Synopses & Reviews
In this lively work, Beatrice K. Otto takes us around the world in search of one of the most colorful characters in historyand#8212;the court jester.and#160; These quick-witted, quirky characters crop up everywhere, from the courts of ancient China and Mogul India to those of medieval Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas. A cornucopia of anecdotes, jokes, quotations, epigraphs, and illustrations (including flip art) brings to light little-known jesters, highlighting their humanizing influence on the head honchos of history, and shining a more idiosyncratic, intimate light on figures of power and position.
Written with wit and humor, Fools Are Everywhere is the most comprehensive look at these roguish, vital personalities who risked their necks not only to mock and entertain but also to fulfill a deep and widespread human and social need.
and#8220;Through anecdotes, historical details, analyses, and commentary, Otto brilliantly delineates the court jester, and quotations and illustrations do much to enhance this eminently readable text."and#8212;Library Journal
Review
"Our understanding of the jester will never be the same after Beatrice Ottos valuable book, which so fruitfully sounds the resonances between the European, the Chinese, the Egyptian and the Indian traditions. Her final plea for jesters in the world of Bush, Sarkozy and Putin is timely."--Simon Callow, Guardian(Simon Callow, Guardian)
Synopsis
In this lively work, Beatrice K. Otto takes us on a journey around the world in search of one of the most colorful characters in history-the court jester. Though not always clad in cap and bells, these witty, quirky characters crop up everywhere, from the courts of ancient China and the Mogul emperors of India to those of medieval Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas. With a wealth of anecdotes, jokes, quotations, epigraphs, and illustrations (including flip art), Otto brings to light little-known jesters, highlighting their humanizing influence on people with power and position and placing otherwise remote historical figures in a more idiosyncratic, intimate light.
Most of the work on the court jester has concentrated on Europe; Otto draws on previously untranslated classical Chinese writings and other sources to correct this bias and also looks at jesters in literature, mythology, and drama. Written with wit and humor, Fools Are Everywhere is the most comprehensive look at these roguish characters who risked their necks not only to mock and entertain but also to fulfill a deep and widespread human and social need.
About the Author
Beatrice K. Ottolives and works in Geneva.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Prologue: The Number of Fools Is Infinite
1. Facets of the Fool
2. The Scepter and the Bauble
3. In Risu Veritas, or Many a True Word Spoken in Jest
4. Overstepping the Mark: The Limits of His License
5. Religion, Erudition, and Irreverence
6. All the World's a Stage
7. Stultorum Plena Sunt Omnia, or Fools Are Everywhere
Epilogue: Future Fooling?
Appendix: Table of Named Jesters
Glossary of Chinese Characters
List of Abbreviations
Notes
Bibliography
Illustration Credits
Index