Ratselbucher - Entstehung Und Entwicklung Eines Fruhneuzeitlichen Buchtyps Im Deutschsprachigen Raum. Mit Einer Bibliographie Der Ratselbucher Bis 1800 (German, Hardcover, Reprint 2011 ed.)

The first printed collection of riddles in German, the so-called AStraAburger RAtselbuchA, ran to 39 known editions covering a period of 280 years from 1510 to 1789. This makes it one of the most successful early modern books in German on a worldly subject. At a very early stage, the popularity of the riddles and joke questions contained in the collection spawned not only a spate of counter-publications but also various imitations. As a best-seller it initiated a whole new genre, the 'RAtselbuch'. To this day, its numerous representatives have handed down in written form a wide range of riddles frequently classified as "folk riddles."