Where in the nursery rhyme does it say humpty dumpty is an egg?

Answer 1

The Humpty-Dumpty rhyme was originally a riddle. The answer was an egg.

Answer 2

Humpty Dumpty is a character in a nursery rhyme portrayed as an anthropomorphic egg. Most English-speaking children are familiar with the rhyme:

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.
The fact that Humpty Dumpty is an egg is not actually stated in the rhyme. In its first printed form, in 1810, it is a riddle, and exploits for misdirection the fact that "humpty dumpty" was 18th-Century reduplicative slang for a short, clumsy person. Whereas a clumsy person falling off a wall would not be irreparably damaged, an egg would be. The rhyme is no longer posed as a riddle, since the answer is now so well known. Similar riddles have been recorded by folklorists in other languages, such as Boule Boule in French, or Lille Trille in Swedish & Norwegian; though none is as widely known as Humpty Dumpty is in English.

Answer 3

There are many theories about Humpty Dumpty.
This one says Humpty Dumpty was in fact a cannon, the explaination makes sense to me and it's well documented.

Humpty Dumpty Rhyme
Nursery Rhyme & History

The imagery of Humpty Dumpty.

Humpty Dumpty was a colloquial term used in fifteenth century England describing someone who was obese. This has given rise to various, but inaccurate, theories surrounding the identity of Humpty Dumpty. The image of Humpty Dumpty was made famous by the illustrations included in the 'Alice through the looking glass' novel by Lewis Carroll. However, Humpty Dumpty was not a person pilloried in the famous rhyme!

The History and Origins of the Rhyme.

Humpty Dumpty was in fact believed to be a large cannon! It was used during the English Civil War ( 1642 - 1649) in the Siege of Colchester (13 Jun 1648 - 27 Aug 1648). Colchester was strongly fortified by the Royalists and was laid to siege by the Parliamentarians (Roundheads). In 1648 the town of Colchester was a walled town with a castle and several churches and was protected by the city wall. Standing immediately adjacent the city wall, was St Mary's Church. A huge cannon, colloquially called Humpty Dumpty, was strategically placed on the wall next to St Mary's Church. The historical events detailing the siege of Colchester are well documented - references to the cannon ( Humpty Dumpty) are as follows:

June 15th 1648 - St Mary's Church is fortified and a large cannon is placed on the roof which was fired by ‘One-Eyed Jack Thompson'

July 14th / July 15th 1648 - The Royalist fort within the walls at St Mary's church is blown to pieces and their main cannon battery ( Humpty Dumpty) is destroyed.

August 28th 1648 - The Royalists lay down their arms, open the gates of Colchester and surrender to the Parliamentarians

A shot from a Parliamentary cannon succeeded in damaging the wall beneath Humpty Dumpty which caused the cannon to tumble to the ground. The Royalists, or Cavaliers, 'all the King's men' attempted to raise Humpty Dumpty on to another part of the wall. However, because the cannon , or Humpty Dumpty, was so heavy ' All the King's horses and all the King's men couldn't put Humpty together again!' This had a drastic consequence for the Royalists as the strategically important town of Colchester fell to the Parliamentarians after a siege lasting eleven weeks. Earliest traceable publication 1810.

Answer 4

This is not really an answer but wasn't it basically a health and safety issue? If they'd carried out a risk assessment they could have had protective matting in place and/ or some sort of harness to restrain Humpty from falling. He could have sued as the administrators or owners of the area were probably negligent in not providing safety features or warning signage...

Answer 5

It doesn't actually state in the poem that he is an egg, that fact was originally the answer to the riddle the poem first portrayed. Once the answer was widely known (circa 1810), Humpty became a drawn character as an egg, probably most famously in Teniel's drawings in Through the Looking Glass (the follow-up to Alice in Wonderland).
Most of this answer to your question can be found in the first few paragraphs here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humpty_Dumpty

Answer 6

All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty together again. It means that they can't rebuild Humpty, because he's broken.

Answer 7

How would horses have helped anything?