Fools at the Tudor Court

In the Tudor court disabled people were hidden in plain sight and are often forgotten in histories of the period. Thomas More, for example, had a disabled man, Henry Patenson, living with him like a son. Patenson is depicted in the Notley Priory painting of the More family and was treated as ‘Master Harry’, as though he were a member of the More family. It is thought that Patenson had a learning disability and was what the Tudors would have considered a ‘natural fool’.

The phrase ‘natural fool’ was juxtaposed with ‘artificial fools’ – jesters, clowns and entertainers. The majority of disabled people were looked after by their families or in hospitals or monasteries. Both ‘natural’ and ‘artificial’ fools were employed at the royal court as domestic fools, cherished as much for their mental or physical differences as for their antics. There were some ‘natural fools’, however, who became prominent members of the Tudor court and were allowed access to the monarch denied to other courtiers, because of their learning disabilities and their ability to speak honestly, without an agenda.