Brant, Sebastian (sābäs`tyän bränt), 1457–1521, German humanist and moralist. He taught law at the Univ. of Basel and in 1503 became town clerk of Strasbourg. His verse allegory Das Narrenschiff [ship of fools] (1494) became world famous. Illustrated with woodcuts, it went through six editions in Brant's lifetime alone. The story tells of 112 fools—each representing a fashionable foible—who sail out to sea and die because of their folly. An English translation by Alexander Barclay appeared in 1509.

Bibliography

See verse translation (with the woodcuts) by E. H. Zeydel (1944). The poem inspired the novel Ship of Fools (1962) by Katherine Anne Porter.

Brant, Sebastian

(born 1457, Strassburg—died May 10, 1521, Strassburg) German poet. He taught law and later was appointed imperial councillor and court palatine by Maximilian I. His varied writings include works on law, religion, politics, and especially morals. His best-known work is The Ship of Fools (1494), an allegory telling of fools on a ship bound for a “fool's paradise.” The most famous German literary work of the 15th century, it ridicules the vices of the age and gave rise to a whole school of fool's literature.