Great Plague

The Great Plague was the name given to a massive outbreak of disease in Britain that killed up to one third of the population over several years in the 1660's. The plague is generally considered to be a result of infection by the bacteria Yersinia pestis, and was transmitted via a rat vector?, although other infectious agents have been suggested. It was known as the "bubonic" plague after the "buboes" or swellings that are characteristic of infection. The plague was also known as the "Black Death".

This particular incidence of the disease sometimes claimed to be commemorated in the childrens' nursery rhyme "Ring of roses":

"A ring-a-ring of roses,
A pocket full of posies,
A tishoo, a tishoo,
We all fall down"

The ring of roses was the characteristic formation of buboes in the early stage of infections. The posies were flowers thought to ward off infection. The third line refers to sneezing, which was another early symptom. The last line refers to be dying which is what commonly happened next.

A variant of the rhyme is:

"Ring around the rosies
Pocket full of posies
Ashes, ashes
We all fall down"

However, this theory about this rhyme is nothing more than speculation: the rhyme was first published in 1881. A good summary of the argument against this theory may be found at http://www.snopes2.com/language/literary/rosie.htm.