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 βThe Village of Legendsβ it was formally acknowledged in the Batman comics in 1996 in a story titled βCityscapeβ. The Village itself dates back to possibly the 10th century, and is pronounced βGoat-Umβ which comes from the old English βGoat-Homeβ or βGoat Townβ. 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 Kingβs 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 itβs upkeep would also fall to local workers. This gave rise to the story of βThe Wise Men of Gothamβ 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 Kingβs road would be diverted. The story goes that when the Kingβs 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 Kingβs men. They reportedly observed locals engaged in acts such as fencing off a tree to keep a Cuckoo captive (Cookooβs 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 βThe Mad Men of Gothemβ 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 whoβs 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 nightβ¦ a Bat Manβ¦ Our Absolutely Amazing Dark Knight recently visited Gotham and recruited some new superheroes for his team.
