The first biography of Henry VIII-s court fool William Somer, a legendary entertainer and one of the most intriguing figures of the Tudor age
In some portraits of Henry VIII there appears another, striking figure-a gaunt and morose-looking man with a shaved head and, in one case, a monkey on his shoulder. This is William or "Will" Somer, the king-s fool, a celebrated wit who reportedly could raise Henry-s spirits and spent many hours with him, often alone. Was Somer an -artificial fool,- a cunning comic who could speak freely in front of the king, or a -natural fool,- someone with intellectual disabilities, like many other members of the profession? And what role did he play in the tumultuous and violent Tudor era? Fool is the first biography of Somer-and perhaps the first of a Renaissance fool.
After his death, Somer disappeared behind his legend, and historians struggled to separate myth from reality. Unearthing as many facts as possible, Peter K. Ander
