Quantcast
ZME Science
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
Home Other Offbeat

Roland le Fartere – a medieval flatulist from the 12th century

Dragos Mitrica by Dragos Mitrica
July 3, 2014
in Offbeat
Reading Time: 2 mins read
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit

Roland le Fartere (also known as Roland the Farter) was a medieval flatulist who lived in 12th century England. He served as a jester for King Henry II, and apparently, he was so good at his job that he was rewarded for his services with a manor in Suffolk and 30 acres (120,000 square meters)! The historical reference can be found in the 3th-century English Liber Feodorum (Book of Fees), where the king’s men noted everybody who they paid. According to the book, all that Roland had to do for this rather wealthy estate was perform “Unum saltum et siffletum et unum bumbulum” (one jump, one whistle, and one fart) once a year at the court of King Henry II every Christmas. Wow!

Not much else is known about Roland, but his curiously enough, his profession has a long and interesting history. In the Innu mythology of Canada, Matshishkapeu (literally the “Fart Man”) is the most powerful spirit, a legendary shaman which can, among others, inflict gastrointestinal pain or relief. Other than that, most references to flatulists (also called fartists) are comical.

Even Saint Augustine mentions some performers who did have “such command of their bowels, that they can break wind continuously at will, so as to produce the effect of singing.” The profession was apparently quite widespread in Ireland throughout medieval times, and there were also several performers in England, and Japan – during the Edo period, in the 1600s. Flatulism was brought back by Le Pétomane, a Frenchman who developed a technique in the 1900s, by inhaling air through his mouth and releasing it through his rectum. Sadly, in recent years, flatulism declined, almost falling in to non-existance (bar some “amateur performers). But none reached Roland’s prowess and gastrointestinal talent.

ADVERTISEMENT
Sorry to interrupt, but you should really...

...Join the ZME newsletter for amazing science news, features, and exclusive scoops. More than 40,000 subscribers can't be wrong.

   

ADVERTISEMENT

Share15TweetShare
Dragos Mitrica

Dragos Mitrica

Dragos has been working in geology for six years, and loving every minute of it. Now, his more recent focus is on paleoclimate and climatic evolution, though in his spare time, he also dedicates a lot of time to chaos theory and complex systems.

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • More

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.