The comical history of the king and the cobbler; containing the entertaining and merry tricks, and droll frolics, played by the cobbler. - How he got acquainted with the King, became a great man, and lived at court ever after

Glasgow: Printed for the Booksellers

1840-1850 per University of Glasgow Union Catalogue of Scottish Chapbooks

24 pages

'56' is printed at the bottom of the title page

In this tale, Henry VIII meets a jovial cobbler while exploring the city one night, in disguise. He is so pleased with the humour, songs, and stories of the cobbler that he spends the night drinking with him and invites him to visit him at court and to inquire after a Harry Tudor there. The cobbler takes him up on the offer – still unaware of his new friend’s status – and sets out to court dressed in his Sunday best. When he arrives, he is brought before the king, who he still does not recognize. Henry sends him to the cellar and meets him there again, this time in his disguise, where the cobbler recognizes him, and they drink together until the king’s identity is unmasked, whereupon the cobbler is rewarded with an annuity and by becoming a popular figure at court. The tale includes the drinking song of the cobbler, and is followed by an anecdote on Charles II, and a short (and ironic) moral story (The Two Bears) about two friends who steal a hoard of treasure from a monastery, and the trickery of one of the friends in temporarily replacing his companion’s children with bears as punishment for taking the greater share of the treasure.

Whitehall, London, England

Crime

Religion and Morals

Wit and Humor

Fairy Tales & Folklore

Alcohol

Chapbooks - Scotland - Glasgow

Henry VIII, King of England, 1491-1547

Archival & Special Collections, University of Guelph Library, Guelph, Ontario

University of Glasgow Union Catalogue of Scottish Chapbooks http://special.lib.gla.ac.uk/chapbooks/search/

JPEGs and PDF derived from master file, which was scanned from the original book in 24-bit color at 600 dpi in TIFF format using an Epson Expression 10000XL scanner.

In the public domain; For high quality reproductions, contact Archival & Special Collections, University of Guelph. libaspc@uoguelph.ca, 519-824-4120, Ext. 53413

English

Archival and Special Collections, University of Guelph Library, Guelph, Ontario, Canada