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Medieval Humour: Expressions, Receptions and Functions – Medieval History

Kleio Pethainou @kpethainou.bsky.social · Sep 4

"Medieval Humour: Expressions, Receptions, and Functions" just got a warm review at HistoryMedieval!
Spoiler: they liked it 👀
Read it: historymedieval.com/medieval-humour-expressions-receptions-and-functions

#MedievalSky #HumorStudies #MedievalHumour #BookReview

Medieval Humour explores laughter in manuscripts, tales, and art—revealing the witty, playful, and surprising side of medieval life and culture.

historymedieval.com

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Kleio Pethainou @kpethainou.bsky.social · Aug 31

Heaven doesn’t pay its debts. A medieval fabliau proves it.

🎧 New episode: The Poor Peddler, now live on Spotify and all platforms.
buff.ly/3vEl3ke
📖 Valenciennes, Bibliothèque municipale, ms. 101, fol. 191v. ca. 1230-1260

#MedievalHumour

God Owes Me Thirty Shillings

The Court Jester · Episode

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Kleio Pethainou @kpethainou.bsky.social · Aug 31

A while ago, I polled listeners about the one fabliau I couldn’t make funny. You asked to hear it anyway, so here it is.
It’s brutal and violent. Let’s talk about why medieval audiences laughed with that.
🎧 I give you The Gelded Lady: buff.ly/yJWfMjK
⚠️ Content warning: everything.
#medievalsky

Kleio Pethainou @kpethainou.bsky.social · Aug 17

“His balls are WHAT?”
A wife drags her husband before the bishop. The whole town shows up. Confusion, comedy and awkward anatomy lessons follow.
This is Black Balls: a fabliau about medieval justice at its most bewildered.

🎧 Listen here: buff.ly/DseO6v9

#Medievalsky #TheCourtJesterPodcast

Kleio Pethainou @kpethainou.bsky.social · Aug 14

"Medieval Humour: Expressions, Receptions and Functions" is now featured on History Medieval! Read my article about the wit and laughter of the Middle Ages here: buff.ly/QUGIAIe

📖 @labnf.bsky.social, Fonds francais 854, fol.121v
#medievalsky

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Kleio Pethainou @kpethainou.bsky.social · Aug 13

A sly minstrel tries to ruin a clueless groom’s wedding night…but he didn’t account for the bride.
By dawn, the prankster’s bed, clothes and dignity are buried under an avalanche of medieval payback.

🎧 New episode - Jouglet
buff.ly/APjbRzg
#MedievalHumour #Fabliau #TheCourtJesterPodcast

Kleio Pethainou @kpethainou.bsky.social · Aug 1

If this is not my favourite story from the Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles, it is definitely my favourite illumination.
Have you ever seen a friar and a nun masturbating under a tree while being watched by a weird man?
You have now.

🎧Patreon Bonus: Payment for the Pears.
buff.ly/ZVHOPey
#medievalsky

Kleio Pethainou @kpethainou.bsky.social · Jul 29

A miller tries to trick a girl. Instead, he loses his pig, his pride and his dignity. By court order.

🎧 New episode: The Miller of Arleux
buff.ly/DBnc8MC
#TheCourtJesterPodcast #Medievalsky

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Kleio Pethainou @kpethainou.bsky.social · Jul 13

🎧 New episode, complete with guest cat sounds!
A penny-pinching husband suspects his wife is having an affair. So he sets a trap.
But she’s got sharper instincts, a better plan, and the entire household on her side.

Listen here: open.spotify.com/episode/6tF1...

#Medievalsky #TheCourtJesterPodcast

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Kleio Pethainou @kpethainou.bsky.social · Jul 10

The sound quality of The Court Jester's next episode has been seriously compromised by this furry nightmare, who couldn't stop yelling for attention.

Please accept my apologies. He regrets nothing.

#cat #storyteller #storytelling #TheCourtJesterPodcast #medievalsky

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Kleio Pethainou @kpethainou.bsky.social · Jul 6

If you’re heading to #IMC2025, stick this in your ears on the train and arrive fully in the #medieval mood: curious, inventive and just slightly scandalised.
And follow The Court Jester wherever you get your podcasts!

