The Court Jester is a storytelling podcast that dives into the sauciest, funniest, and most outrageous stories of the Middle Ages. Hosted by medievalist and humour scholar Kleio Pethainou, each episode brings you a real tale from medieval literature—fabliaux, fables, legends, and more—featuring scandal, fart jokes, sex, tricksters, and chaotic peasant drama.
Think rude jokes, wild mishaps and the messiest love triangles you’ve never heard of (but absolutely should).
⚔️ Based on real medieval texts
📜 Translated and adapted with historical context
🎭 Told with flair, irreverence, and dark humour
If you're into medieval history, historical comedy, uncensored storytelling, or want to laugh at the weirdest things humans used to do—this one’s for you.
🔔 New episodes every other week.
Support the show on Patreon for bonus content and medieval mischief.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Court Jester is a storytelling podcast that dives into the sauciest, funniest, and most outrageous stories of the Middle Ages. Hosted by medievalist and humour scholar Kleio Pethainou, each episode brings you a real tale from medieval literature—fabliaux, fables, legends, and more—featuring scandal, fart jokes, sex, tricksters, and chaotic peasant drama.
Think rude jokes, wild mishaps and the messiest love triangles you’ve never heard of (but absolutely should).
⚔️ Based on real medieval texts
📜 Translated and adapted with historical context
🎭 Told with flair, irreverence, and dark humour
If you're into medieval history, historical comedy, uncensored storytelling, or want to laugh at the weirdest things humans used to do—this one’s for you.
🔔 New episodes every other week.
Support the show on Patreon for bonus content and medieval mischief.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Happy Halloween, friends of the Jester.
This year’s special comes from deep in the shadowed corners of the Balkans — a 9th-century ballad known in Greece as The Song of the Dead Brother, with haunting cousins in Serbia and Bulgaria. Nothing sets the Halloween mood quite like Balkan folklore — mournful, gothic, and just a little too close to the bone. It isn’t funny. It isn’t light.
It’s a tale about oaths and the ruin they bring, and how a mother’s grief can shake the dead.
This is also the first ever Court Jester episode told entirely on video. You can watch it on YouTube or Patreon.
If you like your medieval tales with a touch of the macabre, this one’s for you.
Happy haunting!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
And we're back to naughty priest territory!
In this fabliau from the banks of the Sèvres, a fat goose becomes the prize in a battle of wits, appetites, and shameless audacity. Expect blasphemous pranks, roasted birds, and a reminder that medieval comedy loved nothing more than making the clergy look foolish.
📜 Text: Translation by Nathaniel E. Dubin
🎵 Title music: “Celebration” by Alexander Nakarada
📲 Updates & mischief: @kpethainou.bsky.social | @thecourtjesterpodcast on Facebook
🃏 Bonus content: patreon.com/CourtJesterPodcast
☕Buy me a coffee https://ko-fi.com/thecourtjesterpodcast
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
What happens when a medieval peddler entrusts his horse to God and the local lord? And what happens if said horse goes missing? You take God to court. I give you the Poor peddler, a fabliau full of divine debts, violent threats, and a monk who really should’ve stayed in the cloister.
📜 Text: Translation by Nathaniel E. Dubin
🎵 Title music: “Celebration” by Alexander Nakarada
📲 Updates & mischief: @kpethainou.bsky.social | @thecourtjesterpodcast on Facebook
🃏 Bonus content: patreon.com/CourtJesterPodcast
☕Buy me a coffee https://ko-fi.com/thecourtjesterpodcast
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
A sly minstrel tries to ruin a clueless groom’s wedding night...but he didn't account for the bride. What follows is a night of escalating revenge, as the bride takes charge, the groom gets creative, and the prankster finds himself in a very literal mess.
Content note: This episode contains medieval toilet humour in all its glory — plus sexual innuendo, crude jokes, and more filth than dignity.
📜 Text: Translation by Nathaniel E. Dubin
🎵 Title music: “Celebration” by Alexander Nakarada
📲 Updates & mischief: @kpethainou.bsky.social | @thecourtjesterpodcast on Facebook
🃏 Bonus content: patreon.com/CourtJesterPodcast
☕Buy me a coffee https://ko-fi.com/thecourtjesterpodcast
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this fabliau by Enguerrant d’Oisy, we meet a miller who tries to seduce a girl, only to end up sued over livestock. Based on Le maunier d'Aleus, this is a story of bed swaps and a perfect courtroom ending. Justice never tasted so porky.
📜 Text: Translation by Nathaniel E. Dubin
🎵 Title music: “Celebration” by Alexander Nakarada
📲 Updates & mischief: @kpethainou.bsky.social | @thecourtjesterpodcast on Facebook
🃏 Bonus content: patreon.com/CourtJesterPodcast
☕Buy me a coffee https://ko-fi.com/thecourtjesterpodcast
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Or, How to Spy on Your Wife and End Up in a Ditch.
A merchant thinks he’s outwitting his wife. She’s five steps ahead. This fabliau has it all: deception, seduction and medieval sass.
Apologies for the sound quality, and for my utter inability to contain the cat - you will hear him mewing early in the episode.
