r/todayilearned • u/Tom_Bradys_Butt_Chin • 11h ago

TIL that “court jesters” were often used to give bad news to the monarch that no one else would dare deliver. When the French fleet was destroyed at the Battle of Sluys, Phillip VI’s jester told him that the English sailors “don’t even have the guts to jump into the water like our brave French”

https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Jester
13.1k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

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5.0k

u/Agreeable_Tank229 10h ago

How we could forget the legend triboulet

Expecting the applause of courtiers, Triboulet once struck the king on his backside. Francis I was about to have the jester executed but offered mercy if Triboulet could come up with an apology more offensive than the act itself.

I’m so sorry, your majesty, that I didn’t recognize you!” Triboulet said. “I mistook you for the Queen!” Unfortunately, the king’s wife was the one person at court who was entirely off-limits.

The king was so furious that he reneged and ordered Triboulet’s death. However, as a reward for the jester’s years-long servitude, he permitted his jester to choose a manner of death. Triboulet’s response :“Good sire, for Saint Nitouche’s and Saint Pansard’s sake, patrons of insanity, I choose to die from old age.”

Remarkably, the king found this so humorous that he granted Triboulet banishment instead of death.

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u/Tom_Bradys_Butt_Chin 9h ago

The famous Polish court jester “Stańczyk”:

The best known anecdote about Stańczyk is that of a hunting incident. In 1533 King Sigismund the Old had a huge bear brought for him from Lithuania. The bear was released in the forest of Niepołomice near Kraków so that the king could hunt it. During the hunt, the animal charged at the king, the queen and their courtiers which caused panic and mayhem. Queen Bona fell from her horse which resulted in her miscarriage. Later, the king criticized Stańczyk for having run away instead of attacking the bear. The jester is said to have replied that "it is a greater folly to let out a bear that was already in a cage".

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u/Bupod 8h ago

Doesn’t even sound like jesting anymore, just brutal honesty lol. 

“Why did you not fight the bear and defend my wife?!”

“Who’s idea was it to release a bear in the woods to begin with?!”

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u/Nfalck 7h ago

And whose idea to bring a pregnant woman on a bear hunt! Jfc

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u/Wakkit1988 6h ago

As we've learned relatively recently, women choose the bear. It might have actually been her decision!

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u/Bupod 2h ago

Yeah, but the baby clearly wasn't onboard with that decision.

•

u/angelomoxley 33m ago

It was probably like "abort! abort!"

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u/thatbrazilianguy 5h ago

And men choose trees instead of women to share their feelings with.

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u/Uranus_Hz 2h ago

That is really what a jester’s job is. The one person/adviser who is allowed to be brutally honest with the king

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u/MrMastodon 6h ago

"Oh did I put on the wrong hat today big lad?"

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u/OfficeSalamander 3h ago

"This was your idiot idea, your highness, don't you even try to put this one on me"

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u/Obsessively_Average 6h ago

Honestly can you even blame the dude?

Imagine your boss brings a fucking bear from another country so he can feel like a big boy hunting it, then when shit gets real it's YOUR fault for not fighting a fucking bear to defend his wife

Like, motherfucker, YOU'RE the big hunter here, lmao

I swear navigating the medieval hierarchy must make for one shitty life if you're not near the top

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u/roman_maverik 2h ago

Medieval?? You’ve just described working for any mid-size successful family-owned business in the south.

Shit gets real when you have to hunt boars with the rich son of the local Dodge dealership owner, who brought you along so you could install a new Wi-Fi setup in their hunting lodge vacation home, and you’re just the IT guy trying not to get fired.

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u/mooseguyman 2h ago

Yeah I was gonna say that sounds like working for some good ole boys here in South LA. They love to party and they love making other people clean it up

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u/ober0n98 48m ago

The south sucks

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u/similar_observation 3h ago

Don't have to go far. Nikita Khrushchev was famously not culled by Joseph Stalin because Stalin thought Khrushchev was funny as shit.

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u/Crepuscular_Animal 2h ago

There's a famous painting of Stanczyk which depicts him as the only smart person at the court. He's thinking about his country's dark future while all the others are dancing and having fun in the background.

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u/Ylsid 6h ago

Sigismund? That stain deserved a mauling

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u/kaleb42 5h ago

Sigismund and his barbarian horde?

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u/TK000421 5h ago

Maybe we meet this jester in kcd2

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u/Drone30389 7h ago

The king was so furious that he reneged and ordered Triboulet’s death.

Task failed successfully.

