The Court Jester
Episodes
Tristan and Iseult, Part Two
28 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The second part of the story is an almost hour-long episode that has everything. Oaths that sound right but aren't, deception, more deception, lover's...
Tristan and Iseult, Part One
20 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Many people know the names. Not many people have heard the story from beginning to end.It's a story about love and loyalty colliding. it has everythin...
The Two Peasants
01 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Two exhausted peasants bed down for the night and one wakes up starving. His friend sneaks off to fetch leftover gruel, takes a wrong turn in the dark...
Constant du Hamel and his good wife
26 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Sir Cleges and the Christmas Cherries
25 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
The Ballad of a Dead Brother — Halloween Special
29 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
The Chaplain’s Goose: Holy Appetite, Saucy Trickery
29 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
And we're back to naughty priest territory!In this fabliau from the banks of the Sèvres, a fat goose becomes the prize in a battle of wits, appetites...
God Owes Me Thirty Shillings
31 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when a medieval peddler entrusts his horse to God and the local lord? And what happens if said horse goes missing? You take God to court....
Jouglet: The Dirtiest Medieval Wedding Tale
11 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A sly minstrel tries to ruin a clueless groom’s wedding night...but he didn't account for the bride. What follows is a night of escalating revenge, ...
The Miller of Arleux: How to Lose a Pig and Your Pride
27 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this fabliau by Enguerrant d’Oisy, we meet a miller who tries to seduce a girl, only to end up sued over livestock. Based on Le maunier d'Aleus, ...
The Woman of Orléans and the Merchant in the Dung Heap
13 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Or, How to Spy on Your Wife and End Up in a Ditch.A merchant thinks he’s outwitting his wife. She’s five steps ahead. This fabliau has it all...
Boivin de provence: How to Scam a Brothel and Live to Tell the Tale
29 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Meet Boivin, a trickster who walks into a brothel, cons everyone and causes a riot so messy they called the magistrate. Which was, of course, hi...
Green Knight Rising: Sir Gawain, Storytelling, and a Legendary Head Game
15 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Put your hands together for medievalist, actor and writer Debbie Cannon, who brings the tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight to life in a special g...
Who Duped Him Best? A Contest in three acts
02 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Based on Du Con de la Ringue (Three women who found a ring), this episode features the kind of antics that only medieval literature could get away wit...
Medieval Shenanigans: Meet Dane Hew of Leicester
18 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Guest storyteller Maber Slattery brings the house down, medieval-style.Join us as we discover the misadventures of Dane Hew, the monk who was "hanged ...
“Three Blind Men Walk Into an Inn…” (and it just gets worse)
04 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This fabliau has it all: trickery, fine dining, and a wildly escalating prank that ends with gospel readings, public humiliation, and a very confused ...
Impostures, or Maqamat al-Hariri, with Peter Konieczny
20 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This Easter Sunday, the Court Jester has a special treat usually reserved for Patreon supporters—a full bonus episode, free for all listeners!Join m...
Glow Up or Blow Up?
06 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Three girls. One magical cosmetic powder. A high-stakes prep session before a big tournament. What could possibly go wrong?In the fabliau of Les .iii....
Gombert
23 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ever wondered what medieval students got up to?In this episode, we follow two broke university lads who find themselves lodging with a peasant named G...
The Tale of Jaufre with Anne Lister
09 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Give a warm welcome to The Court Jester's first guest storyteller!Anne Lister, medievalist, storyteller, musician and overall expert in everything the...
The priest and the woman
23 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A wild story of deception, wit and wicker baskets, Le prestre et la dame proves once more that some women know exactly how to get what they want.📜 ...
Dead to Her
09 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Court Jester was selected by FeedSpot as one of the Top 20 Medieval History Podcasts on the web!What an absolute surprise! And what excellent moti...
Sex Education, Medieval Style
29 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A knight so dim he didn’t know where to put it. A mother-in-law who steps in to help. Two houseguests who suffer... a lot. And one red-hot awl that ...
How to Get Rid of Your Mother (Legally, and with Profit)
14 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A mother wants more respect. A bishop wants to help. A random priest ends up financially and emotionally responsible for a complete stranger.This is L...
Barrabam! A Good Friday Fabliau About Liturgical Chaos
31 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
It’s Good Friday, the church is packed, and the priest has lost the Passion — so naturally, he just starts yelling things until someone stops him....
The Fart That Changed the Afterlife
30 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A peasant falls ill. Hell prepares to receive him. A devil arrives with a soul-capturing bag… and instead collects something far, far worse.Le pet a...
When in Doubt, Bribe the Bishop
19 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A hardworking donkey dies. His priest gives him a saintly burial. The bishop is outraged — until twenty pounds appear, and suddenly the donkey's sou...
How to Test Your Wife’s Love
10 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When a fisherman’s wife claims she wouldn’t mind if he lost a certain... appendage, he decides to put her loyalty to the test. What follows involv...
The Belt - Or, How to Win Back Your Husband by Seducing Him as a Man
03 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A noblewoman is seduced by a strange knight bearing magical gifts. When her husband finds out, he leaves her. So she gets even. Disguised as “Sir He...
The Lombard Who Wanted Twelve Wives
25 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A young man boasts he could handle twelve wives. He marries one. She ruins him. When the village captures a wolf, he suggests, “Give him a wife...
A Medieval Guide to Cheating Gracefully
18 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A young wife meets her priest in the bushes. Her husband finds the bed empty. What follows is a knife, a near-confession, and a last-minute excuse inv...
