Humpty Dumpty sits on a wall, prior to his fall.

Humpty Dumpty is a character in a Nursery rhyme portrayed as an egg. A nursery rhyme is a traditional Song or Poem taught to young children originally in the nursery. An egg is a round or oval body laid by the female of many animals consisting of an Ovum surrounded by layers of Membranes and an outer casing which acts to nourish Most English-speaking children are familiar with the rhyme:

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.

All the king's horses and all the king's men

Couldn't put Humpty together again.

The fact that Humpty Dumpty is an egg is not actually stated in the rhyme. In its first printed form, in 1810, it is a riddle, and exploits for misdirection the fact that "humpty dumpty" was 18th-Century reduplicative slang for a short, clumsy person. A riddle is a Statement or Question having a double or veiled meaning put forth as a Puzzle to be solved Misdirection is a form of Deception in which the attention of an audience is focused on one thing in order to distract its attention from another Reduplication, in Linguistics, is a morphological Process by which the root or stem of a Word, or part of it is repeated Whereas a clumsy person falling off a wall would not be irreparably damaged, an egg would be. The rhyme is no longer posed as a riddle, since the answer is now so well known. Similar riddles have been recorded by folklorists in other languages, such as Boule Boule in French, or Lille Trille in Swedish & Norwegian; though none is as widely known as Humpty Dumpty is in English. Folkloristics is the formal academic study of Folklore. What actually constitutes folklore is disputed even within the discipline but generally folklore focuses on the French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Swedish ( is a North Germanic language spoken by more than nine million people predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along the Norwegian ( norsk) is a North Germanic Language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is an official language

Origins

Previous to the "little, clumsy person" meaning, "humpty dumpty" referred to a drink of brandy boiled with ale. Brandy (from brandywine, derived from Dutch brandewijn — “burnt wine” is a spirit produced by distilling Wine Ale is a type of Beer brewed from Malted Barley using a top-fermenting Brewers' yeast. There are also various theories of an original "Humpty Dumpty". As some are mutually exclusive, the theories necessarily include false etymologies. A false etymology is an assumed or postulated Etymology that current consensus among scholars of Historical linguistics holds to be incorrect

• According to an insert taken from the East Anglia Tourist Board in England, Humpty Dumpty was a powerful cannon used in the Siege of Colchester during the English Civil War. East Anglia is often used as a shorthand for the Kingdom of the East Angles. | NOTE Throughout this article "cannon" is used as BOTH the || singular and plural The Siege of Colchester occurred in the summer on 1648 when the English Civil War reignited in several areas of Britain The English Civil War (1642-1651 was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists. It was mounted on top of the St Mary's at the Wall Church in Colchester defending the city against siege in the summer of 1648. Colchester ( /ˈkəʊltʃɛstə/ is a town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester, in Essex, England. Although Colchester was a royalist stronghold, it was besieged by the Roundheads for 11 weeks before finally falling. The church tower was hit by enemy cannon fire and the top of the tower was blown off, sending "Humpty" tumbling to the ground. Naturally all the King's horses and all the King's men (royalist cavalry and infantry respectively) tried to mend "him" but in vain. Other reports have Humpty Dumpty referring to a sniper nicknamed One-Eyed Thompson, who occupied the same church tower.

Visitors to Colchester can see the reconstructed Church tower as they reach the top of Balkerne Hill on the left hand side of the road. An extended version of the rhyme gives additional verses, including the following:

In Sixteen Hundred and Forty-Eight

When England suffered the pains of state

The Roundheads lay siege to Colchester town

Where the King's men still fought for the crown

There One-Eyed Thompson stood on the wall

A gunner of deadliest aim of all

From St. Mary's Tower his cannon he fired

Humpty-Dumpty was its name. . .

Another version has it:

In Sixteen Hundred and Forty-Eight

When England suffered the pains of state

The Roundheads lay siege to Colchester town

Where the King's men still fought for the crown

Then One-Eyed Thompson stood on the wall

A gunner of deadliest aim

The cannon he fired from the top of the tower

Humpty-Dumpty was its name. . .

