waylays travellers in a forest and brings them back to the camp for a meal with the hero. They pay for the meal with their valuables. One of the hero’s companions assumes a false identity in the presence of the hero’s archenemy. The disguised companion lures the archenemy into the forest where the hero kills him. The king hears about the outlaw hero and comes to deal with him in person. The king’s men injure one of the hero’s companions who begs to be killed. The hero seeks refuge with a friendly knight. The king can’t find anyone willing to help him find the hero, but eventually he finds and pardons the outlaw.

Historians are convinced that “The Geste of Robyn Hode” (which I’ll just refer to as “The Geste” from now on) was influenced by “Fulke le Fitz Warine”. The real Fulk FitzWarin was a popular folk hero in the county where Sir John Clanvowe was born and raised. I believe he based “The Geste” on “Fulke le Fitz Waryn” and moved the action from his home county to Nottinghamshire.

Elizabeth le Waleys, the wife of Sir John’s partner Sir William Neville, (explained here) was step-niece to King Robert the Bruce of Scotland whose ancestor Prince David of Scotland was married to the sister of Randolf, Earl of Chester.

The few surviving ballads about Robin Hood date from the 1400s. Scholars of language and grammar use in “The Geste” suggest it was originally written before 1400. The same grammar is used in "Piers Plowman" and Sir John Clanvowe’s own poem "The Boke of Cupide" throughout, suggesting it was written in their lifetime. The language in "The Geste” is also consistent with Sir John's Lollard writing (explained here) - another clue linking Sir John to “The Geste”.

"The Geste" is composed of four interwoven plotlines. The first and last are set in Barnsdale Forest, Yorkshire. The plotlines in the middle takes place in a forest in Nottinghamshire. Sherwood is never mentioned, it is only implied by us today because it is the only forest in Nottinghamshire. A manuscript from around 1410 contains the line "Robin Hood in Sherwood stood." However, another document of 1429 says "Robin Hood in Barnsdale stood”. Both are used in a similar fashion to someone today saying “Is the Pope Catholic?” meaning something is blatantly obvious. This suggests the locations were interchangeable. There’s much rivalry today between Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire over which county Robin Hood comes from. The answer is, both. The forests were a short distance from each other, and the main road from London to York runs through both.

The author of “The Geste” shows a geographical knowledge of specific locations in both areas. Sir William Neville’s wife Elizabeth owned several manors in Barnsdale, and William himself was Constable of Nottingham Castle. Sir John Clanvowe would have known both areas well, and my theory is that he used this knowledge of both areas to write “The Geste”.

It’s difficult to imagine Robin Hood without King Richard the Lionheart and his brother, the evil Prince John. One read of "The Geste" and you are struck by the absence of both. The only king mentioned is Edward. Before 1400 there were only three kings called Edward – a father, son, and grandson - who reigned beween 1272 and 1377. But which King Edward is featured in “The Geste”?

Edward II was the most frequent to visit Nottingham and is the most widely accepted candidate by modern historians. One visit of note was in 1323-4 when he came in pursuit of outlaws whom he later pardons, as King Edward does in “The Geste”. One of those pardoned was Sir Richard le Waleys, Elizabeth le Waleys’ grandfather.

One interesting fact is the presence of a real man named Robin Hood in documents relating to this visit. Robin is one of Edward's porters, but about six months later he leaves the king's service. In "The Geste" Robin Hood joins the king's service after being pardoned and leaves a year later. Was this Robin Hood the man who was turned into an outlaw hero by ballad writers, and was the man whose “rhymes” became widely known by the time “Piers Plowman” was written in around 1377?

This is just an outline of some of my research. Historians of medieval literature agree that “The Geste” was written by a competent author, someone writing in the late 1300s whose work was considered worthy of saving and printing in the 1490s. None of the known English writers or poets of the late 1300s can be connected to “The Geste” in as many different ways as Sir John Clanvowe, either directly or through his partner Sir William Neville and William’s wife Elizabeth.

In the next part of “William and John“, published some time next year, I’ll continue to look at the Robin Hood connection and some of the famous characters in “The Geste” and reveal more family ties to Sir John, Sir William and Elizabeth, including Little John and the Sheriff of Nottingham.

William and John: Part 4) Nottingham

Nottingham Castle gatehouse, part of the medieval castle that survives.

Nottingham Castle reopened to the public last month after a £30 million pound make-over (of the parts not protected by law). As regular readers may recall, I worked there for seven years as a gallery assistant and tour guide (winning the Best Guided Tour in the UK award in 2003 by “Good Britain Guide”).

2021 is an anniversary year for Nottingham Castle, because 640 years ago Sir William Neville was appointed Constable of Nottingham Castle. In the previous chapter I described how he and his partner Sir John Clanvowe acquired positions at the court of King Richard II. Today I’ll explore their connection to Nottingham.

Sir William’s first appointment which brought him to Nottingham was as Justice of the Forest North of the Trent in May 1381. The office, one of two English Justices of the Forest (the other being South of the Trent) were the chief magistrates of forest law. Sir William's appointment covered the forests of Sherwood in Nottinghamshire, and Knaresborough and Inglewood Forests in Yorkshire.

