Volume IV. pp. 893–982. The dispute continued to give a tone to his life
henceforth, and all his later years were spent in empty and angry controversy. Indeed, we lose sight of him altogether in the year 1530; and it has been suspected that he was murdered at Lucerne, though we hear the last of him at Strasburg. His death was certainly before 1537.
Footnote 17:
“Simple” is here used in the sense of “cunning,” “bad.”
Footnote 18:
Charles V. was in England from the 26th of May, when he landed at Dover, till the 1st of July, 1522.
APPENDIX D.
_The verses inserted by William Copland in the English black-letter Howleglas of 1528._
_How Howleglas came to a scoler to make verses with hym to that vse of reason. And howe that Howleglas began, as after shal folowe_:—
HOWLEGLAS.
Mars with septer[19] a king coronate, Furius[20] in affliction, and taketh no regarde. By terrible fightyng he is our prymate And god of battell, and person ryght forward, Of warries[21] the tutor, the locke and the warde. His power, his might, who can them resyst? Not all this worlde, if that him selfe lyst.
THE SCHOLER.
Not all this worlde, who told the[22] so? Where is that written, ryght fayne wold I see? Ye came lyke a foole and so shall ye go. By one person only deceived ye may be And by astronomy, I tell vnto the. If that will not helpe, some shyft shal I fynde By craft or cunnyng, Mars for to blynde.
HOWLEGLAS.
Venus a god of loue most decorate, The floure of women and lady most pvre, Louers to concorde she doth aye aggregate With parfyte loue, as marble to dure, The knot of loue, she knittes on them sure With frendly amite[23] and neuer to discorde By dedes, thought, cogitation, nor worde.
THE SCHOLER.
Not to discorde? yed[24] did I never see, Knowe not here tell of louers suche twayne, But some fault there was, learne this of me. Other in thought, or yet in wordes playne Your reasons be nought, your tongue goeth in vayne. By naturall person such loue is not found In Fraunce, Flaunders, nor yet in Englysh ground.
HOWLEGLAS.
The God of wyne, that Bachus hath to name, The sender of fruytes, that maketh wynes all, May slake or make or put them in frame, All at his pleasure and use dynyall.[25] He may the[26] exalt in lyke wyse to fall, Their lorde and meister,[27] and chief gouernour He may then destroye and make in an houre.
THE SCHOLER.
All to destroye it is not by his myght, Nor yet for to make, of that be thou sure. “Omnia per ipsum,” Saint Johan sayes full ryght. Than we call Christ our god and our treasure. Presume not so hye,[28] you fayle of your measure, Rede, heare and see, and here well a waye, Unknowen, vnsayde and for grace thou pray.
Footnote 19:
_Septer_, sceptre.
Footnote 20:
_furius_, furious.
Footnote 21:
_warries_, wars.
Footnote 22:
_the_, thee.
Footnote 23:
_amite_, French _amitié_.
Footnote 24:
_yed_, yet.
Footnote 25:
_dynyall_, denial.
Footnote 26:
_the_, thee.
Footnote 27:
_meister_, master.
Footnote 28:
_hye_, high.
APPENDIX E.
_The Bakâla legend of the Valacqs analogous to Owlglass._
The most interesting fiction with which I have met, approaching in intention and construction to the German Eulenspiegel, is a legend current among the Wallachians, entitled “Bakâla.” The hero goes through a few adventures savouring much of the wily malice of Owlglass; but there are only thirteen of these adventures in all. The first introduces us to Bakâla, at the death of his father, who leaves a single cow behind him. The question arises between Bakâla and his two elder brothers, as to which is to become possessor of the cow. They agree at last to build three sheds, and, placing the cow in the middle, give her the opportunity of deciding the ownership. Bakâla builds his shed of a grassy material, which the cow perceives, and instead of entering the sheds of stone built by Bakâla’s brethren, enters his, and thus becomes his property. He then sells his cow to a tree, which agitated by the wind, appears to bargain with him. His brethren mock at him for a fool in selling the cow to a tree; and next day, when payment is to be made, the cow has broken loose and departed, and when Bakâla asks for the money, there being no wind, the tree is silent. Then Bakâla cuts down the tree and finds a pot of money in the roots; thereof he takes the agreed price, and goes home, and his brethren are astonished at his receiving money from a tree. The two brothers plague him until he tells them the whole story as to the treasure, which they go and take. Bakâla is then sent to borrow a fruit measure from a neighbour, who asks him what he wants it for, and Bakâla tells him that it is to measure his money. So the neighbour follows him, and peeps through the window. This is seen by the inmates of the house, and Bakâla is told to go and kill him, which he does; the brothers only meaning that Bakâla should give him a beating. When they find, however, that Bakâla has killed him, they are obliged to depart from that place.
