Featured image: Roland the Farter, by Adrian Teal, TealCartoons (twitter) TealCartoons (Instagram)

Roland the Farter: one jump, one whistle, and one fart

Do you share DNA with Roland the Farter?  You’re probably convinced that at least one person in your family does.  Roland, a real person, with a unique skill set, received Hemingstone manor and 110 acres in Suffolk for his services to the King of England during the 12^th century.  His services entailed performing one jump, one whistle, and one fart (simultaneously and only one time) for the king on Christmas day.^[1] In other words, he was a professional flatulist, who served at the pleasure of the king.

Roland is associated with Henry II (1133-1189), who reigned England from 1154 to 1189. Most articles assume Roland performed for Henry II, and perhaps he did.  However, their actual association came about in the year 1159 when Henry II confirmed the alienation of this particular fee. Thus, it makes it unclear as to whether Roland performed for King Henry II or for prior monarchs.  Other sources speculate Roland’s performance “so delighted Henry I that he rewarded him with a house and 99 acres in Suffolk.”^[2]  Henry I (1068-1135) held reign from 1100-1135, and as we learn in the genealogy section below, this is plausible.

Say what you will about the respectability of such a skill, Roland was indeed a Master of his Craft, and he was rewarded handsomely for it.  Whether you call him a jester, a minstrel, an acrobat, a flatulist, or a farter, the fact remains he was well-known and quite successful.

Nearly a thousand years later, scholars of medieval England are quite familiar with his name and skills, and he has gained somewhat of a cult following, earning him a place on the Famous Rowlands list.

The Serjeanty of Roland

Serjeanty is the term used to describe a form of feudal tenure, conditional on rendering some specified personal service to the monarch, other than knight-service.  Roland obtained his manor and lands by way of serjeanty.

From the Liber feodorum or Book of Fees:

Seriantia que quondam fuit Rollandi le Pettour in Hemingeston in comitatu Suff ’, 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.^[4]

Translation: 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, one jump, and a whistle, and one fart, was alienated in accordance with these specific requirements.

Roland had received Hemingstone manor in Suffolk and 110 acres as the fee for his services. To put this in perspective, a knight’s fee was typically five hides or carucates, although this varied widely.  Each hide was between 100 and 110 acres, putting Roland’s fee at one hide.^[5] Furthermore, a wealthy farmer (with a house) typically held thirty acres, while those in cottages had about five acres.  Thus, Roland’s fee was indeed a handsome and generous one.

Conversion of Serjeanty to Cash Rent

Over time, cash replaced the rendering of “services” as a means of paying rent, and serjeanty slowly disappeared.  This often occurred when the subject could no longer provide the personal services, heirs were unable to continue the services, the services were no longer required, or when cash payments made it easier to reconcile the accounting. In the case of Roland, his service being called indecent seems to provide another reason for conversion to cash rent.

From Fragmenta Antiquitatis. Antient Tenures of Land, and Jocular Customs of Some Mannors. Made Publick for the Diversion of Some, and Instruction of Others, by Thomas Blount, 1679,^[6] we learn:

Roland le Sarcere, held one hundred and ten Acres of land in Hemingston in com. Suffolk, by Sergeanty, for which on Christmas Day, before our Sovereign Lord the King of England he should perform simul & semel [at the same time and only once], unum saltum, unum sufflum, & unum bombulum, or as we read elsewhere in French, un saut, un pet, & un suflet, simul & semel; that is, he should dance, puff up his Cheeks, making therewith a sound, and let a Crack, Et quia indecens servitium, ideo arrentatur (sayes the Record) ad xxvi s. viij d. per annum ad Scaccarium Regis. [And because the service is indecent, it is rented out for that reason at 26 shillings and 8 pence to the King’s Exchequer.]

Thus, Roland and his heirs were no longer obligated to perform one jump, one whistle, and one fart for the king on Christmas day.  The rent on Hemingstone manor was now to be paid in cash.  This paved the way for Roland’s heirs to remain on the property, whether or not they possessed similar skills.

Genealogy of Roland the Farter

The language of the time in medieval England was a mixture of Latin, insular French, and what we now know as English.  As such, his name and his exploits took on many forms.  Recorded as Rollandi le Pettour, Rollandus le Pettus, Roland le Fartere, Roulandus le Fartere, and Roland le Sarcere, the language of today refers to him as Roland the Farter. As for his act, the word bumbulum was the common written term for his farting.

Roland lived during the first half of the 12th century, although we do not know his exact birth or death year.  We have no record of his ancestors or spouse, and surnames were not widely in use at the time.  Common practice was to refer to a person with a single given name, followed by a geographical location or occupation.  Hence, he was simply Roland the Farter.

