Triboulet (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1447–1479) was a

jester A jester, also known as joker, court jester, or fool, was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch kept to entertain guests at the royal court. Jesters were also travelling performers who entertained common folk at fairs and town ma ...

and comedy

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

for

René of Anjou René of Anjou (; ; 16 January 1409 – 10 July 1480) was Duke of Anjou and Count of Provence from 1434 to 1480, who also reigned as King of Naples from 1435 to 1442 (then Aragonese conquest of Naples, deposed). Having spent his last years in Aix ...

. There have been at least three Triboulets, as homonymy was widespread among French court jesters. The Triboulet for René of Anjou was the first one. The name, equivalent to modern French phrase souffre-douleur ("punchbag"), comes from the archaic French verb ''tribouler.''

Works mentioning biography

Triboulet's biography was summarized by . Medievalist , confirmed the intuitions of Gustave Cohen and Eugénie Droz, studying the jester-playwright in his articles and book. A bilingual edition of the works by Triboulet was published by .

Career

Having

microcephaly Microcephaly (from Neo-Latin ''microcephalia'', from Ancient Greek μικρός ''mikrós'' "small" and κεφαλή ''kephalé'' "head") is a medical condition involving a smaller-than-normal head. Microcephaly may be present at birth or it m ...

and

dwarfism Dwarfism is a condition of people and animals marked by unusually small size or short stature. In humans, it is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than , regardless of sex; the average adult height among people with dwarfism is . '' ...

, Triboulet was predisposed to novelty entertainment. In the beginning at the court, he had a character playing as a governor named Jacquet and another named Nicolas de Haultet. Throughout his career, he would have two servants: his wife La Triboulette and her mother, who both lived in the court. Triboulet led a theatrical troupe and was a praised author of

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical comedy, physical humor; the use of delibe ...

s and sotties. He composed several comic pieces, five of which were preserved: the sotties ''Roi des Sots'' (), ''

La Farce de maître Pathelin ''La Farce de maître Pathelin'' (in English language, English ''The Farce of Master Pathelin''; sometimes ''La Farce de maître Pierre Pathelin'', ''La Farce de Pathelin'', ''Farce Maître Pierre Pathelin'', or ''Farce de Maître Pathelin'') is ...

'' (), ''Vigiles Triboulet'' (), ''Copieurs et lardeurs'' (), and ''Sots qui corrigent le magnificat'' (). At the end of his career, he wrote ''Débat de Triboulet et de la Mort'' (). René of Anjou rewarded himself by dressing up as a king, marrying him with the greatest pomp on 30 August 1452, and having his medal engraved in 1461.

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

gifted Triboulet a magnificent

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equidae, equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more th ...

. The sottie ''Vigiles Triboulet'' describes the overall language of a work composed by Villon, titled ''Oncques maistre Françoys Villon / Ne composa si bon jargon.'' This implies that the two authors could have met at the Anjou court in 1457, but the date of this sottie is controversial The exact date and author of the Stockholm manuscript jargon ballads is uncertain.T. Martin est le seul auteur à en attribuer trois sur cinq à Villon et à les dater d’avant 1456.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Triboulet 15th-century French dramatists and playwrights French courtiers French male comedians Jesters Entertainers with dwarfism