Character guide

Ichabod Crane

major

Also known as Crane, The gallant Ichabod, poor Ichabod

A lanky, superstitious schoolmaster who peddles gossip and ghost stories through Sleepy Hollow while scheming to win the farmer's daughter and her inheritance.

Rip Van Winkle

major

Also known as Rip, poor Rip, Van Winkle, poor Rip Van Winkle

A good-natured idler who escapes his nagging wife and village chores by wandering the hills with his dog and gun, only to stumble into something stranger.

John Bull

supporting

Also known as John, honest John Bull

The stout, cudgel-bearing personification of England itself, a caricature the English have embraced so fondly that they now strive to live up to it.

Geoffrey Crayon

major

Also known as Unknown, the narrator, myself

A genial American traveler wandering England's ruins, inns, and country seats, collecting ghosts, customs, and characters for the reader's quiet amusement.

Brom Bones

supporting

Also known as Brom, Bones

A broad-shouldered, mischief-loving horseman whose practical jokes and rough charisma make him both the village's favorite son and Ichabod's chief rival.

Katrina Van Tassel

supporting

Also known as the blooming Katrina, Van Tassel

The blooming, coquettish daughter of a prosperous Dutch farmer, whose smiles and fortune turn the quiet hollow into a battlefield of suitors.

Mr. Bracebridge

supporting

Also known as Master Simon, Mr. Simon Bracebridge, Mr. Simon, Simon

Mr. Bracebridge is the benevolent master of Bracebridge Hall, a man whose open, florid countenance betrays a singular mixture of whim and benevolence. He laments modern breakfasts of tea and toast as causes of effeminacy, insisting instead on cold meats, wine, and ale, and he keeps peacocks partly because they belonged to chivalry. His passion for reviving ancient customs—the Yule clog, the mistletoe—drives the Christmas festivities that form the heart of the sketch.

Dame Van Winkle

supporting

Also known as Rip Van Winkle, Rip Van

Dame Van Winkle rules her household with a tongue that gives her husband no peace, making the fireside a place of torment rather than comfort. Her nagging is the immediate domestic pressure that pushes Rip to seek refuge in the woods with his dog and gun. Without her, there is no flight, no encounter with the strange crew in the Catskills, and no twenty-year sleep—she is the human engine of the tale's central rupture.

Hans Van Ripper

minor

Also known as Van Ripper

A farmer who takes Ichabod's horse after his disappearance.

Old Baltus Van Tassel

minor

Also known as Van Tassel, old Van Tassel

Katrina's wealthy father who hosts a harvest feast.

Wolf

minor

Also known as Poor Wolf

Rip Van Winkle's loyal dog who grows old with him.

Roscoe

minor

Also known as Mr. Roscoe

A historian and author admired by the narrator in Liverpool.

King Philip

supporting

Also known as Philip, the unhappy Philip

King Philip is the tragic warrior-chief at the center of Irving's meditation on colonial conflict, a leader whose pride and desperation drive him to resist the encroaching settlements. Irving frames him not as a villain but as a fallen prince, his cause already lost before the fighting begins. His story gives the sketchbook its darkest historical register, a counterweight to the genial nostalgia of the Christmas pieces.

Canonchet

minor

Also known as the brave and generous Canonchet

A Narragansett chief who fought in King Philip's War.

Massasoit

minor

A Wampanoag sachem who allied with the Plymouth colonists.

Shakespeare

supporting

Also known as sweet Shakespeare, the recreant Shakespeare

Shakespeare is less a man than a shrine in Irving's Stratford pilgrimage: his birthplace is a 'nestling-place of genius' whose walls are covered with the graffiti of devotees from every nation. The garrulous old guide shows off the matchlock, the tobacco-box, and the mulberry tree, while the chair must be re-bottomed every three years from fervent sitting. Irving's affectionate credulity—he would rather be pleasantly deceived than skeptically correct—makes the poet a living presence in the sketch.

Falstaff

minor

Also known as fat Jack, old Jack Falstaff, kind Jack Falstaff, sweet Jack Falstaff, fat Jack Falstaff

Shakespeare's comic knight, celebrated at the Boar's Head Tavern.

