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Medieval European Jesters and Fools

The Trade of Medieval European Jesters and Fools

A court Jester in Europe could emerge from a variety and wide range of backgrounds. He might be a university dropout, a monk thrown out of a priory, a jongleur with exceptional verbal ability or physical dexterity, a poet, a musician, or he might be any layman or apprentice whose fooling might have amused a nobleman. Just as a stand-up comedian might begin his career on the club circuit, so a Jester could make it big in court if he was lucky enough to be spotted.

Jesters and the clowns who performed as court Jesters were given great freedom of speech. Often they were the only one to speak out against the ruler's ideas, and through their humor were able to affect policy. This is what distinguishes him from a pure entertainer who would juggle batons, swallow swords, strum on a lute, or a clown who would play the fool simply to amuse people. The Jester everywhere employed the same techniques to carry out this delicate role, and it would take an obtuse king or emperor not to realize what he was driving at, since other court functionaries sugarcoated the king's facts for him before delivery; the Jester delivered them raw. It was the nature of Jesters to speak their minds when the mood overtook them, regardless of the consequences. They were not necessarily calculating or circumspect, and this may account for their foolishness. Jesters were also generally of inferior social and political status and as a result were rarely in a position to pose a power threat. They hade little to gain by caution and little to lose by candor, apart from liberty, livelihood, and occasionally even their life.

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