"The fool, though constrained, continually threatens to break free in pushing to its limits whatever freedom he is given."John Southworth's earlier work, The English Medieval Minstrel, remains one of the best books on medieval entertainers. In Fools and Jesters, however, he has surpassed himself, producing a seminal work which will become a classic on an equal footing with Enid Welsford's landmark The Fool: His Social and Literary History (first published in 1935). And in his particular focus, the historical English court jester, he provides the most comprehensive overview yet, superceding Welsford and all other writers to date.
Southworth has brought to light sources which have not been delved into before, and he has helped tidy up the mess of the jester's provenance, superbly defining the chaotic nomenclature of medieval court entertainers. He begins by touching on the universal aspect of the jester, then looking at aspects of fools (dwarves, warriors, musicians and naturals) before homing in on the real target of his study - the heyday of historical court jesters in England. This leads to some excellent biographical chapters (arranged more or less chronologically) devoted to the principal named jesters, placing them in the context of their time and considering their contemporary fools.
One of the best chapters deals with the open-ended debate about the European jester's costume, with Southworth soundly knocking a few nails in the coffin of the notion that real jesters cavorted in cap and bells as a matter of course. He teases out threads from a wide-ranging array of materials to write perhaps the clearest and most reliable overview of the arguments and counter-arguments. I have increasingly leaned towards believing that jesters rarely, if ever, wore the archetypal cap and bells in real life, and Southworth has succeeded in edging me further in that direction.
Fools and Jesters contains a wealth of detail and footnotes to engage `jesterologists', and for those making a study of English (or European) court entertainment, or looking at Shakespearean or other dramatic fools, it is essential reading.
That said, it also boasts the uncommon virtue in highly scholarly works of being wholly accessible and appealing to a general reader - the book is beautifully designed and produced, sumptuously illustrated and would serve as a superb starting point for anyone venturing into fools' territory, for fun or enlightenment.
I'd name this as one of the four key works on jesters yet written, which perfectly complements the other three.