Researchers at the University of Cambridge have found evidence of a medieval English comedy performance in a 15th-century manuscript. Scientists’ research published magazine A Review of English Studies.
During the Middle Ages, minstrels wandered the fairs, taverns, and baronial halls, entertaining people with songs and stories. Fictional stories written by minstrels are common in medieval literature, but their authorship is often discredited because of harsh language and jokes in speech.
The lead author of the study stumbled upon signed minstrel texts by chance in the National Library of Scotland. The caption read: “I, Richard Hegge, because I was at that banquet and I didn’t drink.” We are talking about Hegge’s manuscripts, which have already been studied by scholars. It includes three of the nine texts, a burlesque novel “The Rabbit Hunt”, a parody prose sermon, and the verse “The Battle of Braconwet.”
“Previous research on the manuscript has focused on how the manuscript was composed and overlooked its comic significance. All three lines are meant to be performed funny and live – the narrator asks the audience to listen carefully or give him a drink. The truth before us creates truly original, ironic material. “A medieval stand-up artist has appeared. It’s incredibly rare and exciting to get a glimpse of someone like this from that era,” said the scientist.