![]() ![]() You Meng, also commonly known as Performer Meng or Jester Meng, was a court musician and entertainer in the service of King Zhuang of Chu (reigned 613-591 BC). Then come jesters, musicians and trained dwarfs,Īnd singing girls from the land of Ti-ti,Īs we can see, these ancient entertainers display the kind of behaviour and role typical of the jester, which I explicated in an essay on DMT trickster/jester entities : these figures are meant to lift the spirits of the people. 179-117 BC), who in Rhapsody on the Shanglin Park writes: For example, she quotes Sima Xiangru (ca. Otto offers a fascinating history of the jester in her book Fools Are Everywhere: The Court Jester Around the World (2001). This may resemble the skits and stories we have from China, India, and the Middle East, where the jester mocks the self-importance and even hypocrisy of the religious or literary class.īeatrice K. There is also a text in which the aluzinnu ’s role is apparently as an “intellectual entertainer who enters into a playful dialogue with the scholars of the Assyrian court and their literary products”. This resonates with the widespread association of music with jesters, including those in China (as we will see below). In Mari (located in Mesopotamia, now modern-day Syria), the aluzinni seems to have worked under the supervision of the nar-gal or chief musician, and in the company of the huppu (acrobat). It appears the aluzinnu was provided with “eccentric clothes and accessories” by the palace administration. There is mention of 60 elaborate hats/turbans and 35 pairs of boots or gaiters, reminiscent of the clothes and shoes worn by European court jesters. Letters from the first half of the second millennium BC concern the attire of the aluzinnu and describe his relationship with the palace. musihhu (“clown” – “he who brings to laugh”). It seems the term first occurred in the 20th century BC, with other words appearing next to it being related to laughter and humour, e.g. The profession of aluzinnu provides the possibility that the jester may have been a recognisable role in ancient Mesopotamia (see this paper from Maddalena Rumor on the subject). The Pharaoh’s response is the first instance known to us of a monarch delighting in a jester: “Come northward to the court immediately thou shalt bring this dwarf with thee … to rejoice and gladden the heart of the king of Upper and Lower Egypt, Neferkere, who lives forever.” 2323-2150 BC) an official wrote to the Pharaoh Neferkere to let him know he’d found a dancing dwarf. They were asked to be dancers and entertainers.ĭuring Egypt’s Sixth Dynasty (c. Pharaohs employed Pygmies – people who lived south of Egypt and who were short in stature – as the first jesters in history. Pharaohs ruled in the Fifth Dynasty from the early 25th century BC until the mid-24th century BC – a period of about 150 years. The first accounts of the jester that historians report goes back to the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt. Įarly jesters were popular in ancient Egypt and entertained Egyptian pharaohs. Perhaps they are a defining characteristic of the human species thus the role of the jester, or jester-like behaviour, could have originated tens of thousands of years ago, or possibly even millions of years ago when humour may have first evolved. clowns), from many cultures in the world, extending far back in time, there is uncertainty as to when jesters first emerged. While we have accounts of jesters, or similar figures (e.g. How far back in history can we find the presence of the jester? This is a somewhat difficult (if not impossible) question to answer. Written with wit and humor, Fools Are Everywhere is the most comprehensive look at these roguish characters who risked their necks not only to mock and entertain but also to fulfill a deep and widespread human and social need.Keying Up – The Court Jester (1879) by William Merritt Chase Most of the work on the court jester has concentrated on Europe Otto draws on previously untranslated classical Chinese writings and other sources to correct this bias and also looks at jesters in literature, mythology, and drama. With a wealth of anecdotes, jokes, quotations, epigraphs, and illustrations (including flip art), Otto brings to light little-known jesters, highlighting their humanizing influence on people with power and position and placing otherwise remote historical figures in a more idiosyncratic, intimate light. Though not always clad in cap and bells, these witty, quirky characters crop up everywhere, from the courts of ancient China and the Mogul emperors of India to those of medieval Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas. Otto takes us on a journey around the world in search of one of the most colorful characters in history?the court jester. ![]()
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