Jester
A jester, court jester, fool or joker was a member of the household of a nobleman or
a monarch employed to entertain guests during royal court. Jesters were also
traveling performers who entertained common folk at fairs and town markets, and the
discipline continues into the modern day, where jesters perform at historical-themed
events.
Jester
c. 1540 woodcut of a jester, by Heinrich
Vogtherr the Younger
Medium Entertainer
Types Court and theatre
Descendant arts Harlequinade,
comedian, clown
During the post-classical and Renaissance eras, jesters are often thought to have
worn brightly coloured clothes and eccentric hats in a motley pattern. Their modern
counterparts usually mimic this costume.
Jesters entertained with a wide variety of skills: principal among them were song,
music and storytelling but many also employed acrobatics juggling telling jokes
(such as puns, stereotypes, and imitation), and performing magic tricks. Much of the
entertainment was performed in a comic style. Many jesters made contemporary
jokes in word or song about people or events well known to their audiences.
Etymology
The modern use of the English word jester did not come into use until the mid-16th
century, during Tudor times.[1] This modern term derives from the older form gestour,
or jestour, originally from French meaning 'storyteller' or 'minstrel'. Other earlier terms
included fol, disour, buffoon, and bourder. These terms described entertainers who
differed in their skills and performances but who all shared many similarities in their
role as comedic performers for their audiences.[1][2][3]
History
Balatrones
In ancient Rome, a balatro (/ˈbɑːlɑːtroʊ/ BAH-lah-troh) was a professional jester or
buffoon.[4] Balatrones were paid for their jests, and the tables of the wealthy were
generally open to them for the sake of the amusement they afforded.[5]
There are various theories about the origin of the term. In Horace, Balatro is used as a
proper name: Servilius Balatro.[6] An old scholiast derives the common word balatro
from the proper name, suggesting that buffoons were called balatrones because
Servilius Balatro was a buffoon, though others have since objected to this account.
Festus derives the word from blatea, and supposes buffoons to have been called
balatrones because they were dirty fellows, covered with spots of mud (blateae) from
walking.[7] Another writer suggests a derivation from barathrum, because they, so to
speak, carried their jesting to market, even into the very depth (barathrum) of the
shambles (barathrum macelli)[8] Balatro may be connected with balare "to bleat like a
sheep", and hence, to speak sillily. Others have suggested a connection with blatero, a
busy-body.[9]
In ancient times, other cultures, such as the Aztecs and the Chinese, also employed
cultural equivalents to the jester.[10][11]
English royal court jesters
Many royal courts throughout English royal history employed entertainers and most
had professional fools, sometimes called "licensed fools". Entertainment included
music, storytelling, and physical comedy. Fool Societies, or groups of nomadic
entertainers, were often hired to perform acrobatics and juggling.[12]
Jesters were also occasionally used as psychological warfare. Jesters would ride in
front of their troops, provoke or mock the enemy, and even serve as messengers.
They played an important part in raising their own army's spirits by singing songs and
reciting stories.[13][14]
Henry VIII of England employed a jester named Will Sommers. His daughter Mary was
entertained by Jane Foole.[15]
During the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I of England, William Shakespeare wrote
his plays and performed with his theatre company the Lord Chamberlain's Men (later
called the King's Men). Clowns and jesters were featured in Shakespeare's plays, and
the company's expert on jesting was Robert Armin, author of the book Foole upon
Foole. In Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Feste the jester is described as "wise enough to
play the fool".[16]
In Scotland, Mary, Queen of Scots, had a jester called Nichola. Her son, King James VI
of Scotland, employed a jester called Archibald Armstrong. During his lifetime
Armstrong was given great honours at court. He was eventually thrown out of the
King's employment when he over-reached and insulted too many influential people.
Even after his disgrace, books telling of his jests were sold in London streets. He held
some influence at court still in the reign of Charles I and estates of land in Ireland.
