17th century, England, English, Europe, fooleum, painting, primary source, Stuart
This early 17th century painting of two jesters and a marotte (fool’s head bauble or stick) taps into the theme of ‘Who’s the missing fool?’ in which an image posed a visual quandary. The painting is entitled ‘We three...
17th century, dramatic character, England, English, Europe, play, primary source, quotes, Tudor
Babulo, whose name has an echo of babbling, is the clown servant of Grissell’s father. Â The marquis isn’t upset by his lack of grovelling genuflection, and invites him to live at court, but Babulo is (again) unimpressed, and roundly expresses his career...
17th century, England, English, Europe, primary source, quotes, Stuart
This parting shot, the conclusion of a fictive quest in search of the ‘veriest fool in England’, has one of the fools name poets as being the greatest of fools, recommending they form a ‘parliament of poets’ to serve the interests of the...
17th century, dramatic character, England, English, Europe, play, primary source, quotes, Stuart
​In this play about Will Somers, the long-serving jester of Henry VIII (r. 1509-47), we have art imitating life, showing the spectrum of fiction-to-fact which a famous historical fool can encompass; Somers is not the only household name to have plays written about...
16th century, England, English, Europe, historical figure, primary source, quotes, Tudor
Sir Thomas More warns of the dangers of having ‘fun’ with the king. More had enough wit and humour to have been himself occasionally likened to a jester, and had his own jester at home. You often boast to me that you have the king’s ear and often have...
17th century, England, English, engraving, Europe, fooleum, historical figure, portrait, primary source, Stuart
Unlike the portrait of Will Somers (d. 1560) in the Psalter of Henry VIII, this engraving is posthumous, though clearly resembles those done during his lifetime. Noteworthy is the background street scene, which seems to feature people in various forms of play and...
16th century, England, English, Europe, historical figure, primary source, quotes, stories, Tudor
The recruitment of fools and jesters was generally informal and meritocratic. They could emerge from a general pool of court entertainers, or somebody, perhaps the person whom they would serve, or a servant or courtier, would have an encounter which might lead to a...
16th century, England, English, Europe, historical figure, quotes, research
The humanist writer and entertainer John Heywood (c. 1497 – c. 1580) used the padding of a jester’s folly to deliver his political views more effectively and to build bridges among factions. He spoke in a direct manner to Henry VIII but with sufficient...
