A brightly attired, agile medieval jester, clad in tight, red-and-yellow striped breeches and a richly embroidered, multicolored motley coat

Jesters held freedom of speech. They were one of the very few people in the court who could speak their minds freely and use humor to joke about the nobles, ladies, and lords without offending. Most jesters were well educated and they came from diverse backgrounds. Although they were granted quite a bit of freedom, excessive behavior commonly resulted in a jester being whipped.

There were two types of jesters (or, fools). The first type was a natural fool that was moronic and nit-witted and could not help what he said. The second type was the licensed fool to whom the courts gave leeway. Both were fully excused by the courts within reason. Another job of the jester was to deliver the bad news that no one else would deliver to the king.