📜 Text: Translation by Nathaniel E. Dubin
🎵 Title music: “Celebration” by Alexander Nakarada
📲 Updates & mischief: @kpethainou.bsky.social | @thecourtjesterpodcast on Facebook
🃏 Bonus content: patreon.com/CourtJesterPodcast
☕Buy me a coffee https://ko-fi.com/thecourtjesterpodcast
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Meet Boivin, a trickster who walks into a brothel, cons everyone and causes a riot so messy they called the magistrate. Which was, of course, his ticket to fame.
📜 Text: Translation by Nathaniel E. Dubin
🎵 Title music: “Celebration” by Alexander Nakarada
📲 Updates & mischief: @kpethainou.bsky.social | @thecourtjesterpodcast on Facebook
🃏 Bonus content: patreon.com/CourtJesterPodcast
☕Buy me a coffee https://ko-fi.com/thecourtjesterpodcast
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Put your hands together for medievalist, actor and writer Debbie Cannon, who brings the tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight to life in a special guest performance. Debbie shares an excerpt from her celebrated one-woman show Green Knight, a bold and lyrical retelling that’s been captivating audiences for nearly a decade.
We talk knighthood, decapitation, and the challenges of telling medieval stories on modern stages. Our extended chat—featuring behind-the-scenes insight into Debbie’s creative process—will be available later this month on Patreon.
Find Debbie's work and more about it at https://debbiecannon.org/
🎵 Title music: “Celebration” by Alexander Nakarada
📲 Updates & mischief: @kpethainou.bsky.social | @thecourtjesterpodcast on Facebook
🃏 Bonus content: patreon.com/CourtJesterPodcast
☕Buy me a coffee https://ko-fi.com/thecourtjesterpodcast
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Based on Du Con de la Ringue (Three women who found a ring), this episode features the kind of antics that only medieval literature could get away with. The moral? Trust no one, and especially not your spouse.
📜 Text: Translation by Nathaniel E. Dubin
🎵 Title music: “Celebration” by Alexander Nakarada
📲 Updates & mischief: @kpethainou.bsky.social | @thecourtjesterpodcast on Facebook
🃏 Bonus content: patreon.com/CourtJesterPodcast
☕Buy me a coffee https://ko-fi.com/thecourtjesterpodcast
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Guest storyteller Maber Slattery brings the house down, medieval-style.
Join us as we discover the misadventures of Dane Hew, the monk who was "hanged once and four times slain"!
And join us over on Patreon for the second half, where we talk about medieval humour, storytelling medieval stories, and we throw in a couple of real medieval tales (straight from the archives) for good measure.
Find Mabel on all socials @slateroo
🎧 Extended conversation: patreon.com/CourtJesterPodcast
📲 Updates & mischief: @kpethainou.bsky.social | @thecourtjesterpodcast on Facebook
☕ Fuel the nonsense: ko-fi.com/thecourtjesterpodcast
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This fabliau has it all: trickery, fine dining, and a wildly escalating prank that ends with gospel readings, public humiliation, and a very confused innkeeper.
I give you Cortebarbe’s Li trois avugles de Compiègne (The three blind men of Compiègne).
Content note: includes period-typical ableism.
📜 Text: Translation by Nathaniel E. Dubin
🎵 Title music: “Celebration” by Alexander Nakarada
📲 Updates & mischief: @kpethainou.bsky.social | @thecourtjesterpodcast on Facebook
🃏 Bonus content: patreon.com/CourtJesterPodcast
☕Buy me a coffee https://ko-fi.com/thecourtjesterpodcast
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This Easter Sunday, the Court Jester has a special treat usually reserved for Patreon supporters—a full bonus episode, free for all listeners!
Join me and the brilliant Peter Konieczny of Medievalists.net as we dive into the witty, sharp, and delightfully clever world of the Maqamat al-Hariri, one of the greatest collections of medieval Arabic trickster tales. Peter is brining one of these clever stories to life, and then we chat about the Maqamat, and about humour in translation, and about humour through time.
If you’ve ever wondered what made medieval Arabic audiences laugh, or just love a good con artist with a flair for words, this one’s for you.
If you enjoy it, consider supporting the Court Jester on Patreon for more episodes like this—normally behind the curtain!
🎵 Title music: “Celebration” by Alexander Nakarada
📖 Manuscript: Maqamat al-Hariri, 1237. BnF, MS Arabe 5847, fol. 138v.
📲 Updates & mischief: @kpethainou.bsky.social | @thecourtjesterpodcast on Facebook
🃏 Bonus content: patreon.com/CourtJesterPodcast
☕Buy me a coffee https://ko-fi.com/thecourtjesterpodcast
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Three girls. One magical cosmetic powder. A high-stakes prep session before a big tournament. What could possibly go wrong?
In the fabliau of Les .iii. meschines (The Three Girls), you decide should pay for the lost powder!
📜 Text: Translation by Nathaniel E. Dubin
🎵 Title music: “Celebration” by Alexander Nakarada
📲 Updates & mischief: @kpethainou.bsky.social | @thecourtjesterpodcast on Facebook
🃏 Bonus content: patreon.com/CourtJesterPodcast
☕Buy me a coffee https://ko-fi.com/thecourtjesterpodcast
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ever wondered what medieval students got up to?
