THE ROLE OF the clown, fool, or jester has received considerable attention from students of Shakespeare's plays, such as Twelfth Night. After the conclusion of Twelfth Night and the end of “that willing suspension of disbelief for the moment, which constitutes poetic faith,” today's audience might have further thoughts about the role of Feste, the wise fool who shapes much of the play's action. He also has the last word in a closing song. Playgoers might wonder about the relationship between art and historical reality, and might ask to what extent the comic Feste corresponds to the everyday experience in a private household of early modern England, as evidenced by documentary records. What was the role of the fool or jester or clown, and of comic performance generally, in this early modern environment? What evidence is there for their function within the general scheme of household management? How might a family support comic performers, and what kinds of entertainment did they present? What theories of humour or comedy are reinforced by this evidence?

First, humour and discussions of it can be important in art and life, and not merely frills or “relief” from so-called “serious” concerns. According to the Talmud, humour can make the world better, and jesters will be rewarded. In this story, while the prophet Elijah was conversing in the marketplace,

… two [men] passed by and [Elijah] remarked, These two have a share in the world to come. R. Beroka then approached and asked them, What is your occupation? They replied, We are jesters, when we see men depressed we cheer them up; furthermore when we see two people quarrelling we strive hard to make peace between them.

One good way to begin examining comics in Tudor and Stuart households is to focus on the documents of the Percys, earls of Northumberland, especially the documents of the twelfth, thirteenth, and fourteenth earls, which include many references to comic performance as well as play-texts. In general, available records from early modern private households are somewhat sparse and difficult to retrieve, but the Percys are unusual in that many of their account rolls may be reviewed on microfilms.