can't resist a comment here, altho it might be more appropriate on
ioudaios or the early xnty list, than a medieval one.
to the historian for whom Jesus is a man the answer is obvious, of course
he laughed (as, indeed even the gospels tell us, he wept). but to the
historian of apocalyptic chiliasm, there are good grounds to believe that
he laughed not only as a child, and even as an adult, but as a
charismatic leader. the passage in Mk 2:19 when Jesus responds to the
question why do the Pharisees and John the Baptist's followers fast and
you not: "how can the children of the bridechamber fast when the
bridegroom is with them?" suggests that Jesus saw himself and his
followers as ushering in the messianic age, that the old fasts were
turned now to rejoicing. this is characteristic of such movements, which
regularly feature hilarity and dancing as part of their rejoicing. one
of the most historically accurate depictions in the movie "Brother Son and
Sister Moon" was the hilarity of Francis' followers when he took off his
clothes and gave them to his father. as Gerald of Wales noted in a
different context: libertas and hilaritas go hand in hand.
rlandes
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