Johannes Pauli (about 1455 – after 1530 at Thann in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

) was a German

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

writer.

Life

What little is known of his life rests upon unreliable information.

Ludwig von Pastor Ludwig Pastor, later Ludwig von Pastor, Freiherr von Campersfelden (31 January 1854 – 30 September 1928), was a German historian and a diplomat for Austria. He became one of the most important Roman Catholic historians of his time and is most no ...

rejected the story that he was of Jewish descent, and had been baptised at an early age, taking the name of Johannes Pauli from his godfather. Pauli became Master of Arts in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

, entered the Franciscans (the "Barefooted"), and delivered his first sermon in Thann in 1479. Two years later, he was sent to the convent at

Oppenheim Oppenheim () is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The town is a well-known wine center, being the home of the German Winegrowing Museum, and is particularly known for the wines from the Oppenheimer Krötenbru ...

; in 1504 the conventual monastery at

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

desired him as a guardian. He held the same office in Strasbourg 1506-10; in 1516 he is mentioned as preacher in

Sélestat Sélestat (; Alsatian: ''Schlettstàdt''; German: ''Schlettstadt'') is a commune in the Grand Est region of France. An administrative division (Subprefectures in France, sous-préfecture) of the Bas-Rhin Departments of France, department, the tow ...

; later in Villingen in the

Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...

, and finally in Thann.

Works

Prompted by his acquaintance with Geiler of Kaisersberg, he published in 1515 "Das Evangelienbuch"; in 1516 "Die Emeis, Buch von der Omeissen"; in 1517 "Die Brösamlin Geilers"; in 1520 "Das Narrenschiff, aus dem Latein ins Deutsch gebracht". His own work, which assured him a lasting place in German literature, is the collection of farces and humorous stories "Schimpf (Scherz) und Ernst". This a genuine "folk book", written in an easy and plain style, filled with humour and pointed satire, intended to instruct while it amused. "He did not desire," as Georg Rollenhagen says in his preface to "Froschmäusler", "to make people laugh without teaching them something; his book was like the old legends and sagas, full of fabulous happenings and incidents, but written so that in them, as in a comedy, there are combined with poetry and imagination the plain, unvarnished, bitter truths of life, worded so as to tell serious things in a jocular manner, with a laugh and a smile." Pauli drew his information from a variety of sources, and his farces became the inspiration of the later German poets, especially for

Hans Sachs Hans Sachs (5 November 1494 – 19 January 1576) was a German ''Meistersinger'' ("mastersinger"), poet, playwright, and shoemaker. Biography Hans Sachs was born in Nuremberg (). As a child he attended a singing school that was held in the churc ...

. He exercised a wide influence upon the culture of the whole century.

References

;Attribution * The entry cites: **Karl Veith, ''Ueber den Barfüsser Johannes Pauli'' (Vienna, 1839); **

Hermann Oesterley Hermann or Herrmann may refer to: * Hermann (name), list of people with this name * Arminius, chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci tribe in the 1st century, known as Hermann in the German language * Éditions Hermann, French publisher * Hermann, Miss ...

, ''Johannes Paulis Schimpf und Ernst'' (Stuttgart, 1866); **

Eubel Konrad Eubel or Conradus Eubel (19 January 1842 – 5 February 1923) was a German Franciscan historian. He is known for his reference work, the ''Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi'', on medieval popes, cardinals and bishops. It appeared in thre ...

, ''Gesch. der oberdeutschen Minoritenprovinz'' (Wurzburg, 1886); ** Johannes Janssen, ''Gesch. des deutschen Volkes'', ed.

, VI (Freiburg, 1901); **Felix Bobertag, ''Deutsche Nationallitteratur'' (Kürschner), XXIV; **WEIGERT, ''Deutsche Volkschwänke des 16. Jahrhunderts'' (Kempten, 1909). {{DEFAULTSORT:Pauli, Johannes 1455 births German Franciscans Year of death unknown German male writers