Fools have always been and will always be

We know from fairy tales, from history, that in ancient times, in the Middle Ages, television, the Internet and radio were not ready to entertain people, so spending free time meant something completely different at that time. In the royal, noble courts, music, dance, and the prankster brought fun. The court fool not only scattered jokes in front of the people, but also great truths, of course dressed in the disguise of fun.

In a word, fooling also meant that truths could be enforced in this form for which one might otherwise have taken one’s head. At the same time, the role of a fool may have been played by a person representing otherness in physical and / or mental abilities. In this case, this work was not exactly desired, as the fools were subjected to constant mockery, ridicule, and hurt. However, because these people were considered harmless, they were essentially free to walk and get up, which allowed them to hear and see a lot. It was from this role that the work of the court fool later developed. Man has always needed fooling around and laughing and it stays that way.

The French court fools of the 10th century had already been paid as officials and these people were not weak-minded at all. Moreover, it took a particularly sharp-witted man to fill the position, as he had to understand not only speech but also music and poetry. The names of some of the court fools have survived from Hungarian history. Several of them received noble rank and great recognition. Such was Lebersit, who served King Matthias, or Porró, who joked in Sigismund's court.

Moreover, fooling around has a feast almost everywhere. Although it is not a public holiday, in most places there is a day when many are preoccupied with pranking. One of the cities of Ukraine has gone even further. In Odessa, it is really a public holiday on the first of April and everything is really about jokes.

Historians have tried to define the day of fools and some date it to 1582, when the French switched to the Gregorian calendar. The transition wasn’t easy for everyone, or they didn’t agree with it, so they became the center of the jokes. However, it is also known from historical sources that the XVIII. at the beginning of the twentieth century, the English loved to tease each other on a certain day of the year.

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(Source: marmalade.co.hu | Pictures: pixabay.com)