🎧https://open.spotify.com/show/1Do3IRSbyx0Ac1asD1RudD
📖BnF Fr. 25526, f. 111r.

Kleio Pethainou @kpethainou.bsky.social · Jul 2

Some fabliaux are about sex.
Some are about power.
This one is about a man who kisses a mysterious knight’s butt and doesn’t realise it’s his wife.
“Bérangier au lonc cul” is all about status anxiety, gender performance and sexual frustration.

youtu.be/nOSUexYEuso?...

#fabliaux #medieval

Kleio Pethainou @kpethainou.bsky.social · Jun 30

Whether you're travelling or already queueing for conference coffee in #IMC2025, I’ve got you. This month’s newsletter dives into the Bal des Ardents, to give you some perspective on the importance of Health and Safety in event planning.
Sign up and read it on the way to Leeds: buff.ly/7n4XYfI

Kleio Pethainou @kpethainou.bsky.social · Jun 29

Boivin had a purse full of lies and a knack for trouble.
He scammed a brothel, sparked a riot and left with a payday.
🎧 New episode: open.spotify.com/show/1Do3IRS...
📖 Scene of a bathhouse, c. 1470. Berlin Staatsbibliothek, Ms. Dep. Breslau 2, vol. 2, fol. 244.

#Medievalsky #TheCourtJesterPodcast

The Book That Almost Vanished

Kleio Pethainou @kpethainou.bsky.social · Jun 25

The Book That Almost Vanished

A story about medieval humour, academic publishing and a book that deserves a second chance

A story about medieval humour, academic publishing and a book that deserves a second chance

kleiopethainou.com

Kleio Pethainou @kpethainou.bsky.social · Jun 21

If you ever find yourself in Akşehir in July, you might witness a man in 13th-century robes riding backwards on a donkey, leading a cheerful procession through the city.
Welcome to the world of Nasreddin Hodja. Read all about him on this month's Patreon:.
buff.ly/CaAccYV
#medievalsky #jesterlore

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Kleio Pethainou @kpethainou.bsky.social · Jun 18

Talking about my usual smutty medieval images at @prayticipate.bsky.social in @uniofstandrews.bsky.social and feeling like a rockstar.

#medievalsky #medievalist #medievalistlife #conferenceseason #medievalhumour #deadseriousjokes #centnouvellesnouvelles

Of Noise and (Mis)rule: Charivari

Kleio Pethainou @kpethainou.bsky.social · Jun 17

Voted most likely to survive a medieval power vacuum.

Evangelist John on Patmos, and marginal detail of rooster holding a sceptre in left foot.
Book of Hours. France, Provence, ca. 1440-1450. Morgan Library, MS M.358, fol. 13r.
#medievalsky

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Kleio Pethainou @kpethainou.bsky.social · Jun 16

In this month’s Patreon, I chat with actor, writer and medievalist @debsca.bsky.social , whose one-woman show "Green Knight" has been casting its spell on audiences for nearly a decade.
#Storytelling, subtext and subversion, all in one very green conversation.

buff.ly/Yb1iBNk
#medievalsky

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Kleio Pethainou @kpethainou.bsky.social · Jun 15

Sir Gawain and the #GreenKnight needs no introduction, and this week it's on #TheCourtJesterPodcast. Tune in as Debbie Cannon performs a fascinating excerpt from this masterpiece!
Listen: buff.ly/BC6U6rz
#KingArthur #Medievalsky #Arthuriana
📖 @britishlibrary.bsky.social , MS Cotton Nero AX2, f 95r

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Kleio Pethainou @kpethainou.bsky.social · Jun 11

They came with pots, masks and loud noises.
In medieval France, charivari was public shaming with a flair.

Of Noise and (Mis)rule: Charivari, now on the blog.

#MedievalSky #Folklore #History

Humour, Laughter and Community Ritual

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Kleio Pethainou @kpethainou.bsky.social · Jun 10

What happens when Arthurian romance meets comic exaggeration and a hero who throws punches AND punchlines?

Margaret Anne Purbrick explores the performative energy and humour of Jaufre in "Medieval Humour". Available via Trivent Publishing and JSTOR.
buff.ly/h6pA4vW

#Medievalsky #MedievalHumour