Harlequin

Character of the Italian commedia dell'arte. In his original form, Harlequin was an unscrupulous rascal from Bergamo who could easily be persuaded to play tricks on his superiors. His patched suit evolved into a costume of brightly coloured and black silk diamonds, and he wears a small cat-faced black mask.

In France, as Arlequin, he became a resourceful attendant on the hero and then a pretty simpleton. Imported to England, he appeared as an acrobatic dancer in dumb show, but later developed into a magician, whose wand or bat gave the signal for the transformation scene in pantomime, and a quick-witted young man who foiled Pantaloon and Clown and eloped with Columbine. He was the chief figure of the English harlequinade until the arrival of Joseph Grimaldi as Clown, who displaced him.

The character of Harlequin is seldom seen on the stage now, but at one time was played by many distinguished actors, including Edmund Kean.