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The ''Schildbürger'' ("residents of Schilda") are residents of Schilda, a fictional (not the actual Schilda) German
The ''Schildbürger'' ("residents of Schilda") are residents of Schilda, a fictional (not the actual Schilda) German town of fools
A town of fools is the base of a number of joke cycles found in various cultures. Jokes of these cycles poke fun at the stupidity of the inhabitants of a real or fictional populated place (village, town, region, etc.). In English folklore the bes ...
, a butt of jokes in German ''Volksbuch'' (chapbook
A chapbook is a type of small printed booklet that was a popular medium for street literature throughout early modern Europe. Chapbooks were usually produced cheaply, illustrated with crude woodcuts and printed on a single sheet folded into 8, 1 ...
) 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 John of England, King John int ...
in English-language tradition.
Background
The "people of Schilda", of a Germantown of fools
A town of fools is the base of a number of joke cycles found in various cultures. Jokes of these cycles poke fun at the stupidity of the inhabitants of a real or fictional populated place (village, town, region, etc.). In English folklore the bes ...
named "Schilda" (fictitious – not the actual town of Schilda), figure in short tales, known as ''Schildbürgerstreiche'' ("pranks of the citizens of Schilda"). Alongside Till Eulenspiegel
Till Eulenspiegel (; ) is the protagonist of a European narrative tradition. A German chapbook published around 1510 is the oldest known extant publication about the folk hero (a first edition of is preserved fragmentarily), but a background i ...
, the ''Schildbürger'' chapbooks are the best-known collection of the prank
A practical joke or prank is a trick played on people, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. The perpetrat ...
ster type in German literary tradition.
The oldest known edition was printed in Strasbourg
Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
in 1597 under the title of ''Lalenbuch''. Here, the town was known as Lalenburg (Laleburg) 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.
History
Fr ...
.
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 Dictionary, dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, and directories, added by the editors as #Copyright traps, copyright traps to reveal subsequent plagiarism or ...
about a supposed ''Chronica sive Historia de populo Schildorum''.
Julius von Voss
Julius von Voss, also Julius von Voß (24 August 1768, Brandenburg an der Havel, Prussia – 1 November 1832 Berlin) was a German writer.
Work
His rapidity of literary production was almost without a parallel. He published about 160 works (play ...
wrote a comical novel ''Die Schildbürger: ein komischer Roman'' (1823).
See also
* Wise Men of Chełm *Molbo story
A Molbo story is a Danes, Danish folktale of the "town of fools" type about the people of Mols, who live in eastern Jutland near the town of Ebeltoft. In these tales the Molboes are portrayed as a simple folk, who act foolishly while attempting ...
*Till Eulenspiegel
Till Eulenspiegel (; ) is the protagonist of a European narrative tradition. A German chapbook published around 1510 is the oldest known extant publication about the folk hero (a first edition of is preserved fragmentarily), but a background i ...
Notes
References
Footnotes
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). {{DEFAULTSORT:Schildburger German folklore 1597 books German books Chapbooks Humor and wit characters Archetypal fools Fictional populated places in Germany Towns of fools