The medieval idea of a forest is different to ours today. A forest was not just trees, as you imagine Sherwood Forest to be. The word derives from the Latin for “outside”, so a forest included open fields, meadows, rivers, villages, and occasionally a small town. What united them was that the area covered by forest law, where the king had sole rights of hunting, hence they are called royal forests.

Being Justice of the Forest meant you only had to carry out your duties once every three years, but the actual performance of these duties would take many months as the Justice was required to sit and judge the accumulated violations of forest law and review the forest’s administration. If anyone poached deer or took wood for fire without permission within a royal forest, the Justice presided over their case. In modern versions of Robin Hood it is often the Sheriff of Nottingham who arrests and presides over the court in Sherwood Forest, but in real life he had no authority there. He couldn’t arrest Robin Hood for any law he broke in Sherwood Forest. That was the job of the Foresters. In 1387 Sir William Neville resigned from this appointment.

Often accompanying the office of Justice of the Forest North of the Trent was the constableship of Nottingham Castle. Unlike the Justice, this was a full-time position. Sir William Neville was appointed as Constable in November 1381. Nottingham was a royal castle and his appointment was a further sign of the king's favour, and William was appointed for life. Sir William would travel between Nottingham and his Yorkshire estates all the time.

But what is a constable? Basically, it’s the general manager of a castle. He kept the castle running when the king wasn’t in residence, and ensured that everything the king wanted when he was in residence was available. As a royal residence Nottingham Castle was visited by King Richard II every year that Sir William was Constable.

One of the most well-known events of King Richard's reign was the Peasant's Revolt of June 1381. Neither Sir William nor his partner Sir John Clanvowe had any real part in it. The revolt was partly a response to the changing social make-up after the Black Death, and partly due to growing support for Lollardy, an early form of Protestantism. There was also a political move against the king who was giving too much importance to his friends and advisers. By 1385 a political group called the Lords Appellant had been formed which openly criticised the king.

Through the influence of the Lords Appellant the parliament of 1386 took away the powers of the 19-year-old King Richard and put them into the hands of commissioners. Richard retaliated by going on a journey around the country to gather support against the commission. At Nottingham Castle in August 1387 he gathered his supporters at a Great Council. A group of judges pronounced the Lords Appellant commission as treasonable.

The king made an error of judgement in thinking that the supporters who gathered at Nottingham Castle were powerful enough to defeat the Lords Appellant, who issued a reciprocal accusation of treason against members of the court, including Archbishop Alexander Neville, the younger brother of Sir William Neville. Sir William had neither the political power nor resources to openly support his brother against the charge. Sir William Neville was wise to not openly declare his own views, which would be to his advantage. As constable of a royal residence he was required to support the king, but he was perhaps remembering the earlier crisis surrounding the impeachment of his brother Lord Neville for the failure of the military campaign in northern France in 1376.

The king reluctantly agreed to arrest the named traitors and bring them to trial at the so-called "Merciless Parliament" in February 1388. Archbishop Neville was found guilty of treason. Only his position as a clergyman protected him from execution. He ended his days in exile as a parish priest in France.

Several courtiers who weren’t charged with treason were, however, banished from court. Sir John Clanvowe was one of them. He disappears from court records for a while, perhaps returning to estates in Herefordshire and Wales. Sir William, however, earned the trust of the victorious Lords Appellant. They awarded him an annuity out of the forfeited estates of the traitors.

The power of the Lords Appellant lasted less than two years. After Richard II regained his personal rule on reaching 21 years of age, Sir John Clanvowe and Sir William Neville were again regular attendees at court, and for a few brief years Richard was secure on his throne.

Earlier I mentioned Lollardy as being a cause of the Peasants Revolt. Both Sir William Neville and Sir John Clanvowe were prominent Lollard supporters, members of a small group of courtiers called the Lollard Knights. I wrote about this several years ago, so I’ll direct you over to those articles where you can read more.

While visiting his royal residence in Nottingham King Richard II would have been entertained with lavish banquets, jousts and entertainment. Sir John Clanvowe was a poet and it is my belief that on one occasion he produced a new ballad to be recited in front of the king and the court at one of those banquets. It featured a well-known character in a new setting, not unlike modern reboots of films and television series. Sir John used personal knowledge and the family backgrounds of himself, Sir William Neville, and the king to give local interest to his ballad. That well-known character was Robin Hood. Most of what is familiar to us about this legendary outlaw comes from the ballad I believe was written by Sir John Clanvowe, and I’ll explain more about it in the next chapter of the lives of Sir William and Sir John.

However, you’ll have to wait a while for that. I’ll explain why in a couple of weeks, but look out for 26th October, Robin Hood Day, when his connection to Sir John Clanvowe and Sir William Neville will be explained.

I Need a Hero!

Things seem to be going wrong all at once! If it was just the lockdown due to COVID-19 it wouldn’t be too bad, but in the past two weeks I’ve had technical problems with my laptop, problems accessing my blog account, concerns about whether I’ll have a job to go back to, and the death of my aunt all making it difficult to organise my time.

That is why the articles scheduled for the past week didn’t appear. Hopefully, I can get back on track soon.

I don’t want to leave you all without something to read, so I’m going to repeat an advertisement I made this time last year for my Kindle book “Robin Hood – Out of the Greenwood: His Gay Origins Revealed”.

