1 sebastian brant's narrenschiff (1494, latin 1497/8) at the university of manitoba: dysart...

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Sebastian Brant'sSebastian Brant's NarrenschiffNarrenschiff

(1494, Latin 1497/8)(1494, Latin 1497/8)

at theat theUniversity of Manitoba:University of Manitoba:

Dysart Collection No. 22Dysart Collection No. 22

50th Anniversary Conference, UND Grand Forks, Fr 17 Oct. 2009 gd

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UManitoba Dysart UManitoba Dysart CollectionCollection

University of Manitoba's Dysart Collection of Rare Books & Manuscripts contains 16 incunabula, or books published before 1500

Only three are by non-German printers, only two are in German

The remaining fourteen are in Latin

33


Germany had no Renaissance to speak of, unlike Italy, France or England

But it did have a sort of printing monopoly during the first fifty years of Gutenberg's invention

Many printers working in Italy or France were also German

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The recently expanded UM German Studies Programs allow to integrate the wider cultural context of the period

the Dysart incunabula are therefore recognized as a valuable bibliographic resource on the German Studies Reference webpage

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UM German Studies UM German Studies Reference Reference

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An e-Edition of a 1973 Dysart Collection Exhibition Catalogue is in preparation

It will link the 16 incunabula, along with 9 medieval manuscripts, to other rare book collections in North America and abroad

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Brant's Brant's Das NarrenschiffDas Narrenschiff (1494)(1494)

Sebastian Brant's Book was published in Basel by Johann Bergmann von Olpein 1494

This printer's Motto was: "Nihil Sine Causa"

Among other notable editions were:– the 1493 Report of Columbus' Discovery– 1492 & 1495 Broadsides about a Meteor

impact & a Flood in Rome Brant was involved in all of these

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About BergmannAbout Bergmann Johann Bergmann von Olpe (ca. 1455-

1532) was a prolific printer & priest He was responsible for some of the

most "avant-garde" publications of his times, like the ones mentioned

Besides the German & Latin editions of the Narrenschiff, he printed works by other humanists like Locher, Reuchlin, & Wimpfeling

1493, M. vom Stein's Ritter vom Turn appeared [a transl. of LaTour Landry's Livre du chevalier, 14th c.]

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Bergmann's Motto, 1497/8Bergmann's Motto, 1497/8

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Columbus’ ReportColumbus’ Report

Columbus sensational discovery included “Gold & nackte Leut”

It was not clear which was more amazing

To judge by the cover, it was the latter

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Columbus' Report, CoverColumbus' Report, Cover(Basel: Bergmann, 1493)(Basel: Bergmann, 1493)

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Broadside on Ensisheim Broadside on Ensisheim MeteorMeteorD e f u l g e t r a a n n i 1 4 9 2

V o m D o n n e r s t e i n d e s J a h r e s 1 4 9 2

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Brant's Brant's NarrenschiffNarrenschiff (1494)(1494)

Brant's moral satire in 112 rhymed chapters was an instant bestseller

He used the Fool's topic for didactic reasons, criticizing universal human vices & foibles (including the seven deadly sins)

His intent was to lead the sinners back onto the correct path of Christian moral philosophy (mostly Patristic: he had edited St. Augustin & Ambrosius with

Amerbach's imprint in 1494 & 1492)

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Brant's Brant's NarrenschiffNarrenschiff (1494)(1494)

Each chapter was preceded by an illustration and a motto

This allows the new print medium to exploit an intricate and effective combination of image and text

The majority of the 117 woodcuts are by Albrecht Dürer, the best known "Northern Renaissance" artist

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Brant's Brant's NarrenschiffNarrenschiff (13. Kapitel: Of Wooing)(13. Kapitel: Of Wooing)

XIII. Von buolschafft. An mynem seyl ich draffter yeichVil narren / affen / esel / geüchDie ich verfűr betrüg vnd leych

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Sebastian Brant (1457-Sebastian Brant (1457-1521)1521)

