Kleio Pethainou

A wandering squire made a bet he could seduce the sorrow right out of a grieving widow—and of course, he was right. This is the horniest act of grave desecration ever written down in medieval French.… The mourner who got f*ucked at the grave site: The most unhinged graveyard hook-up imaginable

The Court Jester is taking a little break for October, preparing new mischief for the winter season.

In the meantime, here’s one from the archives: one of the most (in)famous stories of the genre.

🎧 Listen here: youtu.be/FLQ2J15Yr_M?...

And have you followed The Court Jester on YouTube yet?

The Court Jester Podcast · Kleio Pethainou · Medieval comedy is wild… and we’re here for it! Medievalist and storyteller Kleio Pethainou drags you through the most wild and raucous stories of the Middle Ages. From…

What happens when a priest, his lover, and a greedy clerk sit down to dinner?
New episode is now live, give it a spin and find out open.spotify.com/episode/6aq6...

#medievalsky

A heaving Bridgerton cleavage or bloody decapitation? What your favourite era of history says about you | Emma Beddington A survey has found people would rather travel back in time than to the future. I consulted historical experts to find out what that means, writes Guardian columnist Emma Beddington

As a medievalist, I can confirm.

Medieval Humour: Expressions, Receptions and Functions – Medieval History Medieval Humour explores laughter in manuscripts, tales, and art—revealing the witty, playful, and surprising side of medieval life and culture.

"Medieval Humour: Expressions, Receptions, and Functions" just got a warm review at HistoryMedieval!
Spoiler: they liked it 👀
Read it: historymedieval.com/medieval-humour-expressions-receptions-and-functions

#MedievalSky #HumorStudies #MedievalHumour #BookReview

God Owes Me Thirty Shillings The Court Jester · Episode

Heaven doesn’t pay its debts. A medieval fabliau proves it.

🎧 New episode: The Poor Peddler, now live on Spotify and all platforms.
buff.ly/3vEl3ke
📖 Valenciennes, Bibliothèque municipale, ms. 101, fol. 191v. ca. 1230-1260

#MedievalHumour

A while ago, I polled listeners about the one fabliau I couldn’t make funny. You asked to hear it anyway, so here it is.
It’s brutal and violent. Let’s talk about why medieval audiences laughed with that.
🎧 I give you The Gelded Lady: buff.ly/yJWfMjK
⚠️ Content warning: everything.
#medievalsky

“His balls are WHAT?”
A wife drags her husband before the bishop. The whole town shows up. Confusion, comedy and awkward anatomy lessons follow.
This is Black Balls: a fabliau about medieval justice at its most bewildered.

🎧 Listen here: buff.ly/DseO6v9

#Medievalsky #TheCourtJesterPodcast

"Medieval Humour: Expressions, Receptions and Functions" is now featured on History Medieval! Read my article about the wit and laughter of the Middle Ages here: buff.ly/QUGIAIe

📖 @labnf.bsky.social, Fonds francais 854, fol.121v
#medievalsky

A sly minstrel tries to ruin a clueless groom’s wedding night…but he didn’t account for the bride.
By dawn, the prankster’s bed, clothes and dignity are buried under an avalanche of medieval payback.

🎧 New episode - Jouglet
buff.ly/APjbRzg
#MedievalHumour #Fabliau #TheCourtJesterPodcast

If this is not my favourite story from the Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles, it is definitely my favourite illumination.
Have you ever seen a friar and a nun masturbating under a tree while being watched by a weird man?
You have now.

🎧Patreon Bonus: Payment for the Pears.
buff.ly/ZVHOPey
#medievalsky

A miller tries to trick a girl. Instead, he loses his pig, his pride and his dignity. By court order.

🎧 New episode: The Miller of Arleux
buff.ly/DBnc8MC
#TheCourtJesterPodcast #Medievalsky

🎧 New episode, complete with guest cat sounds!
A penny-pinching husband suspects his wife is having an affair. So he sets a trap.
But she’s got sharper instincts, a better plan, and the entire household on her side.

Listen here: open.spotify.com/episode/6tF1...

#Medievalsky #TheCourtJesterPodcast

The sound quality of The Court Jester's next episode has been seriously compromised by this furry nightmare, who couldn't stop yelling for attention.

Please accept my apologies. He regrets nothing.

#cat #storyteller #storytelling #TheCourtJesterPodcast #medievalsky

If you’re heading to #IMC2025, stick this in your ears on the train and arrive fully in the #medieval mood: curious, inventive and just slightly scandalised.
And follow The Court Jester wherever you get your podcasts!