I began researching this book long before I began this blog. At the time I was working as a tour guide at Nottingham Castle, and we were discouraged from mentioning Robin Hood. The city council who paid my wages insisted that someone who broke the law was not a good role model, and that he didn’t exist anyway. Even today the same council do next to nothing to promote Robin Hood. Even so, tourists were always wanting to know about Robin Hood and it was necessary to answer their questions.

Robin Hood has been mentioned on this blog a few times. A lot of these mentions have been in relation to the theory I expand in my book. Basically, I believe that Sir John Clanvowe, a poet and courtier, was the person most likely to have compiled the ballad which was later printed as “A Geste of Robyn Hode”. It is in this ballad that we get all of the most familiar stories about this world famous outlaw which have been retold in thousands of books, films and television programmes ever since (along with a few later additions, like Maid Marian, Friar Tuck, King Richard and Prince John, none of whom featured in the medieval ballads).

The theory is based on research I conducted into Sir John Clanvowe and the man acknowledged during his lifetime as the man he “married”. This partner was Sir William Neville, the Constable of Nottingham Castle from 1381 to his death in 1391. A lot of the characters and plot details in “A Geste of Robyn Hode” seem to be based on people, places and events in Sir William Neville’s family background. You can type “Clanvowe” into the search box at the side to find out more about this couple.

It was only after I left Nottingham Castle (not from choice) that I was able to do more extensive research, and eventually I put it all together in a display for Nottingham’s first celebration for LGBT History Month in 2008. From there I began writing the book, which has undergone several revisions since then.

My theory is too complex to be restricted to a few blog posts, so a fuller explanation in book form was the only way to go.

As my book is now published on Kindle Amazon here. I’m not expecting a huge response. All I expect is that people may get a new perspective on a familiar legend and, perhaps, realise that the medieval world wasn’t how it is often presented.

It is my hope that this will be the first in a series of books based on some of my blog articles and on other, non-lgbt, history research.

That’s enough advertising for now. If you’re interested, take a look and please buy a copy.

Out of the Greenwood

From day one I’ve resisted the temptation to include advertising on my blog. However, today I’m going to make an exception because I have just had my first Kindle book published. It’s called “Robin Hood – Out of the Greenwood: His Gay Origins Revealed”.

I began researching this book long before I began this blog. At the time I was working as a tour guide at Nottingham Castle, and we were discouraged from mentioning Robin Hood. The city council who paid my wages insisted that someone who broke the law was not a good role model, and that he didn’t exist anyway. Even today the same council do next to nothing to promote Robin Hood. Even so, tourists were always wanting to know about Robin Hood and it was necessary to answer their questions.

Robin Hood has been mentioned on this blog a few times. A lot of these mentions have been in relation to the theory I expand in my new book. Basically, I believe that Sir John Clanvowe, a poet and courtier, was the person most likely to have compiled the ballad which was later printed as “A Geste of Robyn Hode”. It is in this ballad that we get all of the most familiar stories about this world famous outlaw which have been retold in thousands of books, films and television programmes ever since (along with a few later additions, like Maid Marian, Friar Tuck and Prince John, none of whom featured in the medieval ballads).

The theory is based on research I conducted into Sir John Clanvowe and the man acknowledged during his lifetime as the man he “married”. This partner was Sir William Neville, the Constable of Nottingham Castle from 1381. A lot of the characters and plot details in “A Geste of Robyn Hode” seem to be based on people, places and events in Sir William Neville’s family background. You can type “Clanvowe” into the search box at the side to find out more about this couple.

It was only after I left Nottingham Castle (not from choice) that I was able to do more extensive research, and eventually I put it all together in a display for Nottingham’s first celebration for LGBT History Month in 2008. From there I began writing the book, which has undergone several revisions since then.

My theory is too complex to be restricted to a few blog posts, so a fuller explanation in book form was the only way to go.

As my book is now published on Kindle Amazon (on Amazon.co.uk here) I’m not expecting a huge response. All I expect is that people get a new perspective on a familiar legend and, perhaps, realise that the medieval world wasn’t how they might think.

It is my hope that this will be the first in a series of books based on some of my blog articles and on other, non-lgbt, history research.

That’s enough advertising for now. If you’re interested, take a look and buy a copy.

The Seven Heavenly Gay Virtues : Giving Chastity a Good Belting

Chastity is one of those words which wreaks of the Middle Ages. Perhaps no other Heavenly Virtue is so unpopular in the modern world. Considering its opposing Deadly Sin of Lust seems much more enjoyable for most people this comes as no surprise! But the medieval Catholic Church thought there was no higher personal virtue than Chastity. And with Lust being associated with the colour blue it was also associated with Chastity in medieval folklore. So let’s put Chastity onto the blue strip of our Heavenly Gay Virtues flag.

But just as Lust means more than an overwhelming desire for sex, so the same can be said of Chastity – it isn’t necessarily all about sex. The original qualities given to this virtue included purity, honesty and wisdom, in thought, word and deed. It was about looking after yourself and not giving in to what was considered at the time to be unhealthy pursuits. Yet it will always be equated with sex in the minds of people today.

