A friend of yours talks badly about other people and says he hates them. The funny thing is that you know he is such a person. In fact, your friend is the very people he is complaining about, but he goes on talking without realising it. In situations like this, you either laugh inwardly or, with a sudden outburst, you can’t take it anymore and say whatever you want about his hypocrisy.
In the Middle Ages, when there were kingdoms, kings had counsellors. Although these people had no direct say in the running of the kingdom, they were the last people to be consulted to confirm the validity and logic of the decisions being made. Of course, not every king did this, and not every advisor was honest enough.
If we continue to emphasise the concept of honesty, it is quite understandable that those close to authority abuse their position, in other words, experience the intoxication of power. Unwarranted praise and unquestioning acceptance show the emergence of a sycophantic character.
At that time, court jesters were present to entertain people, especially at parties where food and drink were served. They were dressed in more colourful, funny or surprising outfits than their everyday attire. In some lands, these jesters performed under pressure and fear, but there were also those who were happy to do their job.
From time to time, the jesters’ comments became more sarcastic, which attracted some attention. In the end, however, since the majority of people did not see these people as “normal” and considered them to be fools or lunatics, their rude words did not really matter. The jesters, however, did not hesitate to say whatever came into their heads. In other words, as we know, there was a reality behind every joke.
I don’t know if it was because of the mistrust of the counselors or because some of the rulers were smarter than others, but the jesters became more and more influential as time went on. So much so, that while they entertained the kings with their buffoonery and kept their spirits up, they were also obliged to deliver relatively unwelcome and negative news. Even if the news was bad, it could be more palliative because it came from someone who was not taken seriously at first sight.
In the course of time, jokes made against the king himself or anyone else became normalised and went unpunished. In fact, this situation gave rise to the concept of “Jester’s Privilege”.
Scenarios and creations that demonstrate satire have always had a realistic, striking and uncomfortable tone. The problem of infidelity that drops like a bomb in the middle of a delicious family meal, the reality of the struggle to survive thrown in the face of pompous superheroes who think they are the guardians of justice, or the cry of a child who has been silent for years and is no longer able to tolerate his elders…
Each of them creates moments that require the reader and the audience to step away from the narrative and pause for reflection. Because the emphasis on explosive — perhaps unexpected — topics reveals the main point in search of focus, or what has been forgotten because it has been left on the sidelines. Everyone suddenly stops and has the opportunity to see what is being said in all its rawness. I would have loved to have been a court jester in the Middle Ages, living in fear, living on the edge.
Finally, the jesters or “fools” are divided in two by Shakespeare’s words.
The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.
The jesters were the true sages.
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