Scaramuccia

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Scaramuccia, also known as Scaramouche, is a roguish commedia dell'arte character who wears a black velvet mask and black trousers, shirt and hat. He is usually portrayed as a buffoon or boastful coward. The character was invented by a 17th century Italian actor, Tiberio Fiorelli.

The name was that of a stock character in 17th-century Italian farce, Scaramuccia (i.e. literally "skirmish"), who, attired usually in a black Spanish dress, burlesquing a don, was beaten by Harlequin for his boasting and cowardice.

[edit] Later uses of the word

The hero of Rafael Sabatini's historical novel Scaramouche, later made into a film, is a similar swashbuckling character who goes incognito in the theatrical role of Scaramouche. In pop culture, the character is mentioned in the 1975 Queen song "Bohemian Rhapsody".