Who was the first court jester in English Royalty?

Question

Who was the first court jester in English Royalty?

Answer 1

I don't think that information would be available. Someone might google it and come up with maybe the first recorded names of jesters, if such exist, but they wouldn't be the first, I'm sure.

Edited to add: I found this on Wikipedia:

"The origins of the jester are said to have been in prehistoric tribal society. Pliny the Elder mentions a royal jester (planus regius) when recounting Apelles' visit to the palace of the Hellenistic King Ptolemy I. In ancient Rome, the rich employed balatrones, professional jesters"

I know it doesn't answer your question, but I was suprised to learn that they went so far back! :)

It mentions that Henry VIII had a fool named Will Somers, but I know that he was certainly not the first. There are records of them much much earlier. Dagonet was the name of the one in the King Arthur stories, but that isn't a real person. I don't know of any names which exist from the medieval period.

Answer 2

The first historical jester is supposedly to be Taillefer, who was also the first man to be killed in the Battle of Hastings in 1066, when the Normans conquered England. He travelled to England during the Norman Invasion, in the train of William the Conqueror. At the Battle of Hastings Taillefer recited the Chanson de Roland to the Norman troops while juggling with his sword, as he rides out in front of the line, tossing his sword in the air and juggling.