Anne of Denmark had a Scottish jester called Tom Durie Charles I later employed a
jester called Jeffrey Hudson who was very popular and loyal. Jeffrey Hudson had the
title of "Royal Dwarf" because he was short of stature. One of his jests was to be
presented hidden in a giant pie from which he would leap out. Hudson fought on the
Royalist side in the English Civil War. A third jester associated with Charles I was
called Muckle John.[17]
Jester's privilege
Jester's privilege is the ability and right of a jester to talk and mock freely without
being punished. As an acknowledgement of this right, the court jester had symbols
denoting their status and protection under the law. The crown (cap and bells) and
sceptre (marotte) mirrored the royal crown and sceptre wielded by a monarch.[18][19]
Martin Luther used jest in many of his criticisms against the Catholic Church.[20] In
the introduction to his To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation, he calls himself a
court jester, and, later in the text, he explicitly invokes the jester's privilege when
saying that monks should break their chastity vows.[20]
Natural and artificial fools
There are two major groups when it comes to defining fools: artificial fools and
natural fools. Natural fools consisted of people who were deemed "mentally
defective," or as having a "deficiency in their education, experience or innate capacity
for understanding," and stood as someone for the rest of society to laugh at.[21] This
policy was not generally criticised during its time. Groups of people even saw this act
as a positive one, as these "natural" comedians were not typically able to have a job or
earn any sort of living on their own. The second group, artificial fools, is what most
people in modern times imagine when they hear the word "jester": someone who
comes up with witty and original jokes in order to entertain a royal court. The main
difference between the two groups is that a natural fool's comedy is not done
intentionally while an artificial fool's is.
Political significance
Scholar David Carlyon has cast doubt on the "daring political jester", calling historical
tales "apocryphal", and concluding that "popular culture embraces a sentimental
image of the clown; writers reproduce that sentimentality in the jester, and academics
in the Trickster", but it "falters as analysis".[22]
Jesters could also give bad news to the King that no one else would dare deliver. In
1340, when the French fleet was destroyed at the Battle of Sluys by the English,
Phillippe VI's jester told him the English sailors "don't even have the guts to jump into
the water like our brave French".[11]
End of tradition
After the Restoration, Charles II did not reinstate the tradition of the court jester, but
he did greatly patronise the theatre and proto-music hall entertainments, especially
favouring the work of Thomas Killigrew. Though Killigrew was not officially a jester,
Samuel Pepys in his famous diary does call Killigrew "The King's fool and jester, with
the power to mock and revile even the most prominent without penalty" (12 February
1668).
In the 18th century, jesters had died out except in Russia, Spain, and Germany. In
France and Italy, travelling groups of jesters performed plays featuring stylised
characters in a form of theatre called the commedia dell'arte. A version of this passed
into British folk tradition in the form of a puppet show, Punch and Judy. In France the
tradition of the court jester ended with the abolition of the monarchy in the French
Revolution.
In 2015, the town of Conwy in North Wales appointed Russel Erwood (aka Erwyd le
Fol) as the official resident jester of the town and its people, a post that had been
vacant since 1295.[23][24]
Other countries
Festival of the Archers. Master
of Frankfurt, 1493. Two jesters
are depicted in the centre of
the picture.
Poland's most famous court jester was Stańczyk (c. 1480–1560), whose jokes were
usually related to political matters, and who later became a historical symbol for
Poles.[25][26]
In 2004 English Heritage appointed Nigel Roder ("Kester the Jester") as the State
Jester for England, the first since Muckle John 355 years previously.[27] However,
following an objection by the National Guild of Jesters, English Heritage accepted
they were not authorised to grant such a title.[28] Roder was succeeded as "Heritage
Jester" by Pete Cooper ("Peterkin the Fool").[29]
In Germany, Till Eulenspiegel is a folkloric hero dating back to medieval times and
ruling each year over Fasching or Carnival time, mocking politicians and public figures
of power and authority with political satire like a modern-day court jester. He holds a
mirror to make us aware of our times (Zeitgeist), and his sceptre, his "bauble", or
marotte, is the symbol of his power.
