The Tudors in

Nursery Rhymes

IJBanks

‘England was economically

healthier, more expansive &

more opt imist ic under the

Tudors than at any t ime in a

thousand years’ John Guy, Historian

‘Henry VIII scores highly for

emotional detachment and

cold-blooded ruthlessness,

characterist ics of

dangerous psychopaths’ Professor Kevin Dutton, Wisdom of Psychopaths

So, lots of material for

Nursery Rhymes!

These slides put the history

& the rhymes together

WHO WERE THE TUDORS?

WHO WERE THE TUDORS?

• Tudor period: 1485-1603 in England & Wales

• Tudor monarchs: Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I & Elizabeth I

• Economic prosperity through woollen exports - but rising population &

a widening gap between rich and poor

• Henry VII restored fortunes after the War of the Roses

• Henry VIII raised large amounts of revenue by dissolution of the

monasteries but wars with France & Scotland used up a lot of that cash

• The establishment of the Church of England & the break with Rome

• Good Queen Bess, Armada, Sir Francis Drake, Shakespeare & Marlowe

Henry VII

WHAT ARE NURSERY RHYMES?

• Refers to traditional songs & poems

• We now think of them as mainly for young children but they

weren’t always intended that way

• At certain periods people could be prosecuted for overtly talking

about political events

• Began to be recorded in English plays from mid-16th Century

• First printed collections date from 1744

• The term ‘Nursery Rhyme’ has only been used since 19th Century

• In North America often called ‘Mother Goose Rhymes’

Let’s look at some Rhymes.

First , about the life and

t imes of Henry VIII

JACK & GILL

Jack and Gill went up the hill

To fetch a pail of water.

Jack fell down and broke his crown,

And Gill came tumbling after

JACK & GILL

• Earliest illustration (1765) has 2 boys: Jack & Gill (not Jill!)

• One theory is they are Cardinal Wolsey & Louis D’Orleans who negotiated

the marriage of Henry’s sister, 18 yr old Mary Tudor & the 52 yr old Louis

XII in 1514 as part of a peace treaty between England & France

• Louis XII died 3 months later apparently from over exertion in bed…

• Louis D’Orleans died a year later

• Wolsey, who had immense power, fell into disfavour with Henry VIII when

he failed to annul the marriage with Catherine of Aragon

Jack and Gill went up the hill

To fetch a pail of water.

Jack fell down and broke his crown,

And Gill came tumbling after

OLD MOTHER HUBBARD

Old Mother Hubbard

Went to the cupboard,

To give the poor dog a bone;

When she came there,

The cupboard was bare,

And so the poor dog had none

OLD MOTHER HUBBARD

• First published in 1805, one reading of this has Cardinal

Wolsey as Old Mother Hubbard & the cupboard is the church

• The dog is Henry VIII and the bone is the annulment he was

seeking from Catherine of Aragon

• Wolsey was unsuccessful and it was eventually Thomas

Cranmer who achieved the desired result

Old Mother Hubbard

Went to the cupboard,

To give the poor dog a bone;

When she came there,

The cupboard was bare,

And so the poor dog had none

SING A SONG OF SIXPENCE Sing a song of sixpence,

A pocket full of rye.

Four and twenty blackbirds,

Baked in a pie.

When the pie was opened,

The birds began to sing;

Wasn't that a dainty dish,

To set before the king?

The king was in his counting house,

Counting out his money;

The queen was in the parlour,

Eating bread and honey.

The maid was in the garden,

Hanging out the clothes,

When down came a blackbird

And pecked off her nose

SING A SONG OF SIXPENCE

• One theory has the King as Henry VIII, the Queen as

Catherine of Aragon and the maid as Anne Boleyn

• Blackbirds were churchmen eager to impress the

king for reward and status

• The last blackbird was Thomas Cromwell who

fabricated the plot which led to Anne’s beheading.

Sing a song of sixpence,

A pocket full of rye.

Four and twenty blackbirds,

Baked in a pie.

When the pie was opened,

The birds began to sing;

Wasn't that a dainty dish,

To set before the king?

The king was in his counting house,

Counting out his money;

The queen was in the parlour,

Eating bread and honey.

The maid was in the garden,

Hanging out the clothes,

When down came a blackbird

And pecked off her nose

LITTLE JACK HORNER

Little Jack Horner

Sat in the corner,

Eating a Christmas pie;

He put in his thumb,

And pulled out a plum,

And said 'What a good boy am I!'

LITTLE JACK HORNER Little Jack Horner

Sat in the corner,

Eating a Christmas pie;

He put in his thumb,

And pulled out a plum,

And said 'What a good boy am I!'

