Welcome to The Court Jester, the podcast that brings you the sauciest stories the Middle Ages had to offer.
In this season, I’m continuing the deep dive into the fabliaux — comic tales from medieval France, told for a worthy audience by jongleurs, minstrels, and jesters from the 12th to the 14th century.
These aren’t your usual chivalric romances. The fabliaux are some of the most outrageous, obscene and gleefully offensive stories in Western literature.
They’re full of cuckolded husbands, predatory clergy, foolish peasants, conniving wives, beggars, thieves, and horny monks—all chasing money, food and sex with unrelenting creativity.
A word of caution: this is medieval comedy. The humour is old, and often brutal. Gender is binary, misogyny is casual and violence happens for fun. I’ll always offer specific content warnings when needed, but know that these tales reflect a world very different from ours, even as they expose truths that feel surprisingly familiar.
You can find The Court Jester in all the usual places: on Spotify, YouTube, iTunes and on most other platforms, as well as on the player below.
If you want to give me a sense of achievement (and get some nice extras), support the show on Patreon or Ko-fi.
Headphones are strongly recommended!
