Ring-a-ring-a-roses a pocket full of posies: atishoo, atisho we all fall down. What a fun little rhyme and a fun game for a group of children to play. Very few of those children would know that their innocent little ditty had a dark and gruesome past. That it referred to one of the great pandemics to hit the world - the plague or Black Death. The ring-a-roses was the rash on the skin which was an early sign of the disease, while the pocket full of posies referred to the herbs people carried in their pockets in a hope of warding off the disease. Sneezing was a symptom of the plague and the victims did fall down - dead.
So many of our treasured Nursery Rhymes have their origins in historical fact. Many were written as satire - making fun of Political Figures, Royalty or events in a time when Freedom of the Press was not considered a universal right. In many cases their origins have been forgotten but it is fun to track them down.
Little Jack Horner has its origins in the dissolution of the monasteries when the Abbot of Glastonbury in Somerset hoped to appease Henry VIII by sending him a pie with the deeds to 12 Somerset Mansions inside. The task of taking the pie to the King was given to the Steward, John Horner, who was reputed to have broken the crust and removed the deeds to the Manor of Mells, which he kept for himself. The Abbot's fears were realised when Henry confiscated the Monastery and its lands and had the poor Abbot hung, drawn and quartered.
Anyone interested in this subject might find the book by Jean Harrowven: The origins of rhymes, songs and sayings (London: Kaye and Ward, 1980) worth browsing through.
There is also an interesting website which gives the origin of many rhymes.
http://www.famousquotes.me.uk/nursery_rhymes/nursery_rhymes_index.htm