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Albrecht DAlbrecht Dürürer (1471-er (1471-1528)1528)

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About BrantAbout Brant

Brant (1457–1521) studied and taught law and poetry in Basel for many years

He was an archi-conservative humanist, pious & patriotic

But: his outspoken criticism against certain abuses of the Church helped prepare the ground for the protestant reformation

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About BrantAbout Brant Brant's contribution to the double-

layered German & Latin cultural context of his times is considerable

He was author, editor, translator & "lector" to Basel printers like Amerbach, Furter, Froben & Petri, besides Bergmann

He was equally skilled in writing poetry & legal texts

He edited the Church Fathers Augustin & Ambrosius, but also Petrarcha, Columbus' Report, & Broadsides

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Success of Brant's Success of Brant's NarrenschiffNarrenschiff

The great popularity of the book was partly due to the fact that it was explicitly addressed to ALL classes & both genders

It was one of the first printed texts in German [Dante & Petrarcha had written in Italian ca. 200 years earlier, but print eds. didn't appear before 1501]

Along with Martin Luther's German Bible in 1534, it helped mold the German "neuhochdeutsch" vernacular

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Brant's Brant's NarrenschiffNarrenschiff (Title, 1494)(Title, 1494)

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Luther's Bible, 1534Luther's Bible, 1534

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Brant's Brant's NarrenschiffNarrenschiff (Title, 1494)(Title, 1494)A beautiful e-Edition can be found in the impressive Bibiotheca Augustana

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Brant's Brant's NarrenschiffNarrenschiff (Contents, 1494)(Contents, 1494)Here part of the Bibiotheca Augustana e-Ed. Contents

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Brant's Brant's NarrenschiffNarrenschiff : The : The EndEnd

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About LocherAbout Locher Jakob "Philomusus" Locher (1471–1528)

had been Brant's student in Basel Unlike his mentor, who was 14 years

older, he had been to Italy & was far less conservative

Emperor Maximilian I crowned him, Poeta Laureatus in 1497 for his plays, hymns & elegies

He is also known for fiery anti-scholastic polemics, & for providing the 1st Latin edition of Horace in Germany

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Locher's Locher's Stultifera NavisStultifera Navis(1497/8)(1497/8)

Locher's free Latin translation was published, also by Bergmann, with the title Stultifera Navis

It was printed in March & August 1497, & in March 1498

Dysart Collection 22 is of the 3rd printing

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Brant's Brant's NarrenschiffNarrenschiff (Latin) (Latin)(Web Catalogue Entry of Dysart 22, March 1498 (Web Catalogue Entry of Dysart 22, March 1498

ed.)ed.)

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Brant's Brant's NarrenschiffNarrenschiff (Latin) (Latin)(Dysart 22: Title Page, 3rd Printing, March 1498)(Dysart 22: Title Page, 3rd Printing, March 1498)

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Unlike Brant's German original, it was meant to address the educated only

This apparently excluded most women In several introductory texts in verse

and prose, Locher explains the reasons for his undertaking:– there are Fools in abundance everywhere– Brant's useful book would be unintelligible

to them without Locher's Latin version

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Locher further justifies his translation by pointing to Dante and Petrarcha

Both had been rendered in Latin, the latter as recently as 1496 by Brant

He follows Brant's text closely enough But: Brant tends to use classical texts

compatible with Christian writings, & accords them a rather subservient role

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Locher makes much more use of classical sources

He also blends them with religious references into complex & colourful images

And he lacks Brant's primary didactic zeal, so that pious exhortations come out lame or are omitted altogether

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Brant, who reviewed Locher's work, reintroduced the proper path to Christian "Sapientia" with many marginal notes in the 1st printing

He further expanded these in the 2nd 1497 printing, & added to the texts next to the illustrations

The 3d printing (March 1498) remained basically unchanged from the 2nd

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Some of Brant's chapters were limited to local customs & would not be easily translated

In those cases, Locher fell back on the classics to bemoan corrupt times in general

In Kap.4, Brant finds the contemporary fashion too revealing [even the navel!]

