Guignol
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Guignol is a French puppet show for children.
The character of Guignol was devised between 1810 and 1812 by Laurent Mourguet, an unemployed workman from Lyon, supposedly in his own image. The man Laurent Mourguet was originally a silk weaver, but because of a lack of money became a dentist. He would travel from place to place pulling teeth with his large pincers, and eventually the people became scared of him, after hearing the screams of those having their teeth pulled, and would hide from him. To solve this, he created a puppet in his likeness to tell funny stories and ease people's fear of him. The puppet became so popular he stopped being a dentist completely and became a renowned puppeteer. The idea caught on, and there were many Guignol shows (similar to the English 'Punch and Judy' shows that were satirical, and used to complain about God, the lords, King, and anyone the people had any grievances about) around France. The government was very afraid of these gatherings, and made puppet shows illegal, which just encouraged the shows more. Puppeteers would just setup shop in the middle of a marketplace and move on when they were done.
Guignol has a friend, Gnafron, and an opponent, the Gendarme Flageolet.
"Guignol" has become a common term in France : it can be used as an insult, meaning buffoon.
