Medieval Jesters Part 2 - Archibald Armstrong

Archibald (Archy) Armstrong was a native of Scotland or of Cumberland, and according to tradition first distinguished himself as a sheep-stealer; afterwards he entered the service of James VI, with whom he became a favourite.

Archy was appointed court jester after escaping the death penalty for sheep stealing by displaying his wit to the king,  and was already in service in 1603 when the king succeeded to the English throne. In 1611 he was granted a pension of two shillings a day, which a month later was re-granted for life, and he accompanied James on his visit to Scotland in 1617. His influence was considerable and he was greatly courted and flattered, but his success appears to have gone to his head. He became presumptuous, insolent, and mischievous and was much disliked by the members of the court. James seems to have favoured him, indeed in August 1618 Archie got the monopoly on tobacco pipes.


In 1623 he accompanied Prince Charles and Buckingham in their adventure into Spain, where he was much caressed and favoured by the Spanish court and, according to his own account, was granted a sizeable pension.
He retained his post on the accession of Charles I, and accumulated a considerable fortune, including the grant by the king of 1000 acres (4 km²) in Ireland. After the death of Buckingham in 1628, whom he declared "the greatest enemy of three kings," the principal object of his dislike and rude jests was Archbishop Laud, (Archbishop of Canterbury 1633 to 1645) whom he openly vilified and ridiculed. In 1637, On Laud's complaint to the council, Archy was sentenced the same day "to have his coat pulled over his head and be discharged the king's service and banished the king's court."

He settled in London as a money-lender, and many complaints were made to the privy council and House of Lords of his sharp practices. In 1641 on the occasion of Laud's arrest, he enjoyed a mean revenge by publishing Archy's Dream; sometimes Jester to his Majestie, but exiled the Court by Canterburie's malice. Subsequently he resided at Arthuret in Cumberland, according to some accounts his birthplace, where he possessed an estate, and where he died in 1672, his burial taking place on April 1.

He was twice married, his second wife being Sybilla Bell. Some sources say that there is no record of any legal offspring, but the baptism of a "base son" of Archibald Armstrong is entered in the parish register of December 17, 1643. Other sources quote him having a son, Philip, in 1628 and several daughters - referred to in his Dream.  He is also thought to have married a third time, eighteen months after the birth of his illegitimate son.  A Banquet of Jests: A change of Cheare, published about 1630, a collection chiefly of dull, stale jokes, is attributed to him, and with still less reason probably A choice Banquet of Witty Jests ... Being an addition to Archee's Jests, taken out of his Closet but never published in his Lifetime (1660). 

He was succeeded as Court Jester by Muckle John.

Archibald Armstrong from the 1636 edition of A Banquet of Jests
(British Museum)

Medieval Jesters Part 1 - Will Sommers

Born in Shropshire, Will Sommers (or William Somer according to some sources) got to know Richard Fermor, a merchant of the Calais staple, (The staple was a system of trade and taxation used during the medieval period in England) which led him to Greenwich in 1525 where he was presented to King Henry V111. Impressed by Sommers sense of humor, Henry immediately offered him a place at court.  He was soon in high favour with the king, which has been testified by the accounts of the royal household. Sommers remained in the King's service for the rest of Henry's life, and during the king's later years, when he was troubled a painful foot condition, it was found that only Sommers could lift his morale. Will was also a man of integrity and discretion.  Thomas Cromwell, the 1st Earl of Essex, appreciated that he sometimes drew the King's attention to extravagance and waste in the household by means of a joke.
Court jesters were permitted familiarities that no other person had at court and Sommers had a shrewd wit that he exercised regularly.
After Henry's death, Will remained at court, mainly in a ceremonial role under Mary 1st and as a personal sidekick to her fool, Jane.  He was reputed to be one of  only two men who could make Mary laugh!
Will's last public event was the coronation of Queen Elizabeth 1st, when he retired.  He was probably the William Sommers whose death is recorded in the parish of St Leonards. Shoreditch on June 15th 1560.

Will Sommers, Court Jester to King Henry V111

In the beginning!!!!

Hi,
Being completely new to blogging, I've no idea what I've let myself in for.  I intend to use this Blog to talk about the various types of Medieval Entertainment that there was in the past (i.e. Medieval times) and the type of Medieval Entertainment that is available today.  I'm no historian, so this won't be full of boring history, hopefully it will be entertaining and perhaps even mildly educational.
My interest in this stems from the fact that I am a modern day jester - yes, that's me in the pic!!

I guess that I'll therefore start with a little about Jesters.....

A jester, joker, fool, or buffoon was a person employed to tell jokes and provide general entertainment - music, juggling, acrobatics or similar - typically by a European monarch. Jesters are stereotypically thought to have worn brightly colored clothes and eccentric hats in a motley pattern. Their hats were especially distinctive; made of cloth, they were floppy with three points, each of which had a jingle bell at the end. Originally, the jester's hat only had the two points to represent the donkey's ears.  The third, to represent the tail was added at a later date. Other things distinctive about the jester were his laughter and his mock sceptre, known as a bauble or marotte.
One of the lesser know fact about jesters is that they were not really clowns, but rather companions to the monarch.  Many were known for their wisdom and were asked to give advice. There were essentially two types of fool, those who were naturals - the half wit or bumpkin/village idiot and the learned fool who, not only entertained and gave advice, but was permitted to some extent to criticise their master, mistress or guests. It is even said, that Queen Elizabeth 1 rebuked one of her fools for being insufficiently severe with her. The Jester was even permitted to give news to the monarch that no-one else would dare to do - especially if the news was bad!!
There were many instances in the plays of William Shakespeare that the fool or jester appears.  In his plays, the fools are usually clever peasants or commoners that use their wits to outdo people of higher social standing.  In this sense they are very similar to the real fools, clowns and jesters of he time, but their characteristics are greatly heightened for theatrical effect.
Over the next few blogs, I'll try to give a little insight into some of the jesters from the Middle Ages that we do know something about.......
Thanks for reading...any comments greatly welcomed)
Chris