forgotten traditions
fools, jesters and taborers
Books have been written about the symbolism of bald heads, court fools and jesters, jesters who were entertainers and minstrels King's 'fools' fell into one of two categories; those that were simple and needed looking after and the clever, witty ones who lived Foolishness is symbolized by the jester. Fools were thought of as low status, untrustworthy, clumsy and stupid. There was a long |
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12th century misericord Alsace, France |
1275-1325 Toulouse, France |
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1420's France |
A closely-cropped head was a sign of low birth and considered to be ugly. |
c 1430 Hague, Belgium | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
c.1450 England | 1450-1475 Troyes, France | 15th century France |
15th century France playing card 'buffoon' |
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15th century Germany jester playing pipe | 1464 Roskilde cathedral, Denmark jester playing pipe and bones |
1450 Germany tarot card |
One Tarot card character is Death. In the Middle Ages Death is often shown in Jester's garb because "The last laugh is reserved for death." Also, Death humbles everyone just as jesters make fun of everyone regardless of their standing in society. |
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Elizabethan fools: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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. |
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Women jesters |
200AD female dancer with bells and coxcomb |
15th century woman jester | 1491 Danse Macabre |
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16th century Picardy, France | 16th century Picardy, France |
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Jane the Fool was the jester of queens Catherine Parr and Mary I, and possibly also of Anne Boleyn (16th century England). After the Restoration Chales II did not reinstate the tradition of the court jester | Maria Bárbola, from 1651 employed by the Spanish court |
Mathurine was a jester for the French court during the reigns of Henry III, Henry IV, and Louis XIII (16th and 17th centuries). |
For more information on fools see
'Fools, Devils and Alchemy, Secular Images in the Monestry' by Ana Maria Gruia, 2008
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