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...
China, East Asia, quotes, research
There is much common ground between jesters and actors, particularly comic actors. Jesters could perform in court entertainments, whether impromptu skits or full-blown plays or masques. Similarly, actors could play the role of a jester either as a character in a...
1st millennium BCE, 2nd millennium BCE, 3rd millennium BCE, 7th century BCE, Babylonian, China, Chinese, East Asia, Egypt, Egyptian, historical figure, Mesopotamia, Middle East, primary source, quotes, research
The first specific reference we have (so far) to what might be a jester concerns a dwarf or a pygmy in ancient Egypt during the reign of Neferkere (Pepi II, r. from c. 2278 BCE). An official wrote to the Pharaoh mentioning a dancing dwarf he had found, and Pepi II...
3rd millennium BCE, Babylonian, lexicon, Mesopotamia, Middle East, primary source, research
‘The alan.zu/ aluzinnu could sing, play instruments and dance, and in fact from the earliest times (in Mari, Babylonia and in Bogazköy) he is connected with musicians, singers and acrobats who performed at festivals and (para?)religious...
3rd millennium BCE, bibliography, English, Greece, Greek, journal paper, Mesopotamia, Middle East, primary source, research
‘When did professional jesters become a part of civilized society, and in particular a part of court and temple personnel?’ (p. 187)Maddalena Rumor’s paper poses a big question and moots the possibility of an early start to the jester as a...
