Modern Day Jesters Part 1

After having blogged about a few original Medieval Jesters, it's time to come up to date and talk a bit about the modern day jesters. A good place to start links with my last post about Thomas Skelton.  He was the jester at Muncaster Castle in the 1600's.  In 2005, Muncaster Castle decided to re-instate their own jester once again.  Every year since then, there has been a competition among modern day jesters to win the coveted title of Jester of Muncaster Castle.  As far as I can tell, no other castle these days has a jester of it's own.
This role has been taken by jesters from around the world, with the current Jester being Mr Spin from Australia.  Jesters from Great Britain, Holland, France, Germany and  America have also competed for the honour.  In 2007, the winner was an American performer.
The event nowadays runs for around 5 days with lots of entertainment during the period, usually featuring previous winners or entrants to the competition.  Each year the competition takes place at the end of the festival and is compered by the previous year's winner. The competition is sponsored by Jennings Cumberland Ale.
For more information about it, try Googleing for "muncaster jester competition" or similar phrases.
For more information about two previous winners go to:
http://www.aurorascarnival.co.uk/AJ.htm who won in 2008,
http://www.aurorascarnival.co.uk/andywood.htm who won in 2009
http://www.aurorascarnival.co.uk/jonathan.htm who hasn't yet one, but has entered previously and is going back to enter again this year.

Pictures above of Al, Andy and Jonathan, winners and competitor of the Jester of Muncaster Castle.

Medieval Jesters Part 5 Thomas Skeltern

As mentioned earlier, Muckle John was the last of the jesters to be employed by the English Court.
There were other jesters around the country though, one of these being Tom Skelton.  He was jester at Muncaster Castle in Cumbria and worked for the Pennington Family. The castle has been owned by the Pennington family since 1208, and still is to this day.  Tom Skelton was, by all accounts, not completely sane and seems to have taken a perverse pleasure in making himself as objectionable as possible, although he seems to have been shrewd enough to keep on the right side of the Penningtons. One of his least offensive "tricks" appears to have been to coat the castle bannisters in grease.  When questioned as to whether he was responsible he reputedly replied "everyone had a hand in it".
It is believed also, that Tom Skelton was also called Tom Fool, and that the word "tomfoolery" derives from him.
His portrait (below) still hangs in Muncaster Castle, which is one of the most haunted places in England...Tom being credited with still haunting it.  It is reputed that in order to please his master on one occasion, he killed a local carpenter, and also when travellers he didn't like the look of asked him the way to London, he directed them into quicksand and so to their deaths!!! Tom himself died in 1668 having moved to Haigh Hall in Lancashire in 1659 with the young heir of the family - William Pennington.
Muncaster Castle still has it's own jester today, and each year since 2005 there is a competition among jesters from around the country to win that honour.

Medieval Jesters Part 4 - Richard Tarlton

Richard Tarlton was Jester and Fool to Queen Elizabeth 1st during the 1580's, being one of her favourite entertainers.  He was not only jester to the queen, but also an actor, comedian and member of a touring group of performers - The Queen's Players.  It is believed that he was born in Condover in Shropshire and is believed to have been either a swineherd, or inn keeper or both before becoming an actor and later court jester.
Other skills he had were as an author of ballads and plays and a fencing master. His development of the jig (a performance art involving story, dance and song) together with his other skills led him to have a profound effect on English popular theatre as a performer and comedian. A posthumously published book, "Tarlton's Jests" depicts a few of his examples of fooling at court. One of these was a "drunk act" where he called noisily for someone to bring him beer.  The queen suggested that he shouldn't have any more because he might "play the beast and therefore shame himself". He replied that she should "Fear not, for her beer was small enough".
On another occasion, he planned to play the part of the God Luz, with a piece of bacon tied to his back.  The queen's dog, however, started chasing him to get at the bacon, so Tarlton played about with that instead of following his original plan.
Tarlton made his will, died and was buried on September 3rd 1588 and is buried in the same churchyard as Will Somer at St Lonard's in Shoredith, London.

Richard Tarlton as most often depicted playing pipe and tabor