The Bizarre Life of a Medieval Jester

I think it's safe to say that everyone loves a good joke. We did make telling them an entire profession after all. In fact, whether you love them or hate them, the job of comedian is one that has been around for hundreds of years. The only difference is that a professional comic in the Middle Ages had a lot more to worry about than just telling a good joke. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Historodame and today we're learning all about the bizarre life of a medieval jester. A court jester, also referred to as a minstrel, joculator, or fool, is probably a profession that you are already somewhat familiar with. The image of a jingly little man wearing bright colors and prancing around his king telling jokes is one that appears time and time again in popular culture. But the real life of a professional jester is more than meets the eye. In fact, the title of king's fool was nothing to sneeze at. In most places it was actually considered to be a respectable profession. Jesters were often educated and well paid, able to live in the castle and in some cases even received land of their own. They were also given a level of privilege when it came to free speech that other members of the court did not receive. A jester's main purpose was of course what they are best known for, telling jokes. Their job was to entertain their king, queen, or noble patron by easing their stress or bad mood through humor and performance. They were also responsible for diffusing tense situations during court, having the freedom and protection under the law to even mock other members of the nobility. Their profession made them not only an entertainer, but also a trusted advisor and a critic of the monarchy, being allowed to speak their mind where others could not. This role was actually sometimes crucial, because the fool would have the ability to point out a noble's flaws or poor choices, without experiencing the same consequences that someone else might. This could also help avoid confrontations between members of the nobility when making decisions. A jester could even make a joke at the expense of the king, and though this was often seen as humorous, it could still pose a risk. After all, they were at the mercy of how the monarch was feeling that day, and if they found the joke to be funny. They might have been a valued profession, but they were expendable. If a joke went a little too far, they could easily lose their life. One notable incident of this happening is with the jester known as Triboulet, who served as the fool for King Francis I. As part of one of his jokes, Triboulet decided to slap the king on the behind, expecting the jester to be laughed off. The king, however, was furious, and threatened to have him executed unless he could think of an apology more insulting than what he just did. Triboulet responded with, I'm so sorry, your majesty, that I didn't recognize you. I mistook you for the queen. But despite the honestly hilarious response, the queen was the only member of the court that King Francis deemed off-limits to make fun of. So he still wanted to have Triboulet executed. However, as a gift to the man who had served him all these years, he allowed Triboulet to choose the manner of his execution. Triboulet, thinking quickly, chose to die of old age. The king was so impressed by his wit that he only had the jester banished, instead of executed, and he would eventually die of old age. The occupation of royal jester actually involved a lot more than just performance. While their main job was to entertain their monarch, this was not done all the time, so a professional fool had a variety of other duties to attend to. When they weren't performing in court, a jester wore regular clothes, just like any other member of the nobility. Their day-to-day responsibilities, however, more closely resembled that of a servant than a member of the king's court. They could be expected to keep inventory of supplies and take care of household duties like shopping and tending to animals. They were also responsible for delivering messages, including giving bad news to the king. A skilled jester would be able to make light of this bad news by turning it into a joke, thus making the delivery go down a little easier. They were also expected to go to war along with their king. On the battlefield, a professional jester took the role of messenger once again, but this time in delivering news to the opposing army. If negotiations went poorly, it was the fool who was often punished for it, thus giving life to the phrase, don't shoot the messenger. Though if their enemies were particularly upset by any news delivered, there was more than just arrows to worry about. The opposing army might literally choose to shoot the messenger, out of a catapult, and back to their side of the battlefield. In more grisly cases, they might just send back his head. Professional fools also continued to carry out their duties of entertaining during war, and were responsible for keeping up the morale of the king's army. They could do this with any of their chosen methods for performance, but also by making witty jokes about the opposing side. A jester also played a role in psychological warfare. When marching into battle, they could be found near the front lines, shouting taunts at the enemy army and hoping to make them break formation in their rage. Now since a jester's livelihood depended so strongly upon their performances, it took quite a bit of skill to earn the honor of becoming professional performer to the king. In order to be successful, a professional fool would have to be a jack of all trades. Most crucially, they would have to have quick wit and skill at telling jokes. Like the comedians of today, these jokes would often involve current events that were popular within the public consciousness, but they also had to be adept at storytelling, and many would also play a musical instrument or sing. There were also more physical types of entertainment that they could take up, such as juggling dangerous objects, acrobatics, or performing magic tricks. Being well-versed in a variety of different skills gave professional fools the arsenal needed to give a good performance, and they better hope that it went over well, because their livelihood was dependent on it. Because of this, the life of an entertainer was actually quite stressful. Sure they were paid well, and could be compensated handsomely, but they were also at the mercy of fickle nobles and a spoiled monarch, who could have your head chopped off whenever they feel like it. But those are the struggles of a professional fool. There were actually two types of jesters, those who earned their living through performance, and those who were referred to as innocent fools. These were people that society deemed to be defective, or in other words people with disabilities. Those with mental or physical disabilities faced much difficulty surviving in medieval society. Sometimes a monarch or member of the nobility would take pity on them and take them into their household, not as a paid servant like in the case of professional fools, but rather in the way that one might keep a pet. These people would be given food and a place to sleep, and in exchange, they would be laughed at and ridiculed by the members of the court. As terrible as this is, it is unfortunately a grim reality in the history of disability. Now, our friend the death-defying tribulé is not the only professional jester that is worth talking about. Roland the Farter was a jester to King Henry II, whose special skill involved him being a flatulist. Basically, he was known for passing gas. At one notable performance, he finished the routine with a jump, whistle, and fart all at the same time. Henry II reportedly found this so funny that he awarded Roland with 30 acres of land in return. But professional jesters were not always men. Though not as common, there was also a female variety, though these women who engaged in tomfoolery were often treated better than their male counterparts. They did not have the same duties, such as going to war, and were instead treated like in-house performers. Some notable female jesters include those who served under Queen Mary I, Jane the Fool, and Lucretia the Tumbler. Professional fools would continue to serve under the monarchy for many years to come. That was until King Charles II, who was not a fan of the tradition. In other countries, such as Russia and Spain, professional foolery would hang around a little longer. But eventually, as the monarchy began to fall out of fashion, so too did the need for a professional entertainer. Sadly, modern-day comedians don't wear a funny little hat and dance around the stage. But the legacy of the jester still lives on, every time one of them tells a terrible joke. Hey everyone, thank you for watching! If you enjoyed the video, please consider leaving a like or a comment down below. If you want to see more content like this, you can also subscribe to my channel, and keep up to date on all the fun history videos of the future. But for now, I bid you farewell.