Pieter Bruegel and the Art of Laughter - AAAARG.ORG

ustic revels 93
figure 54. Fool Playing the Bagpipes, woodcut in Sebastian
Brant, Stultifera navis, Basel, 1497. Williamstown,
Mass., Williams College, Chapin Library of Rare Books.
on a bagpipe and its equally humble companion the hurdy-gurdy; the
Latin inscription below informs us merely that “Music entertains and
adorns both mortals and gods.” 71 A similar equivocation can be found in
a tafelspel of about 1600, featuring a debate between the two brothers Bot
Verstant and Cloucken Geest (roughly, Dense of Intellect and Stouthearted
Spirit), peasant and gentleman respectively. Among other
things the two brothers argue about is whether the bagpipe or the lute
makes the best music. 72 Neither instrument emerges clearly victorious,
although at the end the gentleman turns to the audience and apologizes