For centuries, the origin of Mother Goose has been an unsolved mystery. Much of the research by literary scholars suggests that a “French connection” is likely.
Perhaps
the first Mother Goose was Bertha of Burgundy, who lived from 964-1010 and was
the second wife of France’s King Robert II. She was acclaimed to be an
exceptionally talented storyteller with a deformed foot. Her subjects lovingly
referred to her as “Goose-footed Bertha.”
There is a possibility, though, that Mother Goose came along much later and was of English descent…a woman by the name of Elizabeth Foster Goose.
Born in 1665 in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston, Mass., Elizabeth Foster became the second wife of Isaac Goose, a wealthy Boston landowner. He was a widower with 10 children. The couple had six more children together.
Legend has it that Elizabeth relied heavily on her memory’s store of old nursery rhymes, fairy tales, stories and fables to keep her brood quiet and entertained. Bless her heart, dear thing.
A children’s book titled “Songs for the Nursery, or Mother Goose’s Melodies for Children” was reportedly published in 1719 by Thomas Fleet, a Boston printer and Elizabeth’s son-in-law. Unfortunately, no copy of the publication is known to have survived.
The pendulum of intrigue, however, swings back toward France with the revelation that French poet and storyteller Charles Perrault of Paris, published “Tales of My Mother Goose” in 1697, predating Fleet’s work by 22 years.
Perrault
recited fairy tales to amuse his four children. Among his collection were
versions of “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Cinderella,” “Puss in
Boots” and “Bluebeard.” Perrault’s writings were translated into English in
1729 by British writer Robert Samber.
Another contributor to the legend of Mother Goose is John Newbery of Waltham St Lawrence, Berkshire, England. He was the first to make children’s literature a sustainable and profitable part of the literary market. He is best known for the book “Mother Goose’s Melody; or, Sonnets for the Cradle,” published in 1765.
This
publication solidified Mother Goose’s association with children’s poetry and
nursery rhymes and solidified Newbery’s reputation as “The Father of Children’s
Literature.”
(In 1922, the John Newbery Medal was created by the American Library Association in his honor; it is awarded annually to an author who makes the “most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.”)
Efforts
to pin down the identity of Mother Goose amount to a “wild goose chase,”
commented Dr. Lorna Wallace of Stirling, Scotland, who is a regular contributor
to Mental Floss.
She
suggests we just accept that Mother Goose is a legendary figure who either
resembles a grandmotherly character riding on a flying gander…or a big, cuddly
goose wearing a bonnet.
(Mother
Goose is not to be confused with “The Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs,” one of
the most famous fables in the collection of about 700 writings attributed to
the ancient Greek storyteller Aesop.)
Robert
Ellis and James Coplestone of South Somerset in South West England are the
sculptors.
In their greed, they ended up killing the poor bird and depriving themselves of their fortune.
The
City of El Cajon, Calif., near San Diego, began celebrating the Christmas
holidays with a Mother Goose Parade on the Sunday before Thanksgiving in 1947,
featuring big balloons of prominent nursery rhyme characters.
National
Mother Goose Day was created in 1987 by the late Gloria T. Delamar of
Pittsburgh, Pa., a Mother Goose scholar. She established the holiday on May 1
to coincide with the publication of her book, “Mother Goose; From Nursery to
Literature,” and to encourage a deeper appreciation for classic nursery rhymes
and fairy tales.
At least one Mother Goose entry has coastal relevance:
The man in the wilderness
Asked
this of me,
How
many strawberries
Grow
in the sea?
I answered him
As
I thought good,
As
many red herrings
As swim in the wood.
