In the Beginning Was Laughter: Human and Divine Laughter in U. Eco’s The Name of the Rose

Does God laugh? This article is a systematic theological discussion of divine laughter and its implications for human laughter. Firstly, I define laughter in contrast to humour and the comical, and I present the most common theories of laughter. Secondly, I use Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose to discuss laughter in relation to Christianity, and I hint at a possible concept of divine laughter. Thirdly, I unfold this idea of divine laughter, not least by drawing on the phenomenon of Easter laughter (risus paschalis), and I outline its implications for human laughter and mockery.