The Legend and the Heroic, Merry and Glorious Deeds of Uilenspiegel and

Coster, Charles de, 1827-1879Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 4.2
Word count
1M words
Chapters
101

Tags

Foreign Literature Folk Literature Political AllegoryLegendary LivesPicaresque AdventureHeroismRebellionHumor ReliefSatirical StyleLow CountriesFolk CustomsFolk Legend

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.De legende en de heldhaftige, vroolijke en roemrijke daden van Uilenspiegel enAuthor: Coster, Charles de, 1827-1879,Language: Dutch, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: Feb 1, 2004

Editor's review

This is the Dutch public-domain eBook of Charles de Coster's The Legend of Ulenspiegel, released by Project Gutenberg. Centered on the Flemish folk figure Ulenspiegel, the work weaves together the historical background of the sixteenth-century Low Countries' resistance to Spanish rule, combining the humor and satire of folk tales with the sweep of heroic narrative. It makes heavy use of colloquial expression and folk wisdom, shaping a figure who is quick-witted, rebellious and full of vitality; it is both a literary work and an entry point into Flemish culture and local memory. The Dutch original preserves a strong flavor of dialect and rhythm, making it advanced material for language learners seeking literary Dutch; for lovers of history and folklore, it shows how folk narrative carries collective memory and a spirit of resistance. Read it slowly and watch for the satirical targets and historical allusions behind the jokes.

Who it's for

A good fit for

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Reading tips

  1. Learn about the sixteenth-century Low Countries and Spanish rule before reading
  2. Read in story units, and after each unit retell Ulenspiegel's actions and the point of the satire
  3. Mark recurring folk proverbs and colloquial expressions, and compile them into language notes
  4. Read alongside a relevant historical map to understand the relation between place names and political forces

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

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FAQ

Who is Ulenspiegel? Ulenspiegel is a trickster and rebel figure from Flemish folklore; de Coster made him the protagonist of a legendary tale in which he both mocks the powerful and embodies the Low Countries' memory of satire and resistance against oppression.
Is this book suitable for learning Dutch? It suits intermediate and advanced learners. The original preserves much colloquial and dialectal language and many historical allusions, which can block beginners; with some foundation, it offers access to literary expression and folk language, but it is best read with annotations or a guide and is not an introductory textbook.
Does the eBook have annotations and an introduction? The Project Gutenberg edition is mainly a public-domain plain text and usually has no modern introduction or detailed annotations. Readers need to supply the historical background themselves or read alongside research material to better understand the satire and historical allusions.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Coster, Charles de, 1827-1879 Author

Charles de Coster (1827–1879) was a Belgian writer known for collecting and retelling Flemish folk legends. Five of his works are held here, the most representative being the series centered on Tyl Ulenspiegel, including The Legend of the Glorious Adventures of Tyl Ulenspiegel in the Land of Flanders and the two-volume The Legend of Ulenspiegel, as well as Flemish Legends. Drawing on folk tales and historical legends, these works are written in a humorous, satirical and vividly popular style, shaping Ulenspiegel as a clever, mischievous figure who uses pranks to defy oppression, combining legendary color with allegorical meaning. Classified here under inspirational growth, they also offer insight into themes of personal growth and conduct. Public information is limited, so biographical details are not elaborated here.