Claus fool

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Bildnuss Deß Chursächsischen well-famed Kurzweiligen Hof-Raths Clasen Fools

Claus Narr (* before 1455 in Ranstädt ; † after 1530 probably in Weida ), also Claus Narren von Ranstedt , was a court jester at the Saxon court in the 16th century and became one of the most famous German court jesters due to his foolish activities.

Life

Claus Narr was brought to the court of Elector Friedrich II as a natural fool at the age of nine due to his terrifying disfigurement and his strange behavior and passed on from prince to prince as a living heirloom; After the death of Ernst von Saxony, he served his eldest son and successor Friedrich the Wise , was loaned to the Archbishop of Magdeburg, Ernst II. , in 1500 and returned to the electoral court in 1513. After the death of Friedrich III. In 1525 Claus spent the remaining years with Johann the Steadfast . After 1530 his track is lost.

The fool lived during his time at the court of the electors at Hartenfels Castle in Torgau on the Elbe in the so-called Hausmannsturm, which can be visited today.

According to a painting from 1530 by Hans Sebald Lautensack, Claus Fool was a bull-necked man, obviously mentally and physically severely disabled. However, in the course of his life he apparently gained such a reputation that Hans Sachs dedicated a swank to him. Here Sachs stylized the fool under the title Klaus Narren drey big wonders in the city of Leipzig to be a witty and sarcastic critic of the Catholic Church, whereas other sources portray the fool as a confused, solitary person, who often attracted attention through fantasies and delusions. Perhaps because of these events, the stories about Claus Narren von Ranstedt grew so much that the pastor Wolfgang Büttner (approx. 1522–1596) from Wolferstedt near Mansfeld was able to publish them as six hundred and twenty stories by Claus Narrenn in 1572 in Eisleben . The book became a real bestseller in the 16th and 17th centuries.

In Büttner's stories it often becomes clear that the state of mental derangement was occasionally interrupted and the court jester uttered almost parapsychological remarks. The prediction of the collapse of an Elbe bridge in Torgau is attributed to him. He is also said to have excitedly disrupted a conversation with the Elector, where he insisted on getting water to protect the Coburg Fortress from the flames. Later it turned out that at that time a devastating fire was actually raging on the fortress.

literature

Web links

Commons : Claus Narr  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ According to Schnorr von Carolsfeld, page 278, Claus Narr died in 1515 at the age of 90 and refers to a source in the main state archive in Dresden.
  2. ↑ Claus Narren three amazement in the City of Leipzig ( http://www.zeno.org/Literatur/M/Sachs,+Hans/Gedichte/Saghgedichte+%28Auswahl%29/Schwank%3A+Claus+Narren+drei+verwunderung+in + the + stat + Leipzig )
  3. ↑ http://thesaurus.cerl.org/record/cnp00402294
personal data
SURNAME Claus fool
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Claus fools of Ranstedt
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Court jester at the Saxon court
DATE OF BIRTH before 1486
PLACE OF BIRTH Ranstädt
DATE OF DEATH 1515 or after 1530
Place of death Weida (unsure)