Ichabod Crane Ichabod Crane Ichabod Crane is a fictional character and the protagonist in Washington Irving's short story, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", first published in 1820. In popular culture, this story is sometimes retitled as "The Headless Horseman." Crane is invariably portrayed, in the original work and in most adaptations as a tall, lanky individual with a scarecrow affect. Ichabod -- meaning "without glory" -- comes from the biblical name of the grandson of Eli the High Priest and son of Phinehas. Irving might have borrowed the name from that of Ichabod Crane, a colonel in the US Army during the
Ichabod Crane of it, in despite of the Devil and all his works, if his path had not been crossed by a being that causes more perplexity to mortal man than ghosts, goblins, and the whole race of witches put together, and that was—a woman. Actually, Ichabod had a soft and foolish heart towards the opposite sex. A turning point in the story occurs when Ichabod becomes enamored of one Katrina Van Tassel, the daughter and only child of a wealthy farmer named Baltus Van Tassel, who pays little attention to his daughter other than to be proud of her merits when