Forgotten Hero Guy Of Warwick

Preston, England
September 12, 2018 4:03pm CST
I love reading of the exploits of the great British heroes of legend, King Arthur, Saint George, Robin Hood, Guy Of Warwick.... Er, who? Guy of what? He was really a legend up to about the 18th century but now largely forgotten about. Guy was an English Earl, and a keen soldier. He fell in love with a high born lady called Felice, but he was not wealthy enough for her hand in marriage so he was sent on various suicidal quests and missions to earn the right to wed her. Guy took on invading armies, dragons, wild boar, and most famously the Dun Cow of Warwick.. The cow was gigantic, but gentle and it seemed able to produce a limitless flow of milk from its udders. Unfortunately, a witch snook up on the cow among the milking maids filling their pails. The witch challenged the Dun Cow to fill her sieve. Panicked by the cruelty, the cow went on a mad rampage, killing many people and destroying property. Guy killed it which seems more an act of mercy than anything. Guy won the right to wed Felice, but he found himself haunted by how violent his life had been. He left his wife to go off alone to Jerusalem to seek divine forgiveness. He arrived ihome n time to fight and kill a giant Northman warrior soldier champion called Colbrand. He then served his wife as a celibate beadsman (one who prays after another with his rosary beads). Guy then left home again, becoming a hermit in the forest of Arden. He told his story and revealed his true identity to a monk who was giving him absolution as Guy lay dying. He comes across as a selfish introspective loner, thinking of himself rather than the needs of others. Perhaps that is why time eventually forgot him, unlike Robin Hood. Youtube - theme to TV's Robin Hood, (with clips from films and the Telletubbies, who deserve to be fought off by Guy Of Warwick) Arthur Chappell
Dick James (12 December 1920 -- 1 February 1986), born Leon Isaac Vapnick in the East End of London, was a British music publisher and, together with his son...
4 people like this
5 responses
@Courage7 (19626)
• United States
13 Sep 18
What a character he was that Guy
1 person likes this
• Preston, England
13 Sep 18
@Courage7 yes, I can imagine most wive not taking kindly to the husband going off to Jerusalem for years
1 person likes this
@Courage7 (19626)
• United States
13 Sep 18
@arthurchappell I would have cheered him on
1 person likes this
• Preston, England
13 Sep 18
@Courage7 certainly worth cheering in his heroics but not so much in his religious retreat and abandonment of his wife
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (502189)
• Italy
13 Sep 18
While I knew very well the legends about King Arthur, Saint George and Robin Hood, this is the very first time that I hear about "Guy of Warwick". A pretty sad story. I remember the Adventures of Robin Hood, something I watched when I was a kid.
1 person likes this
• Preston, England
13 Sep 18
@LadyDuck I only just learned of Guy Of Warwick too
1 person likes this
• Preston, England
13 Sep 18
@LadyDuck it was pretty well forgotten by the 19th century sadly
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@LadyDuck (502189)
• Italy
13 Sep 18
@arthurchappell It is weird how it has never been mentioned during my school times.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (97908)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
13 Sep 18
That is sad indeed that they forgot Guy of Warwick. I would not mind watching tales about him.
1 person likes this
@just4him (323168)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
13 Sep 18
He wanted one thing and got another, an identity he couldn't live with. Sad.
1 person likes this
• Preston, England
13 Sep 18
@just4him yes his story is rather downbeat
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@just4him (323168)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
13 Sep 18
@arthurchappell Yes, it is.
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@JudyEv (381825)
• Rockingham, Australia
13 Sep 18
I'd never heard of him before. Cattle seem to feature a lot on these sorts of myths.
1 person likes this
• Preston, England
13 Sep 18
@JudyEv yes, I guess it made the stories relevant for people in the agricultural societies