Sebastian Brant is a legendary satirist of the fifteenth century from Germany. During his life, the poet wrote quite a few worthy works. However, a poem entitled “The Ship of Fools” brought him world fame. Want to know more about the writer and his life path?
Sebastian Brant: biography
The future writer was born in 1457 in the German city of Strasbourg. As the son of the inn owner, Sebastian Brant got the opportunity to move to Basel, which is also known as the “free city”.
There, young talent began to study various sciences, among which there was jurisprudence, classical literature and so on. Already in 1484, Sebastian Brant received the right to carry out teaching activities, and even 5 years later the poet was awarded a doctorate in economic and Roman law, becoming the so-called doctor of both rights, which at that time was incredibly prestigious. Brant later became dean of law. Moreover, Sebastian had his own law practice and actively participated in the publication of various books. Brant was a man with a huge supply of encyclopedic knowledge. He was fluent in Latin and at the same time was engaged in the study of ancient Greek.
Homecoming
In 1499, Sebastian left Basel and returned to his homeland. The writer quickly earned the respect of the inhabitants. Brant almost immediately got the post of city scribe, and already in 1503 he became municipal chancellor. Also a rather interesting fact from the biography of the writer is that Emperor Maximilian gave Sebastian the title of Palatinate as a gift, and at the same time the position of imperial adviser. Sebastian Brant died on May 10, 1521, and the poet was buried in his hometown of Strasbourg.
Sebastian Brant: Poems
Brant got into world history as a talented lyricist. The poet tried himself in various genres, however, he became famous as a satirist. Sebastian Brant cruelly and uncompromisingly scourges the vices of the people of that time. It is also worth noting that most of Brant's poems were written in Latin. In 1498, the poet’s first collection was published under the title Miscellaneous Poems. It included most of Brant's poetry. Nevertheless, the book is of historical rather than artistic interest.
Poem
The satirical poem entitled “The Ship of Fools” is a real magnum opus, the quintessence of all the author’s work. In it, the author very accurately observes the stupidity and other vices of his contemporaries. The poem for a long time enjoyed great popularity among the people. And this is not surprising, because the book was written openly and witty. In addition, Brant knew everything about the life of people of that time, which is very well felt when reading. Also, 75 engravings that adorned the narrative certainly played a large role.
Over hundreds of years, the book has been repeatedly rewritten and translated into most European languages. The poem The Ship of Fools was also translated into Russian in 1965 by the efforts of Lev Penkovsky. It was the most voluminous translation (before that, the book was published in fragments in various anthologies). Unfortunately, some passages were never published due to strict censorship by the communist regime. For example, in the Russian translation there were no lines about blasphemers whom Brant condemned.
Written in German, the book became a satirical mirror of an era. The author with his usual humor portrayed fools of all stripes who intended to sail to the Kingdom of stupidity. Under the watchful eye of Brant, princes, priests, monks and even lawyers fell. The poem is completely riddled with moral proverbs and sayings. The author tried to draw public attention to the problems of that time and to encourage Germany to awaken, to correct morals. Sebastian Brant, with his poem, created a whole trend in German literature, which is known as "literature about fools." Later, this trend went beyond Germany and spread throughout Europe.
In the poem, the author actively uses symbolism. Thus, a fool is a symbol of a damaged person in the mind of a person who was kept at princely courts for entertainment. And the ship, in turn, symbolizes public holidays and other celebrations. In addition, the author draws parallels with religion, arguing that stupidity is a sin.