Old King Cole was a merry old soul, and a merry old soul was he;
He called for his pipe in the middle of the night
And he called for his fiddlers three.
Every fiddler had a fine fiddle, and a very fine fiddle had he;
Oh there's none so rare as can compare
With King Cole and his fiddlers three.
History
Who was Old King Cole?
The origins of the Nursery rhyme lyrics of Old King Cole are based in history dating back to 3rd century. There is considerable confusion regarding the origins of Old King Cole as there are three possible contenders who were Celtic Kings of Britain, all who share the name Coel (which is the Celtic word for the English word Cole). Historia Regum Britanniae ( History of the Kings of Britain) by Geoffrey of Monmouth (1110-1155) refers to a King Cole as a king of the Britons. Our research details the contenders as follows:
Coel Godhebog (Cole the Magnificent - b.220 Decurion of Rome)
Coel Godhebog was the Lord of Colchester ( the word Colchester means " Cole's Castle"). The Romans had conquered Britain during this period and Coel Godhebog was a Decurion meaning member of the municipal Senate in Ancient Rome who ran a local government. Gaius Flavius Valerius Constantius (250–306) was an Emperor of the Western Roman Empire (305-306). According to the Historia Regum Britanniae Constantius was sent to Britain in 296AD. where his liaison with Helena, apparently the daughter of Coel Godhebog, produced a son who became Constantine the Great.
[Source rhymes.org.uk]
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