In 17th century Spain, dwarves, often with deformities, were employed as buffoons to
entertain the king and his family, especially the children. In Velázquez's painting Las
Meninas two dwarfs are included: Maria Bárbola, a female dwarf from Germany with
hydrocephalus, and Nicolasito Portusato from Italy. Mari Bárbola can also be seen in
a later portrait of princess Margarita Teresa in mourning by Juan Bautista Martinez
del Mazo. There are other paintings by Velázquez that include court dwarves such as
Prince Balthasar Charles With a Dwarf.
During the Renaissance Papacy, the Papal court in Rome had a court jester, similar to
the secular courts of the time. Pope Pius V dismissed the court Jester, and no later
Pope employed one.
In Japan from the 13th to 18th centuries, the taikomochi, a kind of male geisha,
attended the feudal lords (daimyōs). They entertained mostly through dancing and
storytelling, and were at times counted on for strategic advice. By the 16th century
they fought alongside their lord in battle in addition to their other duties.
Tonga was the first royal court to appoint a court jester in the 20th century;
Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, the King of Tonga, appointed JD Bogdanoff to that role in
1999.[30] Bogdanoff was later embroiled in a financial scandal.[31]
As a symbol
The root of the word "fool" is from the Latin follis, which means "bag of wind" or
bellows or that which contains air or breath.[32]
In Tarot
In Tarot, "The Fool" is a card of the Major Arcana. The tarot depiction of the Fool
includes a man (or less often, a woman) holding a white rose in one hand and a small
bundle of possessions in the other with a dog or cat at his heels. The fool is in the act
of unknowingly walking off the edge of a cliff, precipice, or other high place.
In fiction
King Lear and the Fool in the Storm by William Dyce
The jester can be symbolic of common sense and of honesty, notably in King Lear,
where the court jester is a character used for insight and advice on the part of the
monarch, taking advantage of his licence to mock and speak freely to dispense frank
observations and highlight the folly of his monarch. This presents a clashing irony as
a greater man could dispense the same advice and find himself being detained in the
dungeons or even executed. Only as the lowliest member of the court can the jester
be the monarch's most useful adviser.
The Shakespearean fool is a recurring character type in the works of William
Shakespeare. Shakespearean fools are usually clever peasants or commoners that
use their wits to outdo people of higher social standing. In this sense, they are very
similar to the real fools, and jesters of the time, but their characteristics are greatly
heightened for theatrical effect.[33] The "groundlings" (theatre-goers who were too
poor to pay for seats and thus stood on the 'ground' in the front by the stage) that
frequented the Globe Theatre were more likely to be drawn to these Shakespearean
fools. However they were also favoured by the nobility. Most notably, Queen Elizabeth
I was a great admirer of the popular actor who portrayed fools, Richard Tarlton. For
Shakespeare himself, however, actor Robert Armin may have proved vital to the
cultivation of the fool character in his many plays.[34]
Modern usage
Buffoon
In a similar vein, a buffoon is someone who provides amusement through
inappropriate appearance or behaviour. Originally the term was used to describe a
ridiculous but amusing person. The term is now frequently used in a derogatory sense
to describe someone considered foolish, or someone displaying inappropriately
vulgar, bumbling or ridiculous behaviour which is a source of general amusement. The
term originates from the old Italian "buffare", meaning to puff out one's cheeks[35] that
also applies to bouffon. Having swelled their cheeks they would slap them to expel
the air and produce a noise which amused the spectators.[36]
Carnival and medieval
reenactment
Today, the jester is portrayed in different formats of medieval reenactment,
Renaissance fairs, and entertainment, including film, stage performance, and
carnivals. During the Burgundian and the Rhenish carnival, cabaret performances in
local dialect are held. In Brabant this person is called a "tonpraoter" or "sauwelaar",
and is actually in or on a barrel. In Limburg they are named "buuttereedner" or
"buutteredner" and in Zeeland they are called an "ouwoer". They all perform a cabaret
speech in dialect, during which many current issues are reviewed. Often there are
local situations and celebrities from local and regional politics who are mocked,
ridiculed and insulted. The "Tonpraoter" or "Buuttereedner" may be considered
successors of the jesters.[37]
Notable jesters
Historical
Triboulet (1479–1536), court jester
of Kings Louis XII and Francis I of
France
Stańczyk (c. 1480–1560), Polish
jester
João de Sá Panasco (fl. 1524–
1567), African court jester of King
John III of Portugal, eventually
elevated to gentleman courtier of
the Royal Household and Knight of
St. James
Jane Foole (c. 1543–1558), natural
fool of Catherine Parr and Mary I of
England
Will Sommers (died 1560), court
jester of King Henry VIII of England
Chicot (c. 1540–1591), court jester
of King Henry III of France
Mathurine de Vallois (fl. 1589 – fl.
