Fredrik by Jennie Hart

A notable fact:

It’s incorrect today to refer to a person as a dwarf but Perkeo, a man of small stature, was famously known as Perkeo the Dwarf.

He was the notable jester and court dwarf of Elector Palatine Charles 111 Philip in Heidelberg in the early 18^th century

Fredrik’s grandfather was Perkeo the Dwarf, the famous court jester at the Castle of Heidelberg in the Palatine. Fredrik was also of short stature

When a famine raged around Heidelberg in the early eighteenth century many of the inhabitants died. The law ensured farms were divided amongst the heirs giving each member a small parcel of land, portions so minute that many began to starve.

The Palatine Elector at the time, spotted Perkeo selling buttons in a Salorno market in the South Tyrol and brought him back to Heidelberg for his entertainment. Perkeo became court jester and keeper of the wine cellars. He was flirtatious, a storyteller and above all, a wine sot, Despite his size, he drank five to eight gallons of rotwein a day. At over eighty years old his health failed and the doctor tried to cure him with water. Water was poison to Perkeo and so he instantly died!

Grandfather Perkeo was a great flirt; he charmed all the young women at court; and some older ones too! Nor did they care two hoots about his size; big men had always dominated their lives. Sometimes the women gave birth and the poor mothers were punished and sent to prison. Their babies were kept in the castle nursery. No man owned up to fathering the children but it was obvious a few toddlers grew less than expected. Rather than Perkeo gaining a black mark, his unusual prowess was envied.

Fredrik’s mother was one of the court babies; her name was Ada. He remembered her beautiful smile. When she showed signs of dwarfism she was sent from the court to an orphanage. Despite her size, Ada had the sweetest voice. One day while singing and begging on the streets of Heidelberg she met Frank a young musician. She and Frank fell in love and soon Fredrik was born.

Frank owned a sliver of land and he and Ada worked it together, but after a severe winter and a summer drought their vegetables failed. They joined the migration of ‘poor Palatines’ to England but Ada, already weak and hungry, was washed overboard in a violent storm. Frank tried to rescue her but died too in the gigantic waves engulfing the vessel.

One of the ship’s crew found Fredrik wandering the deck and took him to the mates’ cabin. He was just seven years old. After the storm the sailors sang and raised their tankards to God and Fredrik joined in. The captain lifted him onto the table and gave him a banjo. He sang and strummed with such style and confidence that the sailors were astonished. Frank had taught him to play the pipe and the banjo and he sang with perfect pitch. He had entertained on the streets of Heidelberg with Frank and Ada since he could walk. The captain was entranced too; he roared with laughter as Fredrik imitated the crew; a bow-legged walk, a raucous laugh and a drunken gait. They gave him a tumbler of wine and he drank it as if it were water.

On landing in England the Captain, a member of the Bisse family, took Fredrik to the home of his brother Philip, the Bishop of Hereford. Fredrik was distraught at losing his parents but Lady Bridget the wife of Philip, was charmed by the handsome tiny boy with the beautiful voice and loved him like a son. His small size made no difference. Lady Bridget taught him to play her pianoforte and in no time, he was teaching her. Fredrik was delightful company but Philip and Lady Bridget were not aware that Fredrik crept down at night and stole wine from the table and from their cabinet.

Philip had a brother Thomas the Chancellor of Hereford Cathedral who was similarly enthralled by Fredrik’s musical talent and made Fredrik a chorister. Suspicion grew of a wine thief when wine disappeared from the great chalice. The clergy were on the alert and it was the cantor who caught Fredrik red-handed, guzzling the communion wine. He was so drunk he could barely stand.

So Fredrik was not the cherub he appeared to be; he was tried and sent to prison for nine months where he charmed the warders with his singing and mimicry. The Bishop and the Chancellor missed his voice in the cathedral choir and Lady Bridget pleaded for his release but he had to serve his sentence.

The choir master couldn’t wait to have him back, he became a kind of popstar; a poster-boy for Hereford cathedral. He had mastered the harp and the organ and played and sang at recitals. People flocked to see him. What he did not know was that his fame had reached Heidelberg where his grandfather was still alive. He had heard about this young talented dwarf and had a keen urge to meet him. After all they had something in common!

With the aid of the Elector, the elderly Perkeo journeyed to England. He had so far not imbibed the doctor’s remedy of water instead of wine. Perkeo was famous too and was given a special seat in the gallery. He watched Fredrik perform with astonishment at his resemblance to his younger self. When they were introduced, Fredrik told of the famine and his parents migration to England. Grandfather Perkeo confirmed that the court babies with defects were sent to the orphanage and Ada may have been one of them.

Lady Bridget held a splendid feast for grandfather and grandson and they toasted with goblets of German rotwein. Perkeo was proud of Fredrik and a few years later paid for him to attend New College Oxford. After graduation he became a renowned organ master of Hereford Cathedral. He continued to indulge in red wine but never once raided the chalice again! Fredrik’s fame led to his burial in the famous building.