Page 30 - Community Living Magazine 30-3

ClASSIC ImAgeS

“SImPle SImon – Simon to them, open some
jugs of strong ale,
A nAturAl, and persuade Margery
to stop the violence.
A SIllY Fellow” They sent for his wife, who

came without fail/ their
Simon Jarrett unearths the history of his namesake peace was made o’er a jug
Simple Simon, a man who was always laughed at but of ale. (3)
somehow always remained in his community. Somehow, Simple Simon –
laughed at, ridiculed,
beaten by his wife, unable to
understand what was
n the very frst belief amongst urban of the nursery rhyme, required of him – somehow
I issue of Community dwellers, particularly and always married to he hung in there and the
Living, in April 1987, Londoners, that people from a shrewish wife, usually community wanted him to
our fabled editor the countryside were dim called Margery, who would stay. Simple or not, he was
David Brandon and slow (think Norfolk become so exasperated by one of them.
wrote a great jokes today), and so any Simon’s stupidity that she
article entitled popular rural name was would dish out all sorts of References
Simple Simon’s turned into an insult that extreme violence to him. 1. Francis Grose,
sad message – the implied a lack of brains – as A classical dictionary of the
cruel humour of well as a Simon, you could In one story from 1775 (2) vulgar tongue, London,
kids’ comics. also be a Roger, a Dick or Margery hits Simon with 1788 (2nd edn.)
a Ben. a staff, ‘such a clank on 2. Anon., Simple Simon’s
David eloquently denounced the noddle, as made the misfortunes and his wife
the plethora of jokes in blood spin’. She then ‘let fy Margery’s cruelty,
children’s joke books and And this was with an earthen pot, which which began the very next
morning after their marriage,
comics about ‘thick’ and the joke. Simon was caused the blood to run London, 1775.
‘stupid’ people, with names so simple, he could about his ears’ and whips
like Loopy Lulu and Stupid not fulfl his role as a him with a dog whip. In a 3. Anon., A pleasant
song – of many more
Sid. He saw these disablist man, and was song from the same year, (3) misfortunes of poor Simon,
and devaluing jokes dominated and ‘Poor Simon’ is attacked by London, 1775.
deriving from the well- beaten by his wife, the hard-drinking
known19th century children’s when it should be Margery who beats him with
nursery rhyme about Simple the other way round. a large cudgel, ‘lugs’ his
Simon who met a pieman ears and ‘rings’ his nose, In tHe
going to the fair and until he weeps. And this
proceeded to do all sorts of was the joke. Simon was next ISSue...
ridiculous things, because of The reference to a sixpence so simple, he could not fulfl
his crippling lack of intellect. is because the sixpenny his role as a man, and was l eligibility –
coin at this time was dominated and beaten by we explore
Many guises ‘easily bent or distorted’. his wife, when it should be the problems
Simple Simon himself has Thus a sixpence could the other way round. meet our new
a long ancestry and has refer to a person who was To people in the 18th l cartoonist/
appeared in many guises physically ‘bent’, but also to century, used to a social illustrator –
over the centuries. He has someone whose low intellect order in which men Henny Beaumont
played a big role in the meant they could be easily were always on top,
consciousness of British exploited. The rhyme about this was hilarious. l Assessment and
people. A dictionary of slang selling his wife for an egg treatment – the
from 1788, compiled by a refers to Simon’s inability to Strong ale scandal continues
gentleman called Francis understand value or And yet there was always l our new
Grose (1) defned a ‘Simon’ family relations. a happy ending. Whenever columnists discuss
as follows: “...a sixpence. it reached the point where the big issues in
Simple Simon; a natural, a There were numerous stories Simon was pushed beyond the world of
silly fellow. Simon suck-egg, and songs about Simple endurance by Margery, learning disability
sold his wife for an addle Simon in the17th and 18th and would start to weep,
duck egg.” centuries, often sold in or even try to commit suicide l Extra! Extra!
one-penny ‘chapbooks’ that (his attempts, of course, the press and
This conveyed a number of even very poor people could always failed), then the people with
meanings that were applied afford. These Simons neighbourhood would learning
to ‘simple’ people at this time. were always men, intervene. They would disabilities
There was a widespread not the perceived child summon Margery and
28 Vol 30 No 3 | Spring 2017 Community Living www.cl-initiatives.co.uk