II - A Russian Munchausen: Aesopian translation

Summary

Tot samyj Mjunxgauzen (The Very Same Munchausen) was one of the most popular Soviet made-for-TV films of the late seventies. The tall tales of the eighteenth century German baron, which form the basis for the screenplay by Grigorij Gorin, are known and loved the world over. The prototype for the legend, Hieronymus Karl Friederich, Freiherr von Münchhausen, fought in the Russian service against the Turks before retiring to his estate, where he hunted and entertained. The legendary Munchausen was born through the publication in 1785 of Baron Munchausen's Narrative of his Marvellous Travels and Campaigns in Russia, which made the real baron something of a tourist attraction in his own lifetime. The original text, written in English by the German refugee Rudolf Erich Raspe, was soon translated into German by Gottfried August Bürger, and within two years it had gone through six English editions and been translated into French as well. New editions meant new additions to Raspe's original, and translators also felt free to embellish and edit as they saw fit.

We have then a work in Russian about a German character originally documented in English. For the English reader, additional interest is provided by the exotic settings of some of the adventures: Russia, Turkey, the Indies.