John Faa, the King of the Gypsies

King of the Gypsies

The title King of the Gypsies has been claimed or given over the centuries to many different people. It is both culturally and geographically specific. It may be inherited, acquired by acclamation or action, or simply claimed. The extent of the power associated with the title varied; it might be...

, was a historical character from Scotland, a contemporary of King James IV

James IV of Scotland

James IV was King of Scots from 11 June 1488 to his death. He is generally regarded as the most successful of the Stewart monarchs of Scotland, but his reign ended with the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Flodden Field, where he became the last monarch from not only Scotland, but also from all...

. Although historical sources place him in Dunbar, in the east of Scotland, much folklore associates him with the Galloway/Ayrshire border. He appears as a character in at least two novels, S. R. Crockett's The Raiders and Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials Trilogy.

Both these literary references shift Faa in time. In The Raiders, Faa is placed as a contemporary in south-west Scotland with of Grierson of Lag during the Killing Times, while in His Dark Materials he is moved to southern England in an alternate, somewhat Steampunk

Steampunk

Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used—usually Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United...

universe into a time which is apparently contemporary with our own.