While it might seem that the Middle Ages was a time of being serious, there was also mirth. There are many works that were meant to be funny and you can find stories of kings and bishops laughing at a joke. Much of the humour can be described as rude and crude: jokes about sex or bodily functions. The targets of the jokes might be foolish husbands or bad wives, the local priest, a king, or even historical figures.

One of the best known joke books of the Middle Ages is the Facetiae by Poggio Bracciolini (1380-1459), an Italian scholar who worked for the Papacy and was seen as one of the brightest minds of his time. See how medieval your humor is while reading today's jokes!

-- A Friar, who was but moderately considerate, was preaching to the people at Tivoli, and thundering against adultery, which he depicted in colours of the deepest dye. “It is such a horrible sin,” said he, “that I had rather undo ten virgins than one married woman!” Many, among the congregation, would have shared his preference.

-- The Abbot of Septimo, a very fat and corpulent man, on his way to Florence one evening, enquired of a peasant he met, “Do you think I shall be able to enter the gate?” Of course, he thus meant to ask whether he was likely to reach the city before the closing of the gates. But the country-man, rallying his stoutness, replied, “To be sure, you will; a cartload of hay gets through, why should not you?”

Continued below...