fictive fool, folk fool, Ireland, Irish, primary source, quotes, stories
Meet Mael and Mlithe and Admlithe in an astonishing description of three jesters in the ‘Room of the Mimes’, from an Irish mythological cycle. Note that it is impossible not to laugh when you seen them regardless of your state of mind, and that the king...
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...
Arabic, fictive fool, Middle East, primary source, quotes, stories
One method of admonishing a king is to offer him the title of fool, a verbal equivalent of making him change places with his jester. Here is an Arabic version of this regular formula:A list of fools was drawn up by a man from Damascus with the sultan’s name at...
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...
7th century BCE, Chinese, historical figure, quotes
Sima Qian 司馬遷 (c. 145-86 BC) seems to have been the first historian to speak of the jester’s role, including the key characteristic of using their freedom and humour to offer advice or criticism. For example, he describes the jester You Meng 優孟 (Jester Meng)...
20th century, primary source, quotes
A succinct and provocative statement by Niels Bohr, flying in the face of the common supposition that the more serious the subject the less appropriate it is to joke about it. It also echoes an equally pithy quotation, from Hemingway’s For Whom the Bells Toll. ...
