![]() ![]() The fool holds up a mirror to the self-declared wise citizens, because 'the fool reveals the truth through laughter', even though it may be hidden between piss and shit, sex and snot. In contrast to the peasant, the fool also escapes the existing order. The intoxicating atmosphere allows them to temporarily deny the unpleasant aspects of their day-to-day existence. Only during innocent children's parties or Shrove Tuesday celebrations is it permitted for urban partygoers to show their other side, their 'underbelly'. The peasant is the antithesis of the cultivated town-dweller, who fastidiously controls his urges - and who therefore above all must not laugh too loudly. ![]() Peasants are innocently gullible, primitive, throwing themselves into feasting, gorging, drinking and sex. In the late Middle Ages, every right-thinking town-dweller knew the difference between the peasant and the fool. ![]() That is the domain of the peasant or fool. But laughing loudly, grinning and grimacing: these are the playing field of the devil - just as pernicious as other uncontrollable urges, such as physical love or the addiction of the gambler. Humour and virtue are irreconcilable, because laughter is uncontrollable and escapes the control of reason. ‎According to mediaeval theologians, faith is a deadly serious business. ![]()
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