In Trickster Makes This World: Mischief, Myth, and Art, author Lewis Hyde brings to life the playful and disruptive side of human imagination as it is embodied in trickster mythology. One of the characters, from Native American mythology, is Coyote. Over and over again, Coyote turns the tables on his predators and escapes becoming prey. Coyote also is part of the creation myth of Northern California tribes.

In fact the Coyote IS a trickster. When farmers in Western United States set out traps baited with animal carcasses that have been loaded with sufficient strychnine to kill in an attempt to control the population of wolves and coyotes, they find dead wolves but almost never a dead coyote. Instead they find traps that have been overturned or dug up by coyotes who have left their “calling cards.” The coyotes urinate and defecate on the traps so that there can be no mistake that they figured out the trap, and chose to demonstrate contempt for it rather than being destroyed by it.

In mythology, and in real life, Coyote eats bait that has not been poisoned and leaves the trap unable to kill anything at all.

This reversal of status and power dynamics is important for humans, too. The “weaker” can defeat the “stronger” when the weaker person is able to deceive or trick the stronger one.

This reversal, which features the oppressed winning and the oppressor losing, is the source of much fiction. There is a natural human tendency to root for the underdog, and sometimes the underdog wins.

The jester, or fool, of medieval times had a similar burden and opportunity. We hear that “only the fool can tell the King the truth and survive the story.”

My wife Leslie and I recently visited Wales. While part of the United Kingdom, Wales has never really been defeated by England, even though it has been under the military subjection of England from the start of the 13th century. Wales has more castles per square mile than any other place in the world. These castles were built so that the conqueror could survive his conquest. Oppressors are always afraid of the people they oppress, and often with very good reason.

One castle we visited was at Conwy in Northern Wales. It is a marvel of 13th century technology and survives today as a UNESCO “World Heritage Site.” Even now, absent bombardment from the air or the use of high explosives, I believe it would withstand a military assault. King Edward the First caused it to be built in the span of only four years, but he worried about the cost of maintaining it. The Royal Treasury was limited after the Crusades, conquest of Wales and subsequent conquest of Scotland, so the castle was designed to be run very efficiently. The defenders of the castle were protected by fortifications and it was almost impossible for an assaulting army to hurt them. It could be defended by a force of six soldiers. Never, in its entire and long history, did an army take over the castle.

But tricksters and fools can defeat armies. In March 1401, the only time the castle was lost, the military intelligence of the time (it was an oxymoron then just as it is now) said that the threat level was low. Four of the six defenders were outside the castle, although they remained in the walled city that adjoined it for church services. Two Welsh tricksters, disguised as carpenters, arrived at the castle with building plans to make improvements for an upcoming visit by the King. Once admitted to the castle, they used their carpentry tools as weapons and killed the two remaining soldiers. They held the castle for three months and then surrendered it after negotiating a full pardon from the King.

In fact the history of the castle is a bit more complex, but our tour guide was Welsh and I am relating the story as recounted by the guide; the Welsh side of the story.

As the song says, “fools rush in where angels fear to tread,” and sometimes they, like their role model Coyote, can destroy the trap.

Conwy Fools