page_title: Jester
section_title: English royal court jesters
hierarchical_section_title: Jester / History / English royal court jesters
caption_attribution_description: Will Sommers, court jester to Henry VIII
context_page_description: A jester, court jester, or fool, was historically an entertainer during the medieval and Renaissance eras who was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch employed to entertain guests. Jesters were also itinerant performers who entertained common folk at fairs and town markets. Jesters are also entertainers who perform at modern-day historically themed events.
  Jesters in medieval times are often thought to have worn brightly coloured clothes and eccentric hats in a motley pattern and 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 magic tricks. Much of the entertainment was performed in a comic style and many jesters made contemporary jokes in word or song about people or events well known to their audiences.
context_section_description: 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. It has also been suggested they performed acrobatics and juggling.
  Henry VIII of England employed a jester named Will Sommers. His daughter Mary was entertained by Jane Foole.
  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 Fooled upon Foole. In Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Feste the jester is described as "wise enough to play the fool".
  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.
caption: 17th-century engraving of Will Sommers, Henry VIII's jester
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