Fooling around in front of royalty: the extraordinary escapades of Europe's female jesters

From a devout Catholic jester dressed as an Amazonian warrior to a court dwarf immortalised by Velázquez, Rachel Ashcroft profiles five remarkable women who carved out extraordinary lives at the centre of power

A composite image of a young Tudor woman in a pearl-trimmed headdress and red brocade gown with pearl and gold jewelry, layered over a smaller figure in a striped cap and a red-tinted background sketch of a crowded court scene

Published: September 6, 2026 at 3:30 PM

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The Château de Fontainebleau is packed with courtiers awaiting the arrival of King Henry IV’s jester. But while modern onlookers might expect a man in a harlequin costume to appear, Henry’s court is different.

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Instead, an Amazonian warrior bursts onto the scene, clad in battle armour and wielding a wooden sword and shield. Mathurine ‘la Folle’ was one of France’s most eccentric court jesters. Known for her quick-witted japes and outrageous costumes, Mathurine was also, perhaps surprisingly to modern audiences, a woman.

Although most jesters in medieval and early modern Europe were men, female ones like Mathurine were not uncommon. Women jesters feature prominently in some of Europe’s most famous courts, from Henry VIII’s household to the travelling court of Mary, Queen of Scots.

Many were much-loved by their monarchs and granted special favours, including gifts of land and fine clothing. As such, female jesters occupied an unusual niche within medieval and early modern society.

They were often unmarried, childless women who came from humble origins. But if they served their monarch well, these women enjoyed a life of relative luxury and privilege at the heart of the royal household.

Here we present five of the most famous female jesters who made a living entertaining royalty.

A detail from a Renaissance painting showing a young figure in a striped cap and richly patterned gold-and-blue sleeved garment, gazing upward, with a carved griffin figure and ornamental panel in the background.

A painting thought to depict famous Tudor jester Jane the Foole. A popular fixture at court, Jane enjoyed many privileges that others in the peasant class did not | Credit: Alamy

Jane Foole (fl. 1537-1558): Mary I’s most beloved natural fool

Jane Foole is the most well-known female jester from the Tudor period. While we know very little about her early life, Jane enters the historical record during the reign of King Henry VIII, when she joins the household of Princess Mary (later ‘Bloody’ Queen Mary I).

Jane was what was known at the time as a ‘natural’ fool i.e. she had mental and/or physical disabilities that resulted in her being unable to control her faculties.

As historian Beatrice Otto has noted, it is tempting to assume that natural fools were mistreated by their employers and used as objects of ridicule. However, none of the evidence from the time bears out this assumption. Indeed, Jane was a much-loved member of Mary’s royal entourage.

A lot of what we know about female jesters comes from the financial records of their benefactors. The accounts from Queen Mary’s reign recorded between 1553 and 1558 show that Mary spent a lot of money on lavish clothes for Jane. One entry reads “Item, for furring of a gowne of the same Vellat with size white hare skynnes for Jane our fool”.

Fur for costume trimming was expensive and would have cost roughly £300 in modern terms. Furthermore, Jane was gifted the same dresses as Mary’s ladies-in-waiting: the only difference being that her gowns were cut in the Dutch style and not the more fashionable French style.

Mary also ensured that Jane wasn’t short of footwear. Another entry from the royal accounts reads: “Item, for 12 peire of shewes for the said Jane.”

Even a court fool, who would regularly be employed in various stage performances, could not have worn out this many shoes in a year. Therefore the quantity of shoes gifted likely reflects Mary’s deep affection for Jane.

We also know a lot about Jane’s ailing health during the 20 years she spent in Mary’s household. From March 1543 onwards, Jane suffered from a skin infection which necessitated a monthly shaving of her hair. Records show that a barber was paid 4d (four pence) on each occasion.

We also have a striking snapshot of what Jane would have looked like at this time thanks to the 16th century painting The Family of Henry VIII. A woman, whom most experts believe to be Jane, is standing to the left of Princess Mary wearing a cap over her shaven head.

Furthermore, in 1555, Mary sent a gift to a woman healer in Bury St Edmunds for healing one of Jane’s eyes.

If there was any doubt about the high status that Jane enjoyed as a court fool, we also know that she was included in the St. Valentine’s Day lottery. This was a festival in which noble men drew lots among the ladies of the court to see who would be their partner for that evening’s dancing.

