The true story of Humpty Dumpty

[Bigtanker]

A few years ago, there was a meme that said something similar to "Where does it say Humpty Dumpty was an egg?"

This came up in a discussion last evening at the Christmas Eve dinner table at my parents house. My dad informed me that Humpty was a cannon!

So I fired up my google-fu and did a bit of research after lunch today.

On June 15, 1648, the cannon referred to as “Humpty Dumpty” was positioned on the walls. By this time, the Parliamentarians had surrounded and laid siege to the city, so Humpty was used to bombard the enemy and prevent a full-scale assault. However, on July 14 or 15, a Parliamentarian cannonball blew apart the wall underneath Humpty Dumpty. This collapsed the fortification and sent Humpty Dumpty tumbling to the ground. Due to its size, none of the king’s horses and none of the king’s men were able to recover the cannon. On August 28, the city fell to the Parliamentarians, who eventually triumphed and toppled King Charles I in 1649, thus ending the war.

Source:

Humpty Dumpty Was A Cannon, Not An Egg - KnowledgeNuts

You might think that the main character of the classic children’s nursery rhyme "Humpty Dumpty" is an egg. However, historical evidence actually suggests that Humpty Dumpty was actually a cannon...

knowledgenuts.com

 

[Quiet Observer]

There are many theories of the origin of Humpty Dumpty.
"This [cannon] theory gained traction in the 1990s with the publication of a book about nursery-rhyme origins, but the Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes points out that the cannon story originated in a spoof published by Oxford Magazine in 1956".
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/02/28/humpty-dumpty/?D6c=1&D_4_6cALL=1&D_4_6_10cALL=1

The real meaning and surprising musical history of ‘Humpty Dumpty Sat on a Wall’

We explore the origins, history and lyrics of one of the most popular children’s songs in the English-speaking world.

www.classicfm.com

 

[Squid556]

Humpty Dumpty – Nursery Rhymes

allnurseryrhymes.com

It might actually just be a song about drinking too much brandy and doing irreparable damage to yourself