The Italian dwarf-jester Antonio da Trento, who went by the nick-name of Nanino (Little Dwarf), served Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua (1466-1519), by whom he was on one occasion threatened with irons and manacles if he did not control his mockery.
His offence had included the caricature of a priest, but far from piping down, in 1515, three years after this dire threat, he is described by Amico della Torre as having dressed up as a bishop and delivered mass to the great amusement of the Marquis and Marchioness watching him.
Source: Luzio, A. and R. Renier, `Buffoni, Nani e Schiavi dei Gonzaga ai Tempi di Isabella d’Este’, Estr. Nuova Ant., series 3 (1891), part 3, p. 56.
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