Sometime between 1554 and 1556, a Mr Herte was given “three yerdes of black satten” for being Jane’s Valentine, while a Mr Barnes was given the same quantity of satin in 1558.

All of this special attention was given to Jane, but why? In the Tudor period, people with learning disabilities were prized for their truth-telling abilities. The public believed natural fools were more child-like and, as such, they were closer to God.

Kings and queens valued fools like Jane for their perceived ability to speak divine truth, and this is why we so often see a close relationship form between a monarch and their natural fool.

Although life would have been hard for peasants who suffered from learning disabilities, those who were lucky enough to enter court life enjoyed incredible privilege.

A side-by-side comparison of two Tudor-era portraits: on the left, the inscribed 1544 painting of "Lady Mary, daughter to King Henry the Eighth" in a red gown with pearl headdress, and on the right, a similarly dressed young woman in red brocade with a pearl-trimmed headdress and jeweled pendant necklace.

Lucretia the Tumbler – known for her acrobatic performances – entertained both Mary Tudor (left) and her younger sister Elizabeth (right) while they stayed at the Hertfordshire palace, the Manor of the More | Credit: Getty Images

Lucretia the Tumbler (fl. 1542 - 1543): The acrobatic ‘saltatrix’ of the Tudor court

Lucretia the Tumbler is another female jester from the same period who had a close connection to Jane Foole. We know far less about Lucretia, but some historians guess that she may have been of Italian origin, considering her Italianate first name.

Until his execution in 1540, Thomas Cromwell was responsible for vetting all of Princess Mary’s appointments while her father was king, and at some point, he approved the appointment of a ‘chamberer’ intriguingly known as Lucretia the Tumbler.

Lucretia was not a natural fool but a ‘saltatrix’, i.e. a female performer who entertained the court with acrobatic dancing, contortions and gymnastics. She was kept in Mary’s household and likely performed for both Mary and her sister, the young princess Elizabeth (and future Queen Elizabeth I), during their visits to the Manor of the More in Hertfordshire.

In the early 1540s, Lucretia appears in financial records under the name of Lucrece. She is mentioned alongside Jane the Foole regularly, and the pair often received identical items of clothing.

In December 1542, a record lists a “payr of shoes for Jane & an other for lucrece” as well as identical smocks for the two women. This may mean that the pair performed alongside each other in a double act.

Historian John Southworth has also suggested that the matching clothes indicate that Lucretia may have been Jane’s companion or ‘keeper’. Keepers were responsible for looking after natural fools, since they could not take care of themselves.

It was not unusual for jesters to perform dual roles within a royal household. Henry VIII’s tumbler Stephen Tosso combined these duties with other domestic roles. Sadly we don’t know what became of Lucretia as she disappears from the public record after 1543.

A hand-coloured illustration of a group of Elizabethan-era men and women in ruffs and doublets standing in tense confrontation indoors, with a dropped dagger and an overturned chest on the floor between them

Mathurine la Folle (centre, right) accosts would-be assassin Jean Châtel following an attempt on Henri IV’s life. Beyond her bravery, Mathurine was well-known for comedic acts and devout faith | Credit: Getty Images

Mathurine la Folle (fl. 1589 – c1620s): The jester who dressed as an Amazonian warrior

Mathurine first appears in court annals during the reign of Henry III. She was recorded as a plaisante, the appointed title for female jesters in France at that time (the Queen of Navarre employed a plaisante called Mademoiselle Sevin). While most female jesters were attached to the Queen’s household, Mathurine bucked this trend, serving as a jester within Henry’s household.

One famous anecdote about Mathurine involves a lady-in-waiting complaining that she did not like having to be seated on the right side of a mere fool. Mathurine promptly jumped up and sat on the lady’s other side, remarking “I don’t mind it at all.”

Some sources highlight how during her lifetime, satirists would sometimes refer to themselves as a ‘Mathurine’. She also influenced a type of burlesque writing called mathurinade which was associated with her particular brand of comedy.

Furthermore, Mathurine was known for her devout Catholicism. Reformers at the time were strongly opposed to what they perceived as the extravagant practice of keeping court fools. A fiercely Catholic woman who enjoyed dressing up in full Amazonian warrior regalia would have attracted a lot of negative attention from religious dissidents during a turbulent period in France’s history.

Mathurine’s most well-known feat involves her role in detaining Henry IV’s assassin, Jean Châtel. But there is a plot twist which underscores just how unusual it was that Mathurine remained a court jester for so long.

