When studying satire and humor of the Renaissance, indeed from any other society besides our own, we often have difficulty determining what other cultures might regard as humorous. In general, Renaissance humor was much earthier than ours. Toilet humor, even scatological jokes, evidently was enjoyed by all classes of readers. Rampant scatology and similar satirical references that to our eyes might seem grotesque were quite funny and witty in the Renaissance. Comedic writing, especially collections of joke books, short stories, and longer prose satires, was among the most popular of all literary forms of prose published during the 16th century. Whereas satiric poetry and drama often made their points through short, witty phrases, or episodic scenes, satiric prose could sustain a lengthy narrative scene or dialogue. Topics could be anything under the sun. Johann Fis-chart (1546-90), who translated Rabelais rather freely into German, wrote satire with a Protestant moralistic slant. His topics included a misogynist battle between fleas and women and a humorous tale about gout. Medical conditions and doctors were often the object of satire, as were lawyers. Although some satirical writers wrote in a rather hateful tone, the most popular prose satire was in a lighter comedic vein. Satirical short stories were especially popular in Italy and France, and English writers excelled in shorter anecdotes with a punch line. Sir Thomas More’s novella Utopia (1516) is a satiric category unto itself. Profoundly humanistic, the enlightened island of Utopia is a representative democracy with compassion for the poor and a respect for learning. The more he praises this ideal community, the more the author satirizes contrary conditions in the real world.
World History
