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Birth:          ABT 1180 Nottingham, England
Death:          AFT 1224 

Notes
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=jweber&id=I24683
the Yale Law School online site, 
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/medieval/magframe.htm:

50. We will entirely remove from their bailiwicks, the relations of Gerard of Athee (so 
that in future they shall have no bailiwick in England); namely, Engelard of Cigogne, 
Peter, Guy, and Andrew of Chanceaux, Guy of Cigogne, Geoffrey of Martigny with his 
brothers, Philip Mark with his brothers and his nephew Geoffrey, and the whole brood 
of the same.

-----------------------

Philip Mark was apparently the real "Sheriff of Nottingham" depicted in all of the 
Robin Hood stories.

This is copied from a site giving a book review, 
http://www.boldoutlaw.com/robspot/0700.html:

July 2000

THE SHERIFF OF NOTTINGHAM, by Richard Kluger

And now, a word from the opposition....

Philip [Mark] had always viewed the woodsman as an endearing lout who, for all his 
antic spirit, possessed a soul of honor; now he was exposed as capable of as much 
treachery as the craftiest of courtiers. "This is a spiteful rogue, gentlemen, who feeds 
on sour grapes."

--Richard Kluger, The Sheriff of Nottingham, p.447

This is not a novel about the Robin Hood legend. Instead it is an interesting, well-
written historical novel about a real man, Philip Mark. He started his career as a 
common soldier. But for over a decade, Philip Mark held the title of what's become the 
world's most infamous public official. Philip was the sheriff of Nottinghamshire and 
Derbyshire.

Cambridge historian Sir James C. Holt who has written both on King John's reign and 
the Robin Hood legend had this to say about the real Philip Mark.

Philip's conduct of his shrievalty included robbery, false arrest, unjust disseisin, and 
persistent attacks on local landed interests, both secular and ecclesiastical...

He was as zealous, thrustful, and dangerous under Henry [III, John's son] as he was 
under John. For 15 years on to 1224, when he finally lost his shrievalty, he 
envenomed the local politics of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.

-- J.C. Holt, The Northerners, p. 230. 
In fact, Philip Mark was mentioned by name in the document that would become the 
Magna Carta.

But Kluger's Philip is not the same as Holt's. Kluger writes Philip as a very moral man 
who is forced to make difficult choices. He is a good man doing a tough job. Philip 
dismisses the charges against him as "the classic whines of the reluctant taxpayer."

Those around Philip are the ones at fault. For example, the sheriff's trusted servant 
Sparks embezzles money to provide a nice retirement fund for his master. And Philip 
Mark's wife, Anne, has an affair.

Then there's that ne'er-do-well rogue of Sherwood Forest who puts in a few (and only 
a few) appearances.

And what is Philip Mark's failing? Being too good for his own good. I find that Philip 
isn't a very complex man. But then that does make an interest contrast with the 
problems around him. The moral of the story seems to be "No good deed goes 
unpunished."

I enjoyed the use of real history in the book, such as King John's order to hang some 
Welsh children at Nottingham. The novel blends fiction and fact in an enjoyable way.

If you're looking for a fast-paced or funny book, look elsewhere. But if you'd like 
something a little different than most Robin Hood stories, something that looks at the 
politics of the early 13th century and the people of those times, The Sheriff of 
Nottingham is worth reading.

Two amusing notes:

A monstrously evil version of Philip Mark can be seen in the Robin of Sherwood 
episode "The Sheriff of Nottingham". He shares the same name and title as Kluger's 
Philip, but they have little else in common.

I borrowed this book from the very appropriately named Runnymede branch of the 
Toronto Public Library. Runnymede is also the name of the place where the Magna 
Carta was signed.


Marriage To ____ Anne (ABT 1185 - )
    m.  

Notes


Children by ____ Anne ABT 1185 - 
MARK Pernel (ABT 1210 - AFT 1267)

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