{{short description|Medieval English flatulist}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}} '''Roland the Farter''' (known in contemporary records as '''Roland le Fartere''', '''Roulandus le Fartere, Rollandus le Pettus''', or '''Roland le Petour''') was a [[medieval]] [[flatulist]] who lived in 12th-century [[Kingdom of England|England]]. He was given [[Hemingstone]] manor in [[Suffolk]] and {{convert|12|ha|acre|abbr=off|order=flip}} of land in return for his services as a [[jester]] for [[Henry II of England|King Henry II]]. Each year, he was obliged to perform "{{lang|la|saltum, siffletum, pettum}}" (a jump, a whistle, and a [[Flatulence|fart]] all done at once) for the king's court at [[Christmas]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Crick|first1=Julia C.|last2=van Houts|first2=Elisabeth|title=A Social History of England, 900–1200|date=21 April 2011|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mM6OA8wtPOYC&dq=%22roland+the+farter%22&pg=PA405|accessdate=19 December 2013|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781139500852|page=405}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Allen |first=Valerie |title=On Farting: Language and Laughter on the Middle Ages: Bodily Wind in the Middle Ages |series=The New Middle Age Series |publisher=Palgrave McMillan |year=2007 |isbn=978-0230100398}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=McRobbie |first=Linda Rodriguez |date=2015-12-28 |title=The True Story of Roland the Farter, and How the Internet Killed Professional Flatulence |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/roland-the-farter-professional-flatulence |access-date=2024-09-23 |website=Atlas Obscura |language=en}}</ref>

Roland is listed in the 13th-century English ''[[Liber Feodorum]]'' (''Book of Fees'').<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lyte |first=H. C. Maxwell |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015011272922 |title=Liber feodorum. The book of fees, commonly called Testa de Nevill, reformed from the earliest mss. by the Deputy keeper of the records |publisher=H.M. Stationery Office |year=1920–1923 |location=London |pages=386 |hdl=2027/mdp.39015011272922 |language=la}}</ref>

== Biography == There are no records of Roland's ancestors or spouse. After Roland's death, the Hemingstone Manor was passed to his son, Hubert de Afleton. Hubert had two children, Jeffery and Agnes.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Rowland |first=Ron |date=2022-01-25 |title=Roland the Farter: one jump, one whistle, and one fart |url=https://rowlandgenealogy.com/roland-the-farter-one-jump-one-whistle-and-one-fart/ |access-date=2023-09-21 |website=Rowland Genealogy}}</ref> During the reign of [[King Richard I]] (1189–1199), Jeffery inherited the manor from his father. In 1205, the manor was held by Alexander de Brompton and his wife, Agnes, the sister-heir of Jeffrey, granddaughter of Roland.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Copinger |first=Walter Arthur |title=The Manors of Suffolk: Notes on their History and Devolution |publisher=Unwin |year=1905–1911 |location=London|url=https://archive.org/details/manorsofsuffolkn01copiuoft }}</ref> Though it is true Roland performed in the courts of [[Henry II of England|King Henry II]], his association with King Henry II was established in 1159. It is thus unclear whether Roland only performed for King Henry II or for other prior monarchs. Some sources speculate that Henry was so delighted with Roland's performance, he rewarded him with a house and {{convert|99|acre|ha|abbr=off}} in Suffolk.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Willoughby |first=Rupert |title=Life in Medieval England |publisher=Pitkin Unichrome |date=1 May 1997 |location=Norwich|asin=B00APDW15O}}</ref>

== Serjeanty == Roland held his manor and lands under tenure by [[serjeanty]]. According to the ''Liber Feodurum,'' or Book of Fees, Roland, under his serjeanty, was obligated to perform "a jump, a whistle, [and] a fart" every year on Christmas.

{{verse translation|lang=la |Seriantia que quondam fuit Rollandi le Pettour in Hemingeston in comitatu Suff&nbsp;’, pro qua debuit facere die natali Domini singulis annis coram domino rege unum saltum et siffletum et unum bumbulum, que alienata fuit per particulas subscriptas. | attr1 = Henry Maxwell-Lyte, ''Liber feodorum'', H.M. Stationery Office, 1920–1931, from the Deputy Keeper of the Records |The serjeanty, which formerly was held by Roland the Farter in Hemingston in the county of Suffolk, for which he was obliged to perform every year on the birthday of our Lord before his master the king, "a jump, a whistle, [and] a fart," was alienated in accordance with these specific requirements. }}

Roland had also received {{convert|110|acre|ha|abbr=off}} in Suffolk. In perspective, a knight's fee was 5 hides or carucates (varied widely). Each hide was between {{convert|100|and|110|acre|ha|abbr=off}}, putting Roland's fee at one hide. Furthermore, a farmer with a house typically held {{convert|30|acre|ha|abbr=off}}, while those on cottages had about {{convert|5|acre|ha|abbr=off|0}}.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Poole |first=Austin Lane |title=From Domesday Book to Magna Carta 1087–1216 |series=Oxford History of England |volume=III |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0192852878 |edition=2nd}}</ref> It was thus argued that Roland's fee was indeed a "handsome" and "generous one".<ref name=":0" />

==See also== * [[Flatulence humor]] * [[Le Pétomane]] * [[Mr. Methane]] * [[Toilet humour]]

==References== {{reflist}} * {{cite book |last= Bartlett |first= Robert | authorlink= Robert Bartlett (historian) | title= England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings, 1075-1225 |url= https://archive.org/details/englandundernorm00bart |url-access= limited |publisher= [[Oxford University Press]] |year= 2000 |isbn= 0-19-925101-0 | pages= [https://archive.org/details/englandundernorm00bart/page/n265 236]}} * {{cite book | title=The Cambridge companion to medieval English theatre | url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani00rich_1 | url-access=registration | series=Cambridge companions to literature | first=Richard | last=Beadle | publisher=Cambridge University Press | year=1994 | isbn=0-521-45916-8 | page=[https://archive.org/details/cambridgecompani00rich_1/page/187 187] }} * [https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-language-of-farting/ The Language of Farting] by Evan R. Goldstein, Chronicle of Higher Education. (Retrieved 18 November 2007. Subscription required)

==External links== * [https://www.damninteresting.com/professional-farters/ Damn Interesting » Professional Farters]

[[Category:Year of death unknown]] [[Category:Year of birth unknown]] [[Category:12th-century English people]] [[Category:English male entertainers]] [[Category:Flatulists]] [[Category:English jesters]] [[Category:People from Mid Suffolk]]