List of jesters

A jester is a person who entertains using varied skills. These may include one or more of skills such as music, storytelling, juggling, acrobatics, joke telling and other similar skills. There have been many examples of jesters in history, fiction, and other mediums.

In history

In writing and theatre

In film and television
  • Clopin, mischievous leader of the gypsies who will defend his people at all costs in the film The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996 film). He introduces the audience as a jester to the story, explaining how Quasimodo, the bell ringer from Notre Dame, got to be there. Michael Surrey served as the supervising animator for Clopin.
  • Giacomo "King of Jesters, and Jester of Kings" was a famous traveling jester in the 1956 film musical The Court Jester. His character was actually incapacitated early in the plot, and is never heard from again, but a member of an underground group, Hubert Hawkins, played by Danny Kaye, assumes Giacomo's identity in order to get into the King's castle.
  • Timothy Claypole, character in the BBC children's television comedy programme Rentaghost of the 1970s/80s, was a jester (played by Michael Staniforth).
  • The Photojournalist from Apocalypse Now is often seen as a harlequin figure. In the novel Heart of Darkness the character of Marlowe meets a Russian wanderer whose clothes have been made from patches of various garments sewn together, giving him the appearance of a harlequin. The Russian has developed a fanatic admiration for Kurtz. In the film actor Dennis Hopper portrays this fanaticism as being mixed with the 1960s counter-culture spirit of the Vietnam era.
  • Funnyman, A UK horror movie about a demonic jester, The Funny Man, with a varied and imaginative repertoire of homicidal techniques and an irreverent sense of humour.
  • Jester, Court jester of King Cradock in the TV series Jane and the Dragon.
  • Jester, the Harlequin puppet in the Puppet Master films
  • In the children's adventure game show Knightmare there were two jesters, Folly and Motley.
  • Kyoami, in Akira Kurosawa's film Ran

In comic books and animation

In video games
  • Marx – jester from Kirby Super Star and Kirby Super Star Ultra.
  • Jester is a character class in the MMORPG Flyff and in the RPGs Gauntlet: Dark Legacy and Darkest Dungeon.
  • Malcolm – mad jester of The Legend of Kyrandia adventure games
  • Mr.Fargus – in the platform game Purikura Daisakusen by Atlus.
  • Harle – character in Chrono Cross who jests at expense of reality itself.
  • Dhoulmagus – evil jester in the Dragon Quest VIII game by Square Enix.
  • Dragon Quest III – contains a Jester character class. In the American version of the game, the character class is renamed to Goof-off.
  • Hecklar – insane and sadistic court jester in Kronos Digital's fighting game Cardinal Syn.
  • A nameless jester helps and hinders the player in the Infocom game Zork Zero.
  • Jester – an alter-ego of Arkham, in Devil May Cry 3.
  • Nights into Dreams... – featured two brightly colored jesters. Nights, who wore a purple jester outfit with a purple hat, each with carnival and dream like designs on them, and Reala, Nights' nemesis, who had a clownlike face, and wore red and sky blue, and red and black striped shoes with a red- and black-striped jester hat.
  • Cleon – is star fairy jester in Bust-a-Move 4.
  • Kefka Palazzo – in Final Fantasy VI, wears typical outfit and makeup of a jester.
  • Zorn & Thorn – pair of court jesters in the RPG Final Fantasy IX.
  • Dimentio – evil psychopathic magician in Super Paper Mario who wears a stylized jester costume and creates clever similes. He is one of the main villains of the game and attempts to make Mario and Luigi his slaves. He also wears an Italian Comedy Mask.
  • There is also a Jester in the tower in the 2007 Xbox 360 game Overlord. The player can kick the jester, knocking him a great distance, making cow bell sounds when he hits the floor. The Jester also follows the player around the tower, and in the tutorial he taunts the player. The player must repeatedly hurt the jester to finish the tutorial.
  • In the two Persona 2 video games, Joker wears clothing reminiscent of that of a jester.
  • Jester – A.K.A. Sarah Hawkins in the game UT3, fitting her name by making jests about the opponent or teammates.
  • Twinkle – she a little jester girl tail in Bust a Move 3
  • Umlaut – petrified Jester Skull in CarnEvil who gives a brief rhyme to describe what's in store upon selecting a level. He is also a sub-boss at the final level of the game.
  • Trivet – royal jester in the adventure game Blazing Dragons
  • Chuckles – jester in the Ultima series of role playing games, provides comic entertainment and plot hints.
  • Jollo – court jester of the Land of the Green Isles in King's Quest VI, is an essential ally to Alexander. He warns Alexander about Alhazred's genie and keeps him informed of the Vizer's scheming. In the long path of the game, he also is able to swap out the genie's lamp and get Alexander out of the dungeon once.
  • Tony Hawk Underground 2 features "The Jester" as a playable character after the level in New Orleans.
  • Shaco – evil jester of demonic origin, a playable trap champion in the game League of Legends.
  • Cicero – keeper from the Dark Brotherhood in Skyrim, wears a jester's outfit and took on the persona of a jester after killing one.
  • Feste – jester for the Duke's court in Dragon's Dogma.
  • Laughlyn – powerful spirit in Shadowrun RPG. He is a trickster spirit of technology in decay. Jake must bend Laughlyn to his will in order to defeat the dragon, Drake. Laughlyn however has other ideas...
  • Jevil - A secret boss in the video game Deltarune. He was once the court jester of Card Castle, until he began to see the world as a game, and got locked in a prison cell under the castle.
  • Joka - Joka, also known as "Joker", is a recurring character in the game series Klonoa.
  • Clownpiece - a fairy jester who lives on the moon and serves as one of the many bosses in Touhou Project. She first appeared in Legacy of Lunatic Kingdom. Her clothing is similar to the American flag, and she carries a torch that drives anyone mad upon looking at the flame within it.

See also

References
  1. "William Sommers, d. 1560. Jester to Henry VIII". National Galleries of Scotland. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  2. Kooiman, Mike; Amash, Jim (2011). The Quality Companion: Celebrating the forgotten publisher of Plastic Man and the Freedom Fighters. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 136. ISBN 978-1-60549-037-3.
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