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, 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,...
