2007-01-22 20:35:13 · 2 answers · asked by swivvler 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
One BBC website suggests it is a variant of 'Bishop Barnaby' - which seems obvious enough - and adds that it may be a reference to the similarity between the bright markings on the creature and the colourful robes worn by clergymen.
It's actually Bishy Barnabee and there is a road in Bowthorpe near Norwich called Bishy Barnabee Way . It is supposed to refer to the Bishop Edmund Bonner or bloody Bonner as he was named for his persecution of heretics during the reign of Mary ! . Probably a derivative of the name Bishop Bonners Bees (whatever they were ) . There is a cottage museum about him in Dereham .
The best book on Norfolk dialect is by Peter Trudgill, in the Norfolk Origins series published by Poppyland Publishing.
http://www.poppyland.co.uk/
2007-01-22 21:21:46 · answer #1 · answered by Basement Bob 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Bishy Barnabees
2016-11-02 22:42:09 · answer #2 · answered by carrilo 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