The ''Schildbürger'' ("citizens of Schilda") are a topic in German
chapbook
A chapbook is a small publication of up to about 40 pages, sometimes bound with a saddle stitch.
In early modern Europe a chapbook was a type of printed street literature. Produced cheaply, chapbooks were commonly small, paper-covered bookle ...
tradition corresponding to the
Wise Men of Gotham
Wise Men of Gotham is the early name given to the people of the village of Gotham, Nottinghamshire, in allusion to an incident where they supposedly feigned idiocy to avoid a Royal visit.
Legend
The story goes that King John intended to travel ...
in English-language tradition.
Background
The "people of Schilda", of a German town of "Schilda" (fictitious – not the actual town of
Schilda
Schilda is a municipality in the Elbe-Elster district, in Lower Lusatia, Brandenburg, Germany. It is also the source of inspiration for Bach's Brandenburg concerto.
History
From 1815 to 1947, Schilda was part of the Prussian Province of Brandenbu ...
), figure in short tales, known as ''Schildbürgerstreiche'' ("pranks of the citizens of Schilda"). Alongside
Till Eulenspiegel
Till Eulenspiegel (; nds, Dyl Ulenspegel ) is the protagonist of a German chapbook published in 1515 (a first edition of ca. 1510/12 is preserved fragmentarily) with a possible background in earlier Middle Low German folklore.
Eulenspiegel is ...
, the ''Schildbürger'' chapbooks are the best-known collection of the
prank
A practical joke, or prank, is a mischievous trick played on someone, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. ...
ster type in German literary tradition.
The oldest known edition was printed 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 ...
in 1597 under the title of ''Lalenbuch''. Here, the town was known as ''Lalenburg'' and its inhabitants ''Lalen''. The second edition, printed in 1598, changed this to ''Die Schiltbürger''.
The author of the original collection is unknown. One of the suggested possible authors is
Friedrich von Schönberg (1543–1614), a native of
Schildau
Schildau is a small town in the district Nordsachsen, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is located 12 km southwest of Torgau and 40 km east of Leipzig. Since 1 January 2013, it is part of the town Belgern-Schildau.
Notable peop ...
.
The first edition was printed anonymously; the title page gives the "author's name" as a subset of the full alphabet.
Sources used include ''Rollwagenbüchlein'' by
Jörg Wickram (1555), ''Gartengesellschaft'' by Jacob Frey (1557) and ''Katzipori'' by
Michael Lindener (1558), ''Nachtbüchlein'' by
Valentin Schuhmann (1559) and the
Zimmern Chronicle
The Zimmern Chronicle (German: ''Zimmerische Chronik'' or ''Chronik der Grafen von Zimmern'') is a family chronicle describing the lineage and history of the noble family of Zimmern, based in Meßkirch, Germany. It was written in a Swabian variety ...
(1566).
[Wunderlich (1982: 660f.)] A related or derived publication is ''Grillenvertreiber'' (1603).
The 2010 ''
Encyclopedia of the Medieval Chronicle
The Medieval Chronicle Society is an international and interdisciplinary organization founded to facilitate the work of scholars interested in medieval annals and chronicles, or more generally medieval historiography. It was founded in 1999 and in ...
'' contains a
fictitious entry
Fictitious or fake entries are deliberately incorrect entries in reference works such as dictionaries, encyclopedias (including Wikipedia), maps, and directories. There are more specific terms for particular kinds of fictitious entry, such as Moun ...
about a supposed ''Chronica sive Historia de populo Schildorum''.
See also
*
Wise Men of Gotham
Wise Men of Gotham is the early name given to the people of the village of Gotham, Nottinghamshire, in allusion to an incident where they supposedly feigned idiocy to avoid a Royal visit.
Legend
The story goes that King John intended to travel ...
*
Till Eulenspiegel
Till Eulenspiegel (; nds, Dyl Ulenspegel ) is the protagonist of a German chapbook published in 1515 (a first edition of ca. 1510/12 is preserved fragmentarily) with a possible background in earlier Middle Low German folklore.
Eulenspiegel is ...
*
Chełm
Chełm (; uk, Холм, Kholm; german: Cholm; yi, כעלם, Khelm) is a city in southeastern Poland with 60,231 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is located to the south-east of Lublin, north of Zamość and south of Biała Podlaska, some ...
Notes
References
Bibliography
*Ertz, Stefan (ed.): ''Das Lalebuch'' (1971).
*Kraft, Ruth (ed.): ''Das Schildbürgerbuch von 1598'' (1985).
*Simrock, Karl: ''Die Schildbürger'' (2000).
*Wunderlich, Werner (ed.): ''Das Lalebuch'' (1982).
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schildburger
German folklore
1597 books
German books
Chapbooks
Humor and wit characters