The Boatman is perhaps one of the most mysterious Characters in Knightmare history. Not even Pickle liked the look of him.

In Series 4 he ferried Dungeoneers across the Dunswater, on the way to the Tower of Time. He made several appearences throughout the season asking for Silver or Gold. He met them with his familiar phrase of "Deep Is the Dunswater and cold, the fare for the crossing is silver or gold." Other than the odd grunt, the Boatman never uttered another word.

On one occasion, he asks a team for silver AND gold. A very greedy boatman.

The Boatman re-appeared in Season 5, this time offering the fare for free, and taking the dungeoneer across the water from Knightmare Castle to Level 1. This was his only appearence, and he was never seen again in Knightmare.

In a unique case, Brother Mace was the boatman for a quest in Season 5 (left). After the Boatman had gone, Ridolfo and Sidriss took over boating duties in Season 6.

Apart from this aforementioned quest, the Boatman was played by Paul Valentine in both seasons 4 and 5.




Of the many Greek myth relations in Knightmare, there is a possibility of of the Boatman being linked with Charon, a character who performed much the same tasks as the Boatman did, offering rides deeper into the Underworld for the right price. It is possible that inspiration for the Boatman came from this source.

To reinforce this point, Charon himself appears in the 4th Knightmare book, The Sorcerer's Isle, in his familiar role.

Thanks to David for additional information on Greek Mythology.

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From TES issue 63 (May 2010)

Series 4/5. Level 1/2.
THE FERRYMAN

It was the job of this cowled oarsman to row dungeoneers (and perhaps other denizens of the Knightmare realm) across the Dunswater between Dunkley Wood and the Tower of Time. Although human in shape (as he was played by Paul Valentine) the surly boatman may have been less than human in nature, as he communicated almost exclusively with guttural grunts, and was only known to speak coherently when declaring his catchphrase: ”Deep is the Dunswater, and cold. The fare for the crossing is silver or gold.” – Ferryman. If he was feeling particularly avaricious, this might be increased to silver and gold!

It has often been speculated that the concept of the Ferryman was largely based on the Greek Mythological character Charon, and I think it’s fair to say that most Knightmare enthusiasts acknowledge this point as almost certainly true. The Ferryman was certainly a very foreboding figure, and taking a ride with him could not really be described as a pleasant experience, although Treguard was always quick to assure us that travelling with the sinister oarsman was far safer than swimming in the Dunswater.

His role may have been comparatively small, but the Ferryman was undoubtedly an interesting (and potentially inspiring) addition. We can only imagine (as some fans have, and maybe will again) what the face behind the cowl was really like – a simple human face, or something more discomfiting? The Ferryman is one of those creature-characters with plenty of potential fanfic material, for those whose imaginations are stimulated by such things.

After rowing Helen, Alistair, Dickon and Giles across the Dunswater in series 4, the Ferryman returned for one brief appearance in series 5, when he took Sarah for a short voyage at the start of her quest. The lake in this series was not the Dunswater from the previous series, but Treguard did go on to describe it as such in series 6, despite the fact that it was clearly a different body of water, and the Tower of Time had disappeared!

Fear Factor: 7 Unnerving at the very least!
Killer Instinct: 2 Seemingly not, but it was hard to tell.
Gore Factor: 4 Depends what you want to imagine under the cowl!
Humanity: 9 Seemingly human, but maybe not quite…

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The Knightmare computer game from Mindscape features a boatman. As with Charon of Greek mythology, a coin can be used to gain access to the boat; though in this case, the coin apparently destroys the scythe-bearing ferryman, leaving the boat at the player's disposal.

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