Der deutsche Grobian: Friedrich Dedekind (1553)

Along with drunkenness, grobianism (boorishness) was another behavior associated with Germans in the Early Modern period. Depictions of the German boor are particularly plentiful throughout the era, with moralizing “table manners” literature reaching its peak popularity in the 16th century. During this period, the Latin Grobianus by Friedrich Dedekind, first published in 1549, was particularly well known. The book was quickly translated into German and enjoyed a wide readership. The title page of the 1553 edition features a pictorial representation of the German grobian. The full title can be translated as follows: Grobianism / on coarse manners / and impolite behavior / originally written in Latin / by the learned Friedrich Dedekind / and now translated into German by Capsar Scheidt from Worms.