Halloween Costume Guide
Jaskier follows Geralt of Rivia around the Continent, writes songs about his adventures, and gets into serious trouble as a direct result. The medieval coat gives the costume its shape; the instrument confirms who it is. His song Toss a Coin to Your Witcher went viral after the show’s first season and gave him recognition well beyond the typical Netflix fantasy audience (Wikipedia). His real name is Julian Alfred Pankratz, Viscount de Lettenhove. He goes by Jaskier. It is a better name for a bard.
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The coat is what people read first, and it needs to sit right on the shoulders. Too large and it reads as a generic medieval costume rather than a specific character. The mandolin or lute prop settles any remaining ambiguity about who you are, because there is only one traveling bard in The Witcher who carries a string instrument into places he absolutely should not be. Without the instrument, the coat reads as a costume. With it, the costume reads as Jaskier.
In the opening of the series, Jaskier gets booed off a stage in Posada, approaches a witcher sitting alone at the back of the tavern, and asks him to critique his performance. Geralt points out that the creatures in his song do not exist. Jaskier invites himself on the next monster hunt. He has been following Geralt ever since, writing increasingly exaggerated songs about adventures that Geralt mostly wishes had not happened (Witcher Wiki).
Do not carry the mandolin the whole night
A full-size mandolin is awkward to carry at a busy party for several hours and will end up leaned against a wall somewhere. If you are going to bring it, check whether the venue has somewhere to store it safely. A small travel mandolin is easier to manage and still reads clearly as a string instrument from across the room.
Wear the messenger bag crossbody, not on one shoulder
On one shoulder it slips off constantly. Crossbody keeps it in place without needing adjustment all night. Jaskier wears it this way anyway, and it keeps both hands free โ one for the instrument, one for whatever drink you are holding when someone asks you to sing.
Couples Idea
Might work, but this pairing requires a crowd that knows the show well enough to understand why these two are standing together. They are not a romantic pair and their relationship is defined primarily by mutual irritation and a shared exasperation with Geralt. The visual contrast between Jaskier’s colorful bard look and Yennefer’s dark sorceress aesthetic is sharp and reads clearly. Whether anyone outside The Witcher fandom understands the specific dynamic is a different question.
Duo Idea
Excellent duo with one of the clearest visual contrasts in Netflix fantasy. Geralt is white-haired, grey-armored, and aggressively silent. Jaskier is colorful, carrying an instrument, and talking constantly. The two costumes read as a pair from across the room without any explanation needed. Fans of the show will place it in seconds. People who have not seen it will still read “warrior and bard” immediately, which is enough.
Group Idea: The Witcher Cast
Strong group for a crowd deep in The Witcher fandom. Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri all have CostumeRealm guides. Tissaia has no dedicated page, so that costume needs to be sourced independently. The five looks together cover the full visual range of the show and leave no ambiguity about what the group is. The weak link is any single costume that is not recognizable on its own, since the group concept requires each character to read clearly.
This is a thrift-friendly build. Most of the pieces exist in second-hand stores or at home. The medieval coat is the only item that is difficult to source without buying specifically for this costume.
Jaskier is warm, enthusiastic, and genuinely fond of the people around him, even when they are trying to get rid of him. He does not play the fool. He just cannot take a hint.
Medieval costume coat over a grey linen shirt and brown herringbone chino pants, with brown lace-up loafer boots and a leather messenger bag. Carry a mandolin or lute as a prop. The coat and instrument together are what separate this from a generic medieval look.
Yes, for anyone in a crowd that watches Netflix fantasy. The Witcher has a large fanbase and Jaskier is one of its most popular characters. Toss a Coin to Your Witcher went genuinely viral after the first season, which gave him recognition beyond people who had actually watched the show.
Three that define him. The first is the one everyone knows: “Toss a coin to your witcher.” The second is the sharper one: “Respect doesn’t make history.” The third is the one that tells you who he actually is beneath all the songs: “People do stupid things when they think they’re trapped in a corner. And they say stupid things. That’s what friends do. They come back.” He says this about Geralt. He means it.
Jaskier is played by Joey Batey. Batey also performed Toss a Coin to Your Witcher himself, and the song reached number 25 on the UK Singles Chart in January 2020 after the show’s first season debuted on Netflix in December 2019.
His full name is Julian Alfred Pankratz, Viscount de Lettenhove. He changed it when he left his hometown of Bremervoord to become a bard. In the original books and games by Andrzej Sapkowski, the same character is known as Dandelion rather than Jaskier.
Jaskier met Geralt after being booed at a tavern and invited himself along on a monster hunt. He has followed Geralt since, writing ballads about his adventures. Geralt regularly insists they are not friends. He has also gone to considerable effort to rescue Jaskier from torture, imprisonment, djinn attacks, and wraith traps. Make of that what you will.
The Sandpiper is Jaskier. He operated a covert network that helped elves escape persecution in the northern kingdoms and travel safely to Cintra. It is notably the most organized and consequential thing Jaskier does in the entire series, and he did it under an alias while maintaining his public identity as a traveling bard.
What alias did Jaskier use while helping elves escape persecution?
What is Jaskier’s real full name?
How did Jaskier first meet Geralt of Rivia?