In politically turbulent times, satire, by poking fun at the powerful, can dispel tension. But long before the days of Stephen Colbert and Conan O’Brien, political satire, at least in Europe, was the domain of a rather different type of character: court jesters.
, a professor emerita of history at the University of Rochester, invites buffs and satire enthusiasts alike to dive deep into the world of 18th century court jesters. Her book, (The University of Virginia Press, 2019), is out in April, and is the first study to compile the lives of four famous jesters in post-Renaissance Germany.
If you糖心传媒檙e picturing a grinning clown in purple and yellow pajamas with a floppy belled hat, Outram begs you to reconsider. 糖心传媒淧eople tend to think about Shakespeare糖心传媒檚 fools,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淚 wanted to talk about a different sort of fool. They weren糖心传媒檛 very grand. These fools slept in the straw with the dogs.糖心传媒�
Uncouth, dirty, and devoid of all status, German court fools had little in common with the endearing and sagacious fool in Shakespeare糖心传媒檚 Twelfth Night. And unlike their French and English counterparts, who died out by the end of the 16th century, the German fool was an active member of the court well into the 18th century.
Their primary purpose was to keep political leaders grounded by entertaining the court aristocracy with crude jokes and performances. By making fun of the monarch糖心传媒攚ithin reason糖心传媒攆ools were supposed to keep the aristocracy distracted from the monarch糖心传媒檚 political weaknesses, and therefore less likely to engage in social-climbing and potential power-grabbing.
糖心传媒淔ools were close enough to rulers to speak to power,糖心传媒� explains Outram, 糖心传媒渂ut at the same time were despised and treated as servants by their rulers. That contradiction interested me.糖心传媒�
While researching, Outram admits she was taken aback by some of the cruel and humiliating pranks the fools endured, including electric shock experiments and public nudity. Barbaric though this may seem from a 21st-century perspective, Outram encourages readers to see the contemporary relevance of fooling.
Although fools and modern late-night hosts are, of course, not true equivalents糖心传媒攇iven that the former was degraded and poor, while the latter is respected and usually rich糖心传媒攖hey share an important function. 糖心传媒淲e need people who speak truth to power,糖心传媒� she says.