In this episode, we follow two broke university lads who find themselves lodging with a peasant named Gombert. From sneaky bed swaps to stolen cookware, this tale has everything: deception, seduction, and a host who really should have locked his doors.
Listen now for a lesson in why letting students stay at your house has never been a good idea.
📜 Text: Translation by Nathaniel E. Dubin
🎵 Title music: “Celebration” by Alexander Nakarada
📲 Updates & mischief: @kpethainou.bsky.social | @thecourtjesterpodcast on Facebook
🃏 Bonus content: patreon.com/CourtJesterPodcast
☕Buy me a coffee https://ko-fi.com/thecourtjesterpodcast
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Give a warm welcome to The Court Jester's first guest storyteller!
Anne Lister, medievalist, storyteller, musician and overall expert in everything there is to know about the Tale of Jaufre, joins us today and shares with us an episode from the Tale. I sat down with Anne for a very interesting interview afterwards, and you can find that on Patreon later this month.
If you want to hear Anne's adaptation of the full Tale of Jaufre, you can find it here:
https://open.spotify.com/show/1oTegctc66f6UT8HhDJff8?si=67737f205d714ed7
Anne has also written extensively on the subject, and you can find her work below. The illustration for this episode's cover is from her book, and it's a scene from today's story.
https://trivent-publishing.eu/home/169-tale-of-jaufre-pack.html
Join me on @kpethainou.bsky.social and follow @thecourtjesterpodcast on Facebook for updates and more medieval mischief.
If you enjoy the podcast, consider supporting it on Patreon or send a one-time donation via Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thecourtjesterpodcast. Every contribution helps keep the stories coming!
Title song, as usual, is Celebration by Alexander Nakarada.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
A wild story of deception, wit and wicker baskets, Le prestre et la dame proves once more that some women know exactly how to get what they want.
📜 Text: Translation by Nathaniel E. Dubin
🎵 Title music: “Celebration” by Alexander Nakarada
📲 Updates & mischief: @kpethainou.bsky.social | @thecourtjesterpodcast on Facebook
🃏 Bonus content: patreon.com/CourtJesterPodcast
☕Buy me a coffee https://ko-fi.com/thecourtjesterpodcast
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Court Jester was selected by FeedSpot as one of the Top 20 Medieval History Podcasts on the web!
What an absolute surprise! And what excellent motivation for me to tell you a story of a medieval married man and his unlikely affliction.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is Le vilain de Bailleul (The peasant of Bailleul).
Warning: not suitable for actual relationships or souls with dignity.
📜 Text: Translation by Nathaniel E. Dubin
🎵 Title music: “Celebration” by Alexander Nakarada
📲 Updates & mischief: @kpethainou.bsky.social | @thecourtjesterpodcast on Facebook
🃏 Bonus content: patreon.com/CourtJesterPodcast
☕Buy me a coffee https://ko-fi.com/thecourtjesterpodcast
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
A knight so dim he didn’t know where to put it. A mother-in-law who steps in to help. Two houseguests who suffer... a lot. And one red-hot awl that should’ve stayed in the drawer.
Le sot chevalier (The stupid knight) is a fabliau about sex, stupidity, and why medieval hospitality was a high-risk activity.
📜 Text: Translation by Nathaniel E. Dubin
🎵 Title music: “Celebration” by Alexander Nakarada
📲 Updates & mischief: @kpethainou.bsky.social | @thecourtjesterpodcast on Facebook
🃏 Bonus content:patreon.com/CourtJesterPodcast
☕Buy me a coffee https://ko-fi.com/thecourtjesterpodcast
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
A mother wants more respect. A bishop wants to help. A random priest ends up financially and emotionally responsible for a complete stranger.
This is Le prestre qui ot mere malgré sien (The priest who had a mother foisted on him) — a fabliau about guilt, identity fraud, and the medieval art of forced family.
📜 Text: Translation by Nathaniel E. Dubin
🎵 Title music: “Celebration” by Alexander Nakarada
📲 Updates & mischief: @kpethainou.bsky.social | @thecourtjesterpodcast on Facebook
🃏 Bonus content:patreon.com/CourtJesterPodcast
☕Buy me a coffee https://ko-fi.com/thecourtjesterpodcast
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
It’s Good Friday, the church is packed, and the priest has lost the Passion — so naturally, he just starts yelling things until someone stops him. “Barrabam!” echoes off the walls. “Crucifige eum!” sends peasants into breast-beating despair. And the clerk? He’s had enough.
Enter Le prestre qui dist la passion (How the priest read the passion story), a fabliau of liturgical nonsense, holy shouting, and the world’s most unwanted extended cut.
📜 Text: Translation by Nathaniel E. Dubin
🎵 Title music: “Celebration” by Alexander Nakarada
📲 Updates & mischief: @kpethainou.bsky.social | @thecourtjesterpodcast on Facebook
🃏 Bonus content: patreon.com/CourtJesterPodcast
☕Buy me a coffee https://ko-fi.com/thecourtjesterpodcast
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.