• In another theory, Humpty Dumpty referred to King Richard III of England, the hunchbacked monarch, the "Wall" being either the name of his horse (called "White Surrey" in Shakespeare's play), or a reference to the supporters who deserted him. Richard III ( 2 October 1452 &ndash 22 August 1485) was King of England from 1483 until his death Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591 During the battle of Bosworth Field, he fell off his steed and was said to have been "hacked into pieces". The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field ( 22 August, 1485) was Lancastrian Henry Tudor's defeat of Yorkist Richard (However, although the play depicts Richard as a hunchback, other historical evidence suggests that he was not. )

• The story of Cardinal Wolsey's downfall is supposedly depicted in the children's nursery rhyme of Humpty Dumpty. At length Cawood Castle (Cawood, a village in Yorkshire, seven miles southwest of York) passed to Cardinal Wolsey, who let it fall into disrepair in the early part of his career (1514 - 1530), due to his residence at the Court, devotion to temporal affairs and his neglect of his diocesan duties. Cawood Castle was the Palace for the Archbishop of York. The remains of the castle are located in Cawood, a village in North Yorkshire, King Henry VIII sent Wolsey back home in 1523 after he failed to obtain a divorce from the Pope - a huge mistake on Wolsey's part. Wolsey returned to the castle and began to restore it to its former grandeur. However, he was arrested for high treason in November, 1530 and ordered to London for trial. He left on 6 November, but took ill at Leicester and died in the Abbey there on 29 November.

• An explanation given on a British radio programme described Humpty Dumpty as a siege tower, used by the Cavaliers (King's Men) during the English civil war. Unfortunately, as it was poorly designed, the tower often toppled over when it was full of men and broke. Hence, "All the King's horses and all the King's men, couldn't put Humpty together again. "

In Through the Looking Glass

Humpty Dumpty and Alice. From Through the Looking-Glass. Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There ( 1871) is a work of Children's literature by Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson Illustration by John Tenniel. Sir John Tenniel (28 February 1820 &ndash 25 February 1914 was an English Illustrator.

Humpty appears in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass, where he discusses semantics and pragmatics with Alice. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (ˈdɒdsən (27 January 1832 &ndash 14 January 1898 better known by the Pen name Lewis Carroll (/ˈkærəl/ was an English Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There ( 1871) is a work of Children's literature by Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson Semantics is the study of meaning in communication The word derives from Greek σημαντικός ( semantikos) "significant" from Pragmatics is the study of the ability of Natural language speakers to communicate more than that which is explicitly stated Alice is a Fictional character in the books Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its Sequel Through the Looking-Glass,

"I don't know what you mean by 'glory,'" Alice said.
Humpty Dumpty smiled contemptuously. "Of course you don't -- till I tell you. I meant "there's a nice knock-down argument for you!'"
"But `glory' doesn't mean `a nice knock-down argument,'" Alice objected.
"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said in a rather a scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean -- neither more nor less. "
"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean different things. "
"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master -- that's all. "
Alice was too much puzzled to say anything, so after a minute Humpty Dumpty began again.
"They've a temper, some of them -- particularly verbs, they're the proudest -- adjectives you can do anything with, but not verbs -- however, I can manage the whole lot! Impenetrability! That's what I say!"

This passage has become a popular citation in United States legal opinions, appearing in 250 judicial decisions in the Westlaw database as of April 19, 2008, including two Supreme Court cases (TVA v. Hill and Zschernig v. Miller). The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Events 1012 - Martyrdom of Alphege in Greenwich London. 1529 - At the Second Diet of Speyer 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Tennessee Valley Authority v Hill et al, or TVA v Hill, 437 U Zschernig v Miller, 389 US 429 ( 1968) was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States invalidated an Oregon statute for unconstitutionally ^[1]

Among other things, he (mis-)explains the difficult words from Jabberwocky. " Jabberwocky " is a Poem of Nonsense verse written by Lewis Carroll, originally featured as a part of his novel Through the Looking-Glass Like all of the characters in the story (aside from those who feature within the Jabberwocky poem itself) he is a Chess-piece, or more specifically the Red Rook, and his falling from the wall with a "very heavy crash [which shakes] the forest from end to end" represents his being "taken" by a piece on the White side. A rook, (♖ ♜ borrowed from Persian رخ rokh, Sanskrit rath, "chariot" also known as a castle is a piece in the

Other appearances in fiction

Humpty Dumpty, shown as a riddle with answer, in a 1902 Mother Goose story book by William Wallace Denslow

