“ The jests and practical jokes ascribed to him were collected—if we may believe a statement in one of the old prints—in 1483; but in any case the edition of 1515 was not even the oldest High German edition. Eulenspiegel himself is locally associated with the Low German area extending from Magdeburg to Hanover, and from Lüneburg to the Harz Mountains. He is the wily peasant who loves to exercise his wit and roguery on the tradespeople of the towns, above all, on the innkeepers; but priests, noblemen, even princes, are also among his victims. His victories are often pointless, more often brutal ”

“ His jests are coarsely practical, and his satire turns on class distinctions. In fact, this chapbook might be described as the retaliation of the peasant on the townsman who in the 14th and 15th centuries had begun to look down upon the country boor as a natural inferior.
In spite of its essentially Low German character, Eulenspiegel was extremely popular in other lands, and, at an early date, was translated into Dutch, French, English, Latin, Danish, Swedish, Bohemian and Polish. In England, “Howleglas” (Scottish, Holliglas) was long a familiar figure ”

“ Till Eulenspiegel’s “merry pranks” have been made the subject of a well-known orchestral symphony by Richard Strauss. In France, it may be noted, the name has given rise to the words espiègle and espièglerie. ”