42:
640:
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The gentry house that became the old rectory at
Buckland has an impressive timbered hall that dates from the fifteenth century with two lights of contemporary stained glass in the west wall with the rebus of William Grafton and arms of Gloucester Abbey in one and the rising sun of
400:
about 1508, in which the narrator laments the death of his pet bird. The use of the rhyme 'owl' with 'shovel' could suggest that it was originally used in older middle
English pronunciation. Versions of the story appear to exist in other countries, including Germany.
441:, the sun god who dies as the nights get longer after the summer solstice, is marked in the old Celtic pictographic calendar with a bow-and-arrow shape. Lugh was the primary god representing the red sun and was also known in
484:
The theme of Cock Robin's death as well as the poem's distinctive cadence have become archetypes, much used in literary fiction and other works of art, from poems, to murder mysteries, to cartoons.
384:
Although the earliest known record of the song is from the mid-eighteenth century, there is some evidence that it is much older. The death of a robin by an arrow is depicted in a 15th-century
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The rhyme also has an alternative ending, in which the sparrow who killed Cock Robin is hanged for his crime. Several early versions picture a stocky, strong-billed
477:
All of these theories are based on perceived similarities in the text to legendary or historical events, or on the similarities of names.
577:
in the other light; birds in various attitudes hold scrolls "In Nomine Jesu"; none is reported transfixed by an arrow in
Anthony Emery,
434:'s government in 1742, since Robin is a diminutive form of Robert and the first printing is close to the time of the events mentioned.
722:
427:, who was killed by an arrow while hunting in the New Forest (Hampshire) in 1100, and who was known as William Rufus, meaning "red".
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pointed out that an existing rhyme could have been adapted to fit the circumstances of political events in the eighteenth century.
24:
117:, published in 1744, which noted only the first four verses. The extended version given below was not printed until c. 1770.
717:
609:
Make Merry in Step and Song: A Seasonal
Treasury of Music, Mummer's Plays & Celebrations in the English Folk Tradition
469:– a nod to the belief that souls became birds after death). The sparrow who kills him with "my bow and arrow" represents
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English illustrated books for children: a descriptive companion to a selection from the
Osborne Collection
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Lockwood, W. B. "The
Marriage of the Robin and the Wren." Folklore 100.2 (1989): 237–239.
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416:, or the ritual sacrifice of a king figure, as proposed by early folklorists as in the '
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585:"Buckland Old Rectory, Gloucestershire", (Cambridge University Press, 2006), p. 80.
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A number of theories have been advanced to explain the meaning of the rhyme:
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tolling the bell, which may have been the original intention of the rhyme.
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Greater
Medieval Houses of England and Wales, 1300–1500: Southern England
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The rhyme records a mythological event, such as the death of the god
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This article is about the nursery rhyme. For the musical group, see
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519:(Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), pp. 130–3.
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Where is St. George? Pagan
Imagery in English Folksong
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445:as "Coch Rhi Ben", anglicised to "Cock Robin" (
473:– the god of winter in the form of a raven.
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622:The origins of rhymes, songs and sayings
430:The rhyme is connected with the fall of
517:The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes
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111:The earliest record of the rhyme is in
25:Who Killed Cock Robin? (disambiguation)
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666:Death and Burial of Poor Cock Robin
655:Death and Burial of Poor Cock Robin
48:Death and Burial of Poor Cock Robin
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611:(Llewellyn Worldwide, 2009), p. 5.
392:. The rhyme is similar to a poem,
14:
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390:Buckland Rectory, Gloucestershire
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437:According to Celtic traditions,
624:(Kaye & Ward, 1977), p. 92.
423:It is a parody of the death of
420:' theory of a 'pagan survival'.
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297:if it's not through the night,
114:Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book
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365:when they heard the bell toll
362:fell a-sighing and a-sobbing,
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723:Traditional children's songs
669:From the Collections at the
646:Children's literature portal
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552:(Bodley Head, 1981), p. 31.
10:
754:
658:, by H. L. Stephens, from
315:both the cock and the hen,
261:I'll fetch it in a minute,
189:with my thread and needle,
18:
698:Fictional passerine birds
153:with my little teeny eye,
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66:
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39:
34:
718:English children's songs
487:
359:All the birds of the air
287:Who'll carry the coffin?
269:Who'll be chief mourner?
243:if it's not in the dark,
207:with my pick and trowel,
179:Who'll make the shroud?
35:"Who Killed Cock Robin"
703:English nursery rhymes
300:I'll carry the coffin.
282:I'll be chief mourner.
251:Who'll carry the link?
135:with my bow and arrow,
23:. For other uses, see
515:I. Opie and P. Opie,
341:Who'll toll the bell?
333:as she sat on a bush,
305:Who'll bear the pall?
215:Who'll be the parson?
197:Who'll dig his grave?
192:I'll make the shroud.
161:Who caught his blood?
93:Who Killed Cock Robin
16:English nursery rhyme
548:M. C. Maloney, ed.,
368:for poor Cock Robin.
323:Who'll sing a psalm?
318:We’ll bear the pall.
279:I mourn for my love,
264:I'll carry the link.
233:Who'll be the clerk?
225:with my little book,
138:I killed Cock Robin.
101:Roud Folk Song Index
52:Henry Louis Stephens
671:Library of Congress
354:I'll toll the bell.
351:because I can pull,
228:I'll be the parson.
210:I'll dig his grave.
174:I caught his blood.
171:With my little dish
713:English folk songs
708:Songwriter unknown
380:Origin and meaning
336:I'll sing a psalm.
246:I'll be the clerk.
733:Songs about death
728:Songs about birds
660:Project Gutenberg
537:Project Gutenberg
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21:Cock Robin (band)
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143:Who saw him die?
121:Who killed Cock
95:" is an English
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344:I, said the
326:I, said the
290:I, said the
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254:I, said the
236:I, said the
218:I, said the
200:I, said the
182:I, said the
164:I, said the
146:I, said the
128:I, said the
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607:B. Forbes,
99:. It has a
693:1744 songs
682:Categories
532:Cock Robin
479:Peter Opie
418:Cutty Wren
388:window at
575:Edward IV
374:bullfinch
67:Published
46:Cover of
465:meaning
457:meaning
449:meaning
598:(1976).
130:Sparrow
85:Unknown
54:, 1865.
467:leader
410:Balder
328:Thrush
256:Linnet
184:Beetle
107:Lyrics
488:Notes
443:Welsh
412:from
123:Robin
50:, by
583:s.v.
461:and
459:lord
447:coch
439:Lugh
346:Bull
310:Wren
292:Kite
274:Dove
238:Lark
220:Rook
166:Fish
73:1744
535:at
463:ben
455:rhi
451:red
202:Owl
148:Fly
684::
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528:*
496:^
453:,
71:c.
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27:.
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