[Bards] jesters

[T'Star]

I'll see what I can find on Russian jesters.  I know the /concept/
exists from all the tales of "Ivan Durachok" which translates to "Ivan
the Fool."  Typically about an overt bumbler who either makes a very
good point to someone without (apparently) realizing he's done it or
comes out on top of an impossible situation seemingly on sheer luck.
The Russians were very big on entertainment (very long, very cold
winters make people desperate for any kind of entertainment they can
get!) and satire and subtlety are common, so it seems likely that
jesters would exist in some form.  I haven't found reference directly
to actual jesters yet, but some of the stories/legends seem to fill
that role.  I will report back when/if I find more.

~Svetlana

> In the meantime, I was wondering if there were any other jester-like people
> from other cultures that were other than the mainstream of western jesting?
> I know Yagyu-kun has some interesting information about male geisha who were
> basically Japanese jesters.  I'm trying to prod him into telling us all his
> little secrets.  ^_^
>
> Xie xie,
> You Xue Xianxian