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
• 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.