April Fools' Day - Eduard de Dene, 'Refereyn vp verzendekens dach'

1561

The Flemish poet Eduard de Dene of Bruges wrote a comic poem about a nobleman who repeatedly sends his servant on absurd errands on 1 April, the servant each stanza fearing he is being made to run a fool's errand. It is widely regarded as the earliest unambiguous documented reference to pranking on 1 April anywhere, and formed part of his Testament Rhetoricael, completed 1561.