Feckless Gorb
While most scholars agree
that Gorb (or Feckless Gorb, as he is popularly known) was a real historical
figure, living sometime in the uneventful years between the Settling and Berek
and the Ogre Invasion, though it is sometimes jestingly asserted that it must
have been his grandfather who kept the pilot logs during the Migration.
He is hard to pin down to a
definite date, though, because Gorb has become a byword for a clumsy or
thoughtless person. While some of the anecdotes connected to him are possibly
actual incidents in his life, it would be hard to say which, as many tales and
jokes became attached to him over time.
As a character, Gorb is
never described as feeble-minded or crazy, but thoughtless, careless, or
foolish in the extreme. He could be wise if he was paying attention or applying
himself, but he never does. A gorb is inexperienced or unskilled; the term is
applied to beginners or novices.
Gorb also gave rise to at
least two popular sayings. One goes “Well, Gorb’s madra loved him.” The story
goes that he was accidentally responsible for his mother’s death, and that with
her last words she forgave him. The colloquial meaning implies that one may be
enamored with one’s foolish actions, but they could lead to disaster. The other
says that “Gorb is the only one remembered from his time,” meaning both that
fame is not necessarily good, but also that it is anyway a form of immortality.
There is also a light form
of comic poetry, called ‘gorbos’. The verses are short, seldom more than four
lines long, with a loose but definite form. They purport to recount Gorb’s
amusing adventures. The following is a typical example:
Feckless Gorb milked a
billy,
Put the squeezings in his
tea.
Took a sip, frowned, and
grumbled,
“This tastes rather odd to
me!”
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