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Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam gives only a merely descriptive title for this drawing by Johannes de Groot - Gehurkte man voor een spiegel (‘Crouching man in front of a mirror’, c. 1730s) - yet also omits the fact that the dude is crouching to see his own arse in the mirror.
In reality, the scene seems to depict the so-called Till Eulenspiegel (aka Ulenspiegel, Ulenspegel, or even Ulespegel), the famous trickster from the medieval German folklore.
His surname literally translates as 'owl-mirror’ (which led to the iconographic tradition of showing these two attributes, also present in this print). However, it is believed that the name is in fact a pun on a Low German saying that translates as 'wipe-arse’, a motif also vividly present in this work.
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Ooh my bitch’s pose is NYASSTYYY. Till Eulenspiegel? More like insert some clever word play I can’t come up with. OG rage baiter and cunty ash ong. Insane pose over here
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Not really my sense of humour, but still a fun read today. And it’s always good to see that some things haven’t changed since the 1510s - like toilet humour.
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I finally started Till Eulenspiegel, and while I’m still very early, I can say that as far as medieval literature goes, it is EXTREMELY accessible. A very large portion is just toilet humor, and that is timeless.
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Oh Boy, would you look at that, Another Obscure Folk Figure from Another Country, I sure hope that he’s not Another of one of Your Ordinary Chaotic Typical Trickster for a Jester or Something.
BTW, I did see the Animated Movie, “Jester Till” about a Month Ago which had made Me to inspire my own version of this German Jester Character.
Till Eulenspiegel © German Folklore
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Since tumblr is talking a lot about jesters recently, may I recommend a novel?
ALTIt’s one of those books that I only didn’t read the whole way through in a single day because I was literally falling asleep. I don’t know how Kehlmann does it, but he does.
This book is loosely based on Till Eulenspiegel, the protagonist of an 14th century story collection about his exploits as a jester in the late 13th century. I learned about him in elementary school.
Daniel Kehlmann takes the concept and places it int he mids of the 30-years-war, a particularly nasty period in european history, which as a whole is very nasty already. The novel is “high art” in that the snobby book people like it, but also surprisingly fun and dark and engaging. It takes the form of a picaresque, or Schelmenroman, a genre that tumblr should be very interested in.
All in all: Good book! The snobby book people are right on this one!
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Okay, League of extraordinary gentlemen is an interesting concept. Penny dreadful, mad scientists, Victorian avengers, Jules Verne, supernatural creatures and all of this wrapped up into Belle Epoque/Fin de siecle aesthetic? Just pack some for me, for I am 100℅ sold.
But you know what sounds just as if not more intriguing? The less genteel and, by the way, more continental side of this deal. Extraordinary rogues. Or how would you like Till Eulenspiegel, baron von Münchhausen, Josef Švejk and, for example, Lazarillo des Tormes adventuring and just being chaotic together?
Cause I am taking this any day of the week
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there’s an old german folktale about a prankster named till eulenspiegel and i thought he’d be a fun random character to have appear in the neverafter
