Post by Les on Aug 3, 2022 14:47:38 GMT
Dick Whittington and His Cat is the English folklore surrounding the real-life Richard Whittington 1354–1423
wealthy merchant and later Lord Mayor of London. The legend describes his rise from poverty-stricken childhood
with the fortune he made through the sale of his cat to a rat-infested country.
The real Whittington did not come from a poor family of common stock, and there is no compelling evidence supporting
the stories about the cat, or even whether he owned one.
Another element in the legend is that Dick attempted to flee his service as a scullion one night, heading towards home
(or reached Highgate Hill in later tradition), but was dissuaded by the sound of Bow bells, which promised he would be
mayor of London one day.
Since the pre-Victorian era, the story has been a favourite subject of British pantomime, especially during Christmas season.
Written forms date from the early 1600s, over 150 years after the death of the historical Whittington. A drama play (1604–05)
and ballad (1605) are known only by name; Richard Johnson's ballad of 1612 is the earliest surviving
piece that refers to Whittington making his fortune with his cat.
This early ballad already contains the tradition that Whittington fled his scullion's service and travelled towards home,
but was beckoned back by the London bells which predicted his future of becoming mayor.
The earliest known prose rendition is The Famous and Remarkable History of Sir Richard Whittington
by "T. H." (Thomas Heywood), published 1656 in chapbook form, which specified that the bells were those of Bow Church
(St Mary-le-Bow), and that the boy heard them at Bunhill. Common chapbooks of a later period wrote that the boy reached
as far as Holloway on the night he fled. Links to this village has not been corroborated in early folklore or literature,
and is thought to be an 18th-century invention. But based on this tradition, the landmark Whittington Stone at the
foot of Highgate Hill is commonly perceived to be the place where Dick Whittingon stopped and heard the famous bells.
The story was adapted into puppet play by Martin Powell in the early 18th century. Later, it has been performed as
stage pantomimes and children's plays. It has also been retold as a children's story by a number of printers and authors to this day.
A number of foreign and medieval analogues exist that exhibit the motif ("Whittington's cat" motif, N411.2),
where the hero obtains wealth by selling a cat, typically in a rodent-infested place direly in need of one. The tale
is catalogued Aarne–Thompson (AT) tale type 1651, "Whittington's Cat".
The following summary gives a comparison of three textual sources. B = Johnson's ballad, H = prose by Heywood,
signed T. H. (Wheatley ed.) C = Late chapbook (18th to 19th-century printing by J. Cheney):
Dick Whittington was a poor orphan boy, languishing in Lancashire , or some unnamed place in the country
He set off to seek his fortune in London enticed by the rumour that its streets were paved with gold . But he soon
found himself cold and hungry, and fell asleep at the gate of the home of a wealthy merchant named Fitzwarren .
Fitzwarren gave him lodging and hired him to be the scullion in the kitchen.
In the prose versions, an account of Dick Whittington's cat subsequently follows, but in the ballad,
it is preceded by Dick's flight and church bells episode.
In the prose legend, Dick is provided quarter at the Fitzwarrens' garret (room in the attic) , which was infested with rats and mice
But Dick owned a cat that the prose versions say he had bought for a penny he earned by shining shoes
The cat controlled his rodent problem, which made her an indispensable companion.
When Fitzwarren organized a trade expedition sending the merchant ship Unicorn ,
Dick's cat was "ventured" to this mission to be sold for profit abroad.
The versions also differ regarding the circumstances: either Dick relinquished the cat of his own volition,
hoping its sale in a foreign land might reap a "store of gold" towards the fulfillment of the omen of the bells,
or, Dick was compelled to do so by Fitzwarren, who maintained a steadfast rule that everyone in his household
should have some article of worth riding on the venture, with due dividends forthcoming from the proceeds.
Dick became disenchanted with the scullion's lot and attempted to flee, either because he received only room and board
for his labours but was denied monetary wages , or because the kitchen maid or female cook named Mrs. Cicely
abused and physically beat him beyond his tolerance. He ran as far away as Bunhill or Holloway , where he heard
"London Bells" , Bow bells or the bells of "Bow Church" , that seemed to be telling him,
"Turn again Whittington, Lord Mayor of London".
which persuaded him to retrace his steps. (The wording of the bells' message differ slightly according to the textual source).
The ship was driven off course to the Barbary Coast, where the Moorish king purchased the entire cargo for a load of gold,
and insisted on entertaining the English traders with a feast. But the banquet was swarmed with rats and mice, whereby the
English "factor" (business agent) informed their hosts that they were in possession of a creature which could exterminate
these vermin.
