"All this he saw, for one moment breathless and intense, vivid on the morning sky; and still, as he looked, he lived; and still, as he lived, he wondered."

― Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

Tudor Nursery Rhymes & later tunes

My main character uses silly rhimes a lot, both as a trick while thinking and when he has to time something. Since the novel is set in 1701, and many nursery rhymes and tunes were not collected until a century and a half later, I had to ask myself which ones I could refer to without being entirely off the mark. It turns out that many rhymes are popularly considered to date back not only to the XVI Century but, specifically, to a period that has crucial importance for the personal background of my character: the Tudor Era and the reign of Henry VIII. But are those allegations true, and on what are they based?
Let’s try and see. And, while we’re at it, let’s see which other rhymes I can consider using.

And since I loathe the bastard, I won’t put any picture of the King.

Today’s article featuring nursery rhymes, the Dissolution of Monasteries in the Tudor Era, and beheaded queens of different assortments is on my Patreon.
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