The Court Jester podcast, created by art historian Kleio Pethainou, shines a light on the often-overlooked comedic aspects of medieval life. Rather than focusing on the grim narratives common in perceptions of the Middle Ages, the podcast recounts fabliaux—humorous tales that highlight the absurdity of everyday struggles amid societal norms. Pethainou emphasizes that these stories remain relevant, providing insight into power dynamics through laughter. The episodes revive medieval humor in its rawest form, aiming to celebrate the creativity and humanity of the past without modern alterations or sanitization.
When people think of the Middle Ages, they often picture gloomy castles, endless wars, poor sanitation and different kinds of plague. Rarely do they imagine belly laughs, fart jokes and scandalous tales of trickster wives, sexually frustrated priests and clueless husbands.
These are not your high-and-mighty chivalric epics. These are the fabliaux, the stories of the everyday people who had their minds set on getting fed, getting rich or getting...you get the idea.
The characters chosen as the butt of the joke tell us something about who held power, who didn't, and how laughter could subvert or reinforce social norms.
But my intention is not to mock the past. I want to celebrate its weirdness, its creativity and the human impulse to laugh at power, sex, hypocrisy, and bodily functions.
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