Dame Quickly

minor

Also known as Dame

The hostess of the Boar's Head Tavern in Eastcheap.

Henry IV

minor

The English king referenced in the Boar's Head Tavern chapter.

Henry VIII

minor

Also known as Henry the Eighth

The Tudor king mentioned in historical contexts.

Queen Elizabeth

minor

Also known as Elizabeth, the imperious Elizabeth

The Tudor queen referenced in literary and historical anecdotes.

James I

minor

Also known as James, King James

The Stuart king who wrote poetry and patronized the arts.

Alexander the Great

minor

Also known as Alexander

The ancient conqueror mentioned in literary comparisons.

Diedrich Knickerbocker

minor

Also known as Knickerbocker, the late Diedrich Knickerbocker, Mr. Knickerbocker

The fictional historian who supposedly recorded the Dutch tales.

The Spectre Bridegroom

supporting

Also known as the stranger, the stranger guest, a young officer whose regiment had been recently quartered in the neighborhood

The stranger guest appears at the Baron's castle on the eve of his daughter's wedding, a young officer whose regiment had recently been quartered nearby. He is gallant, melancholy, and strangely insistent on his claim to the bride, and his departure leaves behind a confusion of grief and supernatural dread. His story is Irving's finest exercise in the Gothic mode—a tale where the line between ghost and grief is deliberately left blurred.

The Baron Von Landshort

minor

A German nobleman who hosts a wedding feast.

The Lady Jane

minor

A noblewoman in a tragic love story mentioned in the book.

Poor Mary

minor

Also known as Mary

A heartbroken woman who dies of a broken heart.

The Widow

minor

A grieving mother who loses her son at sea.

The Angler

minor

Also known as honest Izaak Walton, Izaak Walton, old Izaak, old Izaak Walton, Walton

A peaceful fisherman who embodies the contemplative life.

The Lambs

minor

Also known as the Miss Lambs, The Miss Lambs

Two sisters who appear in a London social scene.

Mrs. Lamb

minor

Also known as Honest Lamb, Lamb

A kind-hearted woman in the Little Britain neighborhood.

John Murray

minor

Also known as Mr. John Murray, Mr. Murray, Murray

A publisher who corresponded with the narrator.

Archibald Constable

minor

Also known as Mr. Archibald Constable, Mr. Constable, Constable

A Scottish publisher mentioned in the envoy.

Sir Walter Scott

minor

Also known as Sir Walter, Sir Walter Scott, Scott, Walter

The famous novelist referenced as a contemporary.

The Indian

minor

Also known as Indians, the Indians, The Indians, the Pequod Indians

A representative of Native American tribes in the narratives.

Peter Vanderdonk

minor

Also known as Peter

A village elder who confirms Rip's story about the mountains.

Gunpowder

minor

Also known as old Gunpowder

Ichabod Crane's borrowed horse, old and stubborn.

The Headless Horseman

supporting

The Headless Horseman is the legendary terror of Sleepy Hollow, a ghost said to ride nightly to the church bridge in search of his lost head. He is the ultimate test of Ichabod Crane's credulity and cowardice, the figure whose pursuit drives the schoolmaster from the hollow forever. Whether he is a real spectre or Brom Bones in disguise, Irving never says—and the ambiguity is the point.

Francis Bracebridge

minor

Also known as Frank Bracebridge, Bracebridge, Frank, young Bracebridge

The son of Mr. Bracebridge, a young gentleman at Christmas.

The Young Count Von Altenburg

minor

A German nobleman who visits Bracebridge Hall.

The Wife

minor

Leslie's devoted wife who supports him through hardship.

Robert Preston

minor

Also known as honest Preston, this Robert Preston

A sailor who marries a village beauty in the pride of the village.

Miss Sophia Scott

minor

Also known as Scott, Sophia

A young woman courted by a sailor in the village tale.

Dame Honeyball

minor

Also known as Dame

A tavern keeper in the Little Britain neighborhood.

John Hallum

minor

Also known as Hallum, Little Hallum

A resident of Little Britain with a notable story.