In my article a few days ago I mentioned how the Renaissance philosopher Giovanni Pico della Mirandola proclaimed his chastity with regards to his relationship with Girolamo Benivieni. This same-sex relationship was acceptable to the church, as it was for a number of priests, cardinals and popes who are known or suspected of loving men. It became unacceptable if sex was involved. A lot of religions require their clergy to be celibate, but that’s not the same as chastity. Celibacy is the act of refraining from all sexual activity, even with if they are married. Chastity is the act of refraining from sexual activity with anyone other than your married partner.

Whatever you thought of Chastity in the past, this reveals that even a sex maniac can be virtuous – as long as it’s only with a married partner!

The medieval Catholic Church, and many Christian churches today, preached that sex outside marriage was immoral. It didn’t matter who or what you had sex with – another man, another woman, or even an animal, the Church didn’t discriminate on gender or sexuality. There are many married atheists who disapprove of sex outside marriage as well. The medieval world wasn’t ready to accept gay sex as being normal (some governments still don’t). It was usually the punishment you received for sex outside marriage that was discriminatory towards gay men, and it was the governments not the church who decided what that punishment was. The Tudor government in England put the death penalty onto it. In far too many countries today it still is politicians and governments who decide whether homosexuality is legal or not, and what punishment to give.

But I don’t want to drift into theology too far. There are other blogs that do that. So let’s lighten the tone and talk about chastity in a totally different context.

The medieval chastity belt has been a staple of British humour for centuries. One of my favourite comedy films is “Up the Chastity Belt”. This film is set in the Middle Ages, and it may not be one of the best films ever made but it’s a good piece of fun. It was made in 1971 and starred Frankie Howerd and has a very gay feel to it in more ways than one.

The film was part of a series of spin-offs from Frankie Howerd’s “Up Pompeii”, a highly successful BBC comedy series. “Up the Chastity Belt” was the first non-Pompeii spin-off. Its producer was Ned Sherrin, a gay broadcaster and writer who made his name in the 1960s on satirical programmes. He had produced the film version of “Up Pompeii” the previous year and saw the potential for a series of similar films. However, there was tension on the set between himself and Howerd over elements of the script and on Howerd’s off-set behaviour. Nevertheless, “Up the Chastity Belt” did well in British cinemas, outselling the “Up Pompeii” film.

One particular part of the plot dealt with a famous character and his entourage, Robin Hood and his Merry Men. Here the film produced some of the best comedy in the film, which was already packed with many seasoned comedy character actors. As an added bonus the film also starred Eartha Kitt.

The characters of Robin Hood and his Merry Men was written deliberately as gay. That was very much in the “Up Pompeii” style. The idea that the Merry Men were gay was not new. In 1977 when the International Robin Hood Conference was held in Nottingham one noted scholar said that the stories of Robin Hood were very homosocial. The media of the day took that to mean homosexual and caused a bit of a stir in those very anti-gay days of the press.

Robin Hood in the film was played by Hugh Paddick. He was well known to radio listeners as one half of the camp duo Julian and Sandy on the classic comedy series “Round the Horne”. Hugh played Robin Hood in very much the same manner. At one point in the film Robin is introducing Howerd’s character to his Merry Men. Hugh is clearly seen trying to stop himself from laughing at the absurdity of it all.

Playing Little John was the popular blues singer Long John Baldry. He had been part of the blues band Bluesology with a young Elton John, and was widely known as gay among music circles. Unfortunately, he never got the chance to sing in “Up the Chastity Belt”. Also denied the chance to sing was musical theatre expert and regular pantomime dame Alan Rebbeck who played Friar Tuck. Will Scarlett was played (shirtless) by the young Bernard Sharpe in a most tight-fitting pair of leggings. Despite all being very camp and covered in make-up these Merry Men managed to outwit and defeat the villain’s guards in combat and save the day.

Champions of Justice

“Champions of Justice” is the title of my newest guided tour of lgbt Nottingham. I did the full tour for a paying client for the first time a week ago and it went very well. I usually try out parts of new tours on my established tours to see what works. I tried out the last part of the new tour in summer when I did my Robin Hood tour for a group of teenagers.

So, who are the Champions of Justice, and how do they fit in with Nottingham’s lgbt heritage? Here are the basics.

ROBIN HOOD – CHAMPION OF THE POOR AND OPPRESSED.
There’s no way you can talk about Champions of Justice in Nottingham and not mention Robin Hood. The first lgbt connection is my theory that the ballad which forms the basis of the legend and stories familiar to us today was written by Sir John Clanvowe who was married to Sir William Neville, Constable of Nottingham Castle. There’s no room to go into the details here, but if you put “Sir John Clanvowe” into the search box you can find out more.

Robin Hood was used by the lgbt community in Nottingham as the subject of a play by a gay street theatre group in the 1970s. Of course they put their own distinctive slant on the legend. Robin was transformed into Robina, Maid Marian was a man in drag, and someone else dressed up as the Major Oak. They put on their play outside the city Council House where a reception was being held for a Soviet trade delegation. When the delegates left the reception and saw the performance outside they were impressed that the council had arranged a special performance for them by the Robin Hood Society. A passing dog was also fooled, at least by the actor dressed as the Major Oak because it peed up her leg! The council wasn’t impressed and got the security guards to chase the actors away. Just how they explained that to the Soviets isn’t known!

