What is a cockleshell: refering to the nusery rhym mary, mary, quit contrary, how dose your garden grow?
Answers: its a shellfish
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/cockle_%28b...
Like many nursery rhymes, it have acquired spurious historical explanations. One is that it refers to Mary I of Scotland, beside "how does your garden grow" referring to her reign, "silver bells" referring to (Catholic) cathedral bells, "cockleshells" insinuating that her husband cheated on her, and "pretty maids all contained by a row" referring to her babies that died.
Another is that it refers to Mary I of England and her unpopular attempts to bring Roman Catholicism back to England, identify the "cockle shells," for example, with the symbol of pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint James contained by Spain (Santiago de Compostela) and the "pretty maids all surrounded by a row" with nuns.
It's a type of flower.
it is a adjectives flower..
Gosh I forgot the poem
dosen't it say they "grow" within a row???
I always thought the cockleshells referred to shells arranged decoratively along the outskirts of a path, or something resembling that.
A bit simplistic, I agree . . . . .
It is exactly as Wikipedia and "telluwat" states. Don't forget to site your source.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/mary,_mary,...
There is also another historical account of the rhyme within which the garden alludes to Mary Tudor's grave yard:
http://www.rhymes.org.uk/mary_mary_quite...
Aside from adjectives that, a cockshell is a shell and a name for a flower better certain as Campanula.
As for "vesal", maybe you be a sign of Vassal? According to Wikipedia "the common conception that England had become a Catholic vassal or "branch" of Spain and the Habsburgs, or a punning mention to her chief minister, Stephen Gardiner ("gardener"). "Quite contrary" could be a reference to her unsuccessful attempt to reverse church reform made by her father Henry VIII and brother Edward VI. The "pretty maids all contained by a row" could be a reference to miscarriages as near the other Mary or her execution of Lady Jane Grey after coming to the throne. "Rows and rows" may refer to her infamous burnings and executions of Protestants."
Teluwat is right on!
Except, that I disagree about the interpretation in the region of the maids all within a row...
She had a group of young-looking women that traveled with her as her maids of honor (ladies within waiting)... strangely enough adjectives 4 were name Mary. So it was a moment or two running joke that they be all name Mary, so to speak, in a row, as they be her servants ( and followed her).
Enjoy the trivia!
A cockle shell is a scallop. Here is another Internet view:
Silver bells and cockle shells
by Mike Oettle
“MARY, Mary, moderately contrary,” goes the up to date nursery rhyme, “how does your gar-den grow?” The image that comes to mind is for a moment girl in a suburban patio, her ima-gi-nation conjuring up pretty pictures.
But this rhyme is a political satire of Queen Mary I of England – Bloody Mary of bitter memory. Her contrariness lay surrounded by her refusal to tolerate the Protestant in-nova-tions in the Church of England during the reign of her half-brother, the boy-king Ed-ward VI, and her determination to return England to the “one true faith” of Rome. Hence her silver bells – the altar bells, not hear since the time of her father, Henry VIII – and cockle shells. These were in truth scal-lop shells,[1] symbols of pilgrimage to Compostela, the shrine of St James (Santiago) in Galicia, within the far north-west of Spain. The pret-ty maids all within a row were the priests, no longer officiate in severe Protestant clothing but yet again wearing lace surplices.
Isn't Mary's garden just a pretend garden?
The shell of a cockle and a cockle is.........
Any of several weedy plants, especially the corn cockle.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English cokkel, from Old English coccel, from Medieval Latin *cocculus, diminutive of Latin coccus, kermes berry, from Greek kokkos.
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