The ship of fools is an

allegory As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory th ...

, originating from Book VI of Plato's ''

Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

'', about a ship with a dysfunctional crew. The allegory is intended to represent the problems of governance prevailing in a political system not based on expert knowledge. Benjamin Jowett's 1871 translation recounts the story as follows: The concept makes up the framework of the 15th-century book '' Ship of Fools'' (1494) by

Sebastian Brant Sebastian Brant (also Brandt) (1458 – 10 May 1521) was a German humanist and satirist. He is best known for his satire '' Das Narrenschiff'' (''The Ship of Fools''). Biography Brant was born in Strasbourg to an innkeeper but eventually enter ...

, which served as the inspiration for Hieronymus Bosch's painting, '' Ship of Fools'': a ship—an entire fleet at first—sets off from Basel, bound for the Paradise of Fools. In it, Brant conceives

Saint Grobian Saint Grobian (Medieval Latin, ''Sanctus Grobianus'') is a fictional patron saint of vulgar and coarse people. His name is derived from the Middle High German or , meaning coarse or vulgar. The Old High German cognate is , . The word "grobian" ...

, whom he imagines to be the patron saint of vulgar and coarse people. In literary and artistic compositions of the 15th and 16th centuries, the cultural motif of the ship of fools also served to parody the "ark of salvation", as the Catholic Church was styled.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ship Of Fools English phrases Political metaphors Works by Plato Fictional ships la:Navis stultorum no:Narrenes skip