Old Mother Hubbard

...

"**Old Mother Hubbard**" is an English-language nursery rhyme, first printed in 1805 and among the most popular publications of the nineteenth century. The exact origin and meaning of the rhyme is disputed. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 19334. The first published version by Sarah Catherine Martin is associated with a historic cottagein Yealmpton, Devon close by where Martin was staying.[1]

**Lyrics**

The lyrics originally published in 1805 have remained largely unchanged.

1819 United Kingdom depiction

Illustration from Felix SummerlyTraditional Nursery Songs of England with Pictures (1843)

An undated depiction of the rhyme from the late nineteenth century

1889 United States depiction

An 1897 Judge cartoon shows President William McKinley as Old Mother Hubbard, and her dog as Uncle Sam

1860 depiction from the Netherlands, Moeder Hubbard en haar hond / met 14 gekleurde plaatjes**Origins**
**Old Mother Hubbard's Cottage in Yealmpton, said to be where Sarah Martin penned the rhyme in 1804 but more likely where the housekeeper nicknamed "Mother Hubbard" lived in retirement**

A version by Sarah Catherine Martin (1768–1826) first recited while staying with her sister Judith Ann Martin, Mrs. John Pollexfen Bastard at Kitley House Yealmpton in Devon was published as The Comic Adventures of Old Mother Hubbard and Her Dog by J. Harris of London, June 1, 1805.[3] She claimed that she only drew the accompanying illustrations and the version may have been based on earlier material.[2] The name Mother Hubbard was used as a character from 1591, although the surviving works that include her do not bear any relationship to the rhyme.[2] A very similar rhyme 'Old Dame Trot' was published in 1803, but since the language in 'Old Mother Hubbard' appears more archaic it is not clear that it was derived from this verse.[2] It has been argued that the first stanza is older than the others, because it uses a different meter, so it is possible that Martin expanded on an existing first verse, using 'Old Dame Trot' as a model. The book was immediately popular, possibly in part because it was believed to be a political commentary.[2]

The "Dame Trot" version (cited by Panati as titled "Old Dame Trot, and Her Comical Cat"), is as follows:

"Dame Trot" was published by one T. Evans one year before that of Sarah Catherine Martin.[4]

-=Meaning=- The book was immediately popular, possibly in part because it was believed to be a political commentary, but it is not clear exactly what readers thought was being satirised.[2] It has been suggested that the character of Mother Hubbard may have its origins in St. Hubert, the patron saint of dogs.[2] It has also been suggested that the rhyme refers to Cardinal Thomas Wolsey refusing Henry VIII's divorce from Queen Catherine of Aragon, but the connection is based on speculation.[5]

```
1837, John Hannah, then an undergraduate at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, published a spoof textual criticism of "Old Mother Hubbord" [sic], supposedly written in A.D. 3211 by a New Zealand academic who tries to relate the poem to the nearly forgotten 19th-century civilisation which produced it.[6]

```

**See also**

* Margaret Brown – late-19th century criminal widely known under the name Old Mother Hubbard

**Notes**

1. British Pathe, 1960 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bo\_Z5bMr6eA
2. I. Opie and P. Opie, The Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (Oxford University Press, 1951, 2nd edn., 1997), pp. 317–22.
4. Charles Panati, Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things (Harper & Row, 1987), pp. 194–5.
5. I. Opie, 'Playground rhymes and the oral tradition', in P. Hunt, S. G. Bannister Ray, International Companion Encyclopedia of Children's Literature (London: Routledge, 2004), p. 175.
6. ;

**External links**

* The Comic Adventures of Old Mother Hubbard and Her Dog Martin, Sarah Catherine [attrib]; London : J. Harris, 1805; 1st edition; at publicdomainreview.org
* The Comic Adventures of Old Mother Hubbard and her Dog (1819) with engravings by Allen Robert Branston (?).
* Old Mother Hubbard Lyrics