Jack and Jill went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down and broke his crown,
And Jill came tumbling after.
There are very few people in the world that haven’t grown up with nursery rhymes. Some of these, such as Mary Had a Little Lamb, are simply rhymes. Others, such as One, Two, Buckle My Shoe, were used to teach counting. Others, such as Jack and Jill, may be based on myth, actual people, or actual events.
Jack and Jill in Norse Mythology
Some folklorists and nursery rhyme scholars believe that Jack and Jill had its roots hundreds of years ago in a tale from Norse mythology. In this myth, Hjuki (pronounced "juk-ee") and Bil are the children of a widower named Vidfinn who, although not a cruel man, works both of them very hard. Matters become only worse after their father re-marries, another child is born, and the siblings’ workload increases.
One day Vidfinn sends the children to get a bucket of water from a nearby well (other versions say a bucket of mead from a fountain). From his seat high in the sky, Mani, the moon god, having seen Hjuki and Bil‘s plight, sweeps down in his silver chariot, and kidnaps them. He takes them to the moon where their figures allegedly can be seen.
The rhyme does fit the myth to some extent. The names Hjuki and Bil are similar to Jack and Jill. When the phases of the moon move from new to full, first the figure of Jack and then Jill appear on the surface (“hill“). When the moon moves from full to new, Jack disappears first (“falls down“) and then Jill later (“tumbling after“).
Jack and Jill as King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette
The years following 1789 were traumatic ones for France, characterized by revolution and the subsequent Reign of Terror. It is in this setting that some students of nursery rhymes have traced Jack and Jill to.
So, how do Louis and Marie fit in as the two water carriers? Some proponents contend that going “up the hill” represents the French king and his wife’s ascension to power in 1774. When attempts to establish a limited monarchy ultimately failed following the Revolution, the two were arrested and charged with treason. Thus, Louis (Jack) lost his status (“fell down“) and was eventually guillotined in January, 1793, (“broke his crown“) with Marie (Jill), or at least her head, “tumbling after.”
It’s an interesting theory, but probably not true. The rhyme of Jack and Jill first appeared in print in the mid-1760s, a quarter century before the French Revolution, in Mother Goose’s Melody, a book of nursery rhymes compiled by John Newbery. At best, the rhyme was an unintentional foreshadowing of the monarchs’ ultimate fate.
Jack and Jill as Social Protest
The English King Charles I (1600-1649) decreed that the liquid measurement of a “jack” (four ounces), and thereby also a gill (“jill,” eight ounces), be reduced. However, he kept the tax on these amounts the same. This resulted in the typical English pub patron receiving “less bang for the buck” and having less use for the monarchy.
The decree, along with other, more important factors, eventually led to the English Civil War (1647-1649), the consequences of which were that Charles “fell down” (removal from the throne) and “broke his crown” (was beheaded). An interesting theory, but not very believable.
Which is true? Take your pick. Or, is it none? To paraphrase Freud, “sometimes a nursery rhyme is just a nursery rhyme.”
Related articles: Possible Origin of Humpty Dumpty, Origins of Two Nursery Rhymes, The Woman Known as Mother Goose.
John K. Davis - John is a retired teacher/librarian and has also been doing freelance writing since the late 1970s. Over this period of time, he has had ...
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