17th century, court accounts, Europe, France, French, historical figure, primary source, quotes
An account of the French court’s expenses for 1622 gives the sum of 1,800 livres for the jester Maître Guillaume, and 1,200 for his female counterpart, Mathurine la Folle. There is no explanation for this disparity, and we can only hope it isn’t an early...
17th century, court accounts, England, English, Europe, historical figure, primary source, quotes, Stuart
In Europe, court account books are a mine of information concerning payments, in cash and kind, made to jesters. This gives us some insight into the extent to which they could be cared for, if not downright cossetted, and some indication of their clothing, which was...
18th century, England, Europe, historical figure, primary source, quotes, Stuart
Court account books in Europe provide a rich seam of information on the material care and remuneration paid to jesters. This entry, however, is the first I have seen which amounts to an IOU. The ‘late King William’ is clearly William III (better known as...
15th century, 16th century, 17th century, bibliography, England, Europe, historical figure, research, Scotland, Stuart, thesis
This thesis makes a strong contribution to our understanding of several aspects of the fool, building on earlier work by Jessica Secmezsoy-Urquhart and covering the period 1488-1649. Geographically, it zooms in on the Stuart (Stewart) court’s relationship with...
15th century, 16th century, England, English, Europe, historical figure, primary source, quotes
European court account books are a superb source of information on the existence of jesters and related entertainers, whether operating in a professional capacity or on an occasional basis. A number of examples show Henry VII of England (r. 1485-1509), commonly viewed...
14th century, Europe, France, French, historical figure, primary source, quotes
European court account books yield rich details concerning the kind of clothes provided to fools and jesters. They also provide insights into the apparently generous provision commonly made for them, raising serious doubts concerning the occasional notion that jesters...
