Motley been recently thought to be one pattern with different coloured threads running through it. Motley Motley is the traditional costume of the court jester, fool, or the harlequin character in "commedia dell'arte". The harlequin wears a patchwork of red, green and blue diamonds that is still a fashion motif. The word "motley" is described in the Oxford English Dictionary as a cognate of "medley", although the unrelated "mottled" has also contributed to the meaning. The word is most commonly used as an adjective or noun, but is also seen as a verb and adverb. When used as a noun, it
The Court Jester wrote the songs. Although not an uncommon trope in musical film comedies of the era (such as Bob Hope and Bing Crosby's "Road" films (several of which were also written by Panama & Frank)), in the context of the film these references also hark back to medieval theatrical performances that often began with an actor explaining the plot and how the play came to be made. In September 1955, Kaye recorded a nine-minute-long, condensed version of "The Court Jester" for 1956 release by Decca Records on the two-part single K 166. The simplified version of the storyline features excerpts from