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Brant's Brant's NarrenschiffNarrenschiff (4. Kapitel: Of New Ways)(4. Kapitel: Of New Ways)

V. Von nuwen funden Wer vil nüw fünd macht durch die landDer gibt vil ærgernyß vnd schandVnd halt den narren by der hand

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Locher changes Brant's "damn the German nation" to a timeless & universal "O mores hominum, corrupta o tempora, et atra" borrowed from Cicero [oh the bad ways of mankind, oh what sinful & dark times]

The Latin version of Brant's Narrenschiff was an instant hit & soon spawned many translations, incl. Alexander Barclay's Ship of Fools (1509)

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Influence of Influence of Stultifera NavisStultifera Navis(1497/8)(1497/8)

In German-speaking countries, there were the inspired sermons of Geiler von Kaysersberg (1445 bis 1510)

Equally important were satires by the Franciscan monk Thomas Murner (1475-1537)

His 1511/12 Schelmenzunft surpass Brant's book in wit, as does his Narrenbeschwörung

Murner became well-known as a bitter opponent of Luther & Zwingli after 1520

He was well-received in 1523 by Henry VIII, whose book on sacraments he had published in German a year earlier

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Influence of Influence of Stultifera NavisStultifera Navis(1497/8)(1497/8)

One particularly noteworthy influence is The Praise of Folly by Erasmus

It was published in 1511, & has one at least one of its sources in common with the Narrenschiff:

Lucian (ca. 125-180 A.D.) who was widely read by the educated– He also inspired satirists like Rabelais, Grimmelshausen,

Molière, Swift, Cervantes, Voltaire, & even down to Brecht

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About DAbout Düürerrer Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) w was in Basel

in 1492 & 1494 as a journeyman The ca. 80 woodcuts [of 117 in the Latin

eds.] for Brant's book were likely his first professional assignment

He is believed to have collaborated with the author to match the text

A good example is the allegorical Venus in Kap. 4: a pictorial translation, she is led by a blind-folded Cupid…

4141

Brant's Brant's NarrenschiffNarrenschiff (XXIIII. De Amore Venereo)(XXIIII. De Amore Venereo)

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About DAbout Düürerrer

One especially intriguing ill. in Dysart 22 is CXLV, De corrupto ordine vivendi[Of Corrupt Ways of Living]

In the upper left-hand corner, it shows a square horoscope for Oct. 2, 1503

It is the last of 117 illustrations in the 1497/1498 editions

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Brant's Narrenschiff (Latin eds, ill. 117: Of Corrupt Ways of Living)

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About DAbout Düürerrer

This may be related to one of the many "Weltuntergang" predictions, & also Brant's 1492 Broadside about the Meteor impact in Ensisheim

Dürer, who had witnessed this "warning" event then, was engaged in his series of 16 apocalyptic woodcuts (1496-1498) at the time he provided this particular image in 1497/8

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Dürer's Acopalypse s Acopalypse

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ReferencesReferences University of Manitoba, Dysart Collection of Rare

Books & Manuscripts, Exhibition Catalogue, 1973 (e-Edition in progress)

UM, Dafoe Reference Internet Resources [ongoing]

UMannheim, Facsim-Ed., Columbus: Epistola de insulis nuper inventis. Basel: Johann Bergmann von Olpe, 1494 [36 p., 6 ills].

University of Houston, Special Colls: ills. of 1497/8 ed.– http://info.lib.uh.edu/sca/digital/ship/

BIBLIOTHECA AUGUSTANA: German Text & ills., 1494– http://www.hs-augsburg.de/~harsch/germanica/Chronologie/

15Jh/Brant/

1 sebastian brant's narrenschiff (1494, latin 1497/8) at the university of manitoba: dysart...

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