John Norman was the son of John Norman of Banbury and was a draper by trade Even so, Norman twice represented the
City of London in the parliaments of 1449 and was elected
Lord Mayor of London in 1453. (Today the parade is known as the Lord Mayor's Show). John Norman is considered to be the first lord mayor to go to Westminster by water. The river procession seems to have been popular amongst the London commoners. Thus six years after Norman's river ride the commonality of London requested to have all further mayors go by barge to Westminster and all medieval mayors of London after Norman went by river to be sworn. River processions continued to be held for mayors until 1856. of John Norman as recorded in the
Harley Collection. According to the 15th century Sheriff of London
Robert Fabyan, the watermen made John Norman a song of praise, which began: "Rowe the bote, Norman, Rowe to thy
Lemman". A 19th-century music
antiquary named
Edward F. Rimbault thought that the melody to this song was the same as one published in
John Hilton's compilation of
rounds:
Catch That, Catch Can (1658). The same melody has appeared in several other rounds (such as
Turn Again, Whittington and
Heave and Ho, Rumbelow) found in various collections. It is not certain which set of lyrics was the original, and whether the melody was written for Norman or
Richard Whittington (who was lord mayor three times, first elected in 1397). It is thought likely that the melody would have been passed down as a
folk song from previous generations. In such case according to Mary C. Taylor, it would have been only natural for a new set of lyrics to celebrate John Norman's inauguration, which was fifty-six years after Whittington's first. 's
The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. ==Heraldry==