Fools and Folly

The Fool in the Middle Ages and Early Modern period was either a person who capitalized on his natural deficiencies, which were then considered amusing, or a professional entertainer "the artificial Fool" who specialized in clowning. His distinctive clothing and bauble are known to us through numerous Psalter illustrations where he is shown in connection with Psalm 52, which asserts that "The fool has said in his heart there is no God." Attitudes toward the Fool varied, but his place was to become assured on stage, where his role is best known to us through the plays of Shakespeare. The articles in the present volume provide indispensable analyses of the Fool from a number of different perspectives.