Die Fabeln des Erasmus Alberus: Abdruck der Ausgabe von 1550 mit den Abweichungen der ursprünglichen Fassung

Abstract

This is a lovely little scholarly book in the best German tradition! Its accomplishment is to reproduce carefully the 1550 edition of Alberus' verse fables. This is a key edition, because a later, second, edition followed Alberus' death in 1553. Earlier published groups of fables were smaller; he seems to refer to them as the work of his youth. The heart of this book consists of Alberus' forty-nine fables, listed in a Register with page numbers on 6-7. In the 72 pages leading up to that point, one finds some very helpful scholarship, including careful assessment of Alberus' sources. The main source turns out to be, not Steinhöwel, but rather a long-titled edition from sometime before 1520. Names to recognize in that title include Guilielmus Goudanus, Hadrianus Barlandus, and Erasmus Roterodamus. I tried Alberus' first fable, CJ, and found it quite traditional. I also read Fable 33 about the ass who found a lion-skin and thought himself pope. This is good reformation propaganda. Alberus was of course a fervent disciple of Martin Luther. In fact, this fable praises Luther for revealing the lion-skin that the pope as ass had been wearing. The formal title of Alberus' 1550 book starts Das Buch von der Tugend und Weisheit. The collection seems to go under the title Die Fabeln Esopi. A lovely little find!