Farewell ditty
The ability to extemporize poems and ditties is often attributed to jesters, with some overlap also existing in Europe between jesters and those who...
Invitation – Symposium on Political Humor – online 28-29 May 2021
Inviting you to participate in the two day online Incitatus Symposium on Political Humor on Friday 28th and Saturday 29th May, beginning at 11.00...
In real time
This short story regarding the Indian folk fool Tenali Rama illustrates perfectly the literalness of the fool, which you might have encountered in...
Ban Gu – Biography of Dongfang Shuo
One of many sources concerning the clever and outspoken Dongfang Shuo 東方朔 (c. 160 - c. 93 BCE), part courtier, part jester and, according to some...
A fool and a dwarf
This is one of two double portraits featuring Estanilao, a dwarf who served in the household of Cardinal Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle (1517-86), a leading...
Dikici, Ayşe Ezgi – Imperfect Bodies, Perfect Companions?
This thesis gives new insights into the Ottoman court during the 16th and 17th centuries, examining the complex roles of mutes and dwarfs, including some...
Fedor’s fools
Giles Fletcher was appointed English ambassador to Tsar Fedor I (r. 1584-98) on 6th June 1588. His account of his stay in Moscow was one...
And along came the jester
Court jesters and dwarfs would sometimes accompany the nobles they served on their travels; among other examples, we know some of the Spanish court dwarfs...
Healing through laughter
From an excellent study of Pueblo Indian clowns in North America, this is a beautiful and limpid summary of the role of clowns, as apparently...
Erasmus – Moriae Encomium – Praise of Folly
Rulers, for all the advantages they enjoy, seem to me in one respect most disadvantaged: they've nobody from whom they can hear the truth;...
What was your father’s name?
Talhak, jester to Sultan Mahmud of Ghazna (r. 998-1030), enjoyed a close and easy relationship with him. See also the lexicon entry for Read More
A stinging riddle
At the court of the Emperor Han Wudi 漢武帝 (r. 141-87 BCE), two jesters would regularly fire off riddles at each other in front of...
An equation of survival
Rubinstein was the astonishing, funny and heart-rending fool of the Warsaw Ghetto, bracingly witty, and perhaps as mad as he was brilliant, or just superb...
Time to choose a new chief
The court jester often has a certain closeness to the boss he serves, challenging them, criticizing them, but not normally getting them chucked out.
Ritual...
Record cover of Strauss’ Till Eulenspiegel
Till Eulenspiegel was a medieval European hit as far as folk fools go. Stories about this fictitious impish character circulated in many languages. His name...
Unlimited licence
A commonly mentioned feature of the court jester is their acknowledged but informal and ill-defined 'licence' to speak out, mock, criticize, tell the truth. Here...
A lady’s women jesters
GAP MAP: A gaping hole in our knowledge of jesters, at least in materials available in European languages, concerns examples from Russia. It would do...
Keep a fool if you are wise
Here we have Rabelais citing a proverb attesting to the capacity of fools to unravel knotty problems. See similar examples, including Sima...
Bum revolutionaries
Delighted to encounter these bum revolutionaries, the Jewish jesters who flourished in Eastern Europe, entertaining people at weddings and barmitzvas while stirring things up with...
A cure for carousing
A common theme in the interactions between fools and kings is the need to rein in regal carousing or other forms of distraction from the...
Pillow talk
One of the most famous jesters is Talhak, whose name may be derived from, or have spawned, the Persian word for jester (dalqak). He is...
Laws against feigned fools
The feigning of folly could be profitable and in 15th century Scotland it appears there was enough of it going on to prompt a law...
Meet Rubinstein’s wife
Always up-ending our expectations, no surprise to learn that the ever resourceful Rubinstein, de facto jester in the Warsaw Ghetto, nimbly solved the problem of...
Andrea Shannon – Uncouth language to a prince’s ear
Archibald ('Archy') Armstrong was the brazenly outspoken court jester of both James VI of Scotland / I of England (r. 1567/1603-1625) and his successor, Charles...
Clearing out the court
An interesting example of a king who didn't want a court full of mutes and dwarfs, and so had them sent away when he ascended...
Were these not great men too?
This ringing endorsement of the effectiveness of court jesters seems a good way to launch a website celebrating them across time and space. It comes...
A bag of rice
Jesters and jester types were regularly rewarded by the king or other head honcho for their services. In addition to accounts of such gifts and...
How to up the game
This account of a Chinese jester is from what may be the earliest study of their exploits. It highlights a common technique for influencing behaviour...
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Colours and fonts were chosen for aesthetic strength and because their names reflect the mission of foolsareeverywhere.com. Fonts: Quipley I Lustria I Wild Pen. Colours include: Jester Yellow by Faeriepuffs I New Laughter by Ilara ... you get the picture
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