List of jesters
In writing and theatre
- In Shakespeare: see Shakespearian fool
- Pocket, King Lear's fool in Christopher Moore's novel Fool, which retells the story of Shakespeare's King Lear.
- Wamba, Jester in Sir Walter Scott's Novel Ivanhoe.
- Dagonet, jester to King Arthur in medieval romances
- Jack Point, the tragic jester in The Yeomen of the Guard by Gilbert and Sullivan
- Verence first appeared in Terry Pratchett's Wyrd Sisters as the court jester and remained so for most of the novel. Both this novel and the Fools' Guild Diary feature comic exaggerations of the "tragic fool" motif.
- Towser, jester to King John the Presbyter in Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn by Tad Williams
- Mr Harley Quin, in the Agatha Christie collection The Mysterious Mr Quin is a modernised version of the "wise fool" who helps others see the truth.
- The anarchic Jerry Cornelius is often shown as a jester figure.
- The Jester, a 2003 novel by James Patterson and Andrew Gross.
- The Fool, a court jester in Robin Hobb's The Realm of the Elderlings books.
- The Queen's Fool, a novel by Philippa Gregory, centers around the life of a young "holy fool" named Hannah, who happens to work with and befriend William Sommers (Will), the former fool/jester of King Henry VIII.
- The character Ferdyshchenko plays the role of the jester in Dostoyevsky's The Idiot, specifically during the name-day celebration of Nastasya Filippovna.
- The Jester is a central character in many of the plays of Dario Fo.
- Rigoletto, the Duke of Mantua's jester in Giuseppe Verdi's opera Rigoletto
- "Bear", Jester on Crispin: Cross of Lead
In live entertainment
- Baldwin the Fool and Godfrey Pugh Professional jesters in England. Part of double act "Zooted". Appearances on Film and official jesters to Tewkesbury Medieval Festival
- Peterkin the Fool Professional jester. Official jester of Bristol. Current jester for English Heritage.
- Jem Hulbert Street Theatre performer. Part of the Fairly Famous Family
- Tarot the Jester Professional jester. Appearances in film and T.V.
- Jonathon the Jester Professional jester. Official jester of Salisbury
- Barry Levy the Jester Professional jester. 2nd Official jester of Littlecote House,Hungerford, Berkshire,Swindon and Salzgitter, Hannover
- Jane the Phoole Professional jester. Official Municipal Jester of the City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
- The Fool Monty Professional Jester. Court Jester to Warwick Castle, UK, Children's Entertainer, Wedding Performer and fire breather and eater.
- Kris Katchit Professional Jester based in Derbyshire.
- Alex G Professional jesters of Montreal. HRH Mike's Jester.
In film and television
- Giacomo "King of Jesters, and Jester of Kings" was a famous traveling jester in the 1956 film musical The Court Jester. His character was actually incapacitated early in the plot, and is never heard from again, but a member of an underground group, Hubert Hawkins, played by Danny Kaye, assumes Giacomo's identity in order to get into the King's castle.
- Timothy Claypole, a character in the BBC children's television comedy programme Rentaghost of the 1970s/80s, was a jester (played by Michael Staniforth).
- The Photojournalist from Apocalypse Now is often seen as a harlequin figure.
- Funnyman, A UK horror movie about a demonic jester, The Funny Man, with a varied and imaginative repertoire of homicidal techniques and an irreverent sense of humour.
- Jester, the Court jester of King Cradock in the TV series Jane and the Dragon.
- Jester - The puppet in the Puppet Master films
- In the children's adventure game show Knightmare there were two jesters, Folly and Motley.
- Kyoami, in Akira Kurosawa's film Ran
In comic books and animation
- Harley Quinn, an enemy of Batman, the DC Comics superhero. She is girlfriend of the Joker, the hero's nemesis.
- In the Marvel Comics comic Daredevil, The Jester is the alter-ego of villain Jonathan Powers, who appears between issues #47-49.
- The Jester is a superhero in the DC Comics universe.
- QuackerJack, a vicious jester with a weird obsession for toys in Disney's animated series Darkwing Duck.
- In the Disney animated film The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the narrator, and rather fundamental character, was Clopin, a jester.
- Merryman, leader of the Inferior Five in DC Comics, wears a Jester costume.
- Maytag, in the webcomic Flipside is a Jester. She's is normally very timid, but takes on the normal jester stereotype when she wears her cap 'n bells.
- Allen Walker, in the manga and anime D.Gray-man, is given the title Crown Clown, also known as God's Clown, and carries a jester's mask.
In video games
- Jester is a character class in the MMORPG Flyff and in the RPG Gauntlet: Dark Legacy.
- Malcolm, the mad jester of The Legend of Kyrandia adventure games
- Fargus, one of the two protagonists in the platform game Pandemonium.
- Harle, a character in Chrono Cross who jests at expense of reality itself.
- Dhoulmagus, an evil jester in the Dragon Quest VIII game by Square Enix.
- Dragon Quest III contains a Jester character class. In the American version of the game, the character class is renamed to Goof-off.
