The number of objects being juggled in these accounts are improbable but not quite impossibly large. Old drawings are more realistic, with rarely more than six objects depicted.

 

It is extremely difficult for nonjugglers to count more than about five objects being juggled, so these early scribes could easily have been misled, or they may have purposely exaggerated to improve their story. Alternatively, the jugglers reported to be juggling seven to nine objects may have multiplexed them, though the above description of Rabbi Gamaliel's juggling would seem to be specifically ruling out multiplexing. The illustration here from the British museum looks very much like a multiplex juggle. I have never seen any picture or description of bounce juggling prior to the modem era.

 

From both early texts and pictures it is clear that the commonest props used for juggling were balls, knives, and torches.

 

Ziethen and Allen (13) give the following information, though they do not provide any references to primary sources: A Roman, Tagatus Ursus (53-117 A.D.) claimed on his grave inscription to have been the first to juggle with glass balls (the use of glass or acrylic balls for juggling has recently been popularized by Michael Moschen. See, e.g., the August 1995 issue of "Smithsonian" magazine). Pierre Gringoire (1475-1538) was known as the "King of Jugglers." In 1528 the emperor of Hindustan described jugglers with wooden rings. Also in 1528, Christoph Weiditz made drawings of Aztec jugglers. In 1680, the Town Council of Nuremberg hired a "ballmaster" who juggled and taught others juggling and other skills.

 

The article by Fletcher (3) is very well documented with a fine set of original references. It includes descriptions of juggling in Ireland from the 10th century and earlier, including the above reference to Tulchinne and to laws (from the "Lebor Aicle") that describe required compensation of audience members who are harmed by juggler's mistakes. Fletcher also documents how psalter illustrations of the triumphal carrying of the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem evolved from the 8th to 11th century to include jugglers and "more modem" departures from the Biblical description which includes only singers, cymbals, and trumpet. Finally, Fletcher argues that similarities between Celtic and Anglo-Saxon juggling (e.g., both use balls and knives) provide evidence for cultural links between the two dating before the 10th and 11th centuries.

 

In addition to references to juggling in the 1800's and 1900's, the Truzzi articles (9) and (10) describe apparently indigenous juggling on Pacific islands and among native Americans. In particular, Truzzi provides historical descriptions of young girls juggling limes, gourds, or tui tui nuts (in a shower pattern) on the island of Tonga, a hobby which persists there to the present day. The earliest reference is in 1774 by George Forster, aboard captain Cook's second Pacific voyage. In Japan, young girls play an old game called "otedama," which includes singing rhymes and juggling balls, again in a shower pattern.

 

While most historical written records and medieval illuminations have men juggling, the first records of jugglers in Egypt, Greece, and the Pacific Islands are women. The later European jesters and more recently circus and vaudeville jugglers are predominantly but not exclusively men.

 

There is one famous story of a fictional medieval juggler, usually known either as, "The Juggler of Notre Dame," or "The Juggler of our Lady". The story has many variations, and has been made into books, plays, and even an opera. A nice modern version is the children's book, "The Clown of God," by Tomie de Paola (Harcourt Brace, 1978). The story concerns a poor juggler who, having no other gift to give, juggles before a statue of the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus. The statue is then miraculously transformed (e.g.,Jesus or Mary smile or catch one of the balls).

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

(1) Beek, Peter J. and Arthur Lewbel, "The Science of Juggling," Scientific American, November, 1995, pp.92-97.

 

(2) Claflin, Edward and Jeff Sheridan (1977), "Street Magic - An Illustrated History of Wandering Magicians and Their Conjuring Arts" Dolphin Books, Doubleday and Co., 1977, ISBN 0-385-12864-9. Deals with street performers in general, with many old drawings.

(3) Fletcher, Alan J. (990), "Jugglers Celtic and Anglo-Saxon," Theatre Notebook, vol. 44, # 1, pp. 2­18. Many good historical references to juggling in England and Ireland.

(4) Gillen, Billy (1990), "Tarot Hides Mystery of the Juggling 'Bateleur,' Juggler's World, Spring 1990, pp. 18-19. History of the Juggler (or Magician) tarot card.

(5) Gillen, Billy (1990), "Remember the Force Hassan! Delving Deeper into Juggling Hieroglyphics," Juggler's World, Summer 1986, pp. 9-10. Juggling in ancient Egyptian carvings. Includes some references to anthropologists who have written generally about ball play in Ancient Egypt.

(6) Lewbel, Arthur (987), "Juggling and the Subjective Records of Physical Skills," Tournaments Illuminated, Summer 1987, #83 pp. 25-26 (under the pseudonym LeifIameon Carlsefnisson). Speculates on the difficulty of recreating historical physical skills from subjective records, using as an example modem inaccurate drawings of juggling.

(7) Rid, Samuel (1612), "The Art of Juggling or Legerdemaine," Govt. Doc. Collection Microfilm, Reel 971, Cat#21027, Pr 112I.U6, MiU F63-378).

(8) One version of Snorri Sturluson's Edda is "Edda Snorra Sturlusonar. Edda: part 1. New York: Oxford University Press, 1980." Many different editions and translations are available.

(9) Truzzi, Marcello (1974), "Notes Toward a History of Juggling," Bandwagon, vol. 18 (March­April), pp. 4-7.

(10) Truzzi, Marcello (1979), "On Keeping Things Up in the Air," Natural History, pp. 44-55. An expanded version of the Bandwagon article above. Mostly deals with 19th and 20th century jugglers, but has some older material.

(11) Ziethen, Karl-Heinz (1981-82), "4000 Years of Juggling, vol. 1 and 2." A Large, privately printed book full of rare photos of jugglers (mostly vaudeville).

(12) Ziethen, Karl-Heinz (985), "Jonglierkunst 1m Wandel Der Zeiten," Berlin. A condensed version of "4000 years" with German text. Privately printed.

(13) Ziethen, Karl-Heinz and Andrew Allen (1985), Juggling - The Art and its Artists," published by Werner Rausch & Werner Luft Inc: Berlin (ISBN 3-9801140-1-5). Another collection of photos, this one accompanied by brief biographies, mostly 19th and 20th century. Includes an Egyptian, an early Greek, and two medieval pictures of jugglers.

(14) I have not found an original reference to The Book of Lie Zi. Ben Schoenberg says he has seen a modern book by Fu Qifeng called "Chinese Acrobats Through the Ages," which discusses The Book of Lie Zi.

15) One translation of "Tain Bo Cuailnge," is by Thomas Kinsella, Oxford University Press (1970).

 

"The Academic Juggler" is an occasional feature of Jugglers World, and is devoted to all kinds of formal analyses of juggling. You can write to me at Arthur Lewbel, Lexington, MA.