Niclas Ulenhart
Niclas Ulenhart is an enigmatic figure in literary history, known primarily for his contributions to the genre of the picaresque novel in German literature. Little is documented about his life, with speculation surrounding his origins—some suggest he might have been linked to Augsburg, Munich, or possibly Prague, where his notable work is set. Ulenhart’s only known publication, released in 1617, includes two fictional pieces: a German translation of the previously anonymous Spanish picaresque novel *La Vida de Lazarillo de Tormes* and Ulenhart's own story titled *Historia von Isaac Winckelfelder und Jobst von der Schneid*. This latter work is recognized for its adaptation of Miguel de Cervantes's *Rinconete y Cortadillo*, in which Ulenhart transformed the setting and characters to fit a German context while also expanding the narrative significantly. Despite borrowing from Cervantes, Ulenhart's style and thematic choices contributed to a distinctively German expression of the picaresque, leading to the establishment of a new genre. His work gained popularity in the seventeenth century, showcasing the evolution of narrative forms in German literature during this period.
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Subject Terms
Niclas Ulenhart
Fiction Writer
- Born: fl. c. 1600
Biography
Nothing is known about the life of the author called Niclas Ulenhart. At one time he was thought to be the grandson of the printer Philipp Ulhart, who lived in Augsburg, Germany, where Ulenhart’s novel was printed. However, when no substantiation for that hypothesis could be found, it was suggested that he might have come from Munich, where his work was published. It is probably more likely that Ulenhart was a native of Prague, where the novel was set. However, there is no evidence that a Niclas Ulenhart lived in any of the three places, and the name itself may even have been a pseudonym.
In any case, the volume bearing his name was important in literary history. It appeared in 1617 and contained two fictional works. One of them was a translation into German of the Spanish picaresque novelLa Vida de Lazarillo de Tormes, whose author was unknown. The other, called the Historia von Isaac Winckelfelder und Jobst von der Schneid (the story of Isaac Winckelfelder and Jobst von der Schneid), was supposedly Ulenhart’s own creation. In fact, it was an adaptation of Rinconete y Cortadillo, the earliest novella by the Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote.
Though Ulenhart used the basic plot outline of Cervantes’s work, he changed the setting from Seville to Prague, altered the ages of the title characters, and made their fathers pious instead of devious. The people whom the heroes encountered after their flight from respectability were also unique creations. Moreover, Ulenhart’s style was baroque instead of precise; as a result, his work was twice as long as Cervantes’s Rinconete y Cortadillo. Because Ulenhart’s work was so thoroughly German in every respect, it is hardly surprising that his indebtedness to Cervantes remained unnoticed until 1868.
The Historia von Isaac Winckelfelder und Jobst von der Schneid was an immediate success and went into numerous editions during the seventeenth century. Thus even though he took the plot of his own work from Cervantes, Niclas Ulenhart must be credited for establishing a new genre in German literature, the native picaresque novel.