- Hardcover: 224 pages
- Publisher: Sutton Publishing Ltd; illustrated edition edition (23 April 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0750917733
- ISBN-13: 978-0750917735
- Product Dimensions: 25.2 x 18 x 2.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 893,458 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Fools and Jesters at the English Court
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Southworth presents a reign-by-reign chronicle of the English court fool from his origins in Europe and Ireland to the court of James I.
About the Author
John Southworth has combined a lengthy career in the theatre as an actor and director, with reaearch and writing on the early history of popular entertainment. He runs an independent production company at Ipswich Arts Theatre (of which he was artistic Director). He has also written Shakespeare the Player for Sutton.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
"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.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3 reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Cafe Eighties Magazine -- Publisher's Pick April 1999
5 April 1999
Format:Hardcover
The morning after I finished reading Fools and Jesters of the English Court by John Southworth, I eagerly abandoned my bed and headed over to the Medieval Galleries at the Metropolitan Musuem of Art. I was anxious to test my newfound knowledge and see how many authentic English fools I could identify in the tapestries and stained glass. I knew the best clues would not be as obvious as the traditional jester's cap of bells. Now I know better than that. For casual English history buffs like me, Fools and Jesters of the English Court is an intriguing read, throwing an intensely revealing spotlight on these performers of old and their sometimes complex roles in medieval English society. However, for as many clever and shrewd "fools" who held unique positions of influence over their royal companions, there were just as many whose lives and minds were starkly simple by contrast. Southworth's book is a thorough education in this highly specific slice of England's history and will not be a quick, easy read for anyone not already possessing a related degree. However, for the rest of us, it is worth taking moments away to refer to the English royal family tree or to take the occasional grounding glance at a historical time line to get the best overall understanding of the material. Even without this effort, though, there are many anecdotes throughout that provide a satisfying look backwards at personalities that seldom make it through the filter of historical repetition -- of significant dates; of shocking statistics of battles and plagues; of scandal and brutality attributed to kings and queens.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
foolery well-written
6 Jan 2010
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
A nice, scholarly overview for anyone interested in a nice, scholarly overview of English court foolery.
0 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Good information. Boring.
15 Jun 2007
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
How can you take a subject like this and make it boring? Read the book and find out.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Biography > Historical > Britain > Military
- Books > Biography > Historical > Countries & Regions > Europe
- Books > Biography > Novelists, Poets & Playwrights > Playwrights
- Books > Biography > Political > Britain
- Books > Biography > Theatre & Performance Art > Theatre
- Books > History > Britain & Ireland > Ireland
- Books > History > World History
- Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Performing Arts
- Books > Poetry, Drama & Criticism > Drama
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