Thus Dick Whittington's cat was immediately put to the test, chasing and destroying the rodents. The Moors, even more pleased
to learn that the cat was pregnant, paid more (or ten times more for the cat than the rest of the cargo combined.
The ship returned to London and Fitzwarren who was apprised of the success of the venture (at his home on Leadenhall
summoned the besmirched scullion Dick Whittington to the parlour (or compting-room and sat him in a seat,
addressing him in dignified fashion as Master or Mr. Whittington.
Dick was upset at first that this was being done in mockery, but Fitzwarren insisted it was all in earnest,
explaining that the profits from the ship now made Dick a richer man than himself.
Dick married his former master's daughter Alice Fitzwarren,
and joined his father-in-law in his business.
In time, Whittington became the Lord Mayor of London three times, just as the bells had predicted. Whittington's
acts of charity included the building of a college, a church, and Newgate Prison.
He also burnt the bonds he owned, which the Crown had issued to fund the war.
Today, on Highgate Hill in front of Whittington Hospital, there is a statue in honour of Whittington's legendary cat
on the site where, according to late versions of the story, the distant Bow Bells beckoned young Dick back to London
to claim his fortune.
The cat statue was placed atop the Whittington Stone later, in 1964.[6]
The site of the Whittington Stone lies within confines of "Upper Holloway" according to 19th century writers, which
corresponds with some chapbooks that say the boy ran away to as far away as "Holloway".
It is not clear how far back this marker can be dated. Whittington biographer Lysons felt it stood there as a marker
for "many centuries", even if it was actually just the debris of an old cross with only the plinth or base remaining,
as some had suggested.
Henry B. Wheatley argued that Whittington's association to "Holloway" must have been a later embellishment, as it is
lacking in the early T. H. text (in which the boy only goes as far as Bunhill, just north of London). He thus does not
think the stone could be dated anywhere near-contemporaneously to Whittington's lifespan, but he does allow that a purported
stone was removed in 1795, so that the tradition at least predated the relocation of Whittington College to Highgate.
Wheatley also observed that Holloway was at such a distance that it would have been difficult for a child to have reached
there by foot and returned the next morning. and that it was only barely within earshot of the bells of "Bow Church".
The earliest recorded instance of the folklore in written form is a registry notice dated 1604–1605 for a theatrical play.
The drama The History of Richard Whittington, of his lowe byrth, his great fortune was licensed for the stage 1604–1605.
Based on the only remaining evidence, which comes from the record at the Stationers' Registers, there is no proof beyond
doubt whether the play accounted for Dick's rise from "lowe birth" by means of a cat, but it is considered likely, since a
play from the contemporary period entitled Eastward Hoe (1605) makes an explicit cat association with the line:
"When the famous fable of Whittington and his puss shall be forgotten". This line also stands as the earliest surviving
literary reference of Whittington and his cat.
A lost ballad is also known to have existed from the Stationers' Register of 1605. It records "A ballad, called The vertuous
Lyfe and memorable death of Sr Ri: Whittington mercer sometymes Lo. Maior of the honorable Citie of London" licensed on 16
July 1605 to be printed by John Wright.
The earliest surviving complete text of the legend in any form is the ballad written by Richard Johnson on the subject.
The 17-octave piece, included in Johnson's Crowne Garland of Goulden Roses (1612), begins with the following lines:
"Here must I tell the praise / Of worthie Whittington..."
This ballad of 1612 already contains the tradition that the hero made an attempt to flee his service as a scullion and
headed towards "his country", but was persuaded to abort his flight when the London bells beckoned him back, seeming
to tell him "Whittington, back return" and pronouncing the omen that he would eventually become Lord Mayor.
The ballad goes on to tell how Whittington had a very humble past working as a kitchen scullion, but that he "had a cat
...And by it wealth he gat".
This ballad was sung to the tune of "Dainty come thou to me".
Chappell prints the musical notation to a tune that accompanied the ballad of Richard Whittington, which he suggests
may be the same one as "Dainty".
Richard Wittington was not orphaned but the son of a rich trader either cloth or coal man from Glostershire and the cat
were boat that carried the coal or cloth could be both.
He did marry Alice but they had no children.she died first.
Dick Whittington was a real person, and he was indeed Mayor of London.
Dick Whittington sets from Gloucestershire, was orphaned at a young age, and as there was no one to look after him and he was very poor, he decided to go to London to seek his fortune.
lOondon had it that the streets there were paved with gold.(meaning that jobs paid well)
He duly went to the big, bustling city, found no gold, and so instead set about trying to find work.
he Duke of Gloucester.