• Thomas Horner, Steward to the last abbot of Glastonbury, before the dissolution of the

monasteries under Henry VIII

• The Abbot sent Horner to London with a huge Christmas pie within which was hidden the

deeds to a number of manors – meant to dissuade the king from dissolving Glastonbury

• Horner extracted the deeds to Mells Manor in Somerset and took ownership of it!

• The King dissolved Glastonbury anyway… had the Abbot hung, drawn & quartered after

a trial for treason… and one of the jurors was Horner!

Now Mary 1 st, daughter of

Henry & Catherine of Aragon

3 BLIND MICE

Three blind mice. Three blind mice.

See how they run. See how they run.

They all ran after the farmer's wife,

Who cut off their tails with a carving knife,

Did you ever see such a sight in your life,

As three blind mice?

3 BLIND MICE Three blind mice. Three blind mice.

See how they run. See how they run.

They all ran after the farmer's wife,

Who cut off their tails with a carving knife,

Did you ever see such a sight in your life,

As three blind mice?

• Version 1st published 1609

• Thought to be about Mary 1st who spent much of her time at her estates in

Norfolk, Suffolk & Essex rather than at Court, hence ‘the farmer’s wife’

• The 3 mice are protestant bishops that she tortured & executed

• Ridley, Latimer & Cranmer – the Oxford Martyrs

• They had all supported Henry VIII’s son, Edward VI

MARY MARY

Mary, Mary, quite contrary,

How does your garden grow?

With silver bells, and cockle shells,

And pretty maids all in a row

MARY MARY Mary, Mary, quite contrary,

How does your garden grow?

With silver bells, and cockle shells,

And pretty maids all in a row

• Or, it’s Mary Queen of Scots who sought refuge in England with Elizabeth 1st

• She was put under house arrest and constant scrutiny (How does your garden grow)

• Silver bells & cockleshells were symbols of Catholic rites, pretty maids were nuns…

• Possibly Mary 1st, daughter of Henry VIII & Catherine of Aragon, who set about

reversing all that her father & Edward VI had done and re-introduced Catholicism

• Silver bells & cockle shells were torture devices, maids were guillotines

• The garden reference was a taunt that she had failed to produce an heir

Finally, Elizabeth I, daughter

of Henry & Anne Boleyn

RAIN RAIN GO AWAY

Rain rain go away,

Come again another day.

Little Johnny wants to play;

Rain, rain, go to Spain,

Never show your face again!

RAIN RAIN GO AWAY Rain rain go away,

Come again another day.

Little Johnny wants to play;

Rain, rain, go to Spain,

Never show your face again!

• Similar versions can be found going back to 1687

• Thought to refer to the Spanish Armada during the reign of Elizabeth I

• During this period there was constant rivalry between England & Spain

culminating in many Spanish galleons being sent to attack England

• This attempt failed, partly due to nimbler English ships but also by the

stormy weather, which scattered the Armada fleet

PUSSYCAT PUSSYCAT "Pussycat, pussycat, where have you been?"

"I've been up to London to visit the Queen."

"Pussycat, pussycat, what did you dare?"

"I frightened a little mouse under her chair"

PUSSYCAT PUSSYCAT "Pussycat, pussycat, where have you been?"

"I've been up to London to visit the Queen."

"Pussycat, pussycat, what did you dare?"

"I frightened a little mouse under her chair"

• Allegedly one of Queen Elizabeth’s staff had an old cat which

roamed throughout one of the castles

• On one occasion the cat went underneath the throne and the cat's tail

brushed against the Queen's foot, startling her

• But 'Good Queen Bess' had a sense of humour and declared that the cat

may wander through the throne room on condition it kept it free of mice!

• However, earliest written version is from 1805 & another theory has it that

it’s a contemporary account of Caroline of Brunswick, wife of George IV

RIDE A COCK HORSE

Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross

To see a fine lady upon a white horse

With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes

She shall have music wherever she goes

RIDE A COCK HORSE Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross

To see a fine lady upon a white horse

With rings on her fingers and bells on her toes

She shall have music wherever she goes

• Written versions go back to 1744

• One theory has Elizabeth I as the ‘fine lady’ who travelled to Banbury to see the

huge stone cross which had just been erected

• 'bells on her toes' refers to a shoe fashion at the time

• Banbury is at the top of a steep hill & to help carriages up the steep incline a

white cock horse (a large stallion) was made available

• When the Queen's carriage attempted to go up the hill apparently a wheel broke

and the Queen chose to mount the cock horse to reach the Banbury cross

THANK YOU!