LORD BYRON – CHAMPION OF THE UNEMPLOYED AND INDEPENDENCE FIGHTERS
203 years ago this week the British government sent hundreds of troops into Nottingham to quash the rioters known as the Luddites. These were hand-weavers who had been put out of work by newly invented weaving machines. They lost their jobs, their only income, and became destitute. Hundreds of them went around smashing the new machines and attacking their ex-employers’ homes. Parliament then passed an act which meant that anyone found guilty of rioting would be hanged. It didn’t stop the rioting.

A few weeks later the 24-year-old Lord Byron stood up in the House of Lords to make his maiden speech. He had spend that Christmas in the Nottingham area and undoubtedly knew about the riots. He said that it was wrong to hang the Luddites because they had no other choice but to smash the machines and reclaim their livelihoods. His words made him a hero in Nottingham.

By 1823 Byron was known throughout Europe because of his poetry (and his pansexual antics!). He was persuaded to join the Greek fight for independence from the Ottoman Empire. He was treated like a war-hero when he arrived in Greece, even though he hadn’t seen any military action. They were so in awe of him that he they virtually offered him the throne.

Unfortunately Byron died of a fever before he saw any action. But he was – and still is – treated as a national hero in Greece. His body arrived back in Nottingham for burial. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people came to see and pass by his coffin as it rested in a city centre inn overnight. Many were there to remember him as a great poet, but many more were there to remember him as a champion of the unemployed Luddites.

RAY GOSLING AND IKE COWEN – CHAMPIONS OF GAY RIGHTS
These two men were among the first members of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality (CHE) founded in Manchester in 1969. Nottingham was one of the first branches formed and Ray and Ike were members. Ray was also one of the city’s youngest – and first openly gay - councillors in the 1960’s and was Vice-President of the CHE. He later became a very popular radio and tv broadcaster. Ike was a former RAF officer and a university law lecturer who wrote the CHE’s constitution.

In 1977 they persuaded the CHE to hold their annual conference in Nottingham. Several city hotels hosted discussions, workshops and events, but one event created the biggest stir in the CHE’s existence thus far. One discussion was on the subject of the psychological origins of paedophilia led by a Dutch doctor and MP who had been imprisoned in Holland for having sex with underage boys. The public and the media in 1977 were outraged. Several protest meetings were held outside the hotel, and the hotel (quite understandably regarding the violent anti-gay climate at the time) cancelled the events for fear of attacks on the hotel and its staff. The event was moved to another venue (from which the media was banned). In spite of this controversy the conference was deemed a huge success.

D. H. LAWRENCE – CHAMPION OF FREEDOM FROM CENSORSHIP (POSTHUMOUSLY)
Freedom from state censorship in the UK owes a lot to the trial in 1960 in which Penguin Books was prosecuted for obscenity for publishing local novelist Lawrence’s “Lady Chatterley’s Lover”.

SIR WILLIAM NEVILLE AND SIR JOHN CLANVOWE – CHAMPIONS OF THE FREEDOM TO WORSHIP

This couple have appeared on this blog many times (again, enter their names in the search box). Both men were members of the Lollard Knights, a group of knights who supported the right to worship without interference or persecution from the Vatican (long before Henry VIII created the Church of England).

The Archbishop of Canterbury was very anti-Lollard and excommunicated all Lollard preachers. One carried on preaching and came to Nottingham in 1387, whereupon he was arrested. Sir William Neville, as Constable of Nottingham Castle at the time, suggested the preacher be held in the castle cells as they were more secure. The authorities agreed.

What no-one noticed after a few months was that the preacher had disappeared from the castle and was found in hiding under the protection of another Lollard Knight over a hundred miles away. It’s obvious that Sir William Neville’s Lollard sympathies had something to do with the escape. Fortunately, being one of the king’s closest courtiers, he wasn’t punished. Eventually, the Archbishop declared all Lollards heretics and had them burnt at the stake. Sir William and Sir John escaped this punishment also, both having died some years previously.

And those are just a few of Nottingham’s lgbt Champions of Justice.

Out Of Their Tree - Clare Balding

In this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours list Clare Balding received an OBE for her services to broadcasting. In this look at Clare’s ancestry we’ll see how much horses play a part in her family tree as well as discover links to Robin Hood, 9/11 hero Mark Bingham, and the architect of Henry VIII’s sodomy laws.

Clare first shot to fame as a champion female amateur jockey but she is more well-known today as a sports commentator and presenter. She and her partner Alice Arnold are the most famous lesbian couple in the UK.

Horses have always been part of Clare’s life. Her father Ian is a horse trainer for the Queen and former polo player, while her grandmother, Priscilla Hastings-Bass, was Director of Newbury Racecourse. Following the Balding family line backwards there is an unbroken line of horse dealers back 150 years. Other horsey connections are found in the aforementioned Priscilla’s ancestry – her grandfather’s great-grandfather, the 12^th Earl of Derby, founded the famous horse race named after him (which is quite remarkable, because Clare Balding now commentates on that race for Channel 4!). On a more sad horsey note, Priscilla’s great-grandmother Louise, Duchess of Devonshire, died of a seizure while attending Sandown races.

