Internet Shakespeare Editions

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Shakespeare in Performance: Illustration

Collection nameTom Skelton in fool's motley (c.1600s)
Artifact typeillustration
Media typecollection
DescriptionA full-length portrait of Tom Skelton, dressed in a fool's motley, hangs at Muncaster Castle. His garb helps to showcase what jesters wore during Shakespeare's time. Another (and very similar) portrait once hung at Haigh Hall but was sold to the Shakespeare Institute in 1957. The document next to him seems to be his poetic will and testament. Also known as "Tom Fool," Tom Skelton was a jester at Muncaster Castle.
Artifact id29987

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