Editing Feast of Fools (section)

== Origins ==
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[[File:Das Narrenfest.jpg|thumb|Fools' Convention, 1500, by [[Pieter Bruegel the Elder]]]]
Due to the lack of formal research on the feast, its exact origin is hard to pin down. The most prominent historians place its emergence in Central Europe, somewhere in what is now southeast France, but the margin of error is such that it could have been with France, Italy, or the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. Some historians believe a possible start of the feast came between 1119 and 1124, alongside [[Ordo Rachelis]] plays as part of the [[liturgy]] for [[Innocents Day]] (28 December) was Herod games ([[ludi]]) as unscripted plays as embellishments of King Herod's involvement that were led by [[Gerhoh of Reichersberg]]. These games focused around the alleged absurdity of [[Herod the Great|King Herod]], a Jewish-Roman ruler of [[Judea]], and was practiced by storming a cathedral, throwing wooden spears at the choir, and beating by-standers with inflated animal bladders. This is thought to be the start of Feast of Fools since King Herod was coming into vogue in the 11th and 12th centuries, with a notable uptick in the number of plays and pieces being performed about him. Another story that lends strength to the theory of the feast coming from events and plays based on King Herod is his story from the Herod game Office of the Star. The story claims that Herod, who was king of what is now south-[[Israel]]/[[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], including [[Bethlehem]], around the [[nativity of Jesus]], learned of Christ's birth and, concerned that a new born king would challenge his own rule of the area, ordered the murder of every new-born boy in his kingdom. The story claims that the murder of Jesus was prevented by King Herod's own [[Page (servant)|page-boys]], who then gained God's favor. This is pointed to as the explanation for the reversal of positions with clerical rank during the Feast of Fools, with a God holding page-boys in high regard and not caring for a king. This focus on King Herod is a potential explanation of why the feast did not spread nor survive as long as other festivals, as it was essentially born out of a trend in contemporary medieval theatre.<ref name="Harris 2011" /> Also this was during the [[medieval theatre]] historical backdrop of the [[fall of the Western Roman Empire]] and the [[Catholic Church]]'s discouragement of theatre for being pagan and immoral only to later have their own Christian [[liturgical drama]]s like [[mystery play]]s such as [[Ordo Rachelis]] and [[passion plays]].

The first recorded mention of the feast from the Church comes from between 1160 and 1164 in Paris and was written by [[Jean Beleth|John Beleth]]. He explained how sub-deacons, who it had recently been decided to be the lowest of the highest clerical orders rather than the highest of the lower clerical order, were meant to preside over the Feast of the Circumcision, but that the exact details of the feast hadn't been formalized yet. It is theorized that this, in combination of the page-boy and King Herod story, is where the tradition of swapping positions within the church came from, showing how God favors the socially low.<ref name="Harris 2011" />