🎧https://open.spotify.com/show/1Do3IRSbyx0Ac1asD1RudD
📖BnF Fr. 25526, f. 111r.

Some fabliaux are about sex.
Some are about power.
This one is about a man who kisses a mysterious knight’s butt and doesn’t realise it’s his wife.
“Bérangier au lonc cul” is all about status anxiety, gender performance and sexual frustration.

youtu.be/nOSUexYEuso?...

#fabliaux #medieval

Whether you're travelling or already queueing for conference coffee in #IMC2025, I’ve got you. This month’s newsletter dives into the Bal des Ardents, to give you some perspective on the importance of Health and Safety in event planning.
Sign up and read it on the way to Leeds: buff.ly/7n4XYfI

Boivin had a purse full of lies and a knack for trouble.
He scammed a brothel, sparked a riot and left with a payday.
🎧 New episode: open.spotify.com/show/1Do3IRS...
📖 Scene of a bathhouse, c. 1470. Berlin Staatsbibliothek, Ms. Dep. Breslau 2, vol. 2, fol. 244.

#Medievalsky #TheCourtJesterPodcast

The Book That Almost Vanished A story about medieval humour, academic publishing and a book that deserves a second chance

The Book That Almost Vanished

A story about medieval humour, academic publishing and a book that deserves a second chance

If you ever find yourself in Akşehir in July, you might witness a man in 13th-century robes riding backwards on a donkey, leading a cheerful procession through the city.
Welcome to the world of Nasreddin Hodja. Read all about him on this month's Patreon:.
buff.ly/CaAccYV
#medievalsky #jesterlore

Talking about my usual smutty medieval images at @prayticipate.bsky.social in @uniofstandrews.bsky.social and feeling like a rockstar.

#medievalsky #medievalist #medievalistlife #conferenceseason #medievalhumour #deadseriousjokes #centnouvellesnouvelles

Voted most likely to survive a medieval power vacuum.

Evangelist John on Patmos, and marginal detail of rooster holding a sceptre in left foot.
Book of Hours. France, Provence, ca. 1440-1450. Morgan Library, MS M.358, fol. 13r.
#medievalsky

In this month’s Patreon, I chat with actor, writer and medievalist @debsca.bsky.social , whose one-woman show "Green Knight" has been casting its spell on audiences for nearly a decade.
#Storytelling, subtext and subversion, all in one very green conversation.

buff.ly/Yb1iBNk
#medievalsky

Sir Gawain and the #GreenKnight needs no introduction, and this week it's on #TheCourtJesterPodcast. Tune in as Debbie Cannon performs a fascinating excerpt from this masterpiece!
Listen: buff.ly/BC6U6rz
#KingArthur #Medievalsky #Arthuriana
📖 @britishlibrary.bsky.social , MS Cotton Nero AX2, f 95r

Of Noise and (Mis)rule: Charivari Humour, Laughter and Community Ritual

They came with pots, masks and loud noises.
In medieval France, charivari was public shaming with a flair.

Of Noise and (Mis)rule: Charivari, now on the blog.

#MedievalSky #Folklore #History

What happens when Arthurian romance meets comic exaggeration and a hero who throws punches AND punchlines?

Margaret Anne Purbrick explores the performative energy and humour of Jaufre in "Medieval Humour". Available via Trivent Publishing and JSTOR.
buff.ly/h6pA4vW

#Medievalsky #MedievalHumour

1,000 YouTube Listens!
Apparently, over 1k of you voluntarily listened to medieval fart jokes and somehow didn’t flee the platform.
I’m stunned, flattered and, frankly, alarmed.
If you're not yet part of the medieval misrule...why?

🟥 Subscribe and Listen: buff.ly/3v8WiWD
#medievalsky #storytelling

#fabliaux #storytelling #innuendo

#medievalsky

When a sheltered young lady learns the forbidden word for a man's genitals, things quickly get nutty. Robin, a strapping lad with a wild imagination and an e... The Squirrel: A Tale of Curious Girls and Curious Creatures

Just a little reminder that medieval literature contains a fabliau in which a curious girl fed a squirrel too many nuts, and the squirrel got queasy.
Yes, it's all innuendo, and it is my absolute favourite fabliau of all time.
📖 britishlibrary.bsky.social‬, Add 42130, fol. 33r.
#Medievalsky

“He who doesn’t know how to write doesn’t see the labor. Three fingers write, the whole body works. If you read this, pray for me.”
Revisiting Lucie Doležalová's contrubution in 'Medieval Humour' and giggling: buff.ly/h6pA4vW 📖 @labnf.bsky.social , MS Latin 9561 fol. 81v.
#medievalsky #manuscripts