#jane foole

[sweetsugarystars]

Last image of the year let’s go!!! A Jane Foole for your consideration :]

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[bforbetterthanyou]

I’m new to the Tudor fandom and have never heard of Jane Foole and William Sommers. Can you tell more about them?

Will Sommers was the King’s fool and Jane was the Queen’s fool (she actually doesn’t have a known surname so she’s often just given the surname “Foole”).

Will served Henry VIII and Jane originally served Anne Boleyn and then moved into the household of Princess Mary (future Mary I) and then eventually came to serve Kathryn Parr before disappearing from the records.

Basically, there were two types of “fools” in the Tudor period—natural fools and artificial fools (which would eventually be called jesters). Artificial fools were actors basically or the  equivalent of modern-day comedians. They would put on a show to entertain and act funny. Natural fools were people with disabilities (usually a mental or learning disability but they could also be physically disabled). A lot of people sort of have this idea that royalty would have natural fools to, sort of, make fun of them or laugh at them for their disability, but—at least in the case of the Tudor period—that’s not really true. In fact, natural fools were often revered because of their (seeming) inability to lie. People thought that having a disability like that meant that you were closer to God. So Will and Jane were actually very well taken care of and they were treated with kindness and compassion.

Will Sommers was apparently the only one who could lift Henry’s spirits after Jane Seymour’s death. Famously, after her death he holed himself up in his chambers with only Will for company and refused to see anyone else.

Jane was also treated well. Kathryn Parr gifted her some grease and apparently she (Jane) loved to heard them around like a shepherd. One of my favorite stories of Jane (that might not be true, but I like to believe that it is) is that, at Anne Boleyn’s coronation, she shouted at the crowds to show Anne more respect. And I think that shows that, clearly Anne took care of Jane and treated her well and Jane was fond of Anne otherwise she wouldn’t have shouted at people to pay their respects.

Unfortunately, there’s not really much more known about them. But Henry clearly cared enough about both of them to include them in the portrait of his family (Jane is on the far left and Will is on the far right):

[bforbetterthanyou]

Top 5 favorite Tudor women. I would be interested in knowing why you like them as well

I assume, by “Tudor women” you mean women of the general Tudor period and not just the women of the Tudor family.

Also, you didn’t specify this, but since this is an Anne Boleyn blog, it should be pretty obvious that Anne is my number 1 forever, so how about I do my top 5 besides Anne Boleyn?

And these are in no particular order

1. Anna of Cleves —um need I say more? Coming to England must have been pretty terrifying for her and even staying in England after the annulment I’m sure wasn’t easy and yet, she seemed to take it all in stride. And I also really love how she wanted to be Queen and wanted to please Henry and the English people—but not in like a naive people-pleaser kind of way. And she clearly succeeded because it seems like the only person who didn’t love her was Henry himself—which is entirely his own fault really.

2. Jane Foole and Will Sommers — I’m putting them together because I like them for the same reasons. Disability history is really important to me and I really wish that more people knew about Jane and Will. There’s not much information about either of them, but the little we do know really shows how Tudor people viewed the disabled. (Also, for the record, Will Sommers has been depicted in media before and he’s never been shown as being disabled...so obviously that’s disability erasure and that’s a huge problem that needs to be fixed)

3. Margaret Beaufort — Uh yeah she was awesome and people only hate her because they hate to see a girlboss winning

4. The whole Boleyn family — they’ve all been so unfairly maligned or just portrayed totally wrongly. Thomas was a good person and a good father, Elizabeth was obviously a girlboss, Mary was adventurous and fun and bold and not some delicate little flower who was mistreated by her family. George was intelligent and charismatic and maybe a little arrogant but a great brother and son and a wonderful, caring husband. And Jane...everything points to Jane actually getting along with her in-laws very well and caring about them as if they were her own family. And I 100% believe she genuinely cared about George and even grew to love him.

5. Bessie Blount — this girl deserves so much more love. And also some reconsideration. She’s often portrayed or thought of as being sweet or shy or soft-spoken but like...she had an affair outside of wedlock...with a married man...who was the King. That tells me that she was bold and adventurous and maybe even a bit feisty; and that she was intent on living her best life regardless of social conventions. Also, her second husband was 14 years her junior and their marriage was viewed as very scandalous, but did Bessie give a shit? No. Because she loved him and he made her happy and they remained married until her death (and even had 3 children). Oh and I only just learned this but apparently Bessie briefly served as a lady-in-waiting to Anna of Cleves. I think Bessie deserves to be thought of beyond just being Henry’s mistress and the mother of FitzRoy.

[sweetsugarystars]

“Baby, you should come with me I'll take you to the dark side~”

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[historicconfessions]

[novakspector]

Jane Fool - Beachcombing's Bizarre History Blog

In the famous image of Henry VIII’s family from 1545 there is a mysterious figure walking on the left in the background. The woman apparently has no hair (note the back and front of her head and compare with the princesses in the picture) and she seems rather lost, perhaps even confused.

[theoddmentemporium]

Jane Foole

Jane Foole was a 16th century court jester to Catherine Parr, Mary I, and possibly Anne Boleyn, and is the only female jester ever depicted. She features on the lefthand side of this portrait of Henry VIII and his family, whilst the King's jester, Will Sommers, features on the right.

Even in a time when 'the privileged amused themselves with dwarfs, the deformed, the disabled and the dimwitted to ridicule and to laugh at,' a female jester is still particularly curious. Despite this, however, frustratingly little is known about Jane's life. Other than the above portrait, the only proof of her existence lies only in The Privy Purse Expenses of Princess Mary. Indeed, until her death, Mary financially supported Jane, ensuring she was always well presented in the most fashionable dresses and shoes - over the course of 18 months she was gifted 36 pairs. Furthermore, Mary paid Jane sick pay during "the tyme of her seekness" in 1543, handsomely compensated a Mrs. Ager who cured Jane of an eye ailment in 1556, and paid for elaborate gifts for Jane's 'valentines'.

Undoubtedly Jane was better looked after than most women at court, however, she was also required to shave her head twice a month in a custom ordinary for male jesters, but which would have undoubtedly set Jane apart from other women. Unfortunately no records of what she did to entertain the Queens she served survive, but feigning stupidity whilst insulting one's master, practical jokes, and making up funny stories, were all popular tricks of the trade amongst male jesters of the period and might indicate what Jane got up to as well.

[Sources: Jane Foole | On the Trail of Jane the Fool]