Clare’s mother Emma is the sister of the 16^th Earl of Huntingdon, William Edward Robin Hood Hastings-Bass. Yes, there IS a real Robin Hood after all! The Hastings family is one of the oldest noble families in England, and they got the title of Earl of Huntingdon from their position as heirs of Prince Robert of Huntingdon, one of the many real people put forward over the centuries as the original Robin Hood and, as we all know, Robin Hood was sometimes known in more recent times as the Earl of Huntingdon. The Hastings family became earls in 1529, though it wasn’t until 1818 that they began to use Robin Hood as a family name, at about the time the legends really became famous.

Prince Robert of Huntingdon died young and childless leaving 2 sisters as coheirs. From one sister the Hastings family inherit the Huntingdon title. From the older sister descends King Robert the Bruce of Scotland – the real historical Braveheart. King Robert the Bruce’s step-brother was the father-in-law of Sir William Neville, Constable of Nottingham Castle and Keeper of Sherwood Forest. I’ve mentioned many times on this blog my theory of the origin of the oldest surviving Robin Hood ballad. Basically, I believe it was written by Sir William’s other partner, Sir John Clanvowe, who used lots of family background of both Sir William and his wife as the basis of new stories of a famous hero - the legends we all know today. Clare Balding descends from Sir William’s brother.

There is a lot of noble blood in Clare’s veins (as well as working class blood, I might add). Through families like the Earls of Huntingdon and Derby, as well as the Dukes of Manchester, Hamilton and Gordon, Clare has many royal lines of descent. In fact, the Earls of Huntingdon were heirs to the Royal House of York, while the Earls of Derby were bloodline heirs of Queen Jane Grey.

Perhaps the most surprising family connection comes through Clare’s other grandmother, Mrs. Ellie Hoagland Balding. She was a member of one of America’s most distinguished families. The Hoaglands descend from a Dutch settler in New York (while it was still known as New Amsterdam) called Christoffel Hooglandt. His direct descendants rose to become leading citizens and legislative members.

In 1828 Clare’s ancestor Andrew Hoagland married someone with the same surname, but they were not related. She was Jane Hoagland, who was also descended from a totally different early Dutch settler. This  other settler was also ancestor of Alice Ann Hoglan (the surname has been spelt many ways down the centuries), the mother of 9/11 hero Mark Bingham, the gay amateur rugby player after whom the gay rugby world cup is named.

To complete this little roll-call of heroes, horses and homophobes in Clare Balding’s family tree I’ll end with the Cranmer connection. Through her grandfather she is descended from the Cranmers of Aslocton, just a few miles from where I live in Nottinghamshire.

The most famous member of the Cranmer family is Thomas, Archbishop of Canterbury. In England the first law that specifically targeted homosexuality was in 1533. It was passed in order to give King Henry VIII extra ammunition in his battle to close the monasteries (which had always had a reputation as being hot-beds of gay sex, whether true or not). Henry enlisted the help of two men to formulate and enforce the act. First was Thomas Cromwell, the King’s Secretary, who drew up the Act. The other man was Thomas Cranmer. His support for Henry and the Act gave the monasteries no hope of calling upon him for help. Most of today’s homophobia has its roots in the 1533 Act. Before 1533 punishment for homosexual acts were predominantly aimed at the clergy. After 1533 it included punishment for everyone.

Clare Balding descends from the archbishop’s brother, as do other famous people like Humphrey Bogart, Henry Fonda, the Duchess of Cambridge, Christopher Reeve, Todd Eldridge, Anthony Trollope and Gene Roddenberry. Among the lgbt descendants of Cranmer’s brother are Lord Byron, Cole Porter and Hart Crane.

Camping It Up With Robin Hood

I know I mentioned Robin Hood last time, but this weekend is the annual Robin Hood pageant in the grounds of Nottingham Castle. When I worked at Nottingham Castle from 1999 to 2005 I always looked forward to this last weekend of October because it was when the pageant was held. The whole of the grounds are taken over by traditional crafts, medieval entertainment and historical re-enactors. There’s even jousting with Robin Hood and his Merry Men versus the Sheriff and his evil men. It’s still a popular addition to the county’s Robin Hood calendar.

Re-enactors at the pageant

Just a couple of weeks ago I was involved in a documentary for a German tv company. They were putting together a programme about Robin Hood and his  place in the world today. My part in the documentary came about through my research into the origins of the oldest Robin Hood ballad, “The Geste of Robin Hood”. As mentioned several times on this blog I believe that this ballad, and the most famous stories from it (living in the forest with a band of men, robbing the rich, the connection to Nottingham, the archery contest, and the king’s search for Robin in Sherwood Forest, among others) are all based on the family background of Sir William Neville.

As I mentioned last time Sir William was Constable of Nottingham Castle, an important position in the personal gift of the king of England, a position that had previously been held by his step-uncle Piers Gaveston.

On my guided tours of gay Nottingham it would be remiss of me not to mention Robin Hood. As it happens there are a couple of good stories about the outlaw which link in well with the lgbt history of the city.

