• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Language / Who Was Humpty Dumpty, Where Did the Nursery Rhyme Come From, and What Does it Mean?

Who Was Humpty Dumpty, Where Did the Nursery Rhyme Come From, and What Does it Mean?

March 5, 2020 by Karen Hill

The nursery rhyme in which “Humpty Dumpty has a great fall” dates back to 1493 and refers to King Richard III of England.

Richard had a hump on his back and had been dumped by his mount in the thick of battle when he cried, “My kingdom for a horse” before being slain.

The last line, “Couldn’t put Humpty together again,” was originally “Couldn’t put Humpty up again,” meaning back on his horse.

The nursery rhyme has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 13026.

The lyrics are as follows.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again.

Related Facts

  • Did London Bridge Ever Really Fall Down and Where did the Nursery Rhyme Come From?
  • Where did the Great Wall of China come from and How did slaves build the Great Wall of China?
  • Where Did the Nursery Rhyme “Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary” Originate and What Does it Mean?
  • Which Explorers First Explored the Continents of the World?
  • Who Wrote the Poem “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and How Did the Nursery Rhyme Become so Famous?
  • What was the European Age of Exploration?

Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « Where Did the Nursery Rhyme “Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary” Originate and What Does it Mean?
Next Post: Where Did the Phrase “It’s Not Whether You Win or Lose, But How You Play the Game” Originate? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy