Humpty Dumpty: The Origin of This Nursery Rhyme

Most every one of us can remember hearing at least one of the good old nursery rhymes as children. Now, as adults we tell them to our children. These nursery rhymes have become a tradition, something that is passed from one generation to the next. For some reason I am a person who is infatuated with the origins of things. I like to know the original versions of stories, to know why and where they came from. Being that nursery rhymes can be a bit on the violent side I started some research on some of them, and was very surprised at what I found. In this article I am going to start with the origin of Humpty Dumpty.

In England starting in the fifteenth century a Humpty Dumpty was a term that people used to call someone who was obese. Then in the eighteenth century it became a way to describe a clumsy person. Also, Humpty Dumpty was a drink which was made by boiling brandy with ale. Now that we know a few of the older meanings here are the words to the rhyme of Humpy Dumpty.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the kings' horses and all the kings' men,
couldn't put Humpty back together again.

I found another version, which would be

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
Threescore men and threescore more
Could not place Humpty as he was before.

Now are you curious yet? Was Humpty a clumsy guy who fell of a wall? Or did some clumsy guys drink fall off of a wall? Well, I found a few versions of a story that describe the origin of this famous nursery rhyme. Most of us also know that Humpty Dumpty was portrayed in Lewis Carroll's 'Through the looking glass' and in the nursery rhyme as an egg, well it turns out that Humpty Dumpty was not really an egg.

During the English civil war, which took place from 1642 to 1649, there was a battle referred to as the Siege of Colchester (1648). Colchester was a walled city and was guarded heavily by the Royalists. Parliamentarians were the enemy and known as Roundheads because of their close cropped hair cuts. Inside the city walls stood a castle and a few churches. One church in particular, St. Mary's, stood right beside the wall.

Humpty Dumpty was believed to be a large cannon that was placed on the wall next to the church. There is also reference to Humpty Dumpty being a cannon which was placed on the roof of the church and fired by a sniper called 'One-eyed Jack Thompson'. Some say that Humpty Dumpty actually was One-eyed Jack Thompson.

Story has it that the walls of the fortified city were shot at for 11 weeks before finally falling. The wall beneath Humpty Dumpty was destroyed and the cannon fell to the ground. Therefore "All the kings horses and all the kings men" tried to put Humpty back together again by attempting to place the cannon onto another part of the wall. Unfortunately Humpty Dumpty was too heavy and could not be replaced. This siege ended with Colchester being taken by the Parliamentarians.

The version with One-eyed Jack Thompson defers only that the church tower was blown up and the cannon fell, and was not able to be mended. If you happen to visit Colchester you will be able to see the reconstructed church tower as you reach the top of Balkerne Hill on the left side of the road.

Furthermore, I found a small treasure of additional verses to the nursery rhyme which go along with the story of the siege of Colchester. The verses are as follows.

In sixteen hundred and forty eight
When England suffered a pain of state
The round heads lay siege to the Colchester town
Where the kings' men fought for the crown
There One-eyed Thompson stood on the wall
The gunner of deadliest aim of all
From the St. Marys'tower he fired
Humpty Dumpty was its name...

There is one more theory of Humpty Dumpty. Some say that the story may refer to King Richard III of England, who was depicted as a hunchback monarch in Shakespeare's play. The wall would be a reference to either his horse or the followers who deserted him. It was during the battle of Bosworth Field that he was said to have fallen from his horse and chopped to pieces.

Now we have heard the stories of where Humpty Dumpty originated and hopefully everyone will find it as interesting as I how these real events have given us these time honored tales.