Who are the Bozo people of Mali?
The Bozo are a West African ethnic group located predominantly along the Niger River in Mali. The n En savoir plus
What were clowns called back in the day?
Frédéric Ruiz
2025-11-22 15:38:23
Nombre de réponses
: 25
The word clown has uncertain roots and is thought to derive from a Scandinavian dialect.
In Swedish kluns means 'a clumsy fellow' as does the Icelandic word klunni.
In English, the word clown is believed to have been first recorded in the 16th century as clowne or cloyne meaning ‘a man of rustic or coarse manners, a peasant’.
The word clown can be used as a verb as in ‘He was clowning around’ and as a noun where it refers to anyone who performs in a clownish way.
Professional clowns use the word to refer to their character not the performer themselves.
The Ancient Greeks also used clown-like characters in mimes and farces.
The Romans also had a version of the clown in their entertainments, recognizable by a cone-shaped hat.
In the Middle Ages, the character of the clown began to develop more widely.
As court jesters, clowns were able to make comments about serious matters or events without facing a punishment because what they said was taken as a joke.
Claire Le Roux
2025-11-09 08:43:56
Nombre de réponses
: 16
In the last blog on this series we talked about the Egyptian Empire and that it was the first recorded instance of clowning.
The Four Types of Clowns in Ancient Rome
1. Sannio
2. Stupidus
3. Scurra
4. Moriones
We can easily see, just by looking at the four types of clowns in Ancient Rome, that the idea of a clown hierarchy was developing and that certain skills and traits we see in clowns today somewhat reflect that of the clowns in Ancient Rome.
We could very easily write an entire book on Roman Clown history, but for the purposes of this blog we will scratch the surface.
The Stupidus was usually bald headed or wore a long pointed hat and a multi-colored outfit.
The Scurra clown was a lower class of clown.
Moriones were not necessarily mentally challenged.
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Alphonse Leblanc
2025-11-03 08:56:23
Nombre de réponses
: 12
World clown comes from the Icelandic word “klunni” which means “a clumsy person”.
After him, even today, clowns are called “Joey”.
The first known clowns date from the time of the Fifth dynasty of Egypt, around 2400 BC.
Later civilizations also knew about clowns.
Clowns of ancient Greece were bald and wore padded clothes to appear larger.
Ancient Roman clowns wore pointed hats and were the butts of the jokes.
Italian commedia dell'arte of the 16th century introduced masked characters Arlecchino (Harlequin) and Pierrot (Pirouette).
In time some standard types of clowns developed:
Joseph Grimaldi originally designed a whiteface clown in 1801.
Hugues Begue
2025-10-25 20:49:43
Nombre de réponses
: 21
The earliest ancestors of the clown flourished in ancient Greece—bald-headed, padded buffoons who performed as secondary figures in farces and mime, parodying the actions of more serious characters and sometimes pelting the spectators with nuts.
The same clown appeared in the Roman mime, wearing a pointed hat and a motley patchwork robe and serving as the butt for all the tricks and abuse of his fellow actors.
The traveling companies of the Italian commedia dell’arte developed one of the most famous and durable clowns of all time, the Arlecchino, or Harlequin, some time in the latter half of the 16th century, spreading his fame throughout Europe.
Among the first professional stage clowns were the famous William Kempe and Robert Armin, both of whom were connected with Shakespeare’s company.
Traveling English actors of the 17th century were responsible for the introduction of stage clowns to Germany, among them such popular characters as Pickelherring, who remained a German favourite until the 19th century.
The traditional whiteface makeup of the clown is said to have been introduced with the character of Pierrot (or Pedrolino), the French clown with a bald head and flour-whitened face who first appeared during the latter part of the 17th century.
The English clown was descended from the Vice character of the medieval mystery plays, a buffoon and prankster who could sometimes deceive even the Devil.
Pickelherring and his confederates wore clown costumes that have hardly changed to this day: oversized shoes, waistcoats, and hats, with giant ruffs around their necks.
Clowning was a general feature of the acts of medieval minstrels and jugglers, but the clown did not emerge as a professional comic actor until the late Middle Ages, when traveling entertainers sought to imitate the antics of the court jesters and the amateur fool societies, such as the Enfants san Souci, who specialized in comic drama at festival times.
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