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The Court Jester

The Court Jester

Written by: Kleio Pethainou
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About this listen

The Court Jester is a storytelling podcast that dives into the sauciest, funniest, and most outrageous stories of the Middle Ages. Hosted by medievalist and humour scholar Kleio Pethainou, each episode brings you a real tale from medieval literature—fabliaux, fables, legends, and more—featuring scandal, fart jokes, sex, tricksters, and chaotic peasant drama.

Think rude jokes, wild mishaps and the messiest love triangles you’ve never heard of (but absolutely should).

⚔️ Based on real medieval texts

📜 Translated and adapted with historical context

🎭 Told with flair, irreverence, and dark humour


If you're into medieval history, historical comedy, uncensored storytelling, or want to laugh at the weirdest things humans used to do—this one’s for you.

🔔 New episodes every other week.

Support the show on Patreon for bonus content and medieval mischief.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kleio Pethainou Art Entertainment & Performing Arts World
Episodes
  • Constant du Hamel and his good wife

    Constant du Hamel and his good wife
    Jan 26 2026

    A priest, a magistrate and a gamekeeper decide they can get what they want by squeezing a household and weaponising everything they have. What follows is a story about leverage, revenge, and the sheer tactical value of a maid who can run messages like a menace.

    Follow on socials for more medieval stories and for medieval folklore wisdom straight from The Distaff Gospels.


    📜 Text: Translation by Nathaniel E. Dubin

    🎵 Title music: “Celebration” by Alexander Nakarada

    📲 Updates & mischief: @kpethainou.bsky.social | @thecourtjesterpodcast on Facebook

    🃏 Bonus content: patreon.com/CourtJesterPodcast

    ☕Buy me a coffee https://ko-fi.com/thecourtjesterpodcast


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    30 mins
  • Sir Cleges and the Christmas Cherries

    Sir Cleges and the Christmas Cherries
    Dec 25 2025

    A knight ruined by his own kindness. A king who has forgotten him. One impossible Christmas gift that might change everything.


    In this festive episode of The Court Jester, I bring you the story of Sir Cleges, a medieval knight whose reckless generosity collides bad gatekeepers and a Christmas miracle. A Middle English Christmas tale with feasting, cherries, and a payoff that is far more satisfying than pious.


    🎵 Title music: “Celebration” by Alexander Nakarada

    📲 Updates & other things: @kpethainou.bsky.social | @thecourtjesterpodcast on Facebook

    🃏 Bonus content: patreon.com/CourtJesterPodcast

    ☕Buy me a coffee https://ko-fi.com/thecourtjesterpodcast

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
    Show More Show Less
    13 mins
  • The Ballad of a Dead Brother — Halloween Special

    The Ballad of a Dead Brother — Halloween Special
    Oct 29 2025

    Happy Halloween, friends of the Jester.

    This year’s special comes from deep in the shadowed corners of the Balkans — a 9th-century ballad known in Greece as The Song of the Dead Brother, with haunting cousins in Serbia and Bulgaria. Nothing sets the Halloween mood quite like Balkan folklore — mournful, gothic, and just a little too close to the bone. It isn’t funny. It isn’t light.

    It’s a tale about oaths and the ruin they bring, and how a mother’s grief can shake the dead.

    This is also the first ever Court Jester episode told entirely on video. You can watch it on YouTube or Patreon.

    If you like your medieval tales with a touch of the macabre, this one’s for you.

    Happy haunting!

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    10 mins
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