I am honoured and thrilled to be included as a contributor to CASTLES, CUSTOMS AND KINGS Volume 2, produced by the wonderful people at English Historical Fiction Authors.
Edited by Debra Brown and Sue Millard
An anthology of essays from the second year of the English Historical Fiction Authors blog, this book transports the reader across the centuries from prehistoric to twentieth century Britain. Nearly fifty different authors share the stories, incidents, and insights discovered while doing research for their own historical novels.
From medieval law and literature to Tudor queens and courtiers, from Stuart royals and rebels to Regency soldiers and social calls, experience the panorama of Britain’s yesteryear. Explore the history behind the fiction, and discover the true tales surrounding Britain’s castles, customs, and kings.
(Currently available in print only from AMAZON )
To celebrate the release, I am joining in the fun of a blog hop with my fellow authors where we looks at a particularly quirky custom or tradition.
My contribution is a peek into the often violent 17th century (or not!) origins of some of our best known nursery rhymes
At the most basic level, nursery rhymes are used as a way of familiarising a child with the patterns of their native tongue. Every culture uses variations of these simple rhymes. I can remember rocking my own fractious babies to sleep with “Rock a bye baby†and thinking at the time that the words must have originated from a frustrated mother, not unlike myself, harbouring dark thoughts about her infant… have you ever thought about how violent the words actually are? “When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall and down will come baby, cradle and all…â€. So the rhyme served two purposes, calming the baby and satisfying the mother’s urge to commit infanticide at the same time!
Back to the seventeenth century. The origins of many nursery rhymes are lost in history and those for which we do think we know the origin, may turn out to be specious... As you will see.
RING A RING ROSIE:
Ring-a-ring o' roses,
A pocket full of posies,
A-tishoo! A-tishoo!
We all fall down.
A FROG HE WOULD A WOOING (or courting) GO:
A Frog He Would A-Wooing Go
Whether his mother? let him or no
He rode right to Miss Mousie's den
Said he "Miss Mousie are you within?"
He said "My dear I've come to see"
If you Miss Mousie will marry me"? I was always under the belief that this rhyme/song referred to Charles II and his love of beautiful women, but scholars believe its origin is earlier. It first appeared in written form in 1611 and it could refer to the reputed marriage of Francis of Anjou to Elizabeth I but versions of it are known from even earlier in the Tudor dynasty. Certainly it is a political satire but which Queen and which Frog are now lost in time.
GEORGIE PORGIE:
Georgie Porgie, Puddin' and Pie,
Kissed the girls and made them cry,
When the boys came out to play
Georgie Porgie ran away
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| George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham |
This rhyme is believed to have originated with George Villiers, the first Duke of Buckingham and boon companion to Charles I. The beautiful George was known to “bat for both teams†(to use a cricketing metaphor) and was reputedly the lover of both James I and Ann of Austria (the Queen of France). Political furore about his influence over Charles I led to his eventual assasination and you can read more about the lovely George HERE) However there is no real evidence for this story and it could just as easily refer to Charles II (Rowley Powley Pudding and Pie) or George II, both notorious womanisers.
DOCTOR FELL:
I do not like thee, Doctor Fell,
The reason why - I cannot tell;
But this I know, and know full well,
I do not like thee, Doctor Fell
This little rhyme is said to have been written by the English poet Thomas Brown around 1680 and refers to one of the dons at Oxford, Doctor John Fell of Christ Church, who expelled the young Brown for mischief. To conclude… one of the best known and most beloved Nursery Rhymes:
HUMPTY DUMPTY:
Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All the King’s horses and all the King’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again
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Like all the rhymes, its origins are reputedly many and varied. “Humpty Dumpty†was a term used in the middle ages to describe someone of large girth and folklore scholars (them again!) have posited the theory it refers to Richard III (who we now know was NOT a man of large girth!). By far the most likely origin comes from the English Civil War. In 1648 the town of Colchester was held for the royalists and besieged. The story goes that the King’s men had a large (and presumably rotund) gun which they placed strategically on the wall of the town. However the wall was not built to withstand the weight of the gun and it collapsed, taking the great gun, nicknamed Humpty Dumpty, with it. Despite the efforts of “all the King’s men and all the King’s horses†the great gun was too heavy to be raised again.
I shall conveniently ignore the earliest written forms of this rhyme which make no mention of “King’s†men or horses or the fact it could refer to a kind of ale mixed with brandy, or an exceptionally clumsy person.
But reference to a giant siege gun of the English Civil War segues nicely into my contribution to CUSTOMS, CASTLES AND KINGS - the sad tale of Brilliana Harley and her spirited defence of Brampton Bryan Castle in Herefordshire. Brilliana and the many stalwart women of the English Civil War, was the inspiration behind my own story HER REBEL HEART.
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| Mons Meg at Edinburgh Castle |
PLEASE VISIT MY FELLOW CONTRIBUTORS FOR THEIR QUIRKY TAKES ON HISTORY
AND DON'T FORGET TO ENTER MY RAFFLECOPTER CONTEST FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A KINDLE EREADER!
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