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William Sommers - The Jester of Henry VIII
The Jesters were artists that, from ancient times to the modern age, performed as mimes, acrobats, dancers, actors and musicians, but also charlatans, an squares, inns, taverns and courtyards.
They lived the day like clowns, minstrels and jugglers at markets and fairs.
They were the largest element between classical and popular literature.
In contrast to the customs of the time which established clearly, through laws, as people have to dress, their clothes were colorful and extravagant. Usually the clothes were in two bright colors, half of one color and half of another. Hats were equipped with bells and belts hung strange pendants. The arrival of the jester was always preceded by sounds and drums.
The texts and shows varied depending on the audience and the city where they were and never failed to be satirical and sometimes blatant.
But not all of the Jesters were wanderers; some of them , particularly good in their work, caught the attention of kings, queens and nobles who took them to cheer banquets and parties and entertain their distinguished guests; so they became Court Jesters
"Jesters of empress Anna Ioanovna by V.Jacobi (1872)" di Valery Ivanovich Jacobi - http://www.belygorod.ru/img2/RusskieKartinki/Used/0YakobiV_ShutyPriDvoreGTG.jpg. Con licenza Pubblico dominio tramite Wikimedia Commons.William Sommers
William 'Will' Sommers (or Somers) (died 15 June 1560) was the best-known court jester of Henry VIII of England.
Born in Shropshire, Sommers came to the attention of Richard Fermor, a merchant of the Staple at Calais, who brought him to Greenwich in 1525 to present to the King. Impressed by Sommers' sense of humour, Henry promptly offered him a place at court. He was soon in high favour with the King, whose liberality to him is attested by the accounts of the royal household.
Sommers remained in the King's service for the rest of Henry's life; in the King's later years, when he was troubled by a painful leg condition, it was said that only Sommers could lift his spirits.
(Henry VIII)
The jester was also a man of integrity and discretion; Thomas Cromwell appreciated that he sometimes drew the King's attention to extravagance and waste within the royal household by means of a joke.
Court jesters were permitted familiarities without regard for deference, and Sommers possessed a shrewd wit, which he exercised even on Cardinal Wolsey. However, he did occasionally overstep the mark. In 1535, the King threatened to kill Sommers with his own hand, after Sir Nicholas Carew dared him to call Queen Anne the Princess Elizabeth with more vulgar than royal names.
Robert Armin (writer of Foole upon Foole, 1600) tells how Sommers humiliated Thomas, the King's juggler. He interrupted one of Thomas' performances carrying milk and a breadroll. Will asked the King for a spoon, the King replied he had none and Thomas told him to use his hands. Will then sang:
'This bit Harry I give to thee
and this next bit must serve for me,
Both which I'll eat apace.
This bit Madam unto you,
And this bit I my self eate now,
And the rest upon thy face.'
He then threw the milk in his face, ran out, and Thomas was never at court again. Sommers also used his influence to compensate an uncle who had been ruined by an enclosure of common land, though it took a very subtle appeal by Sommers to Henry.
After Henry's death, Sommers remained at court.
(Elisabeth I)
Under Mary I, Will's role was mainly ceremonial, and as a sidekick to Mary's personal fool, Jane Foole. Will was reputed to be the only man who made Mary laugh, apart from John Heywood, an English writer known for his plays, poems, and collection of proverbs.Will's last public event was the coronation of Elizabeth I and then he get retired.
He was probably the William Sommers whose death is recorded in the parish of St Leonards, Shoreditch, on 15 June 1560.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Sommers
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William Sommers - The Jester of Henry VIII |
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