Roger Godberd in a plea wherefore, since the said Roger demised to Jordan his manor of Swaninton for a term of 10 years, and the same Jordan had not held the manor for one whole year, the said Roger ejected Jordan from the said Manor with force and arms, and took and carried away Jordan’s goods and chattels to the value of 20 pounds. Roger Godberd was a medieval outlaw who has been suggested as a possible historical basis for the legend of Robin Hood. Roger Godberd was a thug and arsonist who led a band of highwaymen who robbed wealthy travellers Half covered in moss and with no headstone, this Warwickshire grave gives no sign of its importance. Roger Godberd Between 1266 and 1272, Nottinghamshire and the neighbouring counties of Derbyshire and Leicestershire, were the target of a crime spree led by Roger Godberd, who was identified as ‘leader and master’. Roger Godberd was a thug and arsonist who led a band of highwaymen who robbed wealthy travellers Half covered in moss and with no headstone, this Warwickshire grave gives no sign of its importance. But an historian has claimed this is the grave of one of the most famous men in English folklore.
Below is a membrane of a court roll of 1278, in which one Richard Coleshill accused a gang of thieves of taking his goods and chattels from the manor of Swannington in Leicestershire.The gang was led by Roger Godberd, one of the most remarkable gangsters or mob bosses of the thirteenth century. Roger was a prominent Montfortian outlaw during the 1260s and led a gang of robbers in the forests of Charnwood and Sherwood. Finally, after several years of plaguing the Midlands, he was hunted down and captured by Reynold Grey, High Sheriff of Nottingham.
Roger Godberd Robin Hood
Unsurprisingly, Roger the Dodger has been suggested as the inspiration for the later Robin Hood ballads. He appears as a supporting player in my new novella, Longsword (IV) The Hooded Men, and I will post more on him in the near future.
Roger Godberd Grave