Gotham City can be a dark and dangerous place, filled with all manner of dangerous villains who perpetually plot and scheme their various evil activities. The Joker, The Riddler, Two-Face and others are forever working to sow the seeds of chaos in the streets. It is a sprawling metropolis of gothic architecture, dark alleyways and a storied history.
Gotham Village in Nottinghamshire, by contrast, is a quiet and pleasant place, however, it has an equally storied history. Nicknamed by some as โThe Village of Legendsโ it was formally acknowledged in the Batman comics in 1996 in a story titled โCityscapeโ. The Village itself dates back to possibly the 10th century, and is pronounced โGoat-Umโ which comes from the old English โGoat-Homeโ or โGoat Townโ. It was in the 13th Century that the village first made a name for itself. It was announced that King John wished to build a hunting lodge in the area, however, should the King travel to the area, any local road he used would become a Kingโs Highway, this would, in turn, mean a hefty tax burden on the locals. They would not only have been expected to build this highway, but the responsibility of itโs upkeep would also fall to local workers. This gave rise to the story of โThe Wise Men of Gothamโ who hatched a plan to feign madness.
It was a commonly held belief at the time, that mental illness was infectious, thus the people of Gotham knew that if they all acted insane, the Kingโs road would be diverted. The story goes that when the Kingโs Knights and other representatives arrived in the area, locals collectively pretended to be insane, staging acts of madness and comical stupidity for the benefit of the Kingโs men. They reportedly observed locals engaged in acts such as fencing off a tree to keep a Cuckoo captive (Cookooโs symbolise summer and it is thought the locals explained they were attempting to capture the summer), attempting to down an Eel, and attempting to roll cheese down a hill in the belief that it would make its own way to market. The story of โThe Mad Men of Gothemโ would go on to circulate for centuries.
Both towns, however, have one thing in common. When the sun goes down and the shadows grow long, a guardian patrols the night, one whoโs name is spoken in hushed tones by the criminals and evil doers. A Dark Knight who defends the innocent and punishes the guilty, who can melt into shadow and sour over the rooftops, not a man, a creature of the nightโฆ a Bat Manโฆ Our Absolutely Amazing Dark Knight recently visited Gotham and recruited some new superheroes for his team.
