Laughter, Satire and Medieval Parody
What made medieval people laugh? In. this episode of the Medieval Grad Podcast, Lucie talks with Bryant White
‘Viking’ Humour
Do we share a sense of humour with Vikings? Dr Hannah Burrows talks about what might have made the Vikings laugh, and what was considered a serious matter in medieval Scandinavia. She will explore what puns, jokes, insults, and satire can tell us about early Scandinavian culture and social concerns.
The One about Michelangelo and the Onions: Jokes and Cultural Anxiety in the Early Sixteenth Century
This article investigates the texture of relationships within elite circles in Rome and Florence in the early sixteenth-century, and shows how visual and verbal humour at this time acted as a means through which to express anxieties about the pace of social change.
Medieval Jokes
Did medieval people tell jokes? Read some of the funny tales from the Facetiae, a 15th century bestseller.
How to be a medieval party-crasher
I’m the one who saved you the trouble of sending an invitation!
Men’s Words in Women’s Mouths: Why Misogynous Stereotypes are Humorous in the Old French Fabliaux
How can misogyny, or any such unabashed and unrepentant diatribe against women, be part of a genre which is largely considered to be comic?
’I am well done – please go on eating’ – Food, Digestion, and Humour in Late Medieval Danish Wall Paintings
Jesus never laughed or smiled. Holy people behave like Him: they tend to be solemn, austere, and their body language is restricted. They ought in any case to behave like Jesus. But in late medieval Danish wall paintings some holy people rebel, and St Laurence even jokes.