Will the Real Mother Goose Please Stand Up?

Mother Goose, do we know who or what she was? Researching an article and found information for Mother Goose on http://petcaretips.net/mother-goose.html. Assuredly, the goose got Mother Goose included on the site. According to the site the tradition of Mother Goose began as a 1729 English translation of the name of Charles Perrault's tale-teller in Contes de la Mere l'Oye (Tales of My Mother the Goose)(1697).

This name has in turn been traced to Queen Goosefoot, Charlemagne's mother Berthe de Laon, who was a patron of children. This could be the origin of the legendary French figure, Goose-footed Bertha, who always has children around her listening to her stories.

One would think that was the answer. Another site was found in the United Kingdom, http://www.rhymes.org, and another theory. The site states Old Mother Goose was really a pictogram for a witch. People were obsessed with witches during the 16th and 17th centuries when there was limited understanding of the cause of devastating events, such as storms, drought and disease. The disasters were believed to be brought about by supernatural forces which resulted in scapegoats (witches) being blamed. The site makes comparison between witches flying on broomsticks being replaced by Mother Goose flying on a goose. Witches were said to have 'familiars' such as cats, frogs, goats, bats, pigs, and owls. Therefore it was concluded that Mother Goose was a witch.

The single most important promoter of the designation of Mother Goose as writer of children's rhymes according to http://www.librarysupport.net was John Newbery. Newbery adopted the name Mother Goose for a collection of mostly traditional rhymes. The date for publication of this important edition is agreed by scholars to be about 1765 (1760-1766) according to the Mother Goose Society. Mother Goose's Melody: or Sonnets for the Cradle was a little volume, believed to have been edited by Oliver Goldsmith.

The research shows that "Mother Goose" rhymes are from many resources, passed down in folklore fashion. So it's agreed the origins of Mother Goose terminology are vague. Some of the verses were written by famous authors and perpetuated by publishers. Yet, we all know that "Mother Goose" has been personified in Mother Goose's Quarto as lean and smiling grandmother, image of Perrault's Contes of a knitting grandmother, and in editions of Mother Goose's Melodies shows a goose encircled by goslings. Who was Mother Goose - whoever you want her to be.

The Mother Goose Society was founded in 1987 to encourage a love for the warm tradition of Mother Goose rhymes and Mother Goose's comforting embrace and to promote the annual celebration of
Mother Goose Day.

Work Cited:

Alchin, L.K. Rhymes.org.uk (Nursery Rhymes lyrics and Origins), Retrieved April 17, 2009 from www.rhymes.org.uk

http://www.librarysupport.net/mothergoosesociety/

http://www.rhymes.org.uk/mother-goose-identity.htm