John Oldcastle
Sir John Oldcastle (died 14 December 1417), English Lollard leader, was son of Sir Richard Oldcastle of Almeley in northwest Herefordshire and grandson of another Sir John Oldcastle.
He was prosecuted for heresy against the Church, and escaped from the Tower of London, after which he allegedly plotted against his old friend Henry V. He was captured and executed in London. He is presumed to be the basis of William Shakespeare's character Falstaff.
Read more about John Oldcastle: Life, Lollardy, Open Rebellion, Capture and Death, Literary Portrayals, Bibliography
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“I do not wish to see John ever again,—I mean him who is dead,—but that other, whom only he would have wished to see, or to be, of whom he was the imperfect representative. For we are not what we are, nor do we treat or esteem each other for such, but for what we are capable of being.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)