Green’s Dictionary of Slang

a fool, thus a peasant.

1571		A dictionarie French and English n.p.: Lourdault, a loute, a lob, a groutnoll.
1580		Hollyband Treas. Fr. Tongue n.p.: [as 1571].
c.1607		Beaumont & Fletcher The Knight of the Burning Pestle II iii: That same Dwarfe’s a pretty boy, but the Squire’s a grout-nole.
1609		Dekker Gul’s Horne-Booke 5: Growtnowles and Moames will in swarmes fly buzzing about thee.
1622		S. Rowlands Good nevves and bad nevves n.p.: Now for the citie is young Groutnoll bound, / Where humors for to grace him may be found.
1653		Urquhart (trans.) Gargantua and Pantagruel (1927) I Bk I 103: Noddie meacocks, blockish grutnols, doddi-pol-jolt-heads.
1658		J. Cleveland Rustick Rampant 82: The other Growtnolls of the Neighbourhood [...] wait for them.
1822		R. Nares Gloss. (1888) 390: growtnol, quasi growty noddle, i.e., dunce. A word, I suspect, coined by Decker, who is hardly sound authority for the usage of a word, unless supported by collateral examples.