Battlefield Buffoons
The Fools most extraordinary role, however, was their occasional use in war. It was a common sight when two armies were preparing for battle to see the jesters of the opposing leaders cavorting on foot or riding in front of the troops. These brave Fools would tell jokes and mock the enemy to raise their own army’s spirits- or provoke the enemy into a premature attack. For Fools had a psychological role in warfare. The night before a battle, they even acted as early wartime entertainers, diverting the soldier’s minds with songs and stories.
However, the Fools were not just battlefield buffoons. For quite often, the leaders of armies would use their jesters to convey messages to the opposing side. Fools were used to carry the terms of surrender – or to deliver the conditions for the release of hostages. This role was a dangerous one. For although traditionally, messengers were sacred and therefore not to be harmed, it was not unusual for disgruntled war leaders to literally ‘shoot the messenger’ – right back at their army.
Any Fool unfortunate enough to carry a message that displeased the recipient could find themselves loaded into a trebuchet or catapult and shot back into their army by way of reply. If they were lucky, the enemy would have killed the fool beforehand, with only their severed head acting as a reply. However, if a war leader was particularly truculent, it was the intact and living fool who made his way, airborne, back across the battlefield.
However, Fools on the battlefield did not just fly or frolic. Some of them joined in the fighting. One was William the Conqueror’s jester, a dwarf named Taillefer who played a crucial part in the Battle of Hastings. By the middle of the battle, the Norman’s were flagging and in danger of being defeated. Suddenly, Taillefer rode out in front of them and ‘tossing his sword high; he sported with it.”This battlefield-juggling act drew one of the soldiers out of the English’s defensive shield wall.
Taillefer immediately stopped cavorting, turned on the soldier and decapitated him. Then, he turned his horse towards the English lines and charged them. Taillefer was killed in Battle. However, his courageous fooling about acted as just the spur his side needed. Taking heart from his example, the Normans rallied, winning the battle and William his crown. On that day in 1066, one Fools antics changed the course of history proving that medieval jesters weren’t such a joking matter after all.
Where Do We Get This Stuff? Here are our Sources?
What was life like for a court jester? Karen Maitland, History Extra, March 7, 2017
Muncaster Castle jester competition reveals dark past, BBC News, May 30, 2013
Medieval Jester – More Than Just a Fool, Troy Depue, Medieval Facts, December 28, 2015
William Sommers- the King’s Fool, Just History, January 22, 2016
10 facts about the Battle of Hastings, Sally Coffey, Britain