Sebastian Brant, Das Narrenschiff [The Ship of Fools]

Gerhart Hoffmeister (University of California, Santa Barbara)

Ed. by Gerhard P. Knapp, University of Utah
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.4.1: German-language Writing and Culture: Germany, 500-present.
Vol. editors: Gerhard P. Knapp (University of Utah), Jennifer Marston William (Purdue University), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jill E. Twark (East Carolina University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1494

Places

Germany (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poetry (any)

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Recommended Reading

Sebastian Brant’s

Das Narrenschiff

[

The Ship of Fools

] is considered the only work of early modern German literature before Goethe’s

Die Leiden des jungen Werthers

[

The Sorrows of Young Werther

, 1774] that gained European recognition and thus a place in world literature. After the 1494 edition of this rhymed compilation of 112 satirical fools’ portraits, five more authorized versions, seven pirated editions (by 1512) and a Latin translation

Stultifera navis

(1497) by Brant’s disciple Jakob Locher (1471-1528) followed in rapid succession. This latter version secured Brant’s fame throughout the Neolatin republic of letters and, along with several reprints, served as a model for various translations and adaptations into English (1509), French (with three translations between…

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1240 words

Citation: Hoffmeister, Gerhart. "Das Narrenschiff". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 October 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=22997, accessed 21 November 2024.]

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Sebastian Brant, Das Narrenschiff [The Ship of Fools]

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