However, should they not be witty enough to laugh the ruler out of his anger, they could be. As in Europe, court fools/jesters in China also enjoyed the freedom to make fun of the ruler. She concludes that the court jester was a universal phenomenon appearing across time and place as jesters were examined in Europe, China, India, the Middle East. Otto in this fascinating cross cultural study Fools Are Everywhere. He also served as an unofficial counselor representing the ordinary people. One of the world’s oldest historical figuresthe court jesterwas researched and explained by Beatrice K. In Europe, a costume was added and the fool became a jester, known for his quick, insulting wit. 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. A wise word put as a joke from a fool could prevent the king from making a fool of himself. Otto takes us on a journey around the world in search of one of the most colorful characters in historythe court jester. Such fools were cultivated because kings realized their value in holding up a mirror to the kings' own stupidities. BACKGROUND The project builds on the widely-cited book Fools Are Everywhere: The court jester around the world (Chicago University Press, 2001 & 2007) which. These quick-witted, quirky characters crop up. So the fool could speak his mind with impunity. Otto takes us around the world in search of one of the most colorful characters in history - the court jester. Sometimes retarded or physically handicapped, the fool from a lower social status was not a threat to the authority of the king. The British court jester had antecedents in Greek and Roman fools. As the chapters move on, Beatrice Otto sometimes offers conclusions, but generally the readers are left to make their own deductions. Often the original texts are given so readers can appreciate the nuances that are lost in translation.
Wherever jesters were found, they had remarkably similar roles. Their existence shows the extent of the phenomenon and this mere existence appears to be enough to warrant inclusion in the text. courts in Europe and all across the globe. The examples follow each other without evaluation. ) The many examples range from the well-known British jester and his kind throughout the mainland of Europe, via Asia to China, which has the earliest and longest jester tradition. ‘Beatrice Otto’s Fools Are Everywhere is apparently the only book in English that brings in a considerable amount of evidence from a specific non-Western context in an attempt to break the traditional Eurocentrism of the scholarly literature on jesters in Western languages. Otto, Fools Are Everywhere: The Court Jester around the World. Otto Heres quote An individual court jester. (Not exactly everywhere, but "he is not the product of any particular time or place". Transvestites and Clowns of Java, The Reversible World: Symbolic Inversion in Art. Hi Andy, Great entry titled An excerpt from Fools Are Everywhere The Court Jester Around the World Beatrice K.
The title proclaims the thesis: fools are everywhere. Illustrations, appendix, glossary of Chinese characters, bibliography, and index. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001. Fools Are Everywhere: The Court Jester Around the World. 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.OTTO, BEATRICE K. 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. 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. 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. Otto takes us on a journey around the world in search of one of the most colorful characters in history?the court jester.
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