Three Wise Men of Gotham

"Three Wise Men of Gotham" first appeared in 1765 in "Mother Goose's Melody," with its origins lying in older tales from a chapbook in the early 1700s linked to the real village of Gotham in south Nottinghamshire, England. References to the "foles of Gotham" can be found as early as the 15th-century Towneley Mysteries. The "wise men" are so-called ironically—according to legend, when King John (reigned 1199-1216) planned to visit, the villagers feigned madness to avoid the expense of hosting royalty, performing absurd tasks like trying to drown an eel, rolling cheeses down hills, and attempting to fence in a cuckoo. Convinced that Gotham was a village of fools, the king chose another location, whereupon the villagers reportedly boasted, "We ween there are more fools pass through Gotham than remain in it." The legacy extends beyond the nursery rhyme—Washington Irving dubbed New York City "Gotham City" in a satirical reference, which in turn inspired the naming of Batman's fictional home.