The Limerick & Tripe...
The history of the limerick can be traced back to 11th Century France. It did'nt take long to cross the Channel, as this early example demonstrates.
The lion is wondrous strong
And full of the wiles of wo;
And whether he pleye
Or take his preye
He cannot do but slo (slay)
Five Centuries later Shakespeare was using the Limerick rhythm in Othello, The Tempest and King Lear, and it became particularly popular in Ireland , where the name Limerick was attached. Edward Lear, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Rudyard Kipling all had a go, but the earliest Tripe related limerick is, as yet, unattributed.
A young farmer called Roger, from Prestatyn
Drove his Combine Harvester to town with a cat in
The noise was Horrific
But the Tripe was Terrific
Finely minced, and with virtually no Fat in.