Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Fool’s literature
(3,098 words)

1. Concept and definition

The term Narrenliteratur (“fool’s literature”) is already attested in the Deutsches Wörterbuch of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, and in the second half of the 19th century it established itself as a catch-all term for satirical, didactic, and entertaining texts with figurations of the fool and folly at their center. Unlike Narrensatire, the concept also includes stage works (Schwank). Narrenliteratur is defined as specifically an early mod…

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Velten, Hans Rudolf, “Fool’s literature”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_024534>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20180126



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