The London Bridge is Falling Down nursery rhyme is about the Black Plague?

Question

I get the ring around the rosy part, and the ashes and falling down part, but why pockets full of posies?

Answer 1

People used to believe the plague was carried by bad smells. So, a small flower bouquet or an orange or apple stuck all over with cloves (called a pommander) was carried around in the pocket.

They were half right - the plague was carried by rats and their fleas which lived in filth, which smells bad. But they didn't understand how disease was spread then.

Answer 2

Yes. "Ring around the Rosie" has been interpreted as a rhyme about the Plague. There are different versions of it too.
See for yourself:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_around_the_rosie

As for the meaning of "London Bridge is falling down", well that seems a bit more sinister. Apparantly people believed that if you killed a young virgin girl and put her in the foundation of the bridge, it would be strong. {Eww!!!}
See for yourself:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_bridge_is_falling_down#Meaning

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

London Bridges and Ring around the Rosey are 2 different nursery rhymes, and yes ring around the rosey is about the plague.

Answer 4

supposedly about the black plague. sufferers got "rings" of rashes and "posies" were a medieval remedy. "ashes" means the sound of a sneeze from the sufferer. however, this is a myth. there's no evidence from that time that supports it.