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The Educational reasons
for the poem "Baa, baa black
sheep" poem
The reason to the words and
history to this song were to
associate wool and wool
products with the animal
that produces it, not to
mention the sound that a
sheep would make! The first
grasp of language for a
child or baby is to imitate
the sounds or noises that
animals make - onomatopoeia
(words sound like their
meaning e.g. baa baa in
"Baa, baa black sheep"). In
some of the earlier versions
of "Baa, baa black sheep"
the title is actually given
as "Ba, ba black sheep" - it
is difficult to spell
sounds!
The History and Origins
of Baa Baa Black Sheep
Nursery Rhyme
The wool industry was
critical to the country's
economy from the Middle Ages
until the nineteenth century
so it is therefore not
surprising that it is
celebrated in the Baa Baa
Black Sheep Nursery Rhyme.
An historical connection for
this rhyme has been
suggested - a political
satire said to refer to the
Plantagenet King Edward I
(the Master) and the the
export tax imposed in
Britain in 1275 in which the
English Customs Statute
authorised the king to
collect a tax on all exports
of wool in every port in the
country.
But our further research
indicates another
possible connection of
this Nursery rhyme to
English history relating
to King Edward II
(1307-1327). The best
wool in Europe was
produced in England but
the cloth workers from
Flanders, Bruges and
Lille were better
skilled in the complex
finishing trades such as
dying and fulling
(cleansing, shrinking,
and thickening the
cloth). King Edward II
encouraged Flemmish
weavers and cloth dyers
to improve the quality
of the final English
products.
Words and Music
The earliest
publication date for
the "Baa, baa black
sheep" rhyme or poem
is dated 1744. Music
was first published
for "Baa, baa black
sheep" was in the
early nineteenth
century making it
into a song for
children. |