The first takes place in 1975. There was a street theatre group formed by several lgbt groups in Nottingham who devised a play called “Robina Hood and her Gay Folk”. The script doesn’t survive, but you can get an idea of how the play went by going through the list of characters – Robina was a female version of Robin, Maid Marian was played by a man in drag (future music journalist Kris Kirk), and a very camp Richard the Lionheart. Someone even dressed up as the Major Oak.

The actors decided to put on their play in front of Nottingham’s council house in the market square. On that particular night there was a trade delegation from the Soviet Union attending a reception at the Council House. Whether or not the play drew a large crowd I don’t know, but the Russians certainly noticed it when they left the reception. They thought the council has organised it especially for them and thought it was the real Robin Hood Society. A passing dog also thought they were real – or at least it thought the Major Oak was real because it peed up the actor’s leg!

It wasn’t long before the council realised what was going on and they got the security guards to chase the actors away. Just how they explained that to the Russians isn’t recorded, but imagine what it would have been like if you’d gone out for a few drinks that night and saw a female Robin Hood, a man in medieval drag, a Crusading knight and a tree running down the street, chased by security officers 



The castle gatehouse



And that seemed to be it as far as a gay Robin Hood until 25 years later at the 2^nd International Robin Hood Conference at Nottingham University. Of all the lectures that took place one in particular caught the media’s attention. It was called “The Forest Queen” by Prof. Stephen Knight of Cardiff University. The lecture was actually about a Victorian novel about Maid Marian, but the media took the lecture’s title out of context when reporting Knight’s comment in his lecture that “the Robin Hood legend is certainly homosocial and, through all the male bonding, fighting and inter-masculine emotion, can be seen as a saga of homosexual values”.

What Professor Knight was saying was that at a time when gender studies were becoming mainstream, stories of a group of men living together would naturally lead some people to put a gay interpretation onto the characters. This is exactly what the media did. Taking notice of the word “homosexual” in the lecture, and the lecture’s title, they declared that this top expert on Robin Hood was saying the outlaw and his Merry Men were all gay. He wasn’t.



As I said in my interview for the German tv documentary the legends of Robin Hood have been interpreted and reinterpreted by every generation and every social group to suit the times they live in. That’s what makes Robin Hood such a universal hero – he is adaptable, which at the same time makes the medieval outlaw such a favourite character.

For my theories on the origins of the ballads of Robin Hood and the people who inspired them, click on “Robin Hood” in the labels list.





Tarzan, Lord Greystoke, and Me

I can’t have been the only gay man to have wondered as a child why he found the Tarzan films so appealing without really knowing why. As gay adult it is obvious (Gordon Scott was my favourite!).

One anniversary this year which may have gone unnoticed is the centenary of the first Tarzan story. I don’t want to let the anniversary pass, because when asked about what famous relatives I have I often include Tarzan.

Edgar Rice Burroughs (a real relative) created Tarzan for “All-Story Magazine”, an American pulp magazine in October 1912. It was published in novel form in 1914, and the first film version was as early as 1918.

What makes Tarzan a “member” of my family is the jungle man’s fictional link to the real title of Lord (or Baron) Greystoke. And it actually links Tarzan with Robin Hood! The simplified family tree below shows the relevant connections.

Burroughs’ original title for the Lord of the Jungle was Earl Marasigan but he changed this to Lord Greystoke in later books. Greystoke is situated in northern England and has its own castle. The real title of Lord Greystoke was first created in 1295, but that first lord died childless and his title died with it.

The lands and title were revived in 1321 and it is from the new Lord Greystoke that the fictional Tarzan (and the very real me) derives descent. In those days titles could be inherited through the female line. In 1569 the 9^th Lord Greystoke died childless but he had several sisters who shared the right to pass on the title equally. The title itself went into abeyance – it still existed but could not be used until parliament decided which male heir of the sisters had the senior right to pass it on.

Imagine if the same rules applied to the throne of England. Under medieval peerage laws when King George VI died in 1952 the right to the throne would be held equally between our present Queen and her sister Princess Margaret, but neither of them could actually occupy the throne. Their eldest male children would become joint heirs of George VI, and until the descendants of one of these male heirs dies out totally (that could take many generations!) the law cannot decide which sister is the only heir to George VI. In the case of the 9^th Lord Greystoke who died in 1569 there are 4 people who are presently his coheirs. Edgar Rice Burroughs, however, chose to create a totally fictional senior line for his Tarzan to inherit.

I descend from the 4^th Lord Greystoke (see the family tree, sorry if its a bit small). So does Tarzan. And on the family tree you can see the link to Robin Hood. The 4^th Baron Greystoke was half-brother to Sir William Neville, Constable of Nottingham Castle (they had the same mother, Alice). In several previous posts I’ve given my theories about the origin of the oldest surviving ballad of Robin Hood, and how I believe they were written by Sir William’s “wedded brother” (i.e. husband), Sir John Clanvowe (click on “Robin Hood” in the Labels list). My ancestry also includes an older brother of Sir William.

