Court Jester

We had a fun day yesterday (and today--we went swimming for the first time this summer and I think even Oskar had a good time).  We read: The King's Fool: A Book about Medieval and Renaissance Fools by Dana Fradon.

It is a pretty fun book.  The kids love the topic and the author included lots of great info about real historical fools.  I had to explain some of the "wit" to them.  :)

Then we watched one of my favorite old-timey movies: The Court Jester starring Danny Kaye as the jester, a very young Angela Lansbury as the spoiled rotten princess, and Glynis Johns as the love interest.  Important part of that sentence--Danny Kaye as a jester.  The plot involves Danny Kaye being mixed up in plot to overthrow the ruler or break up an alliance or some such thing but he's not really aware of the part he's playing and he's under an enchantment of which he's also not aware.  That's not a good summary.  Suffice it to say it is old school "madcap"--over-acted and silly and a whole bunch of fun.  My kids thought the whole thing was riotously funny.

Here's some clips for your enjoyment, if you enjoy this sort of thing.