How a court jester slapped the king's butt, then brilliantly convinced him not to kill him Triboulet served as court jester under King Francis I, who ruled France from 1515 to 1547 . Triboulet's quick humor rescued him from Francis I's deadly wrath, not once, but twice. Court jesters hold a unique place in history. Playing the fool for kings and queens meant they were always in close proximity to royalty, but so very far from their rank and station. Comedians often like to push boundaries, but that can be a dangerous business when your job is to entertain the peope who have executioners at their beck and call. Especially when you forget your place—or purposely ignore it, as the case may be—and playfully smack the reigning monarch square on the behind. That little whoopsie was the claim to fame of Triboulet, a court jester who served King Francis I in 16th-century France. But it was how he got away with slapping the king on the butt and living to tell about it that earne...
Camille Monfort, The 1896 Legend of "The Amazonian Vampire" In 1896, Belém became rich by selling Amazonian rubber to the world, making the farmers overnight millionaires who built their rich mansions with European materials, while their wives and daughters sent their clothes to be washed in the old continent and imported mineral water from London for their baths. The "Theatro da Paz" was the center of cultural life in the Amazon, with concerts by European artists. Among them, one especially caught the public's attention, the beautiful French opera singer Camille Monfort (1869-1896), who provoked indescribable desires in the rich gentlemen of the region and atrocious jealousy in their wives due to her great beauty. Camille Monfort also caused indignation for her behavior, which was free from the social conventions of her time. Legend has it that she was seen half-naked, dancing in the streets of Belém while refreshing herself in the afternoon rain. Her solitary...
Comments
Post a Comment