The Medieval Comedian

Joe found a really cool article about a medieval comedian from 1480. What was the basis of the jokes back then? Killer bunnies and poop jokes. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
I came across this article. I was so excited and
became so disappointed. Now I'm going to disappoint you. The
headline is what cracked up medieval peasants? The answer, by
the way, is killer bunnies and poop jokes. Evidently they
discovered and translated an English minstrel his he did like

(00:22):
a comedy show in taverns his notes.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
Next village, Yeah, me too, exactly.

Speaker 1 (00:31):
So they have pages and pages of his notebook known
as the Hegue Manuscript. That that has everything all of
his notes, including like audience interaction.

Speaker 2 (00:45):
Midiev where they from the medieval comedian and a tavern
has got to be a great premise for a lot
of really funny people. Who here's got sores, show a hand?

Speaker 3 (00:56):
How about pad king Booh, careful now you in the
fra row. This guy's got too deep. We hain't annoying.
So it's the year fourteen eighty and this wandering English
bard goes into a bar, he does his act, he
gets tips, he goes onto the next town and it's

(01:18):
fourteen eighty. He's wandering around.

Speaker 1 (01:19):
These are his notes, a series of irreverent jokes about incontinence,
killer rabbits, and binge drinking or a big part of
the act, which is so funny. You know, so today
human nature does not change. But I was so curious
to get into the specifics of the wording and to

(01:40):
be actually able to bring you the jokes. But they're
so mystifying and they're so context dependent that they wouldn't
even make any sense to you. Let me see if
I can find one of them. Ah, jack Way was
never so sad as when the hair trod on his head,

(02:03):
in case she would have ripped out his throat. Reminiscent
of the killer Bunny scene of course from Monty Python
in The Holy Grail. And then the one about incontinence. Right,
we can all make poop jokes, right, here's the actual riff.
A man becomes haunted by incontinence after receiving a blow
to his backside. Here's the wording. Therefore, soon he was

(02:26):
hit on the back forever after his bottom said quack
whenever he should rise to walk.

Speaker 2 (02:37):
The thing.

Speaker 1 (02:38):
Honest, let me try one more. It's about drinking. If
you have a big tanker in your hand and it's
full of good ale, and you leave any beer inside,
you're putting your soul at great risk. These men said
in the Bible that someone who's bad at drinking is
not likely to go to heaven.

Speaker 2 (02:58):
All ugh, God, it's hard to imagine what the worldview
would be like back then. I mean, because what is
life expectancy back then? Like twenty six?

Speaker 1 (03:13):
Yeah, something like that. It's another story about a gluttonous king,
but it makes less sense than the other ones. But
evident they get killed back in merry old England.

Speaker 2 (03:22):
You know, and you've had too much meat and you
can't keep from pooping yourself.

Speaker 3 (03:25):
Huh with me, big guy?

Speaker 1 (03:30):
The from Rono's what I'm talking about? Duneess, sir, you
know your way around the lamb shop.

Speaker 2 (03:36):
I can see anyway.

Speaker 1 (03:40):
It appears that the concept of a killer bunny, though,
is ancient. The soft and harmless and oft hunted and
skinned creature turning on mankind is a thing. Although what
are those giant rabbits that you see on the internet
now and again? I can't remember the breed, but those
can get too aggressive and scared.

Speaker 2 (04:00):
A hell out of you from what I understood, do
you think those people like living in a village in
fourteen eighty were surprisingly happy? You talk about human nature,
doesn't change. And we've talked about psychologic studies. I mean,
you kind of have a set point of happiness, and
you kind of are like that happy regardless of your
circumstances for the most part.

Speaker 1 (04:18):
Yeah, good days and bad days, but you generally get
back to your your median point.

Speaker 2 (04:23):
So would the average person back then just have been
as happy as you are, even though you know there's
all kinds of disease and pains you can't take care of,
and your teeth right out of your head, and you
got to work all day long just to survive. But
they'd be just as happy as you are, because that's
just the way we're built.

Speaker 1 (04:37):
Well, and if you wander out of your town at night,
you probably get your head split open and all your
stuff taken because crime was rampant, highwaymen, et cetera. You know,
maybe it was just my my delivery. Let me try
this again. Therefore, soon he was hit on the back
forever after his bottom said quack, whenever he should rise
to walk his bottom of quacking. Let's pass the hat. Now,

(05:06):
you've been a great audience.

Speaker 2 (05:07):
But you probably had to be pretty careful about anything
getting close to religion or God.

Speaker 1 (05:11):
Right, Yeah, actually, They mentioned a couple there's one mock
sermon that ridicules the priesthood, which they say was pretty edgy.
That was part of that, you know, God wants you
to finish your beer thing work in blue well. And
they would also mock the local nobleman. A little bit
about old Prince Jim over here.

Speaker 3 (05:31):
I tell you what, I'll.

Speaker 1 (05:32):
Tell you what I hear about him. You had to
be careful, but that was you know, you know, taking
down the powerful was part of comedy then, is not.

Speaker 2 (05:40):
I think I got a new goal for my time machine.
If I'm ever in a time machine, it's to go
to that tavern on some evening and watch the comedy
routine and the reactions. God, that would be fascinating