1627), court jester of Henry III of
France and Henry IV of France
Archibald Armstrong (died 1672),
jester of King James I of England
Jeffrey Hudson (1619–c. 1682),
"court dwarf" of Henrietta Maria of
France
Jamie Fleeman (1713–1778), the
Laird of Udny's Fool
Perkeo of Heidelberg, 18th century,
jester of Prince Charles III Philip,
Elector Palatine
Sebastian de Morra, (died 1649)
court dwarf and jester to King Philip
IV of Spain
Don Diego de Acedo, court dwarf
and jester to Philip IV of Spain
Roulandus le Fartere, a medieval
flatulist who lived in twelfth-century
England
Modern-day jesters
Jesse Bogdonoff (b. 1955), court
jester and financial advisor to King
Taufa'ahau Tupou IV of Tonga[38][39]
Russel Erwood (b. 1981), known as
Erwyd le Fol, is the 2nd official
resident jester of Conwy in North
Wales replacing the jester of
1295[40][41]
Fictional jesters
Rigoletto – eponymous jester to the
Duke of Mantua in Giuseppe Verdi's
1851 opera Rigoletto
Yorick – dead court jester in
William Shakespeare's play Hamlet
Puck – court jester to the king of
the fairies, Oberon in Shakespeare's
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Jack Point – a 'strolling jester' in
Gilbert and Sullivan's 1888 Savoy
Opera, The Yeomen of the Guard
Nights - protagonist in the 1996
video game Nights into Dreams
Dimentio - antagonist in the 2007
video game Super Paper Mario
Pomni – protagonist in the adult
animated web series The Amazing
Digital Circus
Gallery
Illumination from a French Lancelot
manuscript, c. 1470 (detail)
Portrait of the Ferrara Court Jester
Gonella by Jean Fouquet 1445
Laughing Jester, unknown Early
Netherlandish artist (possibly Jacob
Cornelisz van Oostsanen), c. 1500
Anonymous German engraving, 16th
century
Caricature of a court jester of Philip the
Good, Duke of Burgundy, in the Recueil
d'Arras, a 16th ct. collection of portraits
copied by Jacques de Boucq
Jester Knight Christoph by Hans
Wertinger, 1515 (Thyssen-Bornemisza,
Madrid)
Family of Henry VIII with Will Sommers
on the far right and probably Jane Foole
on the far left, c. 1545
Henry VIII's jester Will Sommers,
engraving by Francis Delaram, c.
1615/24
Queen Henrietta Maria with Sir Jeffrey
Hudson by Van Dyck, 1633
Jacob Jordaens, The Woman, the Fool
and His Cat, 1641–1645 (private coll.)
Hinric Hasenberger, the Court Jester by
David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl, 1652
Stańczyk, by Jan Matejko, 1862. The
Polish jester is the only person at a
1514 royal ball troubled by the news
that the Russians have captured
Smolensk
"Keying Up" – The Court Jester by
William Merritt Chase, 1875
(Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine
Arts)
John Dawson Watson (1832–1892),
Friends in Council
Mr. Arthur Price, selected as "The Court
Jester" at the Pageant of Empire in
1909
Susuhunan jester participating in the
Garebeg Moeloed procession, Java
(Indonesia), c. 1920s
The Court Jester of Tabbyland
Jester-doll made by Olina Ventsel
(1938–2007)
Jester in Weingarten, Germany, in 2015
See also
Comedy
portal
Basil Fool for Christ
Cap and bells
Clowns
Clown society
Drollery
Fool (stock character)
Fool's literature
Foolishness for Christ
Fools Guild, California jester-
themed entertainment troupe
Harlequin
Itinerant poet
Joker (character)
Joker (playing card)
King Momo
Madame d'Or
Marotte – the staff often carried by
jesters
Master of the Revels
Punakawan, comedic sidekick in
Javanese tales
Skomorokh
Trickster
Footnotes
1. Soutworth, John (1998). Fools and
Jesters at the English Court. Stroud:
Sutton Publishing. pp. 89–93. ISBN 0-
7509-1773-3.
