Hinky, Pinky, Pearly Earl
Hinky, pinky, pearly earl,
Twenty nobles and a churl;
Some are fat and some are lean,
One in red and one in green—
Prior, priest, and pearly earl,
Twenty nobles and a churl.
First published in The Peter Patter Book of Nursery Rhymes (1918).
You can almost hear the trumpets in this one. It’s a parade in rhyme form — “Hinky, pinky, pearly earl” trotting past in perfect rhythm, all style and no need for sense.
Blanche Fisher Wright’s picture turns that rhythm into life: a proud noble struts ahead, his feathered hat held high, while monks, townsfolk, and stragglers trail behind in comic dignity. The scene feels half royal procession, half neighborhood spectacle — and that’s the charm. It’s history rewritten in nursery rhyme form, where everyone, noble or churl, gets a place in the parade.