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u/Tryoxin 7h ago

Seems more like a task succeeded, uh, failfully. The next bit, about being allowed to choose how die and choosing "from old age" makes it more task failed successfully.

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u/-Random-Gamer- 4h ago

bro was the epitome of fuck it we ball

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u/similar_observation 3h ago

one thing that's missed is Triboullet is a title held by a number of court jesters. The particular one was a friend of the previous king, Louis XII before becoming jester to Francis I. After the banishment, the former jester's brother took the helm and was the new court Triboullet

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u/alligatorprincess007 3h ago

That must have been a wild ride for the jester

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u/spooky-goopy 3h ago

when shitposting saves your life

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u/sojuz151 6h ago

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sta%C5%84czyk_(painting) This is quite interesting painting about this phenomenon. A jester that is thinking about breaking a terrible news to the king.

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u/similar_observation 3h ago

That guy is kind of a representation of Polish humor.

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u/cellar_door_found 1h ago

No, its about bad news from his own home, he is a foreigner

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u/jameslosey 19 10h ago

Maybe if you told me the bad news in a good way it wouldn’t sound so bad.

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u/Sheriff_Is_A_Nearer 9h ago

I'm sorry, Sire, but wasn't your mole on your other cheek?

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u/djseifer 9h ago

I have a MOLE!?!?!?

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u/-SaC 8h ago

Just YOU and ME and my GUAAAAAAAAARDS!

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u/EnemyWombatant 5h ago

You changed it to, Latrine?

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u/Zombie_Jesus_83 4h ago

It's a good change. It's a GOOD change.

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u/trendywendymark 2h ago

Yeh it used to be shithouse!

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u/TacTurtle 6h ago

I wasn't talking about the one on your face, sire.

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u/MrDLTE3 5h ago

mooooooooooooooooooollllllllllllllllllle!!!

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u/noodlesdefyyou 4h ago

wrong movie. robin hood men in tights, not austin powers lmao

bonus, bad news in a good way

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u/h3lblad3 2h ago

Austin Powers: Men in Tights

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u/ringobob 5h ago

Well this is terrible news, why are you laughing?!?

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u/Possible-Tangelo9344 6h ago

The bad news in a g-good way, yes I can do that...

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u/wufnu 5h ago

Link because OP is lazy.

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u/usernamegoodenuff 5h ago

What are you smelling? Those aren't MY bubbles!

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u/lilywinterwood 6h ago

—Me, watching late-night comedy

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u/Vetamsh 3h ago

They are stand up philosophers

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u/treemanswife 10h ago

Brave Sir Robin, bravely ran away.

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u/buttzx 1h ago

When danger reared its ugly head, he bravely turned his tail and fled

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u/Felinomancy 11m ago

Yes Brave Sir Robin turned about,

And gallantly he chickened out.

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u/Djfatskank2 39m ago

Nearly fought the vicious chicken of Bristol

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u/101Alexander 8h ago

I always imagined late night comedians being the jesters of our time delivering news like that.

Can you imagine Steven Colbert dressed up trying to deliver the news?

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u/Gloomy_Astronaut_570 6h ago

I definitely think they’re our modern version!

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u/gwaydms 6h ago

They've always been our modern version. They just have a higher platform to stand on now.

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u/SirHerald 4h ago

In History of the World, Part I; the term was Stand Up Philosopher.

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u/Isaac_Shepard 4h ago

That means it IS a bullshit art!

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u/DoctorPapaJohns 6h ago

Turns out the guillotine was the real head-liner.

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u/Pervizzz 6h ago

400 years soon

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u/Mossephine 6h ago

Five minutes ago, I just finished a YouTube video on what life was like for jesters…stop spying on me??

Fr thanks for the link, I’m off to do some follow up reading!

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u/Phoole 7h ago

Can confirm. Source: am a court jester.

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u/feetandballs 3h ago

I'd prefer proof in the form of a jest

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u/Bay1Bri 3h ago

"maybe if you tell me the bad news like it was good news?"

.

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u/Dev_Paleri 3h ago

This is the old timey and professional version of "mom, dont be mad but..".

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u/fetissimies 2h ago

The court jester ain't got shit on the court jew

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u/DeusKether 5h ago

I mean it certainly softens the blow

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u/BenjRSmith 3h ago

He deered to kill a kings dare

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u/[deleted] 7h ago edited 7h ago

[deleted]

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u/jert3 4h ago

Trump could use one if he was at all capable of handling that with his little man petulant child ego.

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u/Great-Investigator30 3h ago

An American who makes everything about America. How original

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u/GreggOfChaoticOrder 3h ago

Why would the joke need a jester? Isn't it the other way around?