Despite her bravery, the king initially suspected her of being part of the plot and arrested her. However, in a rare display of generosity, Mathurine was allowed to prove her innocence and was then warmly welcomed back to court, serving Henry and his son, Louis XIII.

She made a few appearances in the mid 1620s, but after that Mathurine la Folle disappears from history.

Velázquez's painting "Las Meninas," showing a young princess in a white gown surrounded by attendants, a large dog lying at her feet, the painter himself at his easel on the left, and a mirror and doorway with figures in the background

Maria Bárbola takes a key position (right) in Diego Velázquez’s Las Meninas , 1656. Maria had a long, successful career as a court dwarf, until such entertainers were considered “outdated relics” at the turn of the 18th century | Credit: Getty Images

Maria Bárbola (fl. 1651 - 1700): The court dwarf who was immortalised in a Baroque painting

Maria Bárbola was a court dwarf who served the Spanish royal family for nearly half a century from 1651 to 1700. Dwarfs were often employed as entertainers in medieval and early modern palace courts.

Madame d’Or, a ‘very graceful fool’, was a popular dwarf entertainer in the 1400s in France, while several female dwarfs served in the court of Isabella d’Este, the wife of the marquis of Mantua, Italy.

King Philip IV of Spain was a big fan, and Maria was actually one of 110 dwarfs in his entourage. Dwarfs took on a variety of roles depending on their talents. Some were tumblers or joke-tellers, while others were employed as natural fools.

While even court dwarfs suffered prejudice from others in society due to their stature, Maria was much-loved by her benefactors. Once again, we see evidence of lavish treatment towards jesters via royal financial records. However, this time it isn’t clothing that is gifted to Maria, but snow!

In 1658, she received four pounds of snow every summer’s day in order to keep her cool. This was a regular gift for long-serving court dwarfs. In 1678, Bernada Blasco, a dwarf who served for 25 years, received four pounds of snow a day in the summer and four pounds of coal in winter.

Maria is particularly well-known due to her appearance in Diego Velázquez’ famous painting Las Meninas (‘The Maids of Honour’) from 1656. In the painting, Maria is treated with reverence by Velázquez, despite the lesser-rank of dwarfs at this time.

While dwarfs were commonly depicted in artwork as figures of ridicule, Maria stands staring boldly and confidently out at the viewer, clearly represented as a core member of the royal household thanks to her proximity to the young infanta Margaret Theresa.

Maria’s employment ended when Philip V decided to reorganise the Spanish court. He believed that court dwarfs were outdated relics and promptly ended their service. Despite living in Spain for nearly 50 years, the last we know of Maria is that she returned to her native Austria to see out the rest of her days.

A Renaissance portrait of a young woman with red hair styled beneath a jeweled, gold-braided headdress, wearing an embroidered dress trimmed with white feathers, set against a dark background

Isabella d’Este (above) – one of the leading women of the Italian renaissance – was generous in financing jesters after their retirement; something which Mary, Queen of Scots would also go on to do with her beloved companion La Jardinière | Credit: Getty Images

Nichola La Jardinière (fl. 1560 - 1570): Faithful companion to Mary, Queen of Scots

Nichola ‘La Jardinière’ was a female fool who underscores the importance of women jesters as valued companions to a monarch (particularly a queen).

La Jardinière was a natural fool who first served in the household of Queen Mary of Guise and later joined the court of her famous daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots. When Mary returned to Scotland from France after the death of her husband, Francis II, La Jardinière left her native country to accompany her royal mistress.

We know that La Jardinière was treated well by Mary. For example, in October 1565 the queen ordered a luxurious bedding set for her faithful jester which included a bed, mattress, sheets and a lined green plaid cover.

Many fools remained long in the memory of their benefactors, even after their services were no longer required. After Mary was forced to abdicate in 1567, she ensured that La Jardinière and her keeper, Jacqueline Critoflat, both received fine clothes and money for three years while Mary was imprisoned in England.

She eventually sent the pair a sum of money, “expensis and fraucht” in 1570, so that they could return to France. Such behaviour is reminiscent of other European nobility, such as Isabella d’Este, who ensured that her dwarfs were paid 50 scudi each for the rest of their lives after retirement.

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Rachel Ashcroft is a freelance journalist with a PhD in 16th century history. She specialises in arts and culture reporting

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