“Ring a ring o’ roses a pocket full of posies” is a nursery rhyme many children learn and play to. When people think of posies they think about the song or pretty flowers, or posy art pieces such as the two Playful Posies set by artist Jocelyn Anderson-Tapp. Or of artist Jane Wooster Scott’s A Profusion of Posies whose varied artwork style conjures memories of the National Heritage in America.
But the rhyme and the game “Ring a ring o’ roses” actually dates back the Middle Ages century during plague times when a nosegay, tussie-mussie or a posy was used as a small flower bouquet. They were usually worn around the head or on a lady’s bodice, or carried around by people. Many people using posies today or appreciating posy canvas artwork have no idea the about the true history of what posies were once used for.
Dollies are traditionally used to bind the stems of posy arrangements, but posy holders do come in a variety of shapes and different materials, and are often secured in brooches. During in mediaeval times people used posies were given as gifts of love and friendship. But during the bubonic plague a “pocket full of posies” was thought to ward off illnesses and mask the horrible sense of death and illness.
Today posies inspire thoughts of good things and certainly don’t remind people of what they were once used for. Instead it’s nice to look at the variety of different colors, shapes and styles of posies used in posy artwork
