Wearing The Cap And Bells

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204 – June, 2023

By Chris Robinson

In the medieval and Renaissance eras, a court jester or fool was frequently employed by noblemen or the monarchy to entertain the nobility and the royal household as well as their guests. Most of the entertainment was performed in a comic style with a significant part of it being physical comedy–slapstick, mime, stunts, funny faces and clowning. The jesters had the right to talk and mock without fear of punishment and they wore symbols, such as the cap and bells, acknowledging this right. Many court jesters possessed a natural talent for this work and were said to be born wearing the cap and bells. Some dogs, it seems, were also either born to be jesters or have made comedy an important aspect of their life’s work. In other words, a significant part of their time has been spent wearing the jester’s cap and bells.

A lady I interviewed a couple of years ago said her Miniature Poodle “Corky” was a part-time jester. He only joked around in agility, obedience or rally with agility being his favorite clowning venue.

“He’s a perfectly sane, sensible dog in the field–we hunt with him from September until the snow gets too deep, and he never goofs around–or even in the show ring, probably because he’s too focused on birds in the field and on the treats in the breed ring to clown around,” she said. “But, get him into the agility ring and even sometimes in obedience or rally and his name changes from Corky to Curly as he instantly turns into one of the Three Stooges albeit in a dog suit. Among other things he does to make people laugh are backflips and aerial 360s.”

Click here to read the complete article
204 – June, 2023

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