First undisputed reference to April Fools' Day

1561

A Flemish poem by Eduard de Dene describes a nobleman sending his servant on absurd errands on 1 April, and is the earliest unambiguous documentary reference to the custom. A claimed 1392 reference in Chaucer's Nun's Priest's Tale is disputed: scholars believe a scribal error is involved and the passage may originally have pointed to 2 May. John Aubrey's 'Fooles holy day' in 1686 is the first British reference.