A jester, court jester or fool was historically an entertainer who during
the mediaeval and Renaissance eras was a member of the household of a nobleman
employed to entertain him and his guests. A jester was also an itinerant
performer who entertained common folk at fairs and markets. Jesters are also
modern day entertainers who resemble their historical counterparts. Jesters
in medieval times are often thought to have worn brightly coloured clothes and
eccentric hats in a motley pattern and their modern counterparts usually mimic
this costume. In medieval times jesters entertained with a wide variety of
skills: principal ones included songs, music, and storytelling; additional ones
included acrobatics, juggling, telling jokes, and magic. Much of the
entertainment was performed in a comic style and many jesters made contemporary
jokes in word or song about people or events well known to their audiences.
Modern day jesters entertain using a wide variety of skills including stilt
walking, fire performance and circus workshops.
Etymology The modern use of the English word
jester did not come into use until the mid-16th century during Tudor times.
This modern term derives from the older form gestour, or jestour, originally
from Anglo-Norman meaning story-teller or minstrel. Other earlier terms
included fol, disour, and bourder. These terms described entertainers who
differed in their skills and performances but who all shared many
similarities in their role as comedic performers for their audiences.
Political significance The Royal Shakespeare Company provides
historical context for the role of the fool:
In ancient times, courts employed fools and by the Middle Ages the jester was a
familiar figure. In Renaissance times, aristocratic households in Britain
employed licensed fools or jesters, who sometimes dressed as other servants were
dressed, but generally wore a motley coat, hood with ass's ears or a
red-flannel coxcomb and bells. Regarded as pets or mascots, they served not
simply to amuse but to criticise their master or mistress and their guests.
Queen Elizabeth is said to have rebuked one of her fools for being
insufficiently severe with her. Excessive behaviour, however, could lead
to a fool being whipped, as Lear threatens to whip his fool.
One may conceptualize fools in two camps: those of the natural fool type
and those of the licensed fool type. Whereas the natural fool was seen as
innately nit-witted, moronic, or mad, the licensed fool was given leeway by
permission of the court. In other words, both were excused, to some extent, for
their behavior, the first because he "couldn't help it", and the second by
decree. Distinction was made between fools and
clowns, or country bumpkins. The fool's status was one of privilege within a
royal or noble household. His folly could be regarded as the raving of a
madman but was often deemed to be divinely inspired. The 'natural' fool
was touched by God. Much to Gonerill's annoyance, Lear's 'all-licensed' Fool
enjoys a privileged status. His characteristic idiom suggests he is a
"natural" fool, not an artificial one, though his perceptiveness and wit show
that he is far from being an idiot, however "touched" he might be.
Scholar David Carlyon has cast doubt on the "daring political jester", calling
historical tales "apocryphal", and concluding that "popular culture
embraces a sentimental image of the clown; writers reproduce that
sentimentality in the jester, and academics in the Trickster", but it
"falters as analysis". Jesters could also give bad news to the
King that no one else would dare deliver. The best example of this is in
1340, when the French fleet was destroyed at the Battle of Sluys by the
English. Phillippe VI's jester told him the English sailors "don't even have the
guts to jump into the water like our brave French".
History Early jesters were popular in Ancient
Egypt, and entertained Egyptian pharaohs. Jesters were popular with the
Aztec people in the 14th to 16th centuries.
= English royal court jesters= Many courts throughout English royal
history employed entertainers and most had professional fools, sometimes called
licensed fools. Entertainment included music, juggling, clowning, and the
telling of jokes and riddles. Henry VIII of England employed a jester named Will
Sommers. During the reigns of Elizabeth I and
James I of England, William Shakespeare wrote his plays and performed with his
theatre company the Lord Chamberlain's Men. Clowns and jesters were featured in
Shakespeare's plays, and the company's expert on jesting was Robert Armin,
author of the book Fooled upon Foole. In Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Feste the
jester is described as "wise enough to play the fool".
King James VI of Scotland also employed a jester called Archibald Armstrong.
