What was a jesters class in the Medieval times?
The jester was a symbolic twin of the king. All jesters and fools in those days were thought of as special cases whom God had touched with a childlike madness—a gift, or perhaps a curse. Mentally handicapped people sometimes found employment by capering and behaving in an amusing way. In the harsh world of medieval Europe, people who might not be able to survive any other way thus found a social niche. All royal courts employed entertainers and most had professional fools of various types. Entertainment included music, juggling, clowning, and the telling of riddles. Henry VIII of England employed a jester named Will Somers. 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 often 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 Twelft
The position of the court jester was actually very complicated. On the surface, a jester might be taken as a mere buffoon, but he also had to walk a fine line in the court, as he had no official place in the ranks of the court. This allowed court jesters to be more free with their opinions, since their words could be considered jokes, but they had to be careful about overstepping their boundaries, as a court jester who went too far could be punished by the monarch. In some cases, people who were disabled took up a position as court jester. The mentally disabled might find a place in medieval society by capering and frolicking at court, thereby relieving their families of a significant burden. Other court jesters were trained musicians, actors, or artists, and some of them even became trusted and valued confidants in the court. Many court jesters were extremely intelligent and sensitive to the political and social trends of their eras. Their skilled entertainments might have included cl
