Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 5, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 January 1919 — "Old King Cole” of Nursery Fame an Ancient Sovereign [ARTICLE]

"Old King Cole” of Nursery Fame an Ancient Sovereign

The first reference to “Old King Cole,” the “merry old soul” of the famous nursery rhyme, was made in a book written by Dr. William King, who was born in 1«33. It is probable that the song was composed in the seventeenth century, although some investigators think it much older. Halllwell identifies the merry monarch with Cole or Coel, a semi-mythical king of Elritain, who is supposed to have reigned in the third century. The Scotch also have an “Old King Coulr said to have lived in the fifth century. Freeman and other historians say a King Cole ruled Britain in the sixth century. There are many who assert that the reference to the pipe indicates» that Old King Cole lived at a period after Raleigh had introduced tobacco into Europe, but this does not necessarily follow, as a “pipe” might mean a musical Instrument.