The True Story Of Triboulet, The 16th-Century Court Jester Whose Wit Saved His Life
Photo Above Kevin Hart
Though one of the most beloved court jesters to ever live, Triboulet once slapped the King of France on the rear and told jokes so scandalous that they put his life in danger.
The history and literature of European royal courts littered with comedically gifted jesters. But no court entertainer was as quick-witted as Triboulet. He served in French courts, inspired the works of Victor Hugo, and even saved his own life with a particularly cunning display of his talents.
JOKE 1
Triboulet took his work seriously. But, tasked to find the joke in any situation that presented itself, he often took things too far. He made his most harrowing mistake during the reign of Francis I — and brilliantly resolved it.
In an attempt to lighten the mood, Triboulet slapped the king on his rear. The monarch wanted him executed but offered him the chance to apologize.
JOKE 2
Instead, the jester dug himself even deeper, and the king ordered him killed.
Guess What Tribulet said in defence of himself
Your Majesty When i hit your butt I thought it was the QUEEN !
everyone screamed ! making jokes about the Queen was Forbidden even worse than the King
JOKE 3 LEge3nd !
After reflecting on the jester’s dutiful service, however, Francis I offered him the choice of how he wished to die. Triboulet gave a retort so amusing it inspired famous works of literature and opera and made him a legend. he permitted his jester to choose a manner of death. Triboulet’s response marked the most memorable act of his life:
“Good sire, for Saint Nitouche’s and Saint Pansard’s sake, patrons of insanity, I choose to die from old age.”
Remarkably, the king found this so humorous that he granted Triboulet banishment instead of death.
According to Dr. John Doran’s 1858 The History of Court Fools, Triboulet was born Nicolas Ferrial in 1479 in Blois, France. He suffered from microcephaly — a neurodevelopmental disorder resulting in congenital disabilities.
According to 19th-century French journalist Paul Lacroix, “His bowed back, his short and twisted legs, his long and hanging arms, amused the ladies, who contemplated him as if he had been a monkey or a paroquet.”
Triboulet was a low-level jester around town who was made a court fool by patent around age 24 by the future King Francis I. Once in the service of Francis, Lacroix wrote, Triboulet “suddenly ceased to be idiotic and imbecile, and became a witty, diverting, and crafty buffoon, and, above all, a perfect courtier.”
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Lacroix also described his dress in vivid detail: a serge costume of vibrant red and yellow, his cap adorned with the royal arms, and the figure of a fool’s head at the tip of his wand.
It was a jester’s job to expose hypocrisy in authority, from religion and law to personal vanity and royal excess. They were granted admirable freedom to do so, despite a king’s purported godliness.
And Triboulet used this unspoken liberty across his tenures for kings Louis XII and Francis I of France. Until one day he took it too far.
More jokes
Triboulet once came to the Monarch with a complaint.
- Triboulet: “A noble has threatened to hang me!”
- The Monarch: “Don’t worry! If he hangs you I’ll have him beheaded fifteen minutes later.”
- Triboulet: “Well, would it be possible to behead him 15 minutes before?