born 1458?, 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.