16th century, England, Europe, historical figure, primary source, quotes, stories, Tudor
Clod was jester to Elizabeth I (r. 1558-1603), and he puns on his own name as part of an elaborate wheeze to talk the queen out of riding in the rain, which none of her attendants felt like doing. This is a good example of the interventions jesters could make, and be...
16th century, German, Germany, historical figure, primary source, quotes, stories
There are many accounts of jesters intervening to rein in the crapulence of the king. In this case the curiously named Peter Bearskin (Peter Bärenhaut), jester to Landgrave Philip the Magnanimous of Hesse (1509-67), cured ruler-boozing by encouraging him to take a...
16th century, historical figure, India, primary source, quotes, stories
A common theme among jester stories is that of intervening on behalf of an individual whom the ruler is treating unjustly. In this case, Birbal saves a man from being executed on a whim by Emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605). A merchant in Delhi was known for having a face...
17th century, Europe, France, French, historical figure, primary source, quotes, stories
This account of the French jester Marais interceding, on behalf of two court musicians, is strikingly similar to an anecdote told about a Chinese jester some 500 years before at the court of Song Huizong 宋徽宗 (r. 1100-26). In both cases, it was a question of half-pay,...
12th century, China, Chinese, East Asia, historical figure, primary source, quotes, Song dynasty, stories
There are two strikingly similar accounts of jesters intervening when someone in authority had the bright idea to cut somebody else’s pay by half. Here we share the first of these, used by a Chinese jester at the court of Song Huizong 宋徽宗 (r. 1100-26). Soon we...
10th century, China, Chinese, East Asia, historical figure, primary source, quotes, Southern Tang, stories
Here a jester cracks a joke in response to a question from the emperor, not only making him laugh but also persuading him to ease excessive taxes. This isn’t the only example of Chinese jesters intervening to reduce taxes, and we will be sharing other such...
10th century, China, Chinese, East Asia, historical figure, primary source, quotes, stories, Tang dynasty
An early example of reductio ad absurdum approach to changing the ruler’s mind. Rather than having a head-on confrontation with unreasonable behaviour, the jester instead agrees wholeheartedly, taking the whole thing to such a logical but extreme degree that...
