Bellman joke
Encyclopedia
The Bellman joke is a type of simple joke
popular among Swedish
schoolchildren, always including a person named Bellman as the main character.
The jokes first became popular in the 19th century, and were originally inspired by the life of the poet and composer Carl Michael Bellman
. The first known Bellman jokes survive in a book from 1835, which quotes a Bellman joke in a letter written 1808 by a contemporary of Bellman. 19th century Bellman jokes tended to focus on CM Bellman's life at court, and often contained sexual humour. Since then, however, the Bellman character of the jokes has changed into a generic person, rather than the historical figure. The shift from jokes told by adults to jokes told mainly by young schoolchildren up to 10 years of age probably happened in the first half of the 20th century.
The modern versions of the Bellman jokes often include Bellman and two other characters of different nationalities, with the former coming out victorious from a tricky situation. However, in many Bellman jokes, Bellman is portrayed as something of an anti-hero
, who may cheat, lie or even smell very bad in order to get the last laugh. Another common theme is that Bellman fools or makes fun of a priest, policeman or other authority figure. He can thus be seen as a modern sort of a trickster
. The jokes tend to involve bodily functions such as urinating or defecating.
The ubiquitous character of the stories and the fact that they have been told in various forms for so many years have made them subject to study by ethnologists
such as Bengt af Klintberg
and researchers in children's culture.
. First out was the German. He swam 1 kilometer and drowned.
Next came the Russian. He swam 10 kilometers and then he drowned.
Now it was Bellman's turn. He swam and swam until he almost reached the coast of America - then he got tired and swam back.
A Dane, a Norwegian and Bellman made a wager on who could remain inside a goat pen the longest. First out was the Dane, who came out after just 10 minutes yelling "Damn! The goat stinks!" After him the Norwegian went in, and after half an hour he came out yelling, "Damn! The goat stinks!" Finally Bellman went in. After 2 hours the goat came rushing out yelling "Damn! Bellman stinks!"
Joke
A joke is a phrase or a paragraph with a humorous twist. It can be in many different forms, such as a question or short story. To achieve this end, jokes may employ irony, sarcasm, word play and other devices...
popular among Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
schoolchildren, always including a person named Bellman as the main character.
The jokes first became popular in the 19th century, and were originally inspired by the life of the poet and composer Carl Michael Bellman
Carl Michael Bellman
was a Swedish poet and composer. Bellman is a central figure in the Swedish song tradition and remains a very important influence in Swedish music, as well as in Scandinavian literature in general, to this day....
. The first known Bellman jokes survive in a book from 1835, which quotes a Bellman joke in a letter written 1808 by a contemporary of Bellman. 19th century Bellman jokes tended to focus on CM Bellman's life at court, and often contained sexual humour. Since then, however, the Bellman character of the jokes has changed into a generic person, rather than the historical figure. The shift from jokes told by adults to jokes told mainly by young schoolchildren up to 10 years of age probably happened in the first half of the 20th century.
The modern versions of the Bellman jokes often include Bellman and two other characters of different nationalities, with the former coming out victorious from a tricky situation. However, in many Bellman jokes, Bellman is portrayed as something of an anti-hero
Anti-hero
In fiction, an antihero is generally considered to be a protagonist whose character is at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero, and is in some instances its antithesis in which the character is generally useless at being a hero or heroine when they're...
, who may cheat, lie or even smell very bad in order to get the last laugh. Another common theme is that Bellman fools or makes fun of a priest, policeman or other authority figure. He can thus be seen as a modern sort of a trickster
Trickster
In mythology, and in the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal who plays tricks or otherwise disobeys normal rules and conventional behavior. It is suggested by Hansen that the term "Trickster" was probably first used in this...
. The jokes tend to involve bodily functions such as urinating or defecating.
The ubiquitous character of the stories and the fact that they have been told in various forms for so many years have made them subject to study by ethnologists
Ethnology
Ethnology is the branch of anthropology that compares and analyzes the origins, distribution, technology, religion, language, and social structure of the ethnic, racial, and/or national divisions of humanity.-Scientific discipline:Compared to ethnography, the study of single groups through direct...
such as Bengt af Klintberg
Bengt af Klintberg
Bengt Knut Erik af Klintberg is a Swedish ethnologist who has become known for his work on modern urban legends and reached a large audience with his books Råttan i pizzan and Den stulna njuren .Klintberg was also co-host Bengt Knut Erik af Klintberg (b. 25 December 1938 in Stockholm) is a...
and researchers in children's culture.
Examples of contemporary Bellman jokes
A Russian, a German and Bellman wanted to see who could swim the fastest across the AtlanticAtlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
. First out was the German. He swam 1 kilometer and drowned.
Next came the Russian. He swam 10 kilometers and then he drowned.
Now it was Bellman's turn. He swam and swam until he almost reached the coast of America - then he got tired and swam back.
A Dane, a Norwegian and Bellman made a wager on who could remain inside a goat pen the longest. First out was the Dane, who came out after just 10 minutes yelling "Damn! The goat stinks!" After him the Norwegian went in, and after half an hour he came out yelling, "Damn! The goat stinks!" Finally Bellman went in. After 2 hours the goat came rushing out yelling "Damn! Bellman stinks!"