Upon the death of Roland the Farter, Hemingstone manor passed to Hubert de Afleton, son of Roland.  During the reign of King Richard I, which was from 1189 to 1199, the manor passed to Jeffrey, son of Hubert de Afleton and grandson of Roland.  In the year 1205, the manor was held by Alexander de Brompton and his wife Agnes. Agnes was the sister and heir of Jeffrey.^[7]  Roland’s grandchildren were adults before the end of the century.  If we assume 25 years per generation, this says Roland was of adult age in the year 1150.  Whether he was a young adult of 25 or an aging adult of 65, we have no way of knowing.

Roland left a trail in history, but his family tree has an 800-year gap, and he left no DNA samples.  It is unlikely his DNA will ever be known, and he has therefore placed in the DNA Untested grouping.

Roland the Farter Song

Do not confuse the following Roland the Farter song with The Song of Roland (la Chanson de Roland), the 11th-century epic poem about Roland (the Paladin Warrior and nephew of Charlemagne) and the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778. The following is a more modern, light-hearted, and partially fictional take on our subject, Roland the Farter.

Roland the Farter

by Jaldaboath, from Further Adventures, 2014 

Through the bogs of St Edmund, beyond the gaseous wastes
Lives a hero amongst men, one of expensive tastes
He dines solely on beans and rich salted prunes
He holds magic powers to which none are immune

He’s the King’s secret weapon and his jester to boot
He has his own castle and vaults full of loot
The French make no plans to invade this fair isle
For fear they meet Roland they quake rank and file

Roland the Farter, we’re depending on you!
Roland the Farter: please don’t follow through!

Brewed in his bowels is a stench none can stand
For 10,000 hectares, it kills beast and man
Chemical warrior, flatulist supreme
Dark-age Mass-destruction from the brown jet-stream

Aiming his arse as their army draws near
He pumps out a strong one that’s soft on the ear
But sounds are deceiving, they do not see their doom
As, one by one, they march into the plume

“Unum saltum et siffletum et unum bumbulum”
(one jump, one whistle, and one fart)

Roland’s the hero, always the one to win
So don’t be afraid, it’s better out than in
Don’t worry ’bout the farting, be proud of your trumps
But don’t strain too hard; Avoid pants full of lumps!

Notes:

1. Roland the Farter has his own Wikipedia page, although it is rife with errors (as of January 2022)
2. Although far from proven, WikiTree indicates this article’s author is a 23^rd great-grandson of King Henry II, and has no relation to Roland the Farter.

Sources

[1] On Farting: Language and Laughter in the Middle Ages: Bodily Wind in the Middle Ages (The New Middle Ages Series), by Valerie Allen, published by Palgrave Mcmillan, 2007.

[2] Life in Medieval England, Rupert Willoughby, Norwich: Pitkin Unichrome, 1997

[3] Drama, Performance and Polity in Pre-Cromwellian Ireland, Alan J Fletcher, University of Toronto Press, 2000

[4] Liber feodorum, The Book of Fees, Commonly Called Testa de Nevill, reformed from the earliest MS, by the Deputy Keeper of the Records, Preface by Sir Henry Maxwell-Lyte, 3 volumes, published by His Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1920–31

[5] From Domesday Book to Magna Carta 1087–1216 (Oxford History of England, III), 2nd edition, Austin Lane Poole, Oxford University Press, 1993.

[6] Fragmenta Antiquitatis. Antient Tenures of Land, and Jocular Customs of Some Mannors. Made Publick for the Diversion of Some, and Instruction of Others, Thomas Blount, assigns of Richard and Edward Atkins, Esquires. For Abel Roper, at the Sun, Tho. Basset, at the George, and Christopher Wilkinson, at the Black-Boy, all in Fleetstreet, 1679

[7] The Manors of Suffolk: Notes on Their History and Devolution, 7 volumes, Walter Arthur Copinger, London, 1905–1911

Articles / Further Reading

• Roland le Fartere – a medieval flatulist from the 12th century, by Dragos Mitrica, published by ZME Science, July 3, 2014
• The True Story of Roland the Farter, and How the Internet Killed Professional Flatulence, by Linda Rodriguez McRobbie, published by Atlas Obscura, December 28, 2015
• I’m with stupid – the strange funny world of 10 Medieval jesters, by Siobhan O’Shea, published by Interesly on August 5, 2016
• 8 Bizarre Medieval Names and the People that Bore Them, Stephanie Schoppert, published by History Collection March 18, 2017
• Roland the Farter, The Life of a Medieval Flatulist , by Landon Girod, published by History Hustle on May 7, 2021