Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Brandt, Sebastian

BRANDT, SEBASTIAN, a German author, born in Strassburg, in 1458; studied law and the classics at Basel, where he received permission to teach; and soon became one of the most influential lecturers. The Emperor Maximilian appointed him an imperial councilor. His fame rests wholly upon “The Ship of Fools,” a satire on the follies and vices of the time (1494). Its distinguishing note is its abounding humor; but it owed its great popular success very largely to the clever woodcuts with which it was illustrated. It was translated into several European languages. The English translation by Henry Watson appeared in 1517. Brandt died in Strassburg in 1521.