Auberee - Mistress of the Needle, Queen of the Scheme
11 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When a young man falls in love with a newlywed, he hires a crafty old neighbor named Auberée to help. What follows includes a planted surcoat, a fake...
Hot Bath, Cold Betrayal
04 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Two moneychangers. One wife. A tub full of regret.In Les .ii. changeors (The two Moneychangers), a clever woman turns the tables on her husband’s fr...
Heaven’s Worst Day at the Office
28 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When no angels or demons show up to claim his soul, a dead peasant takes matters into his own hands and walks straight into Heaven. Saint Peter tries ...
A Crane for a f***
21 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A cloistered girl sees a crane. She wants it. The young man carrying it names his price—one she doesn’t understand, but pays all the same. As the ...
The knight who heard his wife’s confession
09 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When his sick wife asks for a priest, a knight gets curious. He dresses in robes, sneaks in as a confessor, and listens in. What he hears breaks his h...
The butcher of Abbeville
01 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A weary butcher stops in a priest’s village with nothing but a stolen sheep and a lot of nerve. By morning, he’s seduced the maid, seduced the pri...
The Partridges
25 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On Christmas Day, the Court Jester brings you the story of two partridges, not on a pear tree, but in…a shrubbery!A peasant roasts two perfect partr...
Christmas Special: The story of Grettir and Glamr
24 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On the Christmas Special of The Court Jester, I bring you monsters for Christmas.Grab your beverage of choice and let me take you to medieval Iceland,...
The Priest and Alison
19 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
And we’re back to pervert priest territory!This one sets his sights—and his purse—on a young merchant’s daughter. But when a cunning mother sw...
Walter and Marion
14 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On their wedding night, Marion lets one rip—and Walter loses his damn mind. Is she lying? Is she cursed? Is love even real when it smells like that?...
The Blacksmith of Creil
05 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A blacksmith’s wife wants a sample of the help’s famously gigantic tool—but the smith has other plans. One of the raunchiest fabliaux ever forge...
Bisclavret
29 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
He vanishes into the woods each week. She steals his secret and thinks she’s safe. But the beast comes back. Marie de France's Bisclavret is a chill...
A Trial by C*nt
25 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Before The Bachelor, before Judge Judy, there was this: a courtroom drama, complete with witnesses, deliberation, and an uncle with a riddle about gen...
Bonus episode: We're Not So Different!
07 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
On this bonus episode of The Court Jester, I met with Eleanor and Luke and we talk about things medieval, and about fabliaux and comedy old and new. G...
The mourner who got f*ucked at the grave site
25 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A wandering squire made a bet he could seduce the sorrow right out of a grieving widow—and of course, he was right. This is the horniest act of grav...
The girl who wanted to fly
18 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this fabliau, a starry-eyed young woman dreams of flight—and a cunning student offers to equip her with the necessary “tail.” What follows is...
The Peasant Doctor
04 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This poor guy just wanted to plow his field in peace. But one thing led to another—an unwanted marriage, a suspicious priest, a strategic beating—...
Black Balls
27 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In La Coille Noire, a wife takes her husband to court over the scandalous discovery that his testicles are black. Cue a trial full of confusion, comed...
The Knight Who Made C*nts Talk
21 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Warning: private parts are about to go public.In Garin's infamous Le Chevalier Qui Fesoit Les Cons Parler, a down-on-his-luck knight is gifted the biz...
Brother Denise
06 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Freire Denise le cordelier, Rutebeuf offers a poetic takedown of every dude who uses God to get laid. A teenage girl dreams of holy life; a Francis...
The Beaten Path
30 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Le sentier batu, Jean de Condé tells the story of a knight who gets roasted at a party by the woman he once hoped to marry—and absolutely cooks ...
The Knight of the Red Robe
23 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When a well-dressed knight visits his lover while her husband is at court, all goes to plan—until the husband unexpectedly returns. What follows is ...
Long Butthole Berengier
16 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Berangier au lonc cul, Guérin (the creative mastermind behind this amazing story) delivers a humiliating farce about one man's lie, one woman’s ...
The Three Hunchbacks
02 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When a miserly hunchback marries far above his station, his obsession with control meets its match in his wife's quick wits and a sturdy bed with thre...
"Amen to That"! The C*nt Blessed by a Bishop
25 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In L’evesque qui beneï le con, the bishop of Bayeux learns the hard way that abusing power for sex can blow up in your face—especially when the w...
Trollops and Troupers
18 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When God made the world, He gave jobs to knights, peasants, and priests—and forgot the whores and the entertainers. So they complained. The result? ...
Father Got Nailed
11 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A master woodcarver leaves his wife alone for one afternoon, and she decides it’s open season for clergy. Unfortunately for the priest, her husband’...
The C*nt Made with a Spade
04 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
God made man from dust, woman from bone—and then promptly forgot a key anatomical detail. Luckily, the Devil had a spade, a fart, and a very strange...
The Squirrel
28 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When a sheltered young lady learns the forbidden word for a man's genitals, things quickly get nutty. Robin, a strapping lad with a wild imagination a...
The Bishop and the Boner Curse
21 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Warning: Wearing strange jewellery found by a river may lead to catastrophic boners. Ask your medieval doctor if this fabliau is right for you.I give ...
Coming Soon!
31 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Hosted by Kleio Pethainou, the Court Jester brings you saucy stories from the Middle Ages.Join Kleio on twitter @kpethainou, and talk about each week’...