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Origin and History to the
words of Jack be
nimble
The most commonly agreed
origin for the Jack be
nimble rhyme is the
connection to Black Jack, an
English pirate who was
notorious for escaping from
the authorities in the late
16th century hence Jack be
nimble... The words of the
Jack be nimble rhyme cannot
be further analysed due to
the brevity of the text of
the lyrics but could be
associated with the old
tradition and sport of
'candle leaping' which used
to be practised at some
English fairs.
Lace Makers and Candle
Leaping?
The tradition of
candle-leaping originated
from an old game of jumping
over fires. This dangerous
game was banned and replaced
by the far less dangerous
sport of Candle leaping. In
Wendover there were
lace-making schools (a good
excuse for using children as
slave labour). Here it was
traditional to dance around
the lace-makers great
candlestick and this led to
jumping over the
candlestick. Due to the cost
of candles some employers
only allowed the use of
candles during the darkest
months of the year and
centred around
Candlemas
Day, known as the candle
season. It is interesting to
note that Jack be nimble is
now being referred to as
Jack b nimble - the
influence of the modern day
practise of texting! The
first publication date for
Jack be nimble is 1798. |
