Baron von Munchausen

or Baron Münchhausen

a fictional character
- named for the 18th century German aristocrat, Hieronymus Karl Friedrich von Münchhausen, who was known for his lively storytelling and exaggerated accounts of his military exploits in the Russo-Turkish War of 1737 and two later campaigns against the Ottoman Empire
later, a German writer, Rudolf Erich Raspe, used Münchhausen's name for satirical stories about an adventurer and itinerant exaggerator and liar about ridiculous events
Raspe knew the real von Münchhausen, and used some of the real Baron's stories, along with other sources
- he published the material during the latter years of the Baron's life
- but used "M-h-s-n" instead of "Münchhausen" to identify the main character of his fiction
the stories are in the same genre as Don Quixote, by Cervantes, the great Spanish writer.
- Don Quixote is a character in some of the stories

Publications of Baron Munchausen[edit | edit source]

"Baron Munchausen's Narrative of his Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in Russia"
- published in England in 1785
"The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen"
- published in England in 1895
- see The Surprising Adventures of Baron Munchausen
- Chapter 1 begins with the preface

[THE BARON IS SUPPOSED TO RELATE THESE ADVENTURES TO HIS FRIENDS OVER A BOTTLE.]

the Baron rides a cannonball
the Baron travels to the moon
the Baron is swallowed by a giant fish
the Baron saves himself from drowning by pulling himself out of the water by his own hair
the Baron fights a forty-foot crocodile
the Barron fixes and rides his horse after it is cut in half

A c. 1740 portrait of the real Münchhausen as an Imperial Russian Army officer in Riga
Munchausen rides the cannonball, as pictured by August von Wille.
The Baron travels underwater, illustrated by Gottfried Franz.
The Baron rides a half-horse, illustrated by George Cruikshank
The Baron picks up a carriage, illustrated by Theodor Hosemann
The Baron retrieved from the whale, illustrated by Gustave Doré