2. Welsford, Enid (1935). The Fool: His
Social & Literary History. London:
Faber & Faber. pp. 114–115.
3. "Jester" (http://www.etymonline.com/i
ndex.php?allowed_in_frame=0&searc
h=jester&searchmode=none) . Online
Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved
28 October 2012.
4. Horace Sat. i. 2. 2. (cited by Allen)
5. Notes and Queries: A Medium of Inter-
Communication for Literary Men,
Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, Etc
(https://books.google.com/books?id=
f79ZzLC_4JsC&dq=Balatrones+were+
paid+for+their+jests,+and+the+tables
+of+the+wealthy+were+generally+ope
n+to+them&pg=PA132) . Bell. 1868.
6. Sat ii. 8. 21 (cited by Allen)
7. Pauli Diaconi excerpta ex libris
Pompeii Festi de significatione
verborum, liber II, sub voce (https://ar
chive.org/stream/mverriiflacciqua01v
erruoft#page/108/mode/2up) . See
also here (https://archive.org/stream/
deverborumsigni00fest#page/34/mo
de/2up) .
8. Hor. Ep. i. 15. 31. (cited by Allen)
9. Gell. i. 15. (cited by Allen)
10. "Jester" (https://www.britannica.com/
EBchecked/topic/212748/fool) .
Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved
2012-06-07.
11. Otto, Beatrice (2001). Fools Are
Everywhere: The Court Jester Around
the World. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-
64091-4.
12. Kelly, Debra (2020-12-26). "What It
Was Really Like To Be A Court Jester -
Grunge" (https://www.grunge.com/30
2144/what-it-was-really-like-to-be-a-co
urt-jester/) . Grunge.com. Retrieved
2022-10-16.
13. sheldon, Natasha (2018-09-19). "The
Role of Fool was a Staple in Medieval
Culture... In Some of the Most
Unexpected Ways" (https://historycoll
ection.com/the-many-roles-of-the-me
dieval-fool/) . History Collection.
Retrieved 2022-10-16.
14. Kelly, Debra (2020-12-26). "What It
Was Really Like To Be A Court Jester -
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2144/what-it-was-really-like-to-be-a-co
urt-jester/) . Grunge.com. Retrieved
2022-10-16.
15. Westfahl, Gary (2015-04-21). A Day in
a Working Life: 300 Trades and
Professions through History [3
volumes]: 300 Trades and Professions
through History (https://books.google.
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jester+named+Will+Sommers.+His+d
aughter+Mary+was+entertained+by+J
ane+Foole.&pg=PA686) . ABC-CLIO.
ISBN 978-1-61069-403-2.
16. Shakespeare, William (1906). The
Works of Shakespeare ....: Twelfth
night; or, What you will, ed. by M. Luce
(https://books.google.com/books?id=
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e's+Twelfth+Night,+Feste+the+jester+
is+described+as+%22wise+enough+t
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Methuen & Company Limited.
17. Buckle, Henry Thomas (1872). The
Miscellaneous and Posthumous
Works of Henry Thomas Buckle (http
s://books.google.com/books?id=G73
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Muckle+John.&pg=PA201) .
Longmans, Green and Company.
18. "Medieval Jesters – And their
Parallels in Modern America" (http://w
ww.historyisnowmagazine.com/blog/
2019/1/13/medieval-jesters-and-their-
parallels-in-modern-america) . History
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Books | Modern International and
American history. 13 January 2019.
Retrieved 2022-02-18.
