View source for Marotte

{{Short description|Mock sceptre used by jesters}}
{{otheruses}}
[[File:Fool's scepter, Germany or France, 1565-1600, ivory, boxwood, silver, velvet, damask, silk - Germanisches Nationalmuseum - Nuremberg, Germany - DSC03788.jpg|thumb|Fool's scepter, Germany or France, 1565-1600 in [[Germanisches Nationalmuseum|Germanisches National Museum]] - [[Nuremberg|Nuremberg, Germany]]]]

A '''marotte''' is a prop stick or [[sceptre]] with a carved head on it.<ref>Cartwright, Kent. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ksxKEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA39 Shakespeare and the Comedy of Enchantment]''. United Kingdom, OUP Oxford, 2021. 39.</ref> [[Jester]]s usually used a marotte. The word is borrowed from the [[French language|French]], where it signifies either a fool's (literal) "bauble"<!--This word unfortunately redirects to "Christmas tree ornament".--> or a [[fad]].

Typically carried by a jester or [[harlequin|Arlecchino]], the miniature head often reflects the costume of the jester who carries it. Modern marottes typically have [[music box]]es or other machinery built into the head. Older marottes may utilize swivel heads with bells.

==In popular culture==
In Verdi's opera ''[[Rigoletto]]'', the singer of the title role, a jester, carries a marotte, which often has on it the faces of comedy and tragedy.

In the children's TV series ''[[Rentaghost]]'', the ghostly jester Timothy Claypole has a marotte referred to as "Tiny Timothy".

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Marotte - Niederwindemer Schindlejokel.jpg|Niederwindemer Schindlejokel
Marotte.jpg|Marotte of Deutsch
Marotte 2.jpg|Before 1848
Marotte - Welschkorngeister - Denzlingen.jpg|Welschkorngeister - Denzlingen
Marotte - Hölle-Leue - Freiburg-Rieselfeld.jpg|Hölle-Leue - Freiburg-Rieselfeld
Marotte - Burgnarren - Freiburg-Zähringen.jpg|Burgnarren - Freiburg-Zähringen
Marotte Musée du jouet de Moirans-en-Montagne 19072017 1.jpg|Musée du jouet de Moirans-en-Montagne
Rocca di Angera - Museo della Bambola Marotte.jpg|Rocca di Angera - Museo della Bambola
Marotte - détail du dessin Le pas du Danube bleu. Caricature de Valio. Le Journal amusant 10 mars 1877.jpg|détail du dessin Le pas du Danube bleu. Caricature de Valio. Le Journal amusant 10 mars 1877
Grandville - A chaque fou plaît sa marotte.jpg|Grandville - A chaque fou plaît sa marotte
Émile Moreau-Roi et Paysan-10.jpg|Émile Moreau-Roi et Paysan
Carlègle - Les Linottes page 0160.jpg|Carlègle - Les Linottes
Triboulet en prière.png|Triboulet en prière
Chambers 1908 Bauble.png|Chambers 1908 Bauble
Playing Cards 7547.JPG|Playing Cards
VSAN TT 2014 So055.jpg|VSAN TT 2014
VSAN Wgt 2015 568 Schalknarr.jpg|VSAN Wgt 2015 568 Schalknarr
Heinrich_Vogtherr_d._J._Schalksnarr.JPG|A jester shown with a marotte in a 1540 woodcut by Heinrich Vogtherr the Younger
Pirata marioneta lou.jpg|Pirata marioneta lou
Kind mit Maske und Narrenzepter 19Jh.jpg|Kind mit Maske und Narrenzepter 19Jh
Three Fools of Carnival.jpg|Three Fools of Carnival
Zwei Szepter - Johli und Feuerteufel.JPG|Zwei Szepter - Johli und Feuerteufel
Seeräuber Titisee (20.01.2019 - 2) - Captain.jpg|Seeräuber Titisee
Philippe Mercier Jeune garçon en costume de folie.jpg|Philippe Mercier Jeune garçon en costume de folie
Narrenzunft Nordrach (03.02.2019) - Zunftmeister.jpg|Narrenzunft Nordrach - Zunftmeister
Renaissance fair - people 71.JPG|Renaissance fair
Jester statue, Stratford-upon-Avon - DSC08915.JPG|The Jester Statue on Henley Street, [[Stratford-upon-Avon|Stratford-upon-Avon, England]].
Jester's bauble MET 29534.jpg|Jester's bauble
Frederick Locker (Waddy, 1872).jpg|Frederick Locker (Waddy, 1872)
When Depew goes to the Senate by Homer Davenport (cropped).jpg|When Depew goes to the Senate by Homer Davenport (cropped)
Quentin Massys 030.jpg|Quentin Massys
Brooklyn Museum - For What Was I Created? - William Holbrook Beard - overall.jpg|Brooklyn Museum - For What Was I Created? - William Holbrook Beard - overall
Jan Pietersz. Saenredam - The Fool - Google Art Project.jpg|Jan Pietersz. Saenredam - The Fool
A Court Fool of the 15th Century color.jpg|A Court Fool of the 15th Century
Jacquemart de Hesdin 001.jpg|Jacquemart de Hesdin
Hieronymus Bosch 011.jpg|Hieronymus Bosch
Bajazz mit der Laterne von der Mainzer Künstlerin Inge Blum, eine Symbolfigur des Mainzer Karnevals - panoramio.jpg|Bajazz mit der Laterne von der Mainzer Künstlerin Inge Blum, eine Symbolfigur des Mainzer Karnevals - panoramio
</gallery>

==See also==
*[[Cap and bells]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{commonscat|Marottes}}
[[Category:Regalia]]
[[Category:Jesters]]
[[Category:Puppets]]
[[Category:Wands]]

{{theatre-stub}}