An adventure by which Bakâla becomes possessed of a sack of incense, obtains him a gift from the Almighty (who, as in the ancient miracle-plays, is brought into the story) of a marvellous bagpipe, which causes every one to dance. When a shepherd the sheep dance; and his master, who is watching him, is obliged to dance also; and afterwards his master’s wife dances herself to death. Other mischief Bakâla also contrives to do. After cutting the tails of his master’s dogs off, and killing the youngest child by washing it and hanging it up to dry, the master resolves to depart; for he is bound by a treaty to Bakâla. But Bakâla gets into the sack, which the master prepares to carry books in, and is discovered at last. Then the master and his son conspire to drown Bakâla; but he overhears them, and the son gets drowned instead. Bakâla appears here to be analogous to the Old Man of the Sea, of whom Sindbad cannot rid himself. At last the contract between them, to the effect that either on breaking it should forfeit a long strip of skin in the back, has to be completed by Bakâla on the body of his master, who has broken it by the attempt to drown his servant. And as the master’s back is sore, he takes the book-wallet and departs. This story, as our authority, Schott, says (_Walachische Mährchen_, p. 362), reminds us of the agreement between Apollo and Marsyas. Then he sets a bride free from a disagreeable bridegroom by a stratagem, and after acting the bride’s part himself, escapes.
The last story in the series is worthy of translation entire, therefore here it is:—
“_How Bakâla findeth a fellow, and thereafter is not any other news heard of him._—After that Bakâla had in such wise departed from the bridegroom, he gat, whence I know not, a sack filled with sawdust. No longtime had he journeyed, when he encountered by the way another man, who likewise bare a sack. Then did they greet each other, and after awhile proposed that they should change sacks. And so did they; then they hasted to open the sacks, and in that which Bakâla had received lay nought but flint stones, and what the other received that do we know. For a time they looked upon their prizes with great wonder; but thereupon laughed hugely. ‘Truly,’ quoth Bakâla, ‘we have beguiled each other!’ ‘That is truth indeed!’ cried the other. And great content had these twain one of the other, and embraced thereupon, and made agreement that thereafter would they journey everywhere in company. From that time hath no more been heard of Bakâla.”
Schott, in his work, finds analogy between the various adventures of Bakâla, and the course of the sun through the months of the year; but it is foreign to our present purpose to enter upon such a speculation. Yet, as a curious exemplification of the love of trickery to be found among all races, this Wallachian Owlglass is worthy of mention.
APPENDIX F.
_Works akin to the Eulenspiegel literature._
Although the Eulenspiegel folk-book has become the best known of the special class of books in which the middle age took such pleasure, there are many other compositions of a kindred nature worthy of mention, and of these I shall here describe the most important. The first on which any remark is necessary is the celebrated legend of Salomon and Marcolphus, which, in Latin, German, Anglo-Saxon, and French, has survived to the present time. Marcolphus is a jester in a more sober sense than is Owlglass; the jests of the former, though some of them are analogous to those of the latter, rarely touch upon the humourous. They are capable of application to far more serious things, to matters of speculative philosophy and science. Luther, for instance, applied a story of Marcolphus in reproof of persons who shut their eyes to the good, but afterwards were compelled, whether they would or no, to behold the evil.[29] But the Marcolphus legend is an exemplification rather of the combats of wit and wisdom common to the earlier part of the middle age, than a vivid reflex, as is the Owlglass, of the manners and customs of the time to which it belongs. One story borrowed from the Marcolphus, or from Morlini, at an early period, appears in Owlglass, being the second adventure in this edition, p. 3.
The _Narrenschiff_ (“Ship of Fools”) of Sebastian Brandt was published in 1494. It is also called the _Welt Spiegel_, or “World Mirror,” and it enjoyed a great and deserved reputation in its time, but was far too pedantic and tiresome to survive to the present age, or be profitable now. A few remarks upon it, extracted from Hallam, will be found in the Preface.
Murner himself published a satirical work in 1517, entitled the _Schelmenzunft_ (“Corporation of Knaves”), but from a want of entirety it has fallen into little repute. So also the _Gäuchmatt_ has been forgotten, while Owlglass, published in the same year (1519), will live a companion to many.
Similar books had preceded Master Owlglass, but not with the same success, although from them the frequent editors of the latter abstracted stories to add to the deeds of the wandering knave; from the legend of the “Priest Amis,” for instance, Murner took the story of the invisible picture, the reading ass, the wise university examination at Prague, and the history of the pardoner with the holy head of Saint Brandonus. Another work, the “Priest of Kalenberg,” preceded Owlglass, having appeared before the year 1494 at Vienna, being written by Villip Frankfurter; the only copy known is preserved in the Hamburg Town Library. The “Priest of Kalenberg” is mentioned by Sebastian Brandt in the “Ship of Fools;” and Murner, in his _Narrenbeschwerung_, tells a story concerning him. The book is alluded to by Fischart in the preface to his Eulenspiegel, as having been a great success. The latest edition of the “Priest of Kalenberg” appeared under the title of _Der geistliche Eulenspiegel, oder der Pfarrer vom Kalenberg, nebst Schwänken einiger anderen lustigen Gesellen_ (“The Clerical Eulenspiegel, or the Parson of Kalenberg, with the quips of some other merry fellows”). Leipzig, 1818.