The Servants

minor

Household staff at Bracebridge Hall during Christmas.

Herrick

minor

Also known as 30 Herrick

A poet referenced in the Christmas chapters.

Bright

minor

A minor character mentioned in the London antiques chapter.

Old Stowe

minor

Also known as the venerable Stowe

An antiquarian mentioned in the London antiques chapter.

William Walworth

minor

Also known as William, William Walworth callyd, Sir William Walworth

A historical Lord Mayor of London mentioned in the book.

Roubillac

minor

A sculptor mentioned in Westminster Abbey.

Bucephalus

minor

Alexander the Great's horse, referenced in a literary metaphor.

Justice Shallow

minor

Also known as Justice

A Shakespearean character referenced in the Boar's Head chapter.

Peter Stuyvesant

minor

Also known as the good Peter Stuyvesant, Peter Stuyvesant

The Dutch governor of New Amsterdam, mentioned in the book.

Sir Philip Sidney

minor

An Elizabethan poet and courtier referenced in the text.

Mr. Skyrme

minor

A minor figure in the Little Britain tales.

Old Tom

minor

Also known as Tom, the Old

An elderly resident of Little Britain.

Nicholas Vedder

minor

A village patriarch who presides at the inn in Rip's story.

Sir Thomas Lucy

minor

Also known as Sir Thomas, the redoubled Sir Thomas, Lucy, lowsie Lucy

A local magistrate who prosecuted Shakespeare for deer poaching.

Von Starkenfaust

minor

Also known as Starkenfaust, Sir Herman Von Starkenfaust

A young knight who impersonates a ghost to win his bride.

The Englishman

minor

A generic English traveler encountered by the narrator.

Derrick Van Bummel

minor

Also known as Van Bummel

The village schoolmaster in Rip Van Winkle's time.

Brom Dutcher

minor

A villager mentioned in the Sleepy Hollow tale.

Julia

minor

A young woman in a romantic subplot at Bracebridge Hall.

Leslie

minor

Also known as Poor Leslie

A man who loses his fortune and is comforted by his wife.

Wagstaff

minor

Also known as little Wagstaff

A young boy in the Little Britain community.

The Strangers

minor

Unidentified travelers encountered in various chapters.

Edmonds

minor

A person mentioned in the Little Britain chapter.

Bacchus

minor

The Roman god of wine, referenced in literary contexts.

Fidele

minor

A faithful character from Shakespeare's Cymbeline, quoted.

Christmas

minor

Also known as poor old Christmas, Ancient Christmas

The personification of the Christmas holiday.

John Ange

minor

A minor figure in the Little Britain tales.

Balt Van Tassel

minor

Also known as honest Balt

A farmer and relative of Katrina Van Tassel.

Giraldus Cambrensis

minor

A medieval Welsh chronicler referenced in the text.

Poor Robin

minor

Also known as Robin, Robin - goodfellow

A folk character mentioned in the Christmas chapter.

Slender

minor

Also known as Slender Ay

A Shakespearean character from The Merry Wives of Windsor.

Death

minor

Also known as Captain Death

A personification of death in a literary allusion.

Tasso

minor

An Italian poet mentioned in literary discussions.

Robert Stewart

minor

Also known as Sir Robert Stewart

A historical figure mentioned in the book.

Jack Straw

minor

Also known as Jack, Straw

A leader of the Peasants' Revolt, referenced historically.

Joseph of Exeter

minor

A medieval poet mentioned in the book.

Bantam

minor

A character in the Little Britain neighborhood.

Garrick

minor

Also known as David Garrick, Davy

A famous Shakespearean actor referenced in the book.

Miantonomo

minor

A Narragansett sachem mentioned in the Indian chapters.

Wetamoe

minor

A Wampanoag woman mentioned in King Philip's War.

Cotton Mather

minor

Also known as old Mather

A Puritan minister and writer referenced in the book.

Bright Chanticleer

minor

A rooster mentioned in a rural scene.

Doffue Martling

minor

A minor character in the Sleepy Hollow tale.

The Wassel

minor

Also known as Wassel

A personification of the wassail drink at Christmas.