However, this much-needed morale-boosting was often carried on into battle and when both armies would line up, it was the job of the jesters to continue their entertainment. This was done just as entertaining was done: with a song and a dance. In even worse cases, it was only the jester's head that would make it back to camp via catapult.įor jesters who survived the message delivery and made it back to camp, it was often their job to elevate the morale of the army. This wouldn't be done in just any way, either - if the offense was severe, a messenger would be catapulted or tossed with a trebuchet back at his camp. Nowadays, it's just a saying said in earnest but back then, the jesters were the ones that the previously-mentioned saying references. If the message was at all viewed as offensive, the term 'kill the messenger' was often carried out.
Related: 10 Stunning European Medieval Castles You Should Plan A Trip To See However, with this agreement and reward came certain terms, such as a fool needing to return to the court on a certain date every year to perform or another, similar condition. Towards the end of the 12th century, the term 'fool' began floating about and eventually was used to refer to jesters who had earned their freedom and, with it, payment in the form of land. These men and women were also referred to as a joculator or a joculatrix. This meant that the court jester could potentially take on any number of roles depending on what his or her talent was. During the 11th and 12th centuries, the term 'minstrel,' which meant 'little servent,' commonly referred to musicians, singers, jugglers, magicians, and tumblers, according to HistoryExtra. To determine what actually constituted someone as being a jester, we must first acknowledge the fact that the term 'jester' applied to many entertainers. Some court jesters made a great profit from what they did while others found out quickly that to be a jester isn't always fun and games, especially when the term 'don't shoot the messenger' becomes a stark reality. Their duties also doubled, as they were often messengers for said courts and estates, following their masters wherever they went and delivering messages - no matter how dangerous the journey - wherever they needed to go.
It's during this time that the need for a jester, who was often referred to as a servent, was required by the court. The life of a court jester is one that dates back to the Middle Ages and Tudor era.
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