English and British Historical Doggerel
by Dr. Donald Stevens
These are little rhymes to try to fix historical dates in one’s mind. They make no pretence to poetry. They are purely practical. They are mainly in sequence of date, and are mostly concerned with English/British history. I have occasionally indicated a forced pronunciation to help the rhythm.
— o0o —
- The Celts were first, the Romans next,
- The Saxons then by Danes were vexed.
- Then Danes not long, then Normans came,
- But England kept its Saxon name.
— o0o —
- King Will-i-am of Normandy,
- The sons he had were only three,
- Robert, Red William, and Henry One,
- Came Henry Two when they were done.
- Robert, he stayed in Normandy,
- And never England’s King was he.
— o0o —
- In the Forest that’s New
- Rufus the King, someone slew
- (We don’t know who)
- In one and one and nought and nought,
- And Henry One to the throne was brought.
— o0o —
- (William Rufus, the Red William in the preceding rhyme,
- shot by an arrow in the New Forest, in 1100.)
English and British Historical Doggerel
by Dr. Donald Stevens
These are little rhymes to try to fix historical dates in one’s mind. They make no pretence to poetry. They are purely practical. They are mainly in sequence of date, and are mostly concerned with English/British history. I have occasionally indicated a forced pronunciation to help the rhythm.
— o0o —
- The Celts were first, the Romans next,
The Saxons then by Danes were vexed.
Then Danes not long, then Normans came,
But England kept its Saxon name.
— o0o —
King Will-i-am of Normandy,
The sons he had were only three,
Robert, Red William, and Henry One,
Came Henry Two when they were done.
Robert, he stayed in Normandy,
And never England’s King was he.
— o0o —
In the Forest that’s New
Rufus the King, someone slew
(We don’t know who)
In one and one and nought and nought,
And Henry One to the throne was brought.
— o0o —
(William Rufus, the Red William in the preceding rhyme,
shot by an arrow in the New Forest, in 1100.)
— o0o —
In ten ninety-nine, Crusaders go,
Godfrey of Bouillon at the head of them,
To attack and vanquish every foe
And take by force Jerusalem.
— o0o —
Eleven hundred and thirty-five,
Henry One is not alive.
Stephen says that he is King.
Matilda says another thing
“If nephew Stephen had never been,”
Said she, “Then I would be the Queen.”
As both of them felt rather sore,
They decided to have a Civil War.
— o0o —
(Stephen was the nephew of Henry I)