Eulenspiegel, << OY lehn `shpee` gehl >>, Till, was a practical joker whose pranks became a favorite subject of writers and musicians. Till is said to have lived in Germany during the first half of the 1300’s. According to tradition, he was born in Braunschweig, and was the son of a peasant farmer. Many tales were told about the pranks Till played on the burghers (townfolk) and the nobility, the traditional enemies of the peasant class. Till made fun of his enemies and cheated them out of money, while pretending to be stupid himself.
The first collection of Till stories was published in German during the late 1400’s. Translators retold them in many other languages. The first version of Till stories in English, called Howleglas (or Owl-glass), dates from 1560. Hans Sachs of Germany wrote plays and songs about Till during the 1500’s. Charles de Coster wrote a Flemish epic with Till as the hero in the 1800’s. Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks (1895) is a famous musical composition by Richard Strauss of Germany.