There was a couple of years when it looked like Sir William Neville would actually become Lord Greystoke himself. As the youngest in a large family William was not expected to inherit much on his father’s death. By the late 1340s it looked like the 4^th Lord Greystoke, Lord Neville’s stepson, would not marry and have children. So Lord Neville made arrangements that would mean one of his 3 youngest sons, including the 3-year-old William, would inherit the Greystoke estates and name. Whichever was the oldest of these children to survive childhood would be the next Lord Greystoke after their half-brothers’ death. However, the 4^th Lord Greystoke married late and fathered a son to carry on his line (fortunately for me, because that son is my ancestor). Sir William lost his chance to become Lord Greystoke – but he managed to marry a wealthy heiress and become an important figure at court.

There are many hundreds of thousands of people who are also descended from the medieval Barons Greystoke, perhaps even you. Among the lgbt descendants are Lord Byron, Lawrence of Arabia, Ellen Degeneres, Jodie Foster, Divine, E M Forster, Bishop Mary Glasspool, Rupert Everett, Clare Balding, Anthony Blunt, John Singer Sargent, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, and painter Francis Bacon. They can all say they are related to Tarzan like I do!

The Good Sheriff of Nottingham



Leon Unczur as the Sheriff of Nottingham



I was pleased to have seen the Queen twice during her Diamond Jubilee. I saw her at the Thames River Pageant and when she visited Nottingham. I must say that I felt as much pleasure at seeing our Lord Mayor welcoming the royal party because he’s an old friend of mine, Leon Unczur. During my 7 years working at Nottingham Castle Leon, as Chairman of the Community and Leisure Services of the city council, was also my boss. He had already entered the history books as the first openly gay Sheriff of Nottingham, and now he also holds the record as the first openly gay Lord Mayor of Nottingham, a fact he readily admits to at public events.

Every summer the Robin Hood Festival takes place in Sherwood Forest. This year’s festival began yesterday and runs until Sunday. In view of Leon’s unique appointments I thought I’d look at the Sheriff of Nottingham rather than Robin Hood and how as the Sheriff Leon has embraced the lgbt community, and learn that the Sheriff could never have actually met the famous outlaw.

First the historical background. The first Sheriff of Nottingham was created by royal charter on 28^th June 1449. Until 1835 there were 2 Sheriffs because, technically, Nottingham consisted of 2 boroughs – an Anglo-Saxon one centred on St. Mary’s Church, and a Norman one centred at the castle. Several of my ancestors have held the office of Sheriff and Mayor over the centuries, giving me a hereditary right to sit on the steps of the council house, and drive my geese over Trent Bridge!

The legends of Robin Hood that are popular today are all set in the reign of King Richard the Lionheart, which was 1189-1199. So unless Robin lived to be over 250 years old he couldn’t possibly have lived to fight the first Sheriff of Nottingham in 1449. So why the confusion?

The early ballads DO feature a sheriff, but he’s the High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire, a much more older royal appointment. There still is a High Sheriff, appointed annually, and at the moment he is C. P. L. Francklin. He should be the rightful centre of attention.

Another confusion arises when we read the oldest surviving ballad of Robin Hood, probably written in the 1380s and printed in the 1490s, called “The Geste of Robin Hood” (“Geste” basically means “song”). In that ballad the king isn’t Richard the Lionheart. Historians generally agree that the king is Edward II. The High Sheriff featured in “The Geste” is never mentioned by name. One name that crops up a lot in historical research is Sir Henry Fauconberg. He was High Sheriff in 1323 at the same time as Edward II came to Nottingham Castle to pardon outlaws in Sherwood Forest. Sound familiar? That’s one of the “happy endings” of modern versions of the legend.

In some of my previous posts (here and here) I’ve given my theory that “The Geste of Robin Hood” was originally composed by Sir John Clanvowe, the “wedded brother” of the Constable of Nottingham Castle.

Over recent years the Labour-run city council has shown less interest in heritage, even refusing to rescue the only specific Robin Hood attraction, the Tales of Robin Hood, from closure. When Leon Unczur was first appointed as Sheriff of Nottingham he headed a special commission aimed at improving the tourist experience of Nottingham and Robin Hood in particular. As with all local politicians, nothing has yet been decided about how this can be done. But as an ambassador for the city Leon has been outstanding. His involvement in the lgbt community in the city has also been outstanding. In his first year of office he opened the city’s first exhibition for LGBT History Month (he said in his speech that this was a greater pleasure than any of his other official invitations), and he has opened Nottingham Pride in 2009 and 2010. As Lord Mayor, dressed in full ceremonial robes, he opened Nottinghamshire Pride a couple of weeks ago.

I can’t resist reproducing this part of an interview with Leon that appears on the “Robin Hood: Bold Outlaw” website.

“My partner and I were at a luncheon [in Manchester]. And of course, my partner knows an awful lot of people in Manchester and he’s well known up there. I’m well-known down here. But I was talking to somebody who was a director of a housing association – which is charitable housing – and I think he was rather surprised because he didn’t know who I was. He just knew who my partner was, but I knew so much about housing. After 20 minutes he said ‘what job do you do?’ And I said ‘I’m the Sheriff of Nottingham’. And he looked at me as if to say “we’ve just had a reasonably intelligent conversation for 20 minutes, now you’re taking the rye.’ And then my partner had to point out, ‘No, Gerald, he really is the Sheriff of Nottingham. He really does exist.’ And I think that’s often the case.”

For the full interview go here. http://www.boldoutlaw.com/robint/unczur.html