sweetskitt...
Holland
<3 BBB <3
Posts : 18,305
Legend
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Ring around the rosie
Ring around the rosy
A pocketful of posies
"Ashes, Ashes"
We all fall down!
The words to the Ring around the rosy children's ring game have their origin in English history . The historical period dates back to the Great Plague of London in 1665 (bubonic plague) or even before when the first outbreak of the Plague hit England in the 1300's. The symptoms of the plague included a rosy red rash in the shape of a ring on the skin (Ring around the rosy). Pockets and pouches were filled with sweet smelling herbs ( or posies) which were carried due to the belief that the disease was transmitted by bad smells. The term "Ashes Ashes" refers to the cremation of the dead bodies! The death rate was over 60% and the plague was only halted by the Great Fire of London in 1666 which killed the rats which carried the disease which was transmitting via water sources
Jack and Jill
Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water
Jack fell down and broke his crown
And Jill came tumbling after.
Up got Jack, and home did trot
As fast as he could caper
He went to bed and bound his head
With vinegar and brown paper.
The roots of the story, or poem, of Jack and Jill are in France. Jack and Jill referred to are said to be King Louis XVI - Jack -who was beheaded (lost his crown) followed by his Queen Marie Antoinette - Jill - (who came tumbling after). The words and lyrics to the Jack and Jill poem were made more acceptable as a story for children by providing a happy ending! The actual beheadings occurred in during the Reign of Terror in 1793. The first publication date for the lyrics of Jack and Jill rhyme is 1795 - which ties-in with the history and origins.
Mary, Mary Quite Contrary
Mary Mary quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle shells
And pretty maids all in a row.
The origins are steeped in history... Bloody Mary!
The Mary alluded to in this traditional English nursery rhyme is reputed to be Mary Tudor, or Bloody Mary, who was the daughter of King Henry VIII. Queen Mary was a staunch Catholic and the garden referred to is an allusion to graveyards which were increasing in size with those who dared to continue to adhere to the Protestant faith - Protestant martyrs.
Instruments of Torture!
The silver bells and cockle shells referred to in the Nursery Rhyme were colloquialisms for instruments of torture. The 'silver bells' were thumbscrews which crushed the thumb between two hard surfaces by the tightening of a screw. The 'cockleshells' were believed to be instruments of torture which were attached to the genitals!
The " Maids" or Maiden was the original guillotine!
The 'maids' were a device to behead people called the Maiden. Beheading a victim was fraught with problems. It could take up to 11 blows to actually sever the head, the victim often resisted and had to be chased around the scaffold
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nyla princ...
Los Angeles
Naked as a jaybird
Posts : 1,754
Club Hopper
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I took an analytical writing class on Fairytales and Nursery Rhymes in college and it totally ruined it for me. All those stories were really violent and frightening. I guess a product from the sufferings of back then. I'll never think of Snow White or Little red Riding Hood the same again. Oh- and because of that stupid cheap Romanian porno that my old roomie had.
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Posted: 7/18/2008 2:24:45 PM
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upside8
Calgary
Mostly Harmless
Posts : 4,845
Jet Set
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I have a counter story about Mary Mary..
It references Mary II, wife of William.
(she was the daughter of James II who inherited the Crown after he basically got run off for being a Catholic)
They "invited" William to become King (as William III, as he was a good protestant) and she was Queen.
Such things weren't discussed at the time, but it is suggested that she was perhaps gay, and surrounded herself with many female friends - hence the "pretty maids" are just that, pretty maids. She also was very devoted to her gardens.
as far as I know, the guillotine was never used in England.
They used an axe, or on occasion, a sword. Sword was cleaner.
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Posted: 7/18/2008 2:52:29 PM
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sweetskitt...
Holland
<3 BBB <3
Posts : 18,305
Legend
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On 7/18/2008 2:52:29 PM, upside8 wrote:
I have a counter story about Mary Mary..
It references Mary II, wife of William.
(she was the daughter of James II who inherited the Crown after he basically got run off for being a Catholic)
They "invited" William to become King (as William III, as he was a good protestant) and she was Queen.
Such things weren't discussed at the time, but it is suggested that she was perhaps gay, and surrounded herself with many female friends - hence the "pretty maids" are just that, pretty maids. She also was very devoted to her gardens.
as far as I know, the guillotine was never used in England.
They used an axe, or on occasion, a sword. Sword was cleaner.
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could be true..i got the other info off a website
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Posted: 7/19/2008 11:31:51 AM
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NURSERY RHYMES: THE REAL STORY
