WAS THERE
A MOTHER GOOSE?
G'day folks,
No doubt this will upset some people who believe there was.
If you’ve
ever visited the Old Granary Burying Ground in Boston, Massachusetts, you may
have stumbled upon the tombstone of Mary Goose, a woman believed by some to be
the infamous author of countless cherished nursery rhymes: Mother Goose.
Visitors toss coins at her tombstone, presumably to garner a bit of good luck,
but the woman who was buried there in 1690 is undoubtedly not the original
Mother Goose.
According to local legend, it was the widowed Isaac Goose’s second
wife, Elizabeth Foster Goose, who entertained her numerous grandchildren and
other youngsters with songs and rhymes that were purportedly published by her
son-in-law in 1719. Yet despite repeated searches for a copy of this
collection, no evidence of its existence has ever been uncovered. Regardless,
most historians agree that neither Mary nor Elizabeth created the stories that
have passed on from generation to generation.
In fact,
the etymology of the moniker “Mother Goose” may have evolved over centuries,
originating as early as the 8th century with Bertrada II of Laon (mother of
Charlemagne, the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire) who was a patroness of
children known as “Goose-foot Bertha” or “Queen Goosefoot” due to a
malformation of her foot.
By the
mid-17th century, “mere l’oye” or “mere oye” (Mother Goose) was a phrase
commonly used in France to describe a woman who captivated children with
delightful tales. In 1697, Charles Perrault published a collection of folktales
with the subtitle “Contes de ma mère l’oye” (Tales from my Mother Goose), which
became beloved throughout France and was translated into English in 1729. And
in England, circa 1765, John Newbery published the wildly popular “Mother
Goose’s Melody, or, Sonnets for the Cradle,” which indelibly shifted the
association of Mother Goose from folktales to nursery rhymes and children’s
poetry, and which influenced nearly every subsequent Mother Goose publication.
Clancy's comment: Wow, if a goose can become famous, I guess there is hope for me.
I'm ...
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