• In L. Frank Baum's Mother Goose in Prose, the rhyming riddle is devised by the daughter of the King, having witnessed Humpty's "death" and her father's soldiers' efforts to save him. A riddle is a Statement or Question having a double or veiled meaning put forth as a Puzzle to be solved Mother Goose is a well-known figure in the Literature of Fairy tales and Nursery rhymes Mother Goose is best known in the United States, in the William Wallace Denslow ( May 5, 1856 &ndash March 29, 1915) &ndash usually credited as W Lyman Frank Baum ( May 15 1856 &ndash May 5 1919) was an American Author, Actor, and Independent filmmaker Mother Goose in Prose is a collection of twenty-two children's stories based on Mother Goose Nursery rhymes written by L
• Batman features a character based on Humpty Dumpty - most likely out of its tendency to base ideas on fairy tales and Alice and Wonderland (such as the Mad Hatter). Batman (originally referred to as the Bat-Man and still referred to at times as the Batman) is a fictional Comic book Superhero co-created He enjoys taking things apart to see if he can put them back together again and make them better - and was thus mislabeled as a terrorist.
• Neil Gaiman published in Knave, in 1984 a short story called 'The Case of the Four and Twenty Blackbirds', which casts Humpty as a murder victim. Neil Richard Gaiman (ˈgeɪmən (born November 10, 1960) is an English author of Science fiction and Fantasy short stories and Knave magazine is a long-established British Pornographic magazine, published by Galaxy Publications. The tone is that of hard boiled detective fiction and casts a number of nursery rhyme characters in various roles such as Jill from Jack and Jill as the femme fatale or Cock Robin as the underworld informant. Detective fiction is a branch of Crime fiction in which a Detective (or detectives either professional or amateur investigate a crime usually Murder A nursery rhyme is a traditional Song or Poem taught to young children originally in the nursery. Jack and Jill is a classic Nursery rhyme of the English speaking world. A femme fatale (plural femmes fatales) is an alluring and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire often leading them into Who Killed Cock Robin is a Nursery rhyme beginning Who killed Cock Robin? I said the Sparrow with my bow and It is now available to read from his website.
• Jasper Fforde includes Humpty Dumpty in two of his novels. Jasper Fforde (born in London on 11 January, 1961) is an English Novelist. One, The Well of Lost Plots, the third novel in his Thursday Next series, features Humpty as the ringleader of dissatisfied nursery rhyme characters threatening to strike. The Well of Lost Plots is the third book by Jasper Fforde and the Thursday Next is the main Protagonist in a series of Comic fantasy, Alternate history Novels by the British author Jasper Fforde The other, The Big Over Easy sets Humpty as the victim of a murder under investigation by Detective Inspector Jack Spratt and his partner Detective Sergeant Mary Mary. The Big Over Easy is a novel written by Jasper Fforde and published in 2005.
• Robert Rankin includes Humpty Dumpty as one victim of a serial fairy tale character murderer investigated by Bill Winkie, Private Eye and sidekick Eddie Bear the Teddy Bear, in his novel "The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies of the Apocalypse"
• Eggorny is a Colombian cartoon, which is about Humpty Dumpty. Robert Fleming Rankin (born 27 July 1949) is a prolific British humorous novelist The Hollow Chocolate Bunnies Of The Apocalypse is a Novel by the British author Robert Rankin. Colombia (kəˈlʌmbɪə officially the Republic of Colombia () is a country in northwestern South America. It takes place in a mediæval landscape. After his great fall, no one was able to put Humpty together again until some 1500 years later. A teenager named Rufus put him together again, and renamed him Eggorny. Eggorny now lives in the modern-day town of Someville.
• Humpty Dumpty is also a character in the Vertigo Comics series Jack of Fables, in which he remembers the Battle at Colchester, and actually fires as a cannon once before cracking up. Jack of Fables is a Spin-off of the comic book Fables, both published by DC Comics as part of that company's Vertigo Then later gets pieced together to utilize a treasure map tattooed on his rear.
• In Shugo Chara! there is a pair of a lock (Humpty Lock) and a matching key (Dumpty Key). is a Japanese Shōjo manga series created by the manga author duo Peach-Pit. The anime also revolves around the search of the Embryo, an egg that makes wishes come true. Humpty Dumpty is not an but actually a Potato Chip.

See also

• All the King's Horses
• All the King's Men

References

External links

• Why is Humpty Dumpty portrayed as an egg? — from The Straight Dope
• Humpty Dumpty — Various suggested origins
• The Canon of the Cannon
• Humpty Dumpty at KidsBuilder.com
• Humpty Dumpty Illustrations and the Reality of Text — Paper discussing the emergence of the "egg" interpretation
• Eggorny, a colombian cartoon about Humpty Dumpty Spanish page
• Humpty Dumpty and the fall of Colchester An Animated and Narrated version of the Origins of the Humpty Dumpty
• Humpty Dumpty Heart by Hank Thompson Humpty Dumpty Heart by Hank Thompson. The Straight Dope is a popular question-and-answer Newspaper column published in the Chicago Reader, syndicated in thirty Newspapers Lyrics by Johnny Burke and Jimmy Van Heusen