Acosta, Joan D'

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ACOSTA, JOAN D'

ACOSTA, JOAN D' (17th–18th centuries), court jester of Czar Peter i of Russia, descended from a Portuguese Marrano family. After prolonged wanderings in Western Europe, he settled in Hamburg as a broker and from there reached the new Russian capital, St. Petersburg. His quick wit and command of many European languages brought him to court, and in 1714 he was appointed court jester. At the time this was a position of some importance, since it was the jester's function to ridicule the customs of the old Russian society, in order to facilitate transition to a western European mode of life. D'Acosta had a wide knowledge of the Scriptures and the Czar enjoyed conversing with him on theological subjects. D'Acosta reached an old age and also served as jester at the court of the czarina Anna.

bibliography:

J. Doran, History of Court Jesters (1858), 305; Dubnow, in ye, 1 (1908), 653; S. Ginsburg, Amolike Peterburg (1944), 14–15.

[Yehuda Slutsky]