- Hecklar, an insane and sadistic court jester in Kronos Digital's fighting game Cardinal Syn.
- A nameless jester helps and hinders the player in the Infocom game Zork Zero.
- Jester, an alter-ego of Arkham, one of the main antagonists of Devil May Cry 3.
- Nights into Dreams... featured two brightly colored jesters. Nights, the main protagonist, who wore a purple jester outfit with a purple hat, each with carnival and dream like designs on them, and Reala, Nights' nemesis, who had a clownlike face, and wore red and sky blue, and red and black striped shoes with a red- and black-striped jester hat.
- Cleon, the fairy jester is star in the Bust-a-Move 4, of she who so rainbow those.
- Kefka Palazzo, the main antagonist in Final Fantasy VI, wears typical outfit and makeup of a jester.
- Zorn & Thorn are a pair of court jesters that serve as recurring antagonists in the RPG Final Fantasy IX.
- Dimentio is an evil psychopathic magician in Super Paper Mario who wears a stylized jester costume and creates clever similes.He is one of the main villains of the game and attempts to make Mario and Luigi his slaves. He also wears an Italian Comedy Mask.
- There is also a Jester in the tower in the 2007 Xbox 360 game Overlord. The player can kick the jester, knocking him a great distance, making cow bell sounds when he hits the floor. The Jester also follows the player around the tower, and in the tutorial he taunts the player. The player must repeatedly hurt the jester to finish the tutorial.
- In the video game Persona 2, the main antagonist, Joker, wears clothing reminiscent of that of a jester.
- Jester, A.K.A Sarah Hawkins in the game UT3, fitting her name by making jests about the opponent or team mates.
- Twinkle - Jester girl a tail in Bust a Move 3 she little girl
- Umlaut - He is a petrified Jester Skull in CarnEvil who gives a brief rhyme to describe what's in store upon selecting a level. He is also a sub-boss at the final level of the game.
- Trivet - the royal jester in the adventure game Blazing Dragons
- Chuckles - Jester in the Ultima series of role playing games, provides comic entertainment and plot hints.
- Jollo - the court jester of the Land of the Green Isles in King's Quest VI, is an essential ally to Alexander. He warns Alexander about Alhazred's genie and keeps him informed of the Vizer's scheming. In the long path of the game, he also is able to swap out the genie's lamp and get Alexander out of the dungeon once.
- Tony Hawk Underground 2 features "The Jester" as a playable character after the level in New Orleans.
- Shaco is an evil jester, he's a champion in the game League of Legends.
- Cicero - Keeper from the Dark Brotherhood in Skyrim, wears a jester's outfit and took on the persona of a jester after killing one.
Others
- A jester, based on the Shakespearean jesters and unofficially named Elvis, is the logo of the financial website The Motley Fool.
- James Root, guitarist for metal band Slipknot, wears a Jester-like mask on stage.
- The Jester, a poker term used to describe a suited Jack/Seven - named after the poker player "The Jester" as it is his favourite hand.
- Jesters Honorary Social Club is a 2-year social club at Mississippi University for Women, at Columbus, MS.
- Bob Dylan is often referenced as the 'jester' who stole the 'king's (Elvis Presley's) crown in the song "American Pie".
- "Script for a Jester's Tear" is the title of the first LP (1983) by the British rock band Marillion.
- "The Jester Race" is the title of an album by the Swedish melodic death metal band In Flames. Since this album they also use a symbol called "Jesterhead" as their mascot, appearing on almost every album-cover.
- The Fool is the main and title character of a series of 12 books called "The Fool Series". He has also been used in over 200 role-plays over the internet.
- The Fool is a Trump card in a Tarot deck.
- The Jester is the mascot for Finnish ice hockey team Jokerit based out of Helsinki, Finland.
- "The Jester" is a song on the Sum 41 album Underclass Hero.
- Kourt Jester is the name of an underground rapper originally from Buffalo, New York. He has released several songs through iTunes via Interscope Records Digital Distribution.
- Jester is the name of an alternative indie Italian band formed by members of Elfoguelfo.
- The Jester is the mascot of St. Joseph's High School, a private all-girls Catholic school in Lakewood, CA - they are known as the St. Joseph's Jesters - "Fools for Christ", and were founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet (CSJ) in 1964. Their colors are orange and white and their motto is "Love, Hope and Zeal".
- "The jester from Leicester" is the nickname of snooker player Mark Selby
- A jester in a handstand was used on the popular 1970s and 1980s game show The Joker's Wild. They were used as a "wild card" during the show's front game.
- The Chess piece known in English as the Bishop is known in French as "Fou" - The Fool. (The deep groove atop this piece, regarded in England as symbolising a bishop's mitre, was in France taken as representing a jester's cap).
- Kester the Jester is the last person to be named State Jester of England.
- Elton John's "The King Must Die" lyrics starts with a briefing of what happens when a king is overthrown, possibly by ignoring his Jester and buffons advice:
"No man's a jester playing Shakespeare
Round your throne room floor
While the juggler's act is danced upon
The crown that you once wore"
References
See also