Ulrich Boner, or Bonerius (fl. early 14th century), was a German-speaking Swiss writer of

fable Fable is a literary genre defined as a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a parti ...

. He was born in

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

, descended of an old Bernese family and, as far as can be ascertained, took clerical orders and became a monk; yet as it appears that he subsequently married, it is certain that he received the

tonsure Tonsure () is the practice of cutting or shaving some or all of the hair on the scalp as a sign of religious devotion or humility. The term originates from the Latin word ' (meaning "clipping" or "shearing") and referred to a specific practice in ...

only, and was thus entitled to the benefit of the ''clerici uxoriati'', who, on divesting themselves of the clerical garb, could return to secular life. He is mentioned in records between 1324 and 1349, but neither before nor after these dates. He wrote, in

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; or ; , shortened as ''Mhdt.'' or ''Mhd.'') is the term for the form of High German, High German language, German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High ...

, a collection of fables entitled ''Der Edelstein'' ('The Jewel') (c. 1349), one hundred in number, which were based principally on those of

Avianus Avianus (or possibly Avienus;Alan Cameron, "Avienus or Avienius?", ''ZPE'' 108 (1995), p. 260 c. AD 400) was a paganism, pagan writer of fables in Latin."Avianus" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes Ltd, George Newnes, 1961, Vo ...

(4th century) and the Anonymus Neveleti (edited by Isaac Nicolas Nevelet, 1610). He dedicated this work to the Bernese patrician and poet, ,

advocatus An , sometimes simply advocate, (German, ), or (French, ), was a type of medieval office holder, particularly important in the Holy Roman Empire, who was delegated some of the powers and functions of a major feudal lord, or for an institutio ...

(''

Vogt An , sometimes simply advocate, (German, ), or (French, ), was a type of medieval office holder, particularly important in the Holy Roman Empire, who was delegated some of the powers and functions of a major feudal lord, or for an institutio ...

'') of

Brienz Brienz ( , , ) is a village and Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality on the northern shore of Lake Brienz, at the foot of the Brienzer Rothorn mountain, and in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. Besides the village of Brienz, th ...

(d. c. 1350). It was printed in 1461 at

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia district in Bavaria, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main (river), Main. Bamberg had 79,000 inhabitants in ...

by Albrecht Pfister and was one of the first books printed in the German language. According to the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition The ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is a 29-volume reference work, an edition of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. It was developed during the encyclopaedia's transition from a British to an American publication. So ...

'', ''Der Edelstein'' was edited by GF Benecke (Berlin, 1816) and Franz Pfeiffer (Leipzig, 1844); a translation into modern German by Karl Pannier will be found in ' (Leipzig, 1895). See also GE Lessing in ''Zur Geschichte und Literatur'' (Werke, ix.); and Christian Waas, ''Die Quellen der Beispiele Boners'' (Giessen, 1897).

References

Fabulists Swiss writers Writers from Bern 14th-century deaths Year of birth unknown {{Switzerland-writer-stub