Medieval Characters

The jester is one of the most well known of Medieval Characters, but was by no means the only one.

This blog will introduce you to some of the other, perhaps lesser know ones - modern day equivalents are still available to hire for any event, although they tend to be used more during full day Medieval events rather than weddings or banquets.

The Simpleton....Or Simple Tom as we know him, today.

Simple Tom is a character based very loosely on the medieval peasant, but with the addition of 21st Century comic timing and stupidity.  Simple Tom engages with the public as a rather bumbling fool, with the ability to draw upon whatever is happening and turn it into a humorous situation.  He may be found with Spud (his not very medieval potato puppet,) he may "marry" one of the pretty wenches at the event....being both groom and  parson at the same time.....there is no knowing what will happen next but you can be certain that it will provoke much hilarity and amusement among those who witness it.

To find out more about Simple Tom

The Gongfarmer:

What, you may well ask, is a Gongfarmer.  Put simply, he was the medieval character with the worst possible job.  He could only work at night between 9.00pm and 5.00am, it was a smelly but well paid job but could lead to early death.  Have you guessed yet?

He was the person who was responsible for clearing up the human excrement (or poo!!). The word "gong" came from the Old English "gang" which meant "to go," and was used as the name both for the privey (toilet) and it's contents.  They had to clear out the public, and later, private toilets and remove the contents out of the town.  It would be taken to dumps where it would later be used as fertiliser. A gongfarmer at the time of Queen Elizabeth 1st (1533 - 1603) earned six pence a day, which was a lot of money then.  Because of the stench while digging up the solid excrement, gongfarmers could be overcome by asphyxiation  so many of them employed young boys to lift the buckets out of the pit or work in confined spaces.

There are currently two gongfarmers in the UK (actors not real!!!) who are available to hire for medieval events.  They will explain all about the job in interesting and humorous ways and may even provide "samples".  For more information click here.

Just for fun...try this "gongfarmer" game (which isn't really historically accurate!!)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/games/gong-farmer-game

More Medieval character next time......

Modern Day Jesters No. 5

Different Jesters offer different skills depending on what they are interested in themselves and what they have learned and are happy utilising during a performance.  Pretty much all jesters offer a mix of Meet'n'Greet entertainment where they welcome the guests to the event, be it a Medieval Day in a castle, for example, a wedding or banquet.  Some welcome on stilts, other's at ground level.
Depending on the occasion, they would then offer walkabout entertainment where they mix in with the guests, usually performing trick to small numbers of people at a time (sometimes called mix'n'mingle) and/or shows which last anything between 10 minutes (say between courses at a banquet) or half an hour (say during a Medieval outdoor event.)
They are generally very flexible and do their best to provide the mix of entertainment required by the client which is suitable to the event.
Here are a few more photographs of jesters, showing a good mix of entertainment types and a variety of costumes.

As you can see, there is a wide range of skillful jesters available.  As they are based all around the UK, then if a specific skill is required, a suitable performer may have to travel some distance to the event.

For information about other medieval performers available, please have a look at:
http://www.circusperformers.co.uk/medieval.htm

http://www.aurorascarnival.co.uk/medieval_list2.htm

http://www.medieval-performers.co.uk/

http://www.medievalperformers.co.uk/

To receive emails about medieval entertainment and keep up to date with various acts, please visit:

http://www.medievalentertainersuk.co.uk/

Sign up and receive a Free PDF entitled "All you Want to Know about Medieval Entertainment.

Thanks for following my blog.

Modern Day Jesters Part 4

Today I have a little more information about two more jesters I have available for work in the country. Both are multi skilled providing a range of entertainment for weddings, corporate events, banquets, castles etc.
Peet is based in the south west of England, but regularly travels all around the country.
He specialized in presenting entertainment with a genuinely authentic flavour for a wide variety of historical venues and events, bringing his unique style of historical comedy to events throughout Europe and all over the UK.

A madcap fool, in the truest sense of the words, whether toppling precariously on stilts, fire eating or balancing upside down on anyone he can trick into lying on the floor. A Must Have for banquets, outdoor events, themed parties weddings or historical re-enactments.

Peet has been Resident Fool at Hampton Court Palace since 1992. Other clients have included The Tower of London, English Heritage, Sir Cliff Richard and Virgin Trains.

For more information about Peet, see:
http://www.aurorascarnival.co.uk/peterkin.htm

Heading north of the border, Graham is another accomplished jester who largely works all around Scotland and the north of England. Being adept at fire and knife juggling he adds the element of danger to his performance. He is also an accomplished magician and uses a full range of skills to entertain.

He can offer walkabout/mix'n'mingle entertainment as well as a full family friendly half hour show. For more pictures and information see:
http://www.aurorascarnival.co.uk/fuzzy_jester.htm

Modern Day Jesters Part 3

There are numerous jesters entertaining in the United Kingdom at the moment. Most use a variety of circus based skills such as: stiltwalking, juggling, diabolo, circus skills workshops, balloon modelling etc as the basis for their entertainment.

There are also a number of jesters who add a small element of danger to their acts. The most common of these is Fire. A large number of today's jesters juggle with fire, a few of them offer body burning (running a burning brand over their arms and torso) and even fewer who offer fire breathing (which is of course much more dangerous and an incredibly stupid thing to do!!!)

Another dangerous act performed by a handful of jesters is sword swallowing. There are a few who turn this into a comedy event by using fake swords, but 1 or 2 of the jesters in this country do actually swallow a sword. Not only is this extremely dangerous, as if done incorrectly could cause real internal damage to the perfomer, but it also the one trick that takes longer (sometimes years) to master than any other. Only those performers with an open mind and the willingness to attempt this will ever do it.

Almost as dangerous, but attempted by a few more jesters are the routines that include lying on a bed of nails, or waking on broken glass. Neither of these are as difficult as sword swallowing, but both are just as effective in a show and if not performed properly, almost as dangerous.

One question almost always asked by members of the audience who witness a jester fire performing (juggling, eating, breathing) or a jester walking on broken glass is "Is that real fire?" or "Is that real glass?" Of course the answer is always....Yes, most definitely....

One very important thing to remember is...Never attempt to copy feats of this nature yourself - the jester performing these skills are all fully trained, but even they occasionally injure themselves.

Modern Day Jesters Part 2

Today, I'll look briefly at another couple of modern day jesters.
The first, Kris Katchit, has been a performer for around 20 years and a jester for about half that time. As a jester, Kris gets to travel the country working in places that he wouldn't otherwise get to see - stately homes, castles, top hotels and the like. Most of his work as a jester involves performing at Medieval weddings or Medieval banquets. Some of his work includes visiting secondary schools that are working on the Medieval period and talking about the role of the jester in medieval society, demonstrating some of his skills and possibly teaching some of these skills to the students.
For more detailed information on what Kris offers, visit:
http://www.aurorascarnival.co.uk/krisjester.htm

Another jester who is working around the country at the moment is Sylvesta. He again works at weddings and banquets, but has a completely different style from Kris. Sylvesta is a musician and uses music, song, riddles etc. to entertain his audience. He can provide quiet background music when appropriate, and also lead the guests in rousing singing if that is required. Working around the tables, be either plays and sings to a few people at a time, tells jokes, gets people thinking with his riddles or grants a wish to the ladies of the court.
For more details on Sylvesta, please visit:
http://www.aurorascarnival.co.uk/sylvesta.htm

Kris Katchit, Medieval jester - juggling while walking over a bed of broken glass

Sylvesta the musical Jester