Ring a Ring Of Roses, is about the London Plague in 1665?

[nigel]

It's thought by many that this rhyme is over 300 hundred years old, and was taught to children to make them aware of the London plague:


Ring a ring of roses (A rosy rash, in circles, was a symptom of the plague)

A pocket full of posies (Posies of herbs were carried as protection)

Atishoo, atishoo, we all fall down (Sneezing was thought to be the fatal symptom, we all fall down dead)

People still say 'bless you' when people sneeze, as they did in 1665 at the time of the London plague.

They're are experts on folklore who disagree that the nursery rhyme came about as a result of the plague, but...? It's still interesting methinks!

[stevewool]

nigels on a roll

[James Hubbard]

it's an interesting idea, and one that I was taught in primary school, that it was about the bubonic plague, but www.snopes.com refuted it as an urban legend, but says that despite this the roots of the nursery rhyme are unclear!

[raynaputi]

i know that nursery rhyme! my aunt taught me that..i just couldn't understand what's it about back then! hahahaha

[Steve.r]

I have always believed it was also to do with the plague. The pocket full of posies, in my understanding was kept because the stench of the dead bodies was so bad, that the posie was held by the nose, so you never smelt the decaying mess.

[KeithD]

It's a myth, and the words are often misquoted