19. Billington, Sandra. "A Social History of
the Fool", The Harvester Press, 1984.
ISBN 0-7108-0610-8
20. Hub Zwart (1996), Ethical consensus
and the truth of laughter: the structure
of moral transformations (https://boo
ks.google.com/books?id=zkQFtzp0Z
wMC) , Morality and the meaning of
life, vol. 4, Peeters Publishers, p. 156,
ISBN 978-90-390-0412-8
21. Swain 1–2
22. Carlyon, D. (2002). "The Trickster as
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doi:10.1111/1542-734X.00003 (http
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23. "Welsh town appoints first official
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ppoints-official-jester-700-years-article
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Archived (https://web.archive.org/we
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24. Day, Liz (2015-08-08). "This official
town jester can balance a flaming
barbecue on his head..!" (http://www.
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russel-erwood-town-jester-conwy-981
4519) . walesonline. Retrieved
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25. Janusz Pelc; Paulina Buchwald-
Pelcowa; Barbara Otwinowska (1989).
Jan Kochanowski 1584-1984: epoka,
twórczość, recepcja (in Polish). Lublin:
Wydawnictwo Lubelskie. pp. 425–
438. ISBN 978-83-222-0473-3.
26. Jan Zygmunt Jakubowski, ed. (1959).
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28. Griffiths, Emma (2004-12-23). "Jesters
get serious in name row" (http://news.
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29. "Jester completes 100-mile tribute" (h
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30. "Tonga royal decree appointing JD
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32. "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http://
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=fool) . www.etymonline.com.
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33. Warde, Frederick B. (1913). The fools
of Shakespeare: an ... - Frederick B.
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35. Encyclopædia Britannica; or A
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Disgraced court jester no laughing
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tory.html) . Bristol Post. 2015-07-19.
Archived from the original (http://ww
w.bristolpost.co.uk/bristol-juggler-nort
h-wales-town-s-official/story-2744386
2-detail/story.html) on 2015-08-18.
Retrieved 2016-10-14.
References
Billington, Sandra A Social History
of the Fool, The Harvester Press,
1984. ISBN 0-7108-0610-8
Doran, John A History of Court
Fools (https://catalog.hathitrust.or
g/Record/001277686) , 1858
Hyers, M. Conrad, The Spirituality of
Comedy: comic heroism in a tragic
world 1996 Transaction Publishers
ISBN 1-56000-218-2
Otto, Beatrice K., "Fools Are
Everywhere: The Court Jester
Around the World," Chicago
University Press, 2001
Southworth, John, Fools and
Jesters at the English Court, Sutton
Publishing, 1998. ISBN 0-7509-
1773-3
Swain, Barbara. "Fools and Folly
During the Middle Ages and the
Renaissance" Columbia University
Press, 1932.
Welsford, Enid: The Fool : His Social
and Literary History (out of print)
(1935 + subsequent reprints):
ISBN 1-299-14274-5
Janik, Vicki K. (ed.) (1998). Fools
and Jesters in Literature, Art, and
History: A Bio-bibliographical
Sourcebook (https://books.google.c
om/books?id=yLtoRB9Wy-sC) .
Greenwood Publishing Group, USA.
ISBN 0-313-29785-1.
This article incorporates text from
a publication now in the public
domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870).
"Balatro". Dictionary of Greek and
Roman Antiquities. London: John
Murray. p. 183.
External links
Fooling Around the World (A history
of the court jester) (http://www.pre
ss.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/64
0914.html)
Foolish Clothing: Depictions of
Jesters and Fools in the Middle
Ages and Renaissance (http://www.
larsdatter.com/foolwear.htm)
What 14th-16th century jesters
wore and carried, as seen in
illustrations and museum
collections.
Costume (Jester Hat), ca. 1890-
1920, in the Staten Island Historical
Society Online Collection Database
(http://statenisland.pastperfect-onli
ne.com/00039cgi/mweb.exe?reque
st=record;id=15708631-34B3-4FFD-
91EE-550322395790;type=101)
Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Jester&oldid=1237635318"
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