When was the nursery rhyme Jack and Jill' written?
It is thought the nursery rhyme 'Jack and Jill' dates back to the 18th century, but it could be much older - no one really knows. Over time two more verses got added, including one where poor old Jill gets into trouble!
What is the meaning behind 'Jack and Jill'?
The origins of the rhyme is unknown but that doesn't stop theories circulating. Anglican priest Baring-Gould suggested that the rhyme is related to a 13th-century Icelandic fable Gylfaginning in which brother and sister Hjuki and Bil were stolen by the Moon while drawing water from a well.
Other theories suggested are the executions of Richard Empson and Edmund Dudley in 1510, or could it refer to King Charles I 's attempt to raise extra revenue by reducing the volume of a Jack (1/8 pint), while keeping the tax the same - the cunning so-and-so?
Jack and Jill have been commonly used as a way of describing a boy and girl for centuries and there is the famous the proverb "Every Jack (shall/must) have his Jill", whichShakespeare used in two of his plays
So in short we will probably never know the true origins of this much-loved nursery rhyme.
What are the lyrics to Jack and Jill?
Jack and Jill Went up the hill To fetch a pail of water Jack fell down and broke his crown And Gill came tumbling after.
Up Jack got And home did trot, As fast as he could caper; Went to bed To mend his head With vinegar and brown paper.
Jill came in And she did grin To see his paper plaster; Mother, vex’d, Did whip her next For causing Jack's disaster
Top illustration by Dorothy M. Wheeler, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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