Fabeln und Erzählungen

work by Gellert

Also known as: “Fables and Tales”

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Last updated

June 26, 2026

Quick Summary

Christian Fürchtegott Gellert's Fabeln und Erzählungen (Fables and Tales), published between 1746 and 1748, is a collection of charmingly simple and direct fables and moralizing stories. These works were highly popular during the German Enlightenment, second only to the Bible in readership for a time. Gellert's fables not only resonated with common people but also influenced subsequent writers in the genre. The collection is characterized by its naively realistic style and its moralistic tone.1

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Christian Fürchtegott Gellert
…was best known for his Fabeln und Erzählungen (1746–48; “Fables and Tales”), a collection of naïvely realistic fables and moralizing stories charming for their directness and simplicity. These tales not only had many readers among the common people but also influenced other fable writers. Equally popular was Geistliche Oden und…
Read More
…was best known for his Fabeln und Erzählungen (1746–48; “Fables and Tales”), a collection of naïvely realistic fables and moralizing stories charming for their directness and simplicity. These tales not only had many readers among the common people but also influenced other fable writers. Equally popular was Geistliche Oden und…
Read More