Another book which supplied the editors of Eulenspiegel with materials for its extension was the Jests of Gonella, Court Fool to the Margrave Nicolaus of Este (†1441), and to his son Borso, the Duke of Ferrara (†1471); indeed, it is far from unlikely that Murner himself was acquainted with it, as it was published in 1506 at Bologna. So rare is this work, that in an appendix Dr. Lappenberg has reprinted it.
The “Jests of Poggio Bracciolini” (1381–1459), a man to whom we owe the recovery of Quintilian, eight orations of Cicero, twelve comedies of Plautus, and other classics, also furnished Murner with matter for the Eulenspiegel. In fact, Murner and his successors must have very diligently sought out all the literature of the class likely to serve their purpose in adding to the adventures of their own hero. Thus several stories are adapted from the “Cento Novelle Antiche” (printed at Bologna, 1525), from Morlini (Naples, 1520), from Bebel, and from François Villon.
There are a few books later than Eulenspiegel having a family resemblance to it; of these the _Schimpf und Ernst_ (“Abuse and Seriousness”) of John Pauli Pfedersheimer, published in 1522, is the most noted. The following is the title of the first edition: “Schimpf vn̄ | Ernst | heiset | das Buch mit namē | durchlaufft e d’ welthandlung mit | ernstlichen vnd kurtzweiligen exem- | plen, parabolen vnd hystorien | nützlich vnd gut zu besse- | rung der menschen.” This title is in an oblong tablet surrounded with woodcuts. Below is Herodias bringing the head of John the Baptist to her father; to the right is Adam and Eve; to the left, Bishop Martin; and at the top is St. George with the dragon. Sheets run from A-X iiii, 124 pages in folio, double columns. Colophon: “Getruckt zu Strassburg von Johannes | Grieninger, vnd volendet vff vnser lieben frawentag der geburt, | in dem iar nach der geburt Christi vnsers herren. Tausend | fünf hundert vnd zwei vnd zwantzig.” Then follows sheet Y, with six pages of contents. Copies in the Royal Libraries at Dresden, Berlin, and München. Forty-nine editions are specified by Lappenberg in “Ulenspiegel” (pp. 368–378), besides several translations. Pauli, in turn, has borrowed from Eulenspiegel, and that he understood the spirit of the book is plain from a reference he makes to it.
Another work akin to the Owlglass is the popular folk-book of Friar Rush, which is sufficiently well known to need no further description here. Mr. Thoms has reprinted it in his “Collection of Early Prose Romances.” Claus Narr von Ranstedt is another successor to Eulenspiegel. This worthy was court-fool to the Elector of Saxony from 1486 to 1532; thus a contemporary to Murner, who, indeed, mentions him in the treatise, “Whether the King of England be a liar or Dr. Luther?” The earliest edition appears to be of 1572, and its author was Master Wolfgang Büttner, Priest of Volfferstet. In the preface, Büttner sneers at Eulenspiegel, and asks why the pure words and good sayings of this good man should not be preferred and esteemed rather than the shameless stories of Owlglass.
Noteworthy also is a book containing the adventures of Hans Clauert of Trebbin, who in a humble manner, yet not without humour, follows in the footsteps of Owlglass. The only edition of it which I have seen is an undated folk-book, published in the series of Otto Wigand at Leipzig. This hero goes to Hungary and other places; but his adventures contain none of the satiric intention evident in the Owlglass. With these elucidatory remarks touching Owlglass, and the literature of which his adventures form the completest example, I bid the reader
A HEARTY FAREWELL.
Footnote 29:
The curious reader will find this duly set forth in Mr. Kemble’s critical history of the Salomon and Marcolphus tale (Salomon and Saturnus, p. 70). And in the preface to Dr. Luther’s “Table Talk,” where this application is made, Stangwald complains of the great number of people who prefer Marcolphus, Eulenspiegel, and such books, to these _Colloquia Lutheri_.
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES
1. Changed “Then said then” to “Then said the” on p. 138. 2. All book titles and colophons are rendered as printed. 3. Silently corrected typographical errors. 4. Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed. 5. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_. 6. Superscripts are denoted by a carat before a single superscript character or a series of superscripted characters enclosed in curly braces, e.g. M^r. or M^{ister}.