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
Jester French fleet was destroyed at the Battle of Sluys by the English. Phillippe VI's jester told him the English sailors "don't even have the guts to jump into the water like our brave French". After the Restoration, Charles II did not reinstate the tradition of the court jester, but he did greatly patronize the theatre and proto-music hall entertainments, especially favouring the work of Thomas Killigrew. Though Killigrew was not officially a jester, Samuel Pepys in his famous diary does call Killigrew "The King's fool and jester, with the power to mock and revile even the most prominent without penalty"