Das Narrenschiff

Narrenschiff, Das, a long satirical poem by Sebastian Brant, first published in 1494.

It is composed of more than 7, 000 lines, arranged in a preface (Vorred) and 115 sections. The general idea, indicated by the title and outlined in the preface, is that of a ship manned by all imaginable representatives of folly. The image of the ship is, however, not maintained in the satirical sections that follow. Brant takes folly in a wide and moral sense to cover all human failings, and his book is a castigation of vice and wickedness as well as of imprudence and eccentricity. Among the evils he pillories are familiar sins and vices such as adultery, gluttony, and blasphemy, and lesser faults such as love of litigation and taking the cares of the world upon one's shoulder. In the latter part of the poem the satire is broadened into an attack upon the present state of Church and Empire. Brant criticizes the princes and comes out in support of the Emperor Maximilian I. The general standpoint of the work is one of robust common sense, and the morality implies utilitarian standards.

The verse, with a standard line of four iambic feet with eight or nine syllables, has a brisk emphatic rhythm, and the formulations are crisp and often memorable. The technique of the sections resembles that of a sermon in the driving home of points, not by development, but by repetition in different terms. The accompanying woodcuts enhanced the book's effect.

Das Narrenschiff was one of the most popular works of its age. Six authorized editions (twelve in all) had appeared by 1521 when Brant died, and it continued to be published throughout the 16th c. Even more successful was a Latin translation, Stultifera navis, by Jakob Locher, which formed the basis of English (1507 f.), French (1497 f.), and Dutch (1500) translations. The preference for the Latin version reflects the extent to which the neo-humanism of the age had penetrated.