Till Eulenspiegel (Owl’s Mirror) seems to have been a 14th-century northern German outcast, a practical joker whose hilariously funny tricks were transmitted orally and later in the form of manuscripts. At least that is what the 16th-century printed books tell us. The stories about his jokes were so popular that Johannes Grüninger in Strasbourg and other printers could not produce enough copies to satisfy book buyers in Germany and abroad. Dutch, English, French, Polish, and Latin translations quickly followed.

The fact that the book was put on the Index in 1529 explains why so few copies of the 

    Modern cartoon version of Till Eulenspiegel

oldest German editions have been passed down, and why collectors who probably could not read them bought them as well. One of them was John Morris, a 16th-century bibliophile from London, whose widow sold his library to the King, including the only existing copy of the oldest complete Eulenspiegel, Grüninger 1515. Today this treasure of European comic literature belongs to the British Library.

The stories about Eulenspiegel and his special sense of humor have inspired various dramatizations from the 16th through the 21st century. But, seriously, what is so funny about someone who in everything he does simply does what he is told? Is it not obvious that a brewer should never call his dog Hops if he does not want his beer, brewed by Eulenspiegel according to his instructions, to smell odd while his pet cannot be found anywhere? But please come, see for yourselves, and experience one of the funniest Eulenspiegel plays ever performed by the Romanian Teatrul Bon Ton and their extraordinary marionettes!