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A cartoon of a jester talking to a donkey, who is sitting behind a podium wearing glasses.

Cartoon of Jester and Donkey

A cartoon of a jester talking to a donkey, who is sitting behind a podium wearing glasses.

A jester, joker, jokester, fool, wit-cracker, prankster, or buffoon is a member of a profession that came into popularity in the Middle Ages. Jesters are always thought to have worn brightly colored clothes and eccentric hats in a motley pattern. Their hats, sometimes called the cap 'n bells, cockscomb (obsolete coxcomb), were especially distinctive; made of cloth, they were floppy with three points (liliripes) each of which had a jingle bell at the end. The three points of the hat represent the ass's ears and tail worn by jesters in earlier times. Other things distinctive about the jester were his laughter and his mock scepter, known as a bauble or maharoof.

Jester

A jester, joker, jokester, fool, wit-cracker, prankster, or buffoon is a member of a profession that…

Lear, Kent, and the Fool.

Lear, Kent, and the Fool

Lear, Kent, and the Fool.

Lear, Kent, and the Fool.

King Lear and the Fool

Lear, Kent, and the Fool.

Fool and owl

Pictorial banner

Fool and owl

Pontiac outwitted at Detroit.

Pontiac Outwit

Pontiac outwitted at Detroit.