During his lifetime Armstrong was given great honours at court. He was
eventually thrown out of the King's employment when he over-reached himself
and insulted too many influential people. Even after his disgrace, books
telling of his jests were sold in London streets. He held some influence at court
still in the reign of Charles I and estates of land in Ireland. Charles
later employed a jester called Jeffrey Hudson who was very popular and loyal.
Jeffrey Hudson had the title of Royal Dwarf because he was short of stature.
One of his jests was to be presented hidden in a giant pie from which he
would leap out. Hudson fought on the Royalist side in the English Civil War.
A third jester associated with Charles I was called Muckle John.
= End of tradition= The tradition of court jesters came to
an end in Britain when Charles I was overthrown in the Civil War. As a
Puritan Christian republic, England under the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell
had no place for such things as jesters. English theatre also suffered and a good
many actors and entertainers relocated to Ireland where things were little
better. After the Restoration, Charles II did
not reinstate the tradition of the court jester, but he did greatly patronize the
theatre and proto-music hall entertainments, especially favouring the
work of Thomas Killigrew. Though Killigrew was not officially a jester,
Samuel Pepys in his famous diary does call Killigrew "The King's fool and
jester, with the power to mock and revile even the most prominent without
penalty". The last British nobles to keep jesters were the Queen Mother's
family, the Bowes-Lyons. In the 18th century, jesters had died
out except in Russia, Spain and Germany. In France and Italy, travelling groups
of jesters performed plays featuring stylized characters in a form of theatre
called the commedia dell'arte. A version of this passed into British folk
tradition in the form of a puppet show Punch and Judy. In France the tradition
of the court jester ended with the French Revolution.
In years as late as 1968, however, the Canada Council awarded a $3,500 grant to
Joachim Foikis of Vancouver "to revive the ancient and time-honoured tradition
of town fool". In the 21st century, the jester is still
seen at medieval-style fayres and pageants.
= Other countries= Poland's most famous court jester was
Stańczyk, whose jokes were usually related to political matters, and who
later became a historical symbol for Poles.
In 2004 English Heritage appointed Nigel Roder as the State Jester for England,
the first since Muckle John 355 years previously. However following an
objection by the National Guild of Jesters, English Heritage accepted they
were not authorised to grant such a title. Roder was succeeded as "Heritage
Jester" by Pete Cooper. In Germany, Till Eulenspiegel is a
folkloric hero dating back to medieval times and ruling each year over Fasching
or Carnival time, mocking politicians and public figures of power and
authority with political satire like a modern-day court jester. He holds a
mirror to make us aware of our times, and his sceptre, his "bauble" or
marotte, is the symbol of his power. In 17th century Spain, little people,
often with deformities, were employed as buffoons to entertain the king and his
family, especially the children. In Velázquez's painting Las Meninas two
dwarves are included: Mari Bárbola a female dwarf from Germany with
hydrocephalus, and Nicolasito Portusato from Italy. Mari Bárbola can also be
seen in a later portrait of princess Margarita Teresa in mourning by Juan
Bautista Martinez del Mazo. There are other paintings by Velázquez which
include court dwarves such as Prince Balthasar Charles With a Dwarf.
In Japan from the 13th to 18th centuries, the taikomochi, a kind of
male geisha, attended the feudal lords. They entertained mostly through dancing
and storytelling, and were at times counted on for strategic advice. By the
16th century they would fight alongside their lord in battle in addition to
their other duties. Tonga was the first royal court to
appoint a court jester in modern times; Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, the King of Tonga,
appointed JD Bogdanoff to that role in 1999. Bogdanoff was later embroiled in a
financial scandal. Shakespearean jesters
The jester as a symbol The root of the word "fool" is from the
Latin follis, which means "bag of wind" or that which contains air or breath.
= Fool in Tarot= In Tarot, "The Fool" is a card of the
Major Arcana. The tarot depiction of the Fool includes a man juggling
unconcernedly or otherwise distracted, with a dog at his heels. The fool is in
the act of unknowingly walking off the edge of a cliff, precipice or other high
place. Another Tarot character is Death. In the Middle Ages, Death is often shown
in Jester's garb because "The last laugh is reserved for death." Also, Death
humbles everyone just as jesters make fun of everyone regardless of standing.
= Fool in literature= In literature, the jester is symbolic of
common sense and of honesty, notably in King Lear, the court jester is a
character used for insight and advice on the part of the monarch, taking
advantage of his license to mock and speak freely to dispense frank
observations and highlight the folly of his monarch. This presents a clashing
irony as a "greater" man could dispense the same advice and find himself being
detained in the dungeons or even executed. Only as the lowliest member of
the court can the jester be the monarch's most useful adviser.
Author Alan Gordon also writes about jesters as advisers to the king, who
actually make up a super-secret spy ring that try to keep peace and control the
leaders of different countries. The Fool's Guild of these novels is
portrayed as a mockery to the church, and they refer to Jesus Christ as "Their
Savior, The First Fool." Modern usage
= Buffoon= In similar vein, buffoon is a term for
someone who provides amusement through inappropriate appearance and/or
behavior. Originally the term was used to describe
a ridiculous but amusing person. The term is now frequently used in a
derogatory sense to describe someone considered foolish, or someone
displaying inappropriately vulgar, bumbling or ridiculous behavior that is
a source of general amusement. The term originates from the old Italian
"buffare", meaning to puff out one's cheeks that also applies to bouffon.
= Carnival and Medieval Reenactment= Today, the jester is portrayed in
different formats of medieval reenactment and entertainment, including
film, stage performance, and carnival. During the Burgundian and the Rhenish
carnival, cabaret performances in local dialect are held. In Brabant this person
is called a "tonpraoter" or "sauwelaar", and is actually in or on a barrel. In
Limburg they are named "buuttereedner" or "buutteredner" and in Zeeland they
are called an "ouwoer". They all perform a cabaret speech in dialect, during
which many current issues are reviewed. Often there are local situations and
celebrities from the local and regional politics who will be mocked, ridiculed
and insulted. The "Tonpraoter" or "Buuttereedner" may be considered as
successors of the jesters. Notable Jesters
= Historical= Tom le Fol was the 1st resident jester
of Conwy, North Wales and personal jester to Edward 1.
Triboulet, court jester of Kings Louis XII and Francis I of France.
Stańczyk, Polish jester William Sommers, court jester of King
Henry VIII of England Chicot, court jester of King Henry III
of France Archibald Armstrong, jester of King
James I of England Jeffrey Hudson, "court dwarf" of
Henrietta Maria of France Jamie Fleeman, the Laird of Udny's Fool
Perkeo of Heidelberg 18th century, jester of Prince Charles III Philip,
Elector Palatine = Modern Day Jesters=
Jesse Bogdonoff, court jester and financial advisor of Taufa'ahau Tupou IV
See also Fool
Fool's literature Basil Fool for Christ
Clown society Foolishness for Christ
Fools Guild, California "jester" themed entertainment troupe
Harlequin Itinerant poet
King Momo List of jesters
Master of the Revels Skomorokh
Triboulet Trickster
Footnotes References
Billington, Sandra A Social History of the Fool, The Harvester Press, 1984.
ISBN 0-7108-0610-8 Doran, John A History of Court Fools,
1858 Hyers, M. Conrad, The Spirituality of
Comedy: comic heroism in a tragic world 1996 Transaction Publishers ISBN
1-56000-218-2 Otto, Beatrice K., "Fools Are
Everywhere: The Court Jester Around the World," Chicago University Press, 2001
Southworth, John, Fools and Jesters at the English Court, Sutton Publishing,
1998. ISBN 0-7509-1773-3 Welsford, Enid: The Fool : His Social
and Literary History: ISBN 1-299-14274-5 Further reading
Janik, Vicki K.. Fools and Jesters in Literature, Art, and History: A
Bio-bibliographical Sourcebook. Greenwood Publishing Group, USA. ISBN
0313297851. Robins, Elizabeth, "Mischief in the
Middle Ages" in: The Atlantic Monthly, v.48, n.285, July 1881, pp. 1–8.
External links Fooling Around the World
Foolish Clothing: Depictions of Jesters and Fools in the Middle Ages and
Renaissance What 14th-16th century jesters wore and carried, as seen in
illustrations and museum collections. UK National Guild of Jesters site
Costume, ca. 1890-